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The fastest way to earn Hilton Honors bonus points or free night certificates is through a new cardmember welcome bonus. Here are the best available new cardmember welcome bonuses on Hilton Honors credit cards
Best Hilton Honors credit card welcome bonuses
Hilton Honors American Express Card: 70k points plus a Hilton Free Night Award
Welcome bonus: bonus_miles_full
A card with no annual fee that can keep your Hilton points from expiring.
Annual fee: $0 (See Rates and Fees)
Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card: 130k points plus a Hilton Free Night Award
Welcome bonus: bonus_miles_full
A good choice for people who stay at Hilton hotels several times a year.
Annual fee: $150 (See Rates and Fees)
Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card: 175k points plus a Hilton Free Night Award
Welcome bonus: Earn 175,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points after you spend $6,000 in purchases on the Card in the first 6 months of Card Membership. Offer ends 7/31/2024.
Although it is not promoted as part of the welcome bonus, you’ll also earn a Hilton Free Night Award in your first year of card membership.
This is the best card for road warriors who stay at Hilton hotels constantly and people who want to access luxury travel and elite status with Hilton.
Annual fee: $550 (See rates and fees. Terms apply.)
The Hilton Honors American Express Business Card: 130k points
Welcome bonus: bonus_miles_full
Best card if you want to earn Hilton points on all of your purchases and for small business travelers who stay at Hilton properties several times a year.
Annual fee: $195 (See Rates and Fees)
The cards with the best Hilton welcome bonuses
Hilton Honors American Express Card: A card with no annual fee that earns Hilton points
The Hilton Honors American Express Card is the only Hilton credit card that is offered with no annual fee. (See Rates and Fees) Having the card and charging at least one purchase every 24 months is an easy way to keep your Hilton points from expiring.
Compared to the other Hilton cards, the basic Hilton Amex’s earnings on Hilton stays are pretty mediocre. Although it earns 5x points in several bonus categories, it isn’t a great card to use for general spending—the value you can expect from the points you earn on most purchases will be less than you could earn on a 2% cash back credit card.
If you’re serious about being loyal to Hilton, one of the other Hilton cards might be a better pick.
Hilton Honors American Express Card welcome bonus
bonus_miles_full
The current limited-time offer is an incredible welcome bonus on a card with no annual fee.
More about this card
Benefit highlights:
Hilton Honors Silver status.
Rewards:
7x on eligible purchases at Hilton hotels and resorts.
5x on dining at U.S. restaurants, including takeout and delivery.
5x on groceries at U.S. supermarkets.
5x on gas at U.S. gas stations.
3x on other eligible purchases.
Rewards are earned as Hilton Honors bonus points.
Learn more:
Compare this card to other Hilton cards in our overview of Hilton credit cards.
Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card: Statement credits for Hilton purchases
The Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card’s signature feature is its statement credits for Hilton stays. You can earn up to $50 in statement credits each quarter for Hilton stays you charge to the card. (Terms apply.)
You’ll get the most from this card if you’re staying with Hilton’s family of brands several times a year and capturing the value of the credits. Spending $15,000 on the card in a calendar year will earn you a valuable Hilton Free Night award. Outside of Hilton stays, you’ll get slightly better rewards in the card’s bonus categories than you will from a 2% cash back credit card.
Compare the Hilton Surpass card against other Hilton cards in our overview of Hilton credit cards.
Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card welcome bonus
bonus_miles_full
The limited time offer adds a Hilton Free Night Award to this card’s usual welcome offer, with no additional spending requirements.
More about this card
Benefit highlights:
Hilton Honors Gold status.
Upgrade to Diamond status after spending $40k in a year on your card.
$200 Hilton credit: Up to $50 in statement credits each quarter for eligible Hilton purchases.
Free night reward after spending $15,000 on eligible purchases in a calendar year.
National Car Rental Emerald Club Executive® status. Enrollment required.
Rewards:
12x on Hilton hotels and resorts.
6x on dining at U.S. restaurants.
6x on groceries at U.S. supermarkets.
6x on gas at U.S. gas stations.
4x on U.S. online retail purchases.
3x on other eligible purchases.
Rewards are earned as Hilton Honors points.
Learn more:
Compare this card to other Hilton cards in our overview of Hilton credit cards.
Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card: Top-tier status and a free night award each year
The Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card will give you instant top-tier Hilton Honors Diamond status and a free night reward with your new card and every year after renewal.
You’ll maximize the value of the Aspire card if you’re either spending a lot on Hilton hotels—think road-warrior-level travel, staying in Hilton hotels every week—or if your travels tend toward the luxury end of Hilton’s properties. The card offers a up to $400 per year in Hilton resort credits, plus a $100 on-property credit at participating Waldorf Astoria® and Conrad® hotels. Terms apply.
If you’re going to try to spend $30,000 or $60,000 on the card to pick up a few extra Hilton Free Night Awards, your best bet is to shift your spending toward Hilton stays or the categories where the card offers bonus rewards. The card’s 3x on other eligible purchases isn’t terribly compelling.
Compare the Hilton Aspire card against the other Hilton cards in our overview of Hilton credit cards.
Annual fee: $550
(See Rates and Fees.)
This is a direct bank link. All information about the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card has been collected independently by cardsandpoints.com.
Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card welcome bonus
Earn 175,000 Bonus Points after you spend $6,000 in purchases on the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card in the first 6 months of Card Membership. Offer ends 7/31/2024.
You will also receive a Hilton Free Night award upon approval and every cardmember anniversary year.
This card offers a decent bonus for the amount of spending required, but don’t forget about the Hilton Free Night Award that you earn when your card is opened. While not technically part of the welcome bonus, it’s a valuable first year perk.
More about this card
Benefit highlights:
Annual Hilton Free Night award.
Hilton Honors Diamond Status.
Up to $400 in Hilton Resort Credits per year (Up to $200, semi-annually)
Earn up to 2 additional Hilton Free Night awards.
Rewards:
14x on Hilton hotel purchases.
7x on flights booked directly with airlines or amextravel.com.
7x on car rentals booked directly from select car rental companies.
7x at U.S. restaurants.
3x on other eligible purchases.
Rewards are earned Hilton Honors bonus points.
Learn more:
Compare this card to other Hilton cards in our overview of Hilton credit cards.
The Hilton Honors American Express Business Card welcome bonus
The Hilton Honors American Express Business Card offers up to $240 in annual statement credits for Hilton stays to small business owners. If you’re staying at Hilton hotels at least quarterly, you’re likely to make back what you pay in annual fees with the statement credits alone.
You’ll get the most out of your Hilton business card if you use it exclusively for Hilton purchases and use another card for other spending. Changes to the Hilton Business Card announced earlier this year removed the ability to earn Free Night Awards with the card and nerfed the awards you earn on non-Hilton purchases. Using a 2% cash back card on your non-Hilton purchases will get you about as much value, and you can do much better with cards that offer bonus rewards on gas, at restaurants, or on travel.
For most people, the Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card offers a more compelling value proposition.
Compare the Hilton Honors American Express Business Card against the other Hilton cards in our overview of Hilton credit cards.
The Hilton Honors American Express Business Card welcome bonus
bonus_miles_full
The current bonus is the standard welcome bonus on this card.
More about this card
Benefit highlights:
Hilton Honors Gold status.
Earn Hilton Honors Diamond status with $40,000 in eligible purchases in a calendar year.
Up to $240 in Hilton credits for Hilton purchases charged to your card. (Up to $60 in statement credits each quarter.)
Rewards:
12x on Hilton purchases.
5x on other eligible purchases, on the first $100k in purchases per calendar year, 3x thereafter.
Rewards are earned as Hilton Honors bonus points.
Learn more:
Compare this card to other Hilton cards in our overview of Hilton credit cards.
About Hilton Free Night Awards
Many of Hilton’s credit cards offer free night awards, either as part of a limited-time welcome bonus or as an going perk of the card. Here’s what you need to know about Hilton Free Night Awards.
Hilton free night awards have more potential value than any other hotel chain’s free night certificates. While other hotel chains cap the value you can get from your certificates through restrictions on hotel categories or by issuing certificates that can be used for an award stay “up to” a certain number of points, Hilton certificates can be used at almost any hotel within Hilton’s family of brands, worldwide.
As long as a Hilton hotel offers a standard award room with double occupancy, you should be able to book that room using your certificate. You’ll need to call to book—Hilton Free Night Awards cannot be used online—but you can search for award nights for standard rooms online before using your certificate.
Here are a few things to remember about using Hilton free night awards.
- Hilton free night awards expire. Free night rewards expire 12 months from the date they are issued.
- You must book and stay by the expiration date. The stay you book with your Hilton Free Night Award must be completed by the certificate’s expiration date.
- Hilton free night awards can only be used for standard rooms. If a standard room isn’t available, your certificate can not be used for that stay.
- Hilton free night awards are not transferable. The person named on the certificate must be the one who stays.
- About 60 properties are excluded. The vast majority of these properties are Hilton Club and Hilton Grand Vacations Club locations. Hilton has over 7,500 properties within its brand portfolio.
A few notes on applying for American Express credit cards
Here are a few things that you should know about applying for American Express cards.
- Amex will let you know if you’re ineligible for the new cardmember welcome offer when applying. If you don’t qualify for a welcome offer for any reason, American Express will inform you during the application process and let you withdraw your application before they perform a “hard pull” on your credit report. If you withdraw your application, the withdrawn application will have no impact on your credit score.
- No hard pull if they deny you. If Amex denies your credit card application, they usually won’t issue a hard pull on your credit report. This means that your credit score won’t decrease because of the denied application.
- One welcome offer per card per “lifetime”. Most Amex card terms say that you’re ineligible for a welcome offer if you’ve ever had the card before. Some targeted offers do not have this lifetime language. Readers and other blogs have reported that Amex may internally define “lifetime” as 7 years—if it’s been 7 years since you’ve had a card, you might be eligible to get a welcome offer again.
- Some cards allow one welcome offer per card “family”. Some American Express cards, like the personal Platinum card or the Charles Schwab Platinum card have language that prohibits you from earning a welcome bonus if you’ve ever had a card from the same card family before.
- Maximum 5 Amex credit cards and 10 pay-over-time cards. You can have a maximum of 5 American Express credit cards at one time. In addition, you can hold up to 10 American Express pay-over-time cards (like the Platinum, Gold, and Green cards.) These limits are known to occasionally be flexible for some cardmembers, some of the time.
- You might be able to get a better welcome offer than the public offer. American Express offers some customers targeted offers. See our post on how to get the best welcome offers from American Express and try those methods before applying for an American Express card. You might be able to get an elevated welcome offer.
- Check your application status online. You can check the status of your American Express card application online through the Amex website.
Frequently asked questions
Does Hilton Diamond get free breakfast?
As a Hilton Diamond, you receive a complimentary breakfast at most non-U.S. hotels and a daily food and beverage credit at U.S. hotels. The amount of the food and beverage credit varies by brand and is not awarded to members who have received Executive Lounge access when a property’s executive lounge serves breakfast.
Can a Hilton free night certificate be used everywhere?
The Hilton Free Night Award can be used at the vast majority of Hilton properties, excluding the properties found on Hilton’s exclusion list. To use your free night certificate, a standard room must be available to book using points. The Free Night Award can only be used for a standard room.
American Express card disclosures
- For rates and fees of the Hilton Honors American Express Card please visit this link: See Rates and Fees
- For rates and fees of the Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card please visit this link: Rates and fees.
- For rates and fees of the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card please visit this link: Rates and fees.
- For rates and fees of the Hilton Honors American Express Business Card please visit this link: See Rates and Fees
Advertiser disclosure: Cards and Points has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Cards and Points and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on this site are from advertisers. Compensation may affect how and where card products appear on the site. The site does not include all card companies or all available offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities. Terms apply to all credit card benefits.
