Amex Hilton Personal Cards Review & Comparison

Amex offers 3 co-branded Hilton personal credit cards. Each card of these cards can help award travelers make the most of Hilton's massive global footprint and offer something different. In our Amex Hilton Personal cards review & comparison we will look at the welcome offer, earning structure card benefits and our overall thoughts on the following cards:

• Hilton Honors American Express Card
• Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card
• Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card

All information about the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card has been collected independently by Travel on Point(s). 

Current Welcome Offers For Hilton Personal Cards

Here are the current offers for each of the Hilton personal cards. Remember you may want to plan your applications in case there is ever a Hilton Family Rule.

Hilton Honors American Express Card

• Earn 100,000 Hilton Honors points after $2,000 spend on eligible purchases in the first 6 months from account opening. Terms Apply.
  • Offer ends 1/8/25
• The Hilton Honors card does not have an annual fee. See Rates and Fees.

Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card

• Earn 165,000 Hilton Honors points after $3,000 spend on eligible purchases in the first 6 months from account opening. Terms Apply.
  • Offer ends 1/8/25
• This card has a $150 annual fee. See Rates and Fees.

Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card

• Earn 175,000 bonus points after spending $6,000 on eligible purchases in the first 6 months from account opening. Terms Apply
  • You may need to click personal cards on the referral
  • Offer ends 1/8/25
• The Hilton Aspire card has a $550 annual fee. See Rates and Fees.

Amex Application Rules

If you choose to apply, remember that Amex typically will not approve you for more than two Amex credit cards during a 90-day period. They also have a limit of 5 credit cards per person, of which this is one. There is also  a 10 card limit on the colored Membership Rewards earning cards (of which this is not one of).

Amex also has a once per lifetime welcome offer rule on each card. This is more like every 5 – 7 years in reality though, and not actually your lifetime. That timeline is based off of when you last held a card, not when you last earned a welcome offer on the product though. If you are ineligible for the welcome offer for any reason American Express will usually let you know that with a pop-up before the application is processed. You can cancel the application at this time with no hard pull.

Amex Hilton Personal Cards Review & Comparison: Earning Structure

Here is the earning structure for each Hilton Honors earning American Express personal credit card.

Hilton Honors American Express Card

• 7x on eligible Hilton purchases
• 5x in the following areas on eligible purchases
  • U.S. restaurants
  • U.S. supermarkets
  • U.S. gas stations
• 3x on all other eligible purchases

Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card

• 12x at Hilton on eligible purchases
• 6x in the following areas on eligible purchases
  • U.S. restaurants
  • U.S. supermarkets
  • U.S. gas stations
• 4x on eligible U.S. online purchases
• 3x on all other eligible purchases

Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card

• 14x on eligible Hilton purchases
• 7x in the following areas on eligible purchases
  • Flights booked directly with airlines or AmexTravel.com
  • Car rentals booked directly with select car rental companies
  • U.S. restaurants
• 3x on all other eligible purchases

Hilton Personal Card Benefits

Benefits and perks vary among each of the 3 Hilton cards. As expected, benefits differ depending on each card's annual fee.

Hilton Honors American Express Card

• Complimentary Hilton Honors™ Silver status
• Hilton Honors™ Gold status after spending $20,000 on the card in a calendar year
• No foreign transaction fees. See Rates and Fees.

Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card

• Earn a Free Night Reward after you spend $15,000 on your card in a calendar year
• Complimentary Hilton Honors™ Gold status
• Get up to $50 in statement credits quarterly for eligible purchases made directly with a property in the Hilton portfolio on your Hilton Surpass Card.
  • That's up to $200 back annually.
• Hilton Honors™ Diamond status after spending $40,000 on the card in a calendar year
• National Car Rental® Emerald Club Executive® Status (enrollment required)
• No foreign transaction fees. See Rates and Fees.

Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card

• Complimentary Hilton Honors™ Diamond status
• Complimentary Free Night Reward upon card opening and every year upon membership renewal
• Earn an additional Free Night Reward after you spend $30,000 on your card and again if you spend $60,000 in a calendar year
• Get up to $200 in statement credits semi-annually for eligible purchases made directly with participating Hilton Resorts on your Hilton Aspire Card.
  • That's up to $400 back annually.
• Get up to $50 in statement credits each quarter in flight credits. That is a total of up to $200 back each year. This is a true flight credit, you just need to book directly with an airline.
• $100 property credit when you book a 2-night minimum stay at hiltonhonorsaspirecard.com for qualifying charges at participating Waldorf Astoria and Conrad properties
• National Executive status (enrollment required)
• Up to $199 in statement credits for CLEAR per calendar year
• No foreign transaction fees See Rates and Fees; Terms Apply.

ToP Analysis

Each of these cards offer value to Hilton loyalists and we will look at each one in more detail below.

Hilton Honors American Express Card

For those put off by an annual fee, the Hilton Honors card provides good value. It's nice to see complimentary Silver status without annual fee, but this is Hilton's lowest elite tier. Silver status doesn't give you much, but it does give you fifth night free on award stays. This alone can save you a lot of points and make it worth holding on to the Hilton Honors American Express Card.

Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card

The mid-tier Hilton Honors American Express Surpass card offers more robust perks in exchange for a $150 annual fee. Complimentary Gold status is the next elite tier above Silver, and unlocks room upgrades (subject to availability) and daily food & beverage credit (which has replaced free breakfast at U.S. properties). Hilton does not have the best track record with room upgrades for elites (regardless of level), but it can happen. The Free Night Reward after spending $15,000 is the card's biggest draw.  A Free Night Reward can save you a lot of cash or points on a stay at Hilton's many high-end properties around the world.

Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card

The premium Hilton Honors American Express Aspire card offers a slew of benefits that more than make up for the card's $550 annual fee. The annual statement credits alone already add up to over $600. That is before you consider the free night certificate each year.

The flight credit and the annual resort credits are especially easy to use and don't require you to jump through any hoops. The Hilton Aspire card is also the only credit card among the major hotel chains that grants complimentary top tier status.

Comparing All 3

All three of the Hilton cards has a compelling earning structure. As expected, they all reward Hilton purchases very well, with 7x, 12x, or 14x points per dollar. But each card also earns a lot of points at U.S. restaurants. And the Hilton Honors and Hilton Surpass cards also earn 5x and 6x at U.S. gas stations and U.S. supermarkets, respectively. It's odd to not see U.S. gas stations as a bonus category for the Hilton Aspire card. Frequent ToP readers know that not all points currencies are created equal, and one Hilton Honors point is not the same as one Membership Rewards point etc. But these Hilton cards are still solid earners.

Amex Hilton Personal Cards Review & Comparison: ToP Thoughts

Amex's co-branded Hilton cards offer good earning rates and some excellent benefits. Having at least one of these cards is a must for anyone looking to explore Hilton's massive global footprint. We at ToP are big fans of Hyatt, but Hilton's larger portfolio is too big to be ignored. Considering the cards' earning structure and card benefits, Amex's Hilton cards are quite impressive.

What do you think of Amex's co-branded Hilton personal cards? Come share your thoughts in our Facebook group!