Key takeaways

  • The Hilton Honors American Express Card is Hilton’s only no-annual-fee card.

  • This card is a solid choice for people who prefer staying at Hilton properties, but might not do so often enough to justify paying an annual fee.

  • One of the top benefits of this card is that it provides complimentary Hilton Honors™ Silver Status, which opens the door to many additional Hilton rewards.

For loyal Hilton customers and frequent travelers, the Hilton Honors American Express Card has plenty of attractive features that make it worth considering. This hotel credit card earns Hilton Honors points and comes with a range of benefits from both Hilton and American Express.

Hilton Honors American Express Card highlights

Card highlights

  • Rewards: 7X points for eligible purchases charged on your Card directly with a hotel or resort within the Hilton portfolio, 5X points at U.S. supermarkets, U.S. gas stations and U.S. restaurants and 3X points on all other purchases
  • Welcome bonus: For a limited time, earn 100,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points after you spend $2,000 in purchases on the Hilton Honors American Express Card in the first 6 months of membership (offer ends January 8, 2025).
  • Annual fee: $0
  • Foreign transaction fees: None
  • APR: 20.24 percent to 29.24 percent variable

Earning points

One of the main benefits of the Hilton Honors American Express Card is the opportunity to earn Hilton Honors points on purchases. The card earns 7X points on Hilton hotel and resort stays, 5X points at U.S. supermarkets, U.S. gas stations and U.S. restaurants and 3X points on everything else.

You can use these points for:

  • Nights at Hilton hotels and resorts
  • Concert tickets
  • Unique dining experiences
  • Sporting events tickets
  • Lyft rides
  • Online shopping
  • Rental cars
  • Conversions into airline miles with Hilton’s travel partners

Aside from earning points on purchases you make with your Hilton Honors American Express Card, there are a few other ways you can earn and share points. For example, you can pool points with up to 10 other members for a shared trip or family getaway. You can also buy extra points, turn points into charitable gifts or transfer them to friends or family members.

Travel benefits

In addition to earning points, you’re sure to love these Hilton Honors Amex Card travel benefits.

Hilton Honors™ Silver Status

The Hilton Honors American Express Card also comes with plenty of travel benefits, including automatic Hilton Honors Silver Status. Some of the perks of Silver Status include:

  • A 20 percent earning bonus on hotel stays
  • Free bottled water
  • Elite Rollover Nights
  • All-inclusive spa discount
  • Free Wi-Fi access
  • Exclusive access to Hilton Honors Experiences
  • Digital check-in
  • Choice of available rooms

On top of that, you also have the opportunity to qualify for Hilton Honors Gold Status if you spend $20,000 on eligible purchases in a calendar year. Gold Status comes with perks like an 80 percent earning bonus on hotel stays, potential room upgrades and a daily food and beverage credit.

Fifth Night Free benefit

Cardholders can also take advantage of Hilton’s Fifth Night Free benefit, which allows members using points to book five consecutive nights (or more) to get their fifth night free. So, if each night is worth 10,000 points and you book 5 nights, you’ll only have to pay 40,000 points instead of 50,000. This perk is also stackable up to 20 nights, so you can also get your tenth, fifteenth and twentieth night free.

No foreign transaction fee

Unlike many rewards cards, the Hilton Honors American Express Card doesn’t charge foreign transaction fees. This means that you can use your card to shop abroad or on stays overseas without incurring any additional charges.

Car rental loss and damage insurance

This travel credit card comes with car rental loss and damage insurance, which means that you can decline the rental car company’s insurance and save money when you use your card to rent a car while traveling.

Global assist hotline

The global assist hotline provides personalized customer service if any issues come up when you’re traveling. The hotline can provide help for anything from missing passports and lost luggage to emergency legal and medical referrals.

Additional benefits

This card also comes with some additional standard (and a few not-so-standard) benefits like fraud protection and Amex Send and Split.

No annual fee

Unlike other Hilton Honors cards, the Hilton Honors American Express Card charges no annual fee. This means that no matter how much or little you spend using the card, you’ll always come out ahead at the end of the year.

American Express Experiences

Cardholders have access to exclusive ticket presales and events as part of the American Express Experiences program. For example, cardholders can take advantage of 2025 promotions like:

  • Live plays: See musicals like “Cabaret” and “Hells Kitchen: A New Broadway Musical”
  • Sporting events: Get access to premium hospitality at The American Express® Golf Tournament and VIP Access to the Grand Prix de Monaco
  • Concerts: Experience Carrie Underwood’s “REFLECTION” Las Vegas residency and festivals like Stagecoach 2025
  • Virtual events: Curated experiences like cooking classes, fitness classes, comedy performances and retail “first looks”

Amex Send and Split

Send and Split allows cardholders to send money and split purchases via PayPal and Venmo within the American Express mobile app. Plus, you’ll still earn rewards on the purchases you split. Whether you need to pay a friend back for coffee or split rent with your roommate, it’s easy to do so within the app.

Fraud protection

Fraud protection protects cardholders in case there are any fraudulent purchases made using your card. If you notice any suspicious purchases that you think may be fraudulent, you can get in touch with Amex customer service using the number on the back of your card.

Additional cards

Get additional cards for your children, spouse or other people who make purchases for you. By signing up your loved ones as authorized users on your account, you’ll be able to track spending and earn Hilton Honors points faster.

Pay It, Plan It

The Hilton Honors American Express Card also comes with a Pay It, Plan It feature, which gives cardholders unique options when it comes to paying off their balance. You can use the “Pay It” feature to make payments on purchases under $100 throughout the month. With the “Plan It” feature, you can select purchases over $100 and split them up into monthly payments — although it is subject to a fixed plan fee.

Year-end summary

Like many top rewards credit cards, the Hilton Honors American Express Card gives cardholders the ability to review their annual spending through a year-end summary. This can help you to see how much you’ve spent throughout the year and what your top spending categories were.

The bottom line

If you like to stay at Hilton hotels and resorts when you travel, the Hilton Honors American Express Card is an easy choice. With hotel credit card perks like complimentary Hilton Honors Silver Status as well as no foreign transaction fees, this American Express credit card is a great way to earn points towards free hotel stays and more.

On the other hand, if you’re not a frequent traveler or aren’t brand-loyal to Hilton, an all-purpose rewards credit card might be a better choice.

With no annual fee, this card is also a budget-friendly option for customers looking for a Hilton rewards card. But if you don’t mind an annual fee in exchange for even more lucrative benefits, other Hilton credit cards like the Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card and the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Credit Card* are also worth considering.

Issuer-required disclosure statement

Information about the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Credit Card has been collected independently by Bankrate. It has not been reviewed or approved by the issuer.

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