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Hilton
- The only business card offered by Hilton, the Hilton Honors American Express Business Card is great for business owners with large business expenses, who frequently stay at Hilton Hotels.
- The welcome bonus alone can be worth 10 years of annual fees, with the ability to earn several free nights a year.
- The card comes with complimentary Hilton Gold status, with the ability to earn even more perks under Hilton Diamond status - the highest elite status Hilton offers.
- The AmEx Hilton Honors Business Card comes with all of the benefits of an American Express OPEN card, including rental car insurance and select discounts.
There are both a lot of small business cards and a lot of hotel credit cards to choose from. But when it comes to combining the two, the AmEx Hilton Honors Business Card is one of the best - particularly for those who value staying with the Hilton network of hotels.
With a moderate annual fee of $95, and a welcome bonus of 125,000 bonus points for spending $3,000 in the first three months, it's easy to earn your membership worth with the AmEx Hilton Honors Business. Plus as the only business card offered by Hilton, its benefits exceed two of the three personal cards, the Hilton Honors American Express Ascend Card and the Hilton Honors American Express Card.
One personal card, the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card, has a better set of benefits and a higher bonus, but you'll have to pay a $450 annual fee upfront.
Why it's great for business owners
This card is great for business owners as its earn and spend structure benefits those with large business costs - particularly hotel stays and
While the most publicized facet of the card is that you earn 12x bonus points for every dollar spent at Hilton hotels, it's important to note you also earn 6x points for every business expense in general. This includes:
- Car rentals
- Gas
- Airfare (purchased direct from airlines)
- Restaurants
- Cell phone contracts
- Shipping
With food, travel, lodging, and rental car costs including gas covered, virtually everything in a business trip qualifies for 6x Hilton points. This could mean up to 5,940 points earned for a single business trip (based on an estimated business trip total of $990). All other purchases earn a flat 3x points.
Additionally, the AmEx Hilton Honors Business is part of the AmEx OPEN card network, which adds an additional 5% savings on Hertz reservations and FedEx, and covers rental cars through the AmEx Car Rental Protection program. For a small business with shipping and travel costs, this adds up both in direct discounts and points earned.
Business owners can also easily add employee cards to their AmEx Hilton Honors Business card account for free, quickly earning points to one account across all employee spending. And because AmEx doesn't show up on your personal credit report, small business owners don't have to worry about hard credit pulls affecting their credit score.
Why it's great for Hilton travelers
While it's very easy to earn point on this card, it should be again noted those points are exclusively redeemable at Hilton Hotels, and their extended network. As such, it's really a card that's best for those who frequently stay with hotels in the Hilton network. For those looking to select a hotel chain to align themselves with, it's worth noting Hilton is the fifth largest chain globally, with a total of 4,727 properties. If you're happy with your points and perks being geared toward Hilton stays, the card has tremendous benefits.
Earning free stays
The first and foremost way to take advantage of this card is by earnings free stays.
You'll get a huge bump right off the bat by taking advantage of the 125,000 bonus points earned for spending $3,000 in the first 3 months of signing up. Hilton doesn't have an award chart so you won't know how much your benefits are worth until you look at specific rooms, however these points aren't small by any estimate. Using the Hilton booking portal we found the welcome bonus to have a value ranging from $650 to $1,000 dollars. Third-party estimates have found the value to be as high as $1,400 (if you optimize your booking).
Beyond the points, you'll earn a free weekend night (includes Friday through Sunday) after spending $15,000 in the first calendar year. You'll earn a second weekend stay after spending an additional $45,000 in the first calendar year. The nights are redeemable for any standard accommodation room at almost every Hilton property, and the offer is valid for one year.
Complimentary Gold status
The AmEx Hilton Honors Business qualifies you for automatic Gold status, which includes a host of its own benefits and reward boosts. These include:
- An 80% bonus on base points earned while staying at Hilton.
- Complimentary late check-out
- Free continental breakfast.
- Room upgrades at participating hotels and resorts (when available).
Gold status also comes with an added benefit of a fifth night free when booking a four-night stay with points. Which means you can utilize your welcome bonus points even further, if you put your 125,000 balance toward a location that can be booked for four nights with your points.
Cardholders who spend more than $40,000 in a calendar year are also eligible for Hilton Diamond status, the highest elite status offered by the Hilton. Additional benefits for Diamond members include Executive Lounge access (for cardholder plus one guest), 48-hour room guarantee, and the ability to gift Gold status to another member of their choice. Diamond status members also earn 100% on their Hilton Base points.
Additional perks
While the AmEx Hilton Honors Business is primarily geared toward hotel perks, there are a few other general perks for cardholders.
- 10 visits a year to any of the 1,000+ Priority Pass airport lounges.
- A free ShopRunner membership, which gets you free two-day shipping at 100+ stores.
- An extension of original manufacturer's warranty up to two additional years (on US warranties of five years or less) through AmEx.
Bottom line
The AmEx Hilton Honors Business is an excellent card for those who match the intended profile: business owners with a preference for Hilton stays. The earn boosts cover virtually every facet of spending during a business trip, and the points earned and benefits are very valuable when redeemed for stays at Hilton properties.
The card presents a combined variety of benefits from being both an American Express OPEN card and Hilton elite status card, and has superior benefits to the Hilton Ascend or Hilton Honors personal cards.
Its $95 annual fee is justifiable in a case where the user qualifies for the welcome bonus, and particularly so for users who spend more than $15,000 in a calendar year.
Click here to learn more about the AmEx Hilton Honors Business Card from Insider Picks' partner The Points Guy.
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