Review: American Express Hilton Honors Business Card

The Hilton Honors Business Card is Hilton and American Express’ mid-tier business credit card. This co-branded card is an affordable way for business owners and managers to earn Hilton Honors (HH) points and have some nice benefits too. The Hilton Honors Business Card is the business counterpart of the three personal Hilton credit cards. But it’s closest in nature to the Hilton Surpass Card. Both cards have similar rewards, perks, and $95 annual fees (NOT waived the first year).

Earning

The Hilton Honors Business Card earns 12x HH points on Hilton hotel purchases. It also earns 6x HH points on the following business and travel expenses:

• Airfare (booked directly from airlines)
• Car Rentals (booked directly with agencies)
• Cell Phone Services (purchased directly from a provider)
• Gas Stations
• Shipping
• US Restaurants

All other purchases earn 3x HH points. Each point is worth about 0.5 cents, making this card a great earner for common business expenses.

Plus, the Hilton Honors Business Card has a sign-up bonus worth 125,000 HH points. These points can be earned after spending $3,000 in the first three months. This bonus is similar to that of the Hilton Surpass. However, the Business Card’s minimum spend threshold is $1,000 higher for the same amount of points.

Burning

Hotel Redemptions

Hotel redemptions are the only way to redeem HH points. Nights start at 5,000 points, but most locations will cost a lot more points per night. Unlike Marriott, Hilton does not have a rewards chart publicly posted. How many points a night costs depends on your location and date. Your mileage may vary.

Transfer Partners

Hilton HH points are transferrable to 43 airline partners and three car rental agencies (Enterprise, Alamo, and National). Because of the low value of HH points, transferring them is not recommended. This is also the reason why transfer partners are not often marketed by Hilton or American Express. You’re only receiving a value of 0.1 cents per point (CPP).

Benefits

Complimentary Gold Elite Status

Having Hilton Gold Elite Status is a step up from having Silver Elite Status. You receive an 80% points bonus for Hilton purchases including room rates and gift shop purchases. This is a major increase from the 20% that Silver Elite Status offers.

Hilton’s top-tier Diamond Elite Status can be obtained by spending $40,000 per year on the card. You need to consider how often you (or your staff, if applicable) travels to Hilton hotels. Only go for the status upgrade if your business spends at least that sum at Hilton.

Free Nights

You will also receive a fifth night for free when you use points to pay. The free fifth night could save your business some money if you or your employees stay at Hilton properties often for at least five nights. This perk is a huge incentive to make this card a keeper.

You can earn a free night by spending $15,000 per year on the card. This night can be earned just once per year. You can also receive a second weekend night reward after spending $60,000 per year on the card.

In sum, you can earn up to three free nights per year with enough spend.

Priority Pass Airport Lounge Passes

Just like the Hilton Surpass, cardholders will receive 10 passes every year to access Priority Pass airport lounges. While normally reserved for more premium cards like the Citi Prestige, some mid-tier cards have a scaled down version of this perk. The Hilton Business Card is one of them.

QuickBooks

Most business owners know that programs like QuickBooks are very helpful for your business’ financial organization. Like many of American Express’ other business cards, you can connect your Hilton card to your business’ QuickBooks account.

Secondary Car Rental Insurance

This benefit covers the entire loss, damage, or theft of your car rental after your regular insurance’s policy kicks in. American Express cards only provide secondary coverage. Secondary coverage means that you must go through your own car insurance company first before calling Amex to activate this benefit.

No Foreign Exchange Fees

You will save 2.7% on all purchases made outside the United States with the card.

Trip Cancellation / Trip Interruption Insurance

If you must cancel your trip because of an unexpected event, this benefit gives you up to $10,000 per trip for non-refundable expenses. Plane tickets, hotel rooms, and tours are included.

Similar Cards

American Express Hilton Surpass Card

The Hilton Surpass Card is the Hilton Honors Business Card’s personal counterpart. Both cards have $95 annual fees (NOT waived the first year) and similar perks.

The two cards have nearly identical earning structures. Both cards earn 12x HH points at Hilton hotels and 3x points on non-bonus category purchases. But the differences in the 6x bonus categories are what truly separates them. The personal version earns 6x points on Gas, Dining, and at Grocery Stores. Whereas the business version earns on Gas, Dining, and four other business and travel categories.

Plus, the Surpass offers a sign-up bonus worth 130,000 HH points. New cardholders must spend $2,000 within the first three months to earn the bonus points.

All else being equal, individual consumers are better off with the Surpass Card while business owners would like the business card more.

American Express Hilton Aspire Card

The Hilton Aspire Card is the bigger “sibling” to the Hilton Honors Business Card the Hilton Surpass. The Hilton Aspire offers complimentary Diamond Elite Status and multiple free nights.

Furthermore, the Hilton Aspire earns 14x Hilton Honors (HH) points on Hilton purchases. It also earns 7x HH points for US Restaurants, Airfare (booked directly with airlines or via amextravel.com), and Car Rentals (booked directly with car rental agencies). All other purchases earn 3x HH points.

The Hilton Aspire Card is a better option for Amex Business Platinum cardholders as it offers Diamond Status (instead of the Platinum and Hilton Business Card’s Gold Status).

Rules & Regulations

Like all American Express cards, this card is subject to Amex’s Once Per Lifetime Rule. This rule states that you can only receive a sign-up bonus on any card once. The key is to apply for this card when a balance is struck between maximum points and minimum spend. If you cannot afford the spend to hit the bonus, apply when the threshold is lower.

Final Draw

The Hilton Honors Business Card is a great mid-tier business card for Hilton loyalists. It can also be a great substitute for Hilton Surpass cardholders. Gold Status and the potential for multiple free nights are the highlights of this $95 annual fee card.

Unlike the personal Hilton credit cards, there are no downgrade options for this card. I hope to see a no annual fee version of this business card in the future.

The Hilton Honors Business Card is a nice earner within its bonus categories and can possibly be a keeper card for your business. Its possible to earn enough points to cover the modest annual fee without taking perks into account.

Apply Today: Hilton Honors Business Card