I am going to talk about these 2 Hilton credit cards together. One is issued by American Express and the other by Citibank.
Typically, we do not stay at Hilton Hotels. Reason being, my initial hotel search usually leads me to a Starwood resort, because I love them so much! However, I used to stay at the Hilton St. Petersburg for my daughter’s annual Florida swim meets.
So a few years back, knowing this trip to Florida was in our future, I could not pass up two credit card offers that were presented to me. The first was from American Express, for the American Express Hilton Honors Platinum credit card. The offer back then was that I had 3 months to spend $750 to get 50,000 Hilton Honors points. Got em. (At the time of this post, this offer is for 40,000 Hilton Honors points). Around the same time, I got an offer from Citibank for the Citi Hilton Honors Visa Signature Card. For this offer, I needed to spend $1,000 in four months to get 40,000 Hilton Honors points. Yup, got these points as well. Let me also note that neither of these cards have an annual fee.
So what did I do with these 90,000 points that basically fell into my lap? I used them to book my 3 night weekend stay for the swim meet at the St. Petersberg Hilton as each night required 25,500 Hilton Honors points. The swim team got a group rate of $150 per night (definitely a good deal). So the 3 night stay would have cost me $450. But 1) I applied for, 2) was approved, 3) met the minimum spend requirements and 4) received the bonus points for the sole reason of getting this stay for free. In my head, I saved myself $450!!!!
Don’t forget, when I am using a credit card to meet a minimum spend requirement, I am using it on purchases I would be making anyway. I do not spend extra money to meet these minimums. I just use the card in which I am trying to get the minimum spend bonus instead of another credit card that I use for everyday purchases. The moment that I hit the minimum spend requirement, I stop using the card in favor of another point earning credit card that will give more flexibility as to where to use my points. ie Chase Freedom and Chase Sapphire Preferred cards.
So, I have since put these cards away as I do not feel the need to accumulate Hilton Honors points with everyday purchases. However, I will break them out again to use if I am staying at a Hilton Resort as both the AMEX and the VISA give me 7 or 6 points respectively per dollar spent at the hotel. Note, since the time of this post, American Express canceled my American Express Hilton Honors card.
I should also let you know that Hilton Honors is an American Express Membership Rewards transfer partner. Currently there is a 50% bouns if you transfer points from American Express Membership Rewards to your Hilton Honors account. That means 1,500 Honors Points =1,000 Membership Rewards Points.
So, like in my case, if you know you have a Hilton stay in your future or if you are partial to Hilton resorts, both of these cards offer many great benefits and perks and still have significant bonus point offers. I have listed some of these point perks below.
Hilton Honors Card-American Express-Apply here
7X – WHEN YOU STAY
Hilton Honors Bonus Points for each dollar of eligible purchases charged directly with a participating hotel or resort within the Hilton Honors portfolio of brands.
5X – WHERE YOU DINE, FUEL UP & SHOP
Hilton Honors Bonus Points for each dollar of eligible purchases at U.S. restaurants, at U.S. supermarkets and at U.S. gas stations.
3X – WHEN YOU USE THE CARD ELSEWHERE
Citi Hilton Honor Visa Signature Card-Apply here
6 Honors Bonus Points per $1 spent on hotel stays within Hilton Honors portfolio
3 Honors Bonus Points per $1 spent at supermarkets, drugstores & gas stations
2 Honors Bonus Points per $1 spent on other purchases