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Hilton's co-brand card aimed at business owners, The Hilton Honors American Express Business Card, provides small business owners the chance to earn more Hilton Honor points from spending, as well as the ability to spend towards status and an extra free night reward. However, the card has also lost (or is soon losing) several of its key benefits while adding others that may change your opinion of the card.
Because it also provides automatic Hilton Gold status and the chance to spend towards Hilton Diamond status, this may be the right card for your business travel needs. Here's what you need to know about this card.
Page Contents
- Hilton Business Card Pros
- Hilton Business Card Cons
- Hilton Business Card Welcome Offer
- Hilton Business Card Benefits
- Free Night Reward after spending $15K
- Second Free Night Reward after spending $60K in a year
- Complimentary Hilton Honors Gold Elite status
- 10 Priority Pass™ lounge passes each year
- National Car Rental Emerald Club Executive status
- Up to $240 in statement credits at Hilton properties each year
- No foreign transaction fees
- Hilton Business Card Earning Rates
- Redeeming Points With the Hilton Business Card
- Application Restrictions
- Cards That Compete With the Hilton Business Card
- Final Thoughts
Hilton Business Card Pros
- Receive automatic Hilton Gold status, plus the ability to spend your way to Hilton Diamond status.
- Earn 5x Hilton Honors points on everyday spending for the first $100,000 of annual purchases.
Hilton Business Card Cons
- Hilton points tend to be worth less than other hotel points.
- Free Night Rewards and Priority Pass benefits are going away on June 30, 2024.
- Use of benefits to justify the $195 annual fee is complicated (Rates & Fees).
Hilton Business Card Welcome Offer
Earn 175,000 Hilton Honors points after spending $8,000 in the first six months of card membership. This offer is available through June 5, 2024.
For context, that's close to the best-ever offer in this card's history.
What can you do with these points? 100,000 Honors points is enough for 20 nights at the Hilton Garden Inn Bali Ngurah Rai Airport (excluding fifth-night-free redemptions), one of the best hotels priced at Hilton’s lowest free night award rate of 5,000 points. Alternatively, book one night at the Conrad Tokyo, which runs 95,000 points per night in peak season.
Hilton Business Card Benefits
Free Night Reward after spending $15K
The Hilton Business Card earns a Free Night Reward after you spend $15,000 on purchases each calendar year. For many, that's an achievable spending target for a small business card. Once you learn how to use these valuable Free Night Rewards, you can redeem them across Hilton’s portfolio of hotels and resorts with very few excluded properties. This free night can be worth hundreds of dollars.
Note that this benefit is going away on June 30, 2024. Spending through that date is eligible for the benefit.
Second Free Night Reward after spending $60K in a year
$60,000 is a substantial target to hit for a Free Night Reward certificate. At the same time, the ability to earn two free nights per year on a card is a big plus. Furthermore, that’s not accounting for the points earned while reaching that target. With a minimum earning rate of 3x points for non-bonus spending, you’d also walk away with at least 180,000 Hilton Honors points while earning both of your free night awards. That could be enough for two nights added on at Hilton properties where you're redeeming the free night certificates.
This benefit also ends on June 30, 2024.
Related: All the Credit Cards That Earn Hilton Points
Complimentary Hilton Honors Gold Elite status
A few creature comforts when traveling can make your time away from home that much more bearable. The Hilton Business Card provides complimentary Gold Elite status, which entitles you to free breakfast or a food and beverage credit each day, the possibility of room upgrades, and late checkout. If you are striking out for the second free night certificate at $60,000 of spending, a welcome byproduct of that effort is receiving Hilton Diamond status as you cross the $40K spend line. Enrollment is required for select Amex benefits.
Related: Using Hilton Credit Card Spending for Elite Status
10 Priority Pass™ lounge passes each year
Lounge access is a surefire way of easing the burdens of business travel, and the Hilton Business Card will continue to offer 10 complimentary Priority Pass lounge passes annually, but only for the next few months. The lounge access benefit on the Hilton Business Card isn’t the unlimited free access we see on premium business cards like The Business Platinum Card® from American Express.
Given that Hilton's personal credit cards lost this benefit, we were expecting it to end on this card also. If you enrolled prior to June 30, 2023, your Priority Pass membership from this card will end on July 1, 2024. However, if you enrolled for Priority Pass Select between July 1, 2023 and June 30, 2024, your membership will last through March 31, 2025
National Car Rental Emerald Club Executive status
After enrollment, receive complimentary National Car Rental Emerald Club executive status for upgrades and accelerated earnings, as well as skip-the-line privileges.
Related: How To Get Rental Car Elite Status for Free
Up to $240 in statement credits at Hilton properties each year
Use your Hilton Business Card for purchases made directly with a property in the Hilton Honors portfolio to receive quarterly statement credits to offset your spending. This benefit is available as a maximum of $60 per quarter for a maximum of $240 per year. Eligible charges include bookings and incidental charges.
No foreign transaction fees
Hilton cards don't levy foreign transaction fees (Rates & Fees). When a card charges 2%–3% foreign transaction fees for purchases made outside the U.S., it wipes out any gains made from picking up points on overseas spending. Luckily, you won't pay those fees on this card.
Hilton Business Card Earning Rates
The Hilton Business Card earns a solid 12x bonus points at Hilton properties worldwide. That's in addition to the 10 base points you’ll make as a Hilton Honors member and the 80% bonus earned from Gold status (which you receive automatically as a cardholder). If you’re paying for your stay with the Hilton Business Card, you’re bagging at least 30 points per dollar spent before taking into account any of Hilton's regular promos which can often stack for enormous value.
This card previously offered unlimited 6x bonus points in business spending categories. However, a March 28, 2024 update to the card removed those earning rates. Instead, you'll earn 5x on the first $100,000 of eligible purchases (those aside from Hilton spending); after passing the $100k limit, you'll earn 3x for the rest of the year.
Related: How Many Points Can You Earn on Hilton Stays?
Redeeming Points With the Hilton Business Card
It's easy to redeem earned Hilton Honors points. American Express automatically deposits the points into your account, and you can use them multiple ways. Luckily, as long as there's activity in your Hilton account every 24 months, your points won't expire.
Related: 9 Things We Love About the Hilton Honors Rewards Program
Hotel stays
Booking hotel stays is the most valuable use of your Hilton points. Budget friendly Hilton brands like Hilton Garden Inn and Hampton Inn start at just 4,000 Hilton points per night, while brands like Waldorf Astoria and Conrad start just under 70,000 Hilton points per night.
Keep in mind that the elite cardholder status that comes with this card qualifies you for the fifth night free on awards stays, so staying at least five nights will always ensure your highest point value.
To search for rooms using your Hilton points, click on the “special rates” button on Hilton's website. From there, click on “Use Points.”
Other Hilton point redemption options
You'll always get the most value out of your points by booking award stays, but there are other, less valuable ways to redeem your Hilton points, including:
- Hilton Honors experiences
- Ticketmaster
- Lyft rides
- Amazon products
- Car rentals
- Transferring points to airlines
While award bookings remain the best use of Hilton Honors points, learn more about your other options in our deep dive covering the Hilton Honors program.
Application Restrictions
American Express only allows you to earn the welcome offer once per lifetime on each rewards card. So if you currently hold, or have held a specific Amex card in the past, you won’t be eligible to receive the welcome offer for that card again. As per the Amex application page:
“You may not be eligible to receive a welcome offer if you have or have had this Card or previous versions of this Card. You also may not be eligible to receive a welcome offer based on various factors, such as your history with credit card balance transfers, your history as an American Express Card Member, the number of credit cards that you have opened and closed and other factors. If you are not eligible for a welcome offer, we will notify you prior to processing your application so you have the option to withdraw your application.”
Additionally, you can only hold five credit cards from Amex at any time and won't be approved for more than two cards within 90 days.
Finally, Amex includes the following language about the business for which you're applying:
“By submitting this application, you, as an individual and the Authorizing Officer of the Company, (a) are requesting us to open an Account in the name of the Company, (b) are requesting that we issue Card(s) as you direct, (c) are agreeing to be jointly and severally liable with the Company for all charges to the account, and (d) are REPRESENTING THAT ALL CARD(S) ISSUED ON THE ACCOUNT WILL ONLY BE USED FOR COMMERCIAL OR BUSINESS PURPOSES.”
However, if you think you don't qualify for a business credit card, you may be surprised to find out that you do. Selling items online, pet sitting, freelancing, and other paid services you provide can qualify.
Related: Understanding Rewards Credit Card Application Rules and Restrictions
Cards That Compete With the Hilton Business Card
(Terms apply)
- 6x Marriott Bonvoy points on each dollar of eligible purchases at hotels participating in the Marriott Bonvoy™ program
- 4x Marriott Bonvoy points on each dollar of eligible purchases made at restaurants worldwide, at U.S. gas stations, on wireless telephone services purchased directly from U.S. service providers and on U.S. purchases for shipping
- 2x Marriott Bonvoy points per dollar on all other eligible purchases
(Terms apply)
- Earn 5X Membership Rewards® points on flights and prepaid hotels on amextravel.com.
- Earn 1.5X Membership Rewards® points on each eligible purchase of $5,000 or more.
- Earn 1.5X Membership Rewards® points on each eligible purchase with U.S. construction material and hardware suppliers.
- Earn 1.5X Membership Rewards® points on each eligible purchase with U.S. electronic goods retailers and software & cloud system providers.
- Earn 1.5X Membership Rewards® points on each eligible purchase with U.S. shipping providers.
- 1.5X earning rates are subject to a cap of $2 million in purchases per calendar year.
(Terms Apply)
- Earn 2X Membership Rewards® points on everyday business purchases such as office supplies or client dinners. 2X applies to the first $50,000 in purchases per year, 1 point per dollar thereafter.
- If you want a business hotel card and aren't loyal to Hilton, try the Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card. You'll earn 6X at Marriott Bonvoy properties and 4X in several key business spending categories. You'll also receive complimentary Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite status as a cardholder and a free night award on each account anniversary, worth up to 35,000 points. Learn more in our detailed Marriott Bonvoy Business Card review.
- If you want Hilton Gold status and more flexibility for your points, The Business Platinum Card® from American Express offers both. You can enroll for complimentary Gold status with both Hilton and Marriott, claim hundreds of dollars in annual spending credits, get top-notch travel perks (including lounge access), and can transfer your points to 21 airline and hotel programs, including Hilton Honors. See our full Business Platinum Card review for more details. Enrollment is required for select Amex benefits.
- If you want Hilton points without an annual fee, The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express is a solid option for earning points without paying an annual fee (Rates & Fees). You'll earn 2x on the first $50,000 of annual purchases without worrying about spending categories (and 1x thereafter) and can transfer these points to Hilton and other rewards programs for travels. Our Blue Business Plus review has more information.
Related: The Best Small Business Credit Card Offers This Month
Final Thoughts
The Hilton Business Card offers high-value benefits that make it a standout mid-tier business rewards card. In addition to a substantial welcome offer, new cardholders receive instant Gold Elite status, which we think is the best mid-tier hotel status. You also have the opportunity to earn Diamond status after $40K in spending.
You can earn two Free Night Rewards if you can put enough spend on the card each year, and the 10 free lounge passes are a great perk for any small business owner, providing comfort during your travels without the need to drop hundreds of dollars in annual fees. If you travel for business, the Hilton Business Card can be a great alternative to a premium business card, and it doesn't have the prohibitive cost associated with other cards.
For rates and fees of the cards mentioned in this post, please visit the following links: The Hilton Honors American Express Business Card (Rates & Fees), Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card (Rates & Fees), The Business Platinum Card® from American Express (Rates & Fees), and The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express (Rates & Fees)
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