TravelingForMiles.com may receive commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on TravelingForMiles.com are from advertisers and may impact how and where card products appear on the site. TravelingForMiles.com does not include all card companies or all available card offers.
The entry-level Hilton Honors American Express Card doesn’t get a lot of attention because it’s a simple card that doesn’t offer any amazing or eye-catching benefits. That, however, doesn’t mean it’s a card you should ignore.
With a good welcome offer and a $0 annual fee (see rates and fees; terms apply), this can be a great starter card for anyone new to the miles and points game, or a great backup card for infrequent visitors to Hilton properties worldwide.
The Hilton Honors American Express Card
In brief
The Hilton Honors American Express Card doesn’t come with the flashy benefits or the annual fee of its more premium siblings, but it remains a useful card to hold thanks to its strong earning rate at Hilton properties, a respectable welcome offer, and the fact that it costs nothing to carry.
- Annual fee: $0 (see rates and fees; terms apply)
- Current welcome offer (at the time of writing): 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 27 July 2026.
Note: The welcome offer is not available to applicants who have or have had this card in the past.
Earning rates (terms apply):
- 7 points/dollar at all properties in the Hilton portfolio
- 5 points/dollar at U.S. supermarkets, U.S. restaurants, and U.S. gas stations
- 3 points/dollar on all other eligible purchases
Key benefits (terms apply and enrollment may be required):
- Complimentary Hilton Honors Silver status
- Cardholders can earn Hilton Honors Gold status after spending $20,000 in purchases on the card in a calendar year
- No foreign transaction fees
Link to American Express (not an affiliate link)
More details
The welcome offer (terms apply)
For a card that doesn’t charge an annual fee, the welcome offer is very good.
The 100,000 points available through the welcome offer can cover the cost of a night in a standard room at a wide variety of good properties around the world (including, for example, the Hilton Park Lane in the heart of London), and as we value Hilton Honors points at 0.4 cents each (based on the value we know that we can get out of them without much trouble), the points could be said to be worth $400.
On top of all this, what makes the welcome offer even more appealing is the fact that the spending target required to earn it remains relatively low ($2,000 of spending in 6 months), and because this card offers bonus points for spending at US supermarkets, most people applying for this card should find that the welcome bonus is pretty straightforward and economical to earn.
Access to the Hilton 5th night free benefit (terms apply)
The Hilton Honors American Express Card bestows Hilton Honors Silver status on a cardholder, and while most of what this status offers isn’t particularly exciting, it’s a status that’s worth having for once very good reason – if you have any level of elite status with the Hilton Honors program, the 5th night of all award stays is free.
Even if you ignore all the other aspects of this card, this benefit alone makes it a card that’s worth having, it’s a genuine money saver.
No foreign transaction fees (terms apply)
Not only does the Hilton Honors American Express Card charge a $0 annual fee (see rates and fees; terms apply), but it also doesn’t punish cardholders when they use the card outside of the United States.
There aren’t very many cards that don’t charge an annual fee and that waive foreign transaction fees, but this card is one of them and it’s a great benefit to have.
Effective everyday rebates (terms apply)
The Hilton Honors American Express Card earns cardholders 5 points/dollar at U.S. supermarkets, U.S. restaurants, and U.S. gas stations, and those are spending categories that most people use in their everyday lives.
Based on our earlier valuation of Hilton Honors points (0.4 cents each), this card offers a 2.0 cents/dollar (or 2%) rebate in all three of those categories, and that’s not bad for a card that doesn’t charge an annual fee. It’s not great either, but it’s still better than a few other cards that get more attention.
Access to Amex Offers (terms apply)
As its name tells you, this is a card issued by American Express, and all Amex cards give cardholders access to Amex Offers, which can easily save them hundreds of dollars a year.
Bottom line
We really like the Hilton Honors American Express Card, and it’s a card we hold right now after downgrading from the Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card quite a few years ago.
If you’re a frequent visitor to Hilton properties, this isn’t the most efficient card to use to collect Hilton Honors points (one of the more premium Hilton cards should be better), but if you’re an infrequent Hilton guest or new to the miles and points world, this is a good card to hold.
The card is simple, it’s economical, and the welcome offer is currently very good. What more could you want from a card that comes with a $0 annual fee?
For rates and fees of the Hilton Honors American Express Card, please see rates and fees; terms apply
For rates and fees of the Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card, please see rates and fees; terms apply
