Hilton’s partnership with Small Luxury Hotels of the World (SLH) is stirring up some deserved interest, even for someone like Greg the Frequent Miler who previously never did much with the company’s suite of Amex cards.
All three personal American Express Hilton Honors credit cards now have limited-time welcome offers including both a free night certificate (FNC) and a substantial tranche of Hilton points. Even the no annual fee Hilton Honors card comes with a FNC after completing the minimum spend. These represent some of the better offers that we’ve recently seen on the Hilton cards, when you combine the bonus points and the certs.
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 |
|---|
Limited Time Offer - 70K Points + free night certificate ⓘ Affiliate 70K points and a free night certificate after $2K spend within the first 6 months. Terms apply. (Rates & Fees) (Offer Expires 4/29/2025)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 |
|---|
Limited Time Offer - 130K Points + free night certificate ⓘ Affiliate 130K points and a free night certificate after $3K spend within the first 6 months. Terms apply. (Offer Expires 4/29/2025)$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 |
|---|
Limited Time Offer - 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 4/29/2025)$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. Recent better offer: (Expired 1/9/25) 175K + free night award after $6K in spend 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
Hilton has possibly the most flexible and easy to use free night certificates of any major hotel chain. You can use them for a standard room at almost any Hilton property worldwide, regardless of what the nightly cost is in cash or points. Originally, these certs were only applicable towards weekend stays, but during the pandemic, Hilton made them available for use any day of the week, a change that was made permanent in 2022.
Even better, these certificates are able to be used at SLH properties as they’re added to Hilton Honors, which creates some drool-worthy opportunities to use them.
As for the cards, the offer on the Surpass is probably the most attractive to me. It gives you 130K Hilton points combined with a free might certificate, all for a very reasonable minimum spend. In addition, the Surpass earns another FNC by putting $15K total spend on the card during the cardmember year, an especially lucrative proposition if you can concentrate that spend in one of its numerous 6x categories.
The Aspire always awards a free night certificate when you get the card, so that part of the offer isn’t new. Given that, if the choice is between the Aspire or the Surpass and you don’t need the Diamond status that the Aspire gives you ASAP, I’d go for the Surpass first, knowing that you can circle back and get the Aspire and still have access to the FNC after these limited-time offers have expired.
Keep in mind that each Hilton card is considered a separate product and they aren’t yet covered by Amex’s dreaded family restrictions. Because of this, it’s still possible to get a welcome offer on all of them without running afoul of Amex’s “one welcome offer in a lifetime rule.”
Note that each of 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 (ie, Amex Platinum, Gold, etc). Some folks are finding referral offers as high as 25-35K MR for referring a new cardholder, which is a significant addition to these already sweet Hilton offers.
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Each of these cards offers are the same as their “recently expired better offer.” Does that mean that these offers equal the best ever?
Not necessarily, but they are the best that we’ve seen since then.
NLL?
Links on doctorofcredit.com for that, but they are saying use caution. I’ve done them before without any problems and so have my kids.
DP: in Pop-Up Jail for the Aspire. Approved for Surpass July 2024, PUJ on Aspire Nov. 2024, PUJ again Feb. 2025. I’ve been putting a lot of spend on the Surpass to reach the $15k this calendar year, so I thought that would put in Amex’s good graces. I guess Amex is still bitter at me for cancelling the personal Platinum after a year …
Think it’s worth trying on the Honors card?
can you put the FNC in someone else’s name that isn’t traveling with you? How would I use player 3 award since they don’t travel?
Not that I know of. Anyone else?
Yes. The certificate holder can add a second name to the reservation at the time of redemption on the phone with Hilton , which will suffice at check in (cardholder does not need to be present at check in).
Thanks, didn’t know that. Wonder if the second name is gold and first isn’t, whose status would they look at?
presumably they have lifetime language… anyone test that recently?
Does the offer include a get out of pop up jail card?
I was in PUJ for two years and tried the NLL Hilton link for a Surpass found on Doctor of Credit’s site and was shocked to get approved.
Does anyone know if the FNC is good for 6 months or 12 months from earning date?
All Hilton FNCs are good for 12 months
They they extend them upon request as Marriott used to do?
Some reservationists are strict about extending them only 2 weeks. I had this happen, so hung up and called again. They extended 17 days beyond expiry. A friend extended a month beyond expiry. Seems there are guidelines for their agents, rather than rules. Not sure if an agent will extend beyond a month, but it’s worth a try- might be possible.