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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.
Hilton Honors American Express Business Card
Rewards Rate
- 12x points on eligible purchases made directly with hotels and resorts within the Hilton portfolio
- 5x points on other purchases on the first $100,000 each calendar year (3x thereafter)
Limited Time Offer
Earn 175,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points after you spend $8,000 in purchases on the Hilton Honors American Express Business Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Offer Ends 1/14/2026.
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
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
For general travel rewards
Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card
All information about the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card has been collected independently by Erika.com. The Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card is no longer available through Erika.com.
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
- 5x total points on Lyft rides through 9/30/27
- 1x per dollar spent everywhere else
Welcome Offer
Earn 100k bonus points after you spend $8,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
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.
For Marriott rewards
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 up to 125,000 Marriott Bonvoy® Bonus Points. Earn 75,000 Marriott Bonvoy® bonus points after you use your new Card to make $6,000 in eligible purchases and an extra 50,000 bonus points after you make an additional $3,000 in eligible purchases within the first 6 months of Card Membership.
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.
For no annual fee and flexible rewards
The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express
Rewards Rate
- 2x points on everyday business purchases such as office supplies or client dinners on the first $50,000 in purchases per year (1x thereafter)
- 1x points on all purchases after that (terms and limitations apply)
Welcome Offer
Earn 15,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $3,000 in eligible purchases on the Card within your first 3 months of Card Membership.
Annual Fee
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 Rewards 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.
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.
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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.
