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 Card, Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card and 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.

Hilton Honors Card

• Earn 80,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points after you spend $1,000 in purchases on the Card in the first 3 months of Card Membership. Terms Apply.
• The Hilton Honors card does not have an annual fee. (Rates & Fees)

Hilton Surpass Card

• Earn 150,000 bonus points after spending $2,000 in the first 3 months from account opening. Terms Apply
• This card has a $95 annual fee which is NOT waived. (Rates & Fees)

Hilton Aspire Card

• Earn 150,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months from account opening. Terms Apply
• The Hilton Aspire card has a $450 annual fee which is NOT waived. (Rates & 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 Card

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

Hilton Surpass Card

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

Hilton Aspire Card

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

• Complimentary Hilton Honors Silver status
• Hilton Honors Gold status after spending $20,000 on the card in a calendar year
• Car rental loss and damage insurance: you can be covered for damage to or theft of a rental vehicle when you decline the rental company’s collision insurance and pay for the entire rental cost with your card (terms apply)
• No foreign transaction fees (Rates & Fees)

Hilton Surpass Card

• Earn a Free Night Reward after you spend $15,000 on your card in a calendar year
• Complimentary Hilton Honors Gold status
• Hilton Honors Diamond status after spending $40,000 on the card in a calendar year
• 10 complimentary Priority Pass lounge visits per year (enrollment required)
• Car rental loss and damage insurance: you can be covered for damage to or theft of a rental vehicle when you decline the rental company’s collision insurance and pay for the entire rental cost with your card (terms apply)
• No foreign transaction fees (Rates & Fees)

Hilton 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 $60,000 on your card in a calendar year
• Annual $250 in statement credits for eligible purchases made with Hilton resorts (renews each membership year)
• $250 statement credits for airline incidentals (renews each calendar year)
• $100 property credit when you book a 2 night minimum stay at hiltonhonorsaspirecard.com for qualifying charges at participating Waldorf Astoria and Conrad properties
• Complimentary Priority Pass Select membership
• Car rental loss and damage insurance: you can be covered for damage to or theft of a rental vehicle when you decline the rental company’s collision insurance and pay for the entire rental cost with your card (terms apply)
• Baggage insurance plan: you can be covered for lost, damaged, or stolen checked and carry-on baggage when you purchase the entire fare for a common carrier with your card (terms apply)
• No foreign transaction fees (Rates & Fees)

ToP Analysis

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

Hilton Honors 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 to make it worth holding on to the Hilton Honors card.

Hilton Surpass Card

The mid-tier Hilton Surpass card offers more robust perks in exchange for a $95 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 Aspire Card

The premium Hilton Aspire card offers a slew of benefits that more than make up for the card's $450 annual fee. The annual statement credits alone already add up to $600. The airline incidental credits 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!

• For rates and fees of the Hilton Honors please visit here
• For rates and fees of the Surpass please visit here
• For rates and fees of the Aspire please visit here

Travel on Point(s) has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Travel on Point(s) and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.