Key takeaways
- American Express offers co-branded Hilton credit cards for every type of traveler, including the Hilton Honors American Express Card and the Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card.
- Where the Hilton Honors American Express Card has limited benefits and rewards in exchange for no annual fee, the Hilton Honors Surpass Card comes with a higher rewards rate and premium perks like Hilton Honors Gold status.
- The right card for you depends on your tolerance for annual fees, the benefits you want to have and how often you stay in Hilton properties.
American Express offers a range of co-branded credit cards that earn points in the Hilton Honors program and can help users earn rewards they can redeem at more than 8,000 Hilton properties around the world. The Hilton Honors American Express Card and the Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card are some of the most popular options, likely due to their free structures, rewards rates and available welcome offers.
But, these two cards aren’t one and the same. Where the Hilton Honors American Express Card is the brand’s no-annual-fee hotel credit card, the Hilton Honors Surpass card offers more rewards and benefits for a $150 annual fee (compared to the $550 annual fee on the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Credit Card*).
If you don’t mind paying a little more for a co-branded hotel card, you can still get a tad more in terms of a welcome bonus, plus the chance to earn more rewards for eligible Hilton purchases with the Surpass Card. The sections below compare the key benefits of these two hotel credit cards to help you find the right fit.
Main details
| Cards | Hilton Honors American Express Card | Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card |
|---|---|---|
| Rewards rate | Earn 7X points on eligible Hilton purchasesEarn 5X points at U.S. supermarkets, U.S. gas stations and U.S. restaurantsEarn 3X points on all other purchases | 12X points on Hilton hotels and resorts6X points at U.S. restaurants, U.S. supermarkets and U.S. gas stations4X points on U.S. online retail purchases including those at large marketplaces, boutique retailers, department stores, home supply and apparel stores, and more3X points on other eligible purchases |
| Welcome bonus | Earn 100,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points after you spend $2,000 in purchases on the card in the first 6 months of card membership (offer ends 1/8/2025) | Earn 165,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points after you spend $3,000 in purchases on the Card in the first 6 months of Card Membership (offer ends 1/8/2025) |
| Annual fee | $0 | $150 |
Hilton Honors American Express Card vs. Hilton Honors American Express Surpass Credit Card
When comparing these cards, it’s best to look at the features that are most important to you. A welcome bonus may be more important for some consumers, whereas others care more about rewards rates for spending. Either way, take a look at the differences in the cards below to choose the one that best matches your needs.
Welcome bonus winner
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Earning 165,000 bonus Hilton Honors points after spending $3,000 in your first six months is a generous welcome bonus (offer ends 1/8/2025).
However, Hilton Honors points are only worth around 0.6 cents each based on Bankrate’s latest points valuation, so this bonus would be worth around $990. But there are some circumstances where you can get great value from your points with award bookings—even more than the 0.6 cents average.
Even with the annual fee of $150, you still come out way ahead by earning the welcome bonus alone with the Surpass Card. When you add some of the other card features and perks, you’ll get even more value out of this card.
Rewards rate winner
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This card offers a solid rewards rate on eligible Hilton purchases, U.S. restaurants, supermarkets and gas station purchases. The rate on all other purchases is also pretty high:
- Earn 12X Hilton Honors points on eligible Hilton purchases
- Earn 6X at U.S. restaurants, supermarkets and gas stations
- Earn 4X points on U.S. online retail purchases including those at large marketplaces, boutique retailers, department stores, home supply and apparel stores and more
- Earn 3X on all other purchases
The Hilton Honors Surpass card comes out on top here because of the high rewards rate on common categories many families use like restaurants, supermarkets and gas stations. Using this card for all of these spending categories can help you earn award nights at Hilton properties pretty quickly.
The Hilton Honors American Express Card also offers bonus points at U.S. restaurants, gas stations and supermarkets, but at a slightly lower 5-point-per-dollar rate. And when it comes to earning on Hilton purchases, the Hilton Honors Amex brings in a much more modest 7X points.
Annual fee winner
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Even as a no-annual-fee travel card, the Hilton Honors American Express Card still offers significant rewards rates for many common spending categories:
- 7X Hilton Honors points on eligible Hilton purchases
- 5X points at U.S. supermarkets, U.S. gas stations and U.S. restaurants
- 3X points on all other purchases
Without an annual fee, you are still poised to net quite a bit of value with the welcome bonus and ongoing rewards. The card could even be an everyday spending card thanks to its common bonus categories.
Which card earns the most?
It’s likely the Surpass Card will help you earn more rewards over the course of a year since it has higher bonus rewards rates and more bonus categories overall. However, you can find this out by looking at your regular spending and running the numbers for yourself.
Hilton Honors American Express vs. Hilton Honors American Express Surpass spending example
Here’s a spending example that shows you what we mean. Imagine you travel fairly often and charge a lot of your personal expenses on a credit card. In that case, here’s what your monthly spending might look like:
- $700 per month for supermarket spending
- $300 gas stations
- $200 restaurants
- $300 on Hilton hotel stays
- $500 on other spending
With the no annual fee Hilton Honors American Express Card, you’d earn 115,200 bonus points annually, whereas the Surpass card would net you 147,600 bonus points each year. If you factor in the welcome bonuses for these cards, you could earn 215,200 or 312,600 points, respectively.
If you use the 0.6 cents valuation for Hilton Honors bonus points, the welcome bonus value is roughly equivalent to $600 or $990 towards Hilton stays, respectively. When you add in the first-year spending example, the total estimated value in rewards for these two cards works out to $1,261.20 for the Hilton Honors American Express Card and $1,875.60 for the Hilton Honors Surpass Card.
Even when you take the $150 annual fee on the Surpass card into account, it definitely comes out ahead in this spending example.
Why should you get the Hilton Honors American Express Card?
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The Hilton Honors American Express card doesn’t have many extras, but it does carry a few additional benefits like automatic Hilton Honors Silver elite status. Silver elite status comes with perks like digital check-in, free internet access, a fifth night free on award stays, two free bottles of water per stay and more.
If you spend $20,000 on your card within a calendar year, you can move up to Gold status through the end of the next calendar year without ever staying in a Hilton property.
Cardholders also receive secondary car rental insurance along with access to a Global Assist hotline that can help with lost passports, medical referrals, legal referrals and more when traveling away from home. This card doesn’t charge any foreign transaction fees, either.
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When it comes to redeeming points earned in the Hilton Honors program, the most popular redemption option is award nights at Hilton properties. Also, if you’re a Silver elite member or better, your fifth night is free when you book at least five consecutive nights with points.
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You will need to have good to excellent credit (670 to 850) for this card.
Why should you get the Hilton Honors American Express Surpass Credit Card?
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Since this card requires a $150 annual fee, you should expect a few extra perks and benefits:
- Automatic Hilton Honors Gold status, which comes with space-available room upgrades, daily food and beverage credits (or continental breakfast) and milestone bonuses
- Access to the Premium Global Assist Hotline
- Access to members-only Amex experiences like sporting events, Broadway shows and more
- Yearly award night benefit (by spending at least $15,000 on eligible purchases in one calendar year, you earn a “free weekend night reward”)
- Up to $200 back in statement credits for eligible Hilton purchases.
- Car rental loss and damage insurance
- No foreign transaction fees
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Here’s how your Hilton Honors bonus points can be redeemed with this card:
- Award nights at Hilton properties, which usually range from 5,000 to 95,000 points per night, though there are some exceptionally elite properties that require more than 100,000 points per night
- Car rentals with select partners
- Exclusive experiences in dining, concerts, sports and more
- Lyft rides
- Shopping on Amazon.com or with Hilton’s merchandise portal
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You will need to have good to excellent credit (670 to 850) for this card.
The bottom line
If you are a frequent traveler and like the Hilton brand, either one of these cards could work well for you.
Those who don’t travel as much may opt for the Hilton Honors American Express Card, while more frequent travelers would get the Surpass Card. Either way, earning and redeeming rewards with one of these credit cards could help you reach your goal of affordable stays at Hilton properties worldwide.
However, if you’re less brand loyal or looking for more flexibility, you might consider a top general travel rewards card instead.
All information about the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Credit Card has been collected independently by Bankrate and has not been reviewed or approved by the issuer.
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