6 Best Hilton Credit Cards of 2024: What to Know

Anyone can sign up to be a Hilton Honors member for free and receive a core set of benefits. This includes the ability to earn points on stays, no resort fees on award stays, free Wi-Fi and access to member-only pricing.

The Hilton Honors American Express Card offers automatic Hilton Silver elite status (enrollment required) and the ability to upgrade to Gold status after spending $20,000 in a calendar year.

Here are a few of the benefits that come with Silver elite status:

• 20% points-earning bonus on stays
• Fifth night free on reward stays
• Free bottled water at select hotels
• The ability to rollover elite nights to get a head start on next year’s elite status

Both the Hilton Honors American Express Surpass^® Card and The Hilton Honors American Express Business Card offer complimentary Gold elite status (enrollment required). Gold elite members get all the perks of Silver status, in addition to the following benefits:

• 80% points-earning bonus on stays
• Daily food and beverage credit or continental breakfast (varies by brand and region)
• Space-available room upgrades
• Milestone bonuses

The Hilton Honors Aspire Card from American Express** offers automatic Diamond elite status (enrollment required), which is the highest status that Hilton offers. Diamond elite members get the benefits of all lower levels of status, and also receive the following:

• 100% points-earning bonus on stays
• Executive lounge access where available
• 48-hour room guarantee
• The ability to give elite status to another member once you hit 60 nights in a calendar year.

Credit card welcome offers help you earn an influx of points within a short amount of time, and Hilton Honors welcome offers can be worth a few free hotel stays right off the bat. Just remember that you have to meet a minimum spending requirement to qualify for these offers and that you should only pursue bonuses you can easily earn through regular spending and bills.

The ongoing earning rate is another critical feature to consider when choosing a credit card, and the co-branded Hilton credit cards all have a standard earning rate of 3X Hilton Honors points per $1. The Platinum Card^® from American Express and the American Express^® Gold Card both earn 1X Membership Rewards points per $1 in non-bonus categories, which is effectively 2X Hilton points based on the transfer ratio. If you’re looking strictly for Hilton points, any of the four co-branded cards might be a better choice.

You should also factor in the rewards you can earn for paid Hilton stays and other types of purchases. All of the Hilton credit cards offer elevated earning rates ranging from 5X in select categories to 14X points at Hilton hotels.

The co-branded Hilton cards all earn Hilton Honors points you can redeem for free nights at Hilton hotels and resorts around the world. Other redemption options for Hilton Honors points include experiences (concerts, dining, sporting events and more), Lyft rides, shopping and rental cars.

No matter which of these cards you pick, you have the same redemption options for your Hilton Honors points.

While avoiding annual fees on credit cards makes sense when you want to keep costs down, annual-fee credit cards offer much better rewards and more valuable perks. You should weigh the value of the rewards and benefits against the card’s cost — you may find that you come up much farther ahead with an annual fee card than with a no-annual-fee card.

Let’s say you’re considering the Hilton Honors American Express Surpass^® Card with its $150 annual fee. You would need to decide if the benefits are worth it or not, which you can do by adding up the value of the welcome offer and perks like Hilton Honors Gold status* and up to $200 in Hilton statement credits (up to $50 quarterly).

There are multiple Hilton credit cards that offer a free night reward as a cardholder perk:

• You’ll need to reach a spend threshold of $15,000 to earn a free night with the Hilton Honors American Express Surpass^® Card.
• As the premium card option, the Hilton Honors Aspire Card from American Express** offers this night outright for every year you’re a card member.

Hilton Honors offers a fifth-night free benefit on award stays to its elite members as a 20% discount off the total number of points required for the stay. All co-branded Hilton credit cards provide some level of Hilton elite status after you enroll in the Hilton Honors program, from lowly Silver with the Hilton Honors American Express Card* to top-tier Diamond status* from the Hilton Honors Aspire Card from American Express**. Picking any Hilton credit card lets you take advantage of the Hilton fifth-night free benefit.

Only the more premium Hilton credit cards offer travel credits as a perk:

• The Hilton Honors Aspire Card from American Express** comes with multiple travel credits, including up to a $400 resort credit annually (up to $200 semi-annually), an annual airline incidental credit of up to $200* (up to $50 quarterly) and a $100 on-property credit for two or more nights at Conrad and Waldorf Astoria properties.
• The Platinum Card^® from American Express offers a number of travel credits as well, including up to a $120 Global Entry/TSA PreCheck application fee credit*, two $50 semi-annual Saks credits*, and up to $200 per year ($15 per month and a bonus $20 in December) in Uber Cash for U.S. Uber rides and U.S. UberEats purchases when you add the card to the Uber app*.

Hilton has a dedicated landing page where you can buy, gift, pool or transfer points. You’ll need to have an open Hilton Honors account to be able to buy Hilton points for yourself.

You typically need a FICO credit score of at least 670 to 850 to qualify for a Hilton Honors credit card issued directly by the network, which includes the lineup of Hilton cards. Good FICO Scores start at 670, the minimum you may need to be approved. Application approval is always dependent on each individual’s overall credit profile.

You can apply for many of the cards on this page through the “Apply Now” button. You can also go to the Hilton website or the American Express website, or call American Express. After applying, American Express will check your credit score and credit history to see if you qualify and potentially instantly approve you for a new card, sometimes even offering an instant card number.

If you’ve held your Hilton Honors American Express Card for at least 12 months, you may be able to upgrade it to either the Hilton Honors American Express Surpass^® Card or the Hilton Honors Aspire Card from American Express**. If you have held your Hilton Honors American Express Surpass^® Card for at least 12 months, you may be able to upgrade it to the Hilton Honors Aspire Card from American Express.

You cannot upgrade the Hilton Honors Aspire Card from American Express or the Hilton Honors American Express Business Card. American Express often sends out upgrade offers for their Hilton credit cards.

American Express issues a credit limit on its cards specific to the cardholder. Your individual credit limit will be based on your income, credit history and other factors.