American Express Hilton Honors Business Full Card Review

American Express & Hilton are set to launch a new co-branded business credit card on January 18th, 2018 in addition to the Hilton Aspire card. Let’s have a look at the business card in more detail.

Card Overview

• Annual fee of $95
• Card earns at the following rates:
  • 12X Hilton Honors Bonus Points at hotels and resorts in the Hilton portfolio worldwide
  • 6X Hilton Honors Bonus Points on U.S. gas stations, wireless telephone services purchased directly from U.S. service producers and U.S. purchases for shipping
  • 6X Hilton Honors Bonus Points on U.S. restaurants, flights booked directly with airlines or amextravel.com, and car rentals booked directly from select car rental companies
  • 3X Hilton Honors Bonus Points on all other eligible purchases
• Complimentary Hilton Honors Gold status; Earn Diamond status after spending $40,000 in purchases on the Card in a calendar year
• One Weekend Night Reward at a hotel or resort in the Hilton portfolio after spending $15,000 in purchases on the Card in a calendar year
• A second Weekend Night Reward at a hotel or resort in the Hilton portfolio after spending $60,000 in purchases on the Card in a calendar year
• 10 free Priority Pass^™Lounge passes to ease the airport experience and get work done more easily and comfortably while waiting for a flight
• No foreign transaction fees

Card Benefits

Free Weekend Nights With Spend Requirement

It’s possible to earn two free weekend nights every calendar year with this card. You need to meet the following requirements:

• Spend $15,000 or more within the calendar year and receive a weekend night reward
• Spend an additional $45,0000 ($60,000 total) within the same calendar year and receive an additional weekend night reward

Weekend nights are issued as a redeemable code and sent to the e-mail address attached to your Hilton Honors account within 8-12 weeks of meeting the spend requirement and expire one year from issuance.. You must call Hilton Honors (1-800-446-6677) to redeem these weekend night rewards. Each weekend night certificate can be redeemed for one weekend night standard accommodation double occupancy subject to availability. It’s valid at all properties in the Hilton portfolio excluding those listed at HiltonHonors.com/weekendreward (currently errors out).

A weekend night is defined as Friday, Saturday or Sunday night. It includes all applicable taxes, but you must still pay mandatory resort fees if applicable. You can combine these free night certificates with other Hilton or Free night promotions. Eligible purchases do NOT include fees or interest charges, cash advances, purchases of travelers checks, purchases or reloading of prepaid cards, purchases of gift cards, person-to-person payments, or purchases of other cash equivalents.

Hilton Status

This card comes with complimentary gold status for as long as your a card member, normally this requires 20 stays or 40 nights or 75,000 Hilton base points in a calendar year. You can also receive Diamond status if you spend $40,000 or more in a calendar year.

Gold Status

Gold status gives you the following benefits:

• 25% Elite Status Bonus
• 5th Night Free (also available for Silver members)
• Guaranteed Discount: A discounted, changeable & refundable rate is exclusively available for Hilton HHonors members.
• Digital Check-In: choose your room, and customize your stay from your mobile device up to 24 hours in advance.
• Complimentary in-room and lobby Premium Internet access, during stays at Waldorf Astoria™ Hotels & Resorts, Conrad® Hotels & Resorts, Curio – A Collection by Hilton, Hilton Hotels & Resorts, DoubleTree by Hilton™, Canopy™ by Hilton, Embassy Suites Hotels™, Hilton Garden Inn®, Hampton Inn & Suites®, Homewood Suites by Hilton®, Home2 Suites by Hilton®, and Hilton Grand Vacations™. Premium speed Internet may not be available at all hotels.
• Quick reservations and check-ins based on your room preferences
• Late check-out²
• Express check-out
• 2^nd Guest stays free³
• Complimentary access to fitness centers and health clubs⁴
• Two complimentary bottles of water per stay (at Waldorf Astoria™ Hotels & Resorts, Conrad® Hotels & Resorts, Curio – A Collection by Hilton, Hilton Hotels & Resorts, DoubleTree by Hilton™, Embassy Suites Hotels™, Hilton Garden Inn™ and Hilton Grand Vacations™ hotels)
• Full list of other benefits here

Diamond Status

Diamond status gives you the following benefits:

• 50% Elite Status Bonus
• 48-hour Room Guarantee
• 5th Night Free (also available for Silver & Gold members)
• Guaranteed Discount: A discounted, changeable & refundable rate is exclusively available for Hilton HHonors members.
• Digital Check-In: choose your room, and customize your stay from your mobile device up to 24 hours in advance.
• Complimentary in-room and lobby Premium Internet access, during stays at Waldorf Astoria™ Hotels & Resorts, Conrad® Hotels & Resorts, Curio – A Collection by Hilton, Hilton Hotels & Resorts, DoubleTree by Hilton™, Canopy™ by Hilton, Embassy Suites Hotels™, Hilton Garden Inn®, Hampton Inn & Suites®, Homewood Suites by Hilton®, Home2 Suites by Hilton®, and Hilton Grand Vacations™. Premium speed Internet may not be available at all hotels.
• Quick reservations and check-ins based on your room preferences
• Late check-out²
• Express check-out
• 2^nd Guest stays free³
• Complimentary access to fitness centers and health clubs⁴
• Two complimentary bottles of water per stay (at Waldorf Astoria™ Hotels & Resorts, Conrad® Hotels & Resorts, Curio – A Collection by Hilton, Hilton Hotels & Resorts, DoubleTree by Hilton™, Embassy Suites Hotels™, Hilton Garden Inn™ and Hilton Grand Vacations™ hotels)
• Full list of other benefits here

10 Priority Pass Lounge Passes

This card provides you with 10 passes that can be used to access airport lounges in the Priority Pass network.

Our Verdict

I think it’s best to compare this to the American Express Hilton Ascend, that card is the personal version that also has a $95 annual fee. The cards are identical apart from the fact that this is a business card and the categories that earn 6x are different.

• Business card earns 6x on: U.S. gas station, U.S. restaurants, wireless telephone services purchased directly from U.S. service producers U.S. purchases for shipping, flights booked directly with airlines or amextravel.com, and car rentals booked directly from select car rental companies
• Personal Ascend card earns 6x on: U.S. restaurants, U.S. gas stations and U.S. grocery stores

I’d argue that earning 6x on grocery stores is more valuable than the other categories that the business card offers but that will vary from individual to individual. I’d also argue that 6x isn’t particularly attractive given Hilton points relatively low value, when compared to what other cards earn in those same categories. For example:

• Best restaurant credit cards (up to 4% cash back)
• Best grocery credit cards (up to 5% cash back)
• Best gas station credit cards (up to 5% cash back)

I don’t think the card benefits justify the $95 annual fee either, but it might make more sense if you don’t have a premium credit card with unlimited priority pass access or can make use of the 6x categories (especially if you’re hitting the $15,000 threshold for the free night). We will have to wait and see what sign up bonus is offered on launch, as getting the card with a sign up bonus would make it worthwhile (at least for the first year). Feel free to share your own thoughts of this card in the comments below.