Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more.
When you own a business and travel often for work, having the right business credit card in your wallet can help you make the most of all those flights, hotel stays, and dinners out.
And if you often stay at Hilton properties, you may be considering applying for the Hilton Honors American Express Business Card.
This credit card heavily rewards Hilton hotel spending and comes with unique travel perks that can help make busy travel days a lot more relaxing (spoiler: free airport lounge access is coming your way).
That said, you need to be very loyal to Hilton to get the most out of this specific business credit card.
Quick Facts: Hilton Honors American Express Business Card
- Rewards rate: 12x points for eligible hotel or resort spending with Hilton; 5x points on other purchases on the first $100,000 each calendar year (3x thereafter)
- Welcome offer: Earn 175,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points after you spend $8,000 in purchases on the Hilton Honors Business Card within the first six months of Card Membership. Offer ends 1/8/2025.
- Annual fee: $195 (rates and fees)
. . .
Overview of the Hilton Honors American Express Business Card
The main thing to understand about the Hilton Honors American Express Business Card is that it’s focused on rewarding travelers who frequently stay on Hilton properties.
To start, you automatically earn complimentary Hilton Honors Gold Status with this card, which grants you an 80% bonus on the Base Points you earn on every stay. You can also qualify for room upgrades at select properties and other perks.
If you enjoy traveling internationally, you can use this credit card to save some money, as it doesn’t charge foreign transaction fees.
This card does come with an annual fee, but it can be easily offset if you make regular Hilton purchases.
Pros
- Generous welcome offer
- Strong rewards structure for Hilton fans
- Complimentary Hilton Honors Gold Status
- Free night awards
Cons
- No anniversary reward
- Annual fee
- Rewards are mostly limited to U.S. spending
LEARN MORE: Hilton Honors American Express Business Card
Perks and Benefits
The Hilton Honors American Express Business Card is, of course, a Hilton credit card, so the best perks have to do with Hilton hotels.
Automatically, you qualify for Hilton Honors Gold Status just by having the card. Being at this level gives you an 80% bonus on Base Points you earn on every stay. You can also qualify for space-available room upgrades at select properties, among other benefits.
After you spend $15,000 in purchases on your card in a calendar year, you earn one Free Night Award at a Hilton property. To earn a second free night reward, you have to spend an additional $45,000 in the same calendar year.
Once you qualify for a higher status, you can start to access even better benefits. To qualify for Hilton Honors Diamond Status, you need to spend $40,000 on eligible purchases made using the credit card in a calendar year.
Doing so will grant you perks like a 100% bonus on all Base Points you earn on every stay, premium wifi at select properties, and a daily food and beverage credit at select brands in the U.S. You also gain free executive lounge access once you reach Diamond Status.
Who Should Get the Hilton Honors American Express Business Card?
If you travel a lot for business and book hotel stays at Hilton properties often, you can earn a lot of rewards and fun perks with the Hilton Honors American Express Business Card, like room upgrades.
But the neat thing about this card is you can enjoy its benefits even when you aren’t at your hotel — like when you can use the Priority Pass Select membership to enter airport lounges around the globe free of charge.
If you are a heavy Hilton spender, you can even qualify for better membership status, which grants you even more helpful benefits.
Who Shouldn’t Get the Hilton Honors American Express Business Card?
If you don’t often book Hilton hotel stays, you’re better off saving the annual fee on this card and searching for a general travel credit card that will reward your typical spending habits.
If you do travel a lot and are willing to be more loyal to this hotel chain, the card can be worth it, but you do have to commit to booking with Hilton for this credit card to make sense.
Even if you like Hilton hotels, you need to travel a decent amount to really take advantage of the points on eligible Hilton portfolio resorts or hotels and perks like free nights and room upgrades.
Alternatives to the Hilton Honors American Express Business Card
Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card
- Rewards rate: 3x points on every dollar spent on shipping, advertising with social media and search engines, internet, cable, phone, and travel — up to the first $150,000 spent in combined purchases in these categories; 1x per dollar spent everywhere else
- Welcome offer: Earn 90,000 bonus points after you spend $8,000 on purchases in the first 3 months
- Annual fee: $95
. . .
If you're a small business owner who travels a lot but doesn’t care to only book with Hilton, you may want to consider the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card. Both cards come with an annual fee, but the Hilton Amex's is much higher.
You won’t earn Hilton rewards points with this credit card. Instead, you earn more general Chase Ultimate Rewards® points that you can then use to book hotel and airline stays with a multitude of travel partners. You can also redeem these points for things like car rentals.
LEARN MORE: Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card
Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card
- Rewards rate: 6x points on Marriott Bonvoy® hotels; 4x points at U.S. gas stations, worldwide restaurants, and U.S. wireless phone services; 2x points on all other eligible purchases
- Welcome offer:Earn 3 Free Night Awards after you use your new Card to make $6,000 in eligible purchases within the first 6 months of Card Membership. Each Free Night Award has a redemption level up to 50,000 Marriott Bonvoy® points, for a total potential value of up to 150,000 points, at hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy®. Certain hotels have resort fees. Terms apply.
- Annual fee: $125 (rates and fees)
. . .
Do you prefer Marriott hotels to Hilton? If so, you may want to consider the Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card for booking business trips.
It comes with a lower annual fee than the Hilton Honors Amex, and you earn a free hotel stay each year without having to meet any spending thresholds. In many cases, this free stay can easily cancel out the cost of the annual fee. You just have to make sure you book the stay at a property costing 35,000 points or less.
LEARN MORE: Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card
Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express
- Rewards rate: 2x points on everyday business purchases (up to the first $50,000 annually, then 1x points); 1x points on all other purchases
- Welcome offer: Earn 15,000 Membership Rewards Points after spending $3,000 in purchases in your first 3 months
- Annual fee: $0 (rates and fees)
. . .
The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express makes it possible to earn Hilton points indirectly. Your Membership Rewards points can transfer to Hilton at a rate of 1 Membership Reward point to 2 Hilton Honors points. On special occasions, there are even transfer bonuses that increase that rate.
It’s straightforward to earn points with the Blue Business Plus, which can simplify things. And there is no annual fee either, which may better suit your spending habits.
That said, you won’t gain automatic Hilton Honors Gold Status like you would with the Hilton Honors American Express Business Card.
LEARN MORE: Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express
The Bottom Line
If you're a big fan of Hilton hotels, you can benefit significantly from the Hilton Honors American Express Business Card. Scoring 12x points on Hilton spending is a pretty impressive rate, so those work trips could easily add up if it's your preferred place to stay.
. . .
Disclosure: Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.
