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The three American Express Hilton Honors consumer credit cards have new, limited time welcome offers for a substantial tranche of Hilton points (and in the case of the Aspire card, a free night certificate after approval).
Amex has been killing us lately by expanding “family” language to the Platinum, Gold and Delta cards (among others), but those terms haven’t migrated to the Hilton cards yet. Because of that, each one is still considered a separate product and it’s possible to get a welcome offer on all four cards without running afoul of Amex’s “one welcome offer in a lifetime or a family rules.”
The Offers & Key Card Details
For more card information and to find an application link, see our dedicated card pages by clicking the names of the cards below.
| Card Offer and Details |
|---|
100K points ⓘ Affiliate 100K points after $2K spend within the first 6 months. Terms apply. (Rates & Fees) (Offer Expires 1/8/2025)No Annual Fee After clicking through, be sure to choose the card you want on the landing page. Recent better offer: (Expired 7/31/24) 70K points + free night certificate after $2K spend within the first 6 months. FM Mini Review: This card isn't particularly rewarding, but it's good to keep primarily for targeted Amex upgrade offers to the Surpass card. Earning rate: ✦ 7X Hilton eligible Hilton purchases ✦ 5X US restaurants, US Supermarkets, and US gas stations ✦ 3X on all other eligible purchases Card Info: Amex Credit Card issued by Amex. This card has no foreign currency conversion fees. Big spend bonus: Gold elite status with $20K calendar year spend Noteworthy perks: ✦ Free Silver status; Gold status with $20K spend. ✦ Terms Apply. (Rates & Fees) |
| Card Offer and Details |
|---|
165K points ⓘ Affiliate 165K points after $3K spend within the first 6 months. Terms apply. (Offer Expires 1/8/2025)$150 Annual Fee Recent better offer: (Expired 7/31/24) 130K points + free night certificate after $3K spend within the first 6 months. FM Mini Review: Easy way to secure Hilton Gold status (which offers free breakfast among other perks). Those who want Diamond status may be better off with the Aspire card. Earning rate: ✦ 12X Hilton spend ✦ 6X U.S. restaurants, US Supermarkets, and US gas stations ✦ 4X U.S. Online Retail Purchases ✦ 3X on all other eligible purchases Base: 3X (1.44%) Dine: 6X (2.88%) Gas: 6X (2.88%) Grocery: 6X (2.88%) Shop: 4X (1.92%) Brand: 12X (5.76%) Card Info: Amex Credit Card issued by Amex. This card has no foreign currency conversion fees. Big spend bonus: ✦ Free night award after $15K spend in calendar year ✦ Diamond elite status with $40K calendar year spend ✦ Terms apply Noteworthy perks: Free Gold status. Diamond status w/ $40K spend. ✦ Up to $200 in Hilton credits ($50 per quarter) ✦ Terms Apply. (Rates & Fees) |
![](http://cdn.nextinsure.com/imaging/opt/0fb236dd-aecb-49ed-9f28-94aaf0efd9a2.png?w=300" alt="Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card" />)
| Card Offer and Details |
|---|
175K Points + free night certificate ⓘ Friend-Referral 175K after $6K spend in first 6 months. Free night certificate every year - first certificate is awarded 8-12 weeks after approval. Terms apply. (Offer Expires 1/8/2025)$550 Annual Fee Information about this card has been collected independently by Frequent Miler. The issuer did not provide the details, nor is it responsible for their accuracy. FM Mini Review: This card is loaded with valuable perks that are more than worth the card's annual fee if you stay in Hilton resorts at least twice per year. Earning rate: ✦ 14X Hilton spend ✦ 7X US restaurants, flights booked directly with airlines or amextravel.com, select car rental companies ✦ 3X on all other eligible purchases ✦ Terms & Limitations Apply. Card Info: Amex Credit Card issued by Amex. This card has no foreign currency conversion fees. Big spend bonus: Additional free night awards after $30K and $60K spend in calendar year Noteworthy perks: ✦Annual Free Night Reward every year upon renewal ✦ Free Diamond Status ✦ Up to $400 Hilton Resort Credit per calendar year ($200 semi-annually) ✦ $200 Flight Credit ($50 per quarter for purchases directly with airlines or via Amex Travel) ✦ $199 CLEAR (R) Plus fee credit per calendar year ✦ $100 on-property credit w/ Aspire Card package ✦ Terms Apply. See Rates & Fees See also: Amex Hilton Aspire In-Depth Review |
Quick Thoughts
The offers on the Aspire and the Surpass cards are the most attractive to me. Both of these gives 155K+ of Hilton points and the Aspire offer combines it with a free night as well.
See the 50+ best places to use a Hilton Free Night Certificate here
Note that these offers are available via referral, so if you’re in 2-player mode you can add even more points to the total haul. You don’t even need a Hilton card to refer someone, as referrals are possible from Membership Rewards (MR)-earning cards as well (ie, Amex Platinum, Gold, etc). Some folks can get as many as 25K MR for referring a new cardholder, which is a significant addition to these Hilton offers.
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Can anyone tell me what the old/normal offer is on all 3 of these cards? Trying to be strategic about what to apply for now vs wait. Many thanks!
Surpass appears to be NLL
Why, did they give you another one?
I had one in the recent past. which should have made me ineligible for a new one.
Thanks! Good to know.
Tim, The Aspire offer’s landing page that I see has no mention of the free night, nor is it in the T’s and C’s.
Are others seeing it (i.e., is my page “special”)?
My bad.,,it’s there: “Enjoy one Free Night Reward with your new Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card and every year upon Card renewal”
You got it! 🙂
It really baffles me why they bury that so much…it makes such a huge addition to the value of the welcome offer and people have to look to find it!
Ugh, any idea of the likelihood that they will send out links that some of us can use to bypass pop-up jail? It’s getting real old in here and I have my eyes on an Aspire
I was just jailed a few months ago and I’m already itching to escape. Got approved for a Hilton Biz card, but really wanted (and still want) the Aspire. How can you tell if there is a bypass link?
With the current 10X dining referral offers on MR cards this could be a great stack!
How does the referral program work? If i currently don’t have a Hilton card, i still can give my platinum referral link and i would get the referral bonus even if its for a Hilton credit card? Doesn’t need to be for the platinum card?
Correct the referral link initially takes them to the card you have but then you can click around and view any other AMEX card from there. Even works across personal & business – I opened a Marriott Business card from a P2 referral on a BCP last year for the 5X grocery referral bonus.
Does the aspire offer have a free night CERT on top of the regular FNC or are you saying that it has a FNC because that’s what the card normally comes with? I don’t see it in the provided link or my own link
The Aspire always gets a free night cert with new signups, 8-12 weeks after approval.
I’m aware. But the post makes it sound like you get an additional FNC on top of the one you’d normally get. Is that accurate?
No, you only get one.
I can’t handle all these current elevated offers from IHG to Hyatt to WF to Hilton to Marriott.
Need to relax my brain