Hilton Honors Amex Business card review: Elite perks on a budget

Editor’s note: This is a recurring post, regularly updated with new information and offers.

Hilton Honors American Express Business Card overview

The Hilton Honors American Express Business Card is one of the most valuable hotel business cards on the market. With mid-tier Hilton Gold elite status, it provides useful premium benefits at just a $95 annual fee (see rates and fees). If Hilton is your company’s hotel chain of choice, this card is a worthwhile addition to your wallet. Card rating*: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

*Card rating is based on the opinion of TPG’s editors and is not influenced by the card issuer.

The Hilton Honors Business card is built for small-business owners, but you don’t need a bustling office or dozens of employees to apply. A side hustle or consulting gig that requires travel is more than enough to qualify for a small-business card.

One of the best perks of the Hilton Business card is the automatic Hilton Gold elite status. From free breakfast to room upgrades (based on availability), this card can provide meaningful benefits right from the start.

And with a lucrative new welcome offer, now could be a great time to add the card to your wallet. Let’s take a closer look at the Hilton Business card to see if it’s a fit for your wallet.

Hilton Honors American Express Business Card welcome offer

New applicants for the Amex Hilton Business card can earn 165,000 bonus points after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first three months of cardmembership. TPG values this bonus at $990. This offer ends April 5.

This is one of the best offers we’ve seen on this card — and the best offer from this card without requiring $10,000 of spending. In addition to these points, you can earn a free night reward after spending $15,000 on purchases in a calendar year (more on that below).

a person floats on a raft at a luxury hotel's lazy river — The Hilton Rose Hall Resort in Jamaica. BENJI STAWSKI/THE POINTS GUY

Hilton Honors uses dynamic pricing for its hotels, meaning you won’t know exactly how many points you need for a stay until it’s time to search. However, these guides will provide some inspiration to help you redeem your Hilton points:

Earning points with the Hilton Honors American Express Business Card

With the Hilton Business card, you’ll earn 12 points per dollar at Hilton hotels and resorts — a 7.2% return on spending according to TPG’s valuations. You’ll also earn 6 points per dollar spent on the following categories:

U.S. gas stations.
Wireless phone services purchased from U.S. providers.
U.S. shipping purchases.
U.S. restaurants.
Flights booked directly with airlines or through American Express Travel.
Car rentals booked directly with select car rental companies.

You’ll earn 3 points per dollar on all other eligible purchases.

As with Hilton’s other credit cards, you’re getting the best return on Hilton purchases. For your other business-related spending, you’ll get a 3.6% return on spending. Other cards like the American Express® Business Gold Card or the Ink Business Preferred Credit Card could offer a better value. Plus, Amex Membership Rewards allows you to transfer points to Hilton, which makes the Amex Business Gold a great supplement to this card.

benches surrounded a fire pit with many palm trees nearby, looking out over the ocean — The Waldorf Astoria Cancun. CAROLINE LASCOM/THE POINTS GUY

Redeeming points with the Hilton Honors American Express Business Card

You can redeem your Hilton Honors points in various ways, such as hotel nights, Hilton event discounts (although at a terrible rate) or Hilton Honors Experiences, with airline partners (also at a terrible rate) and on Amazon purchases (at a horrible rate of 0.2 cents per point).

As is the case with most hotel loyalty programs, the best value comes from using your points on hotel bookings.

While Hilton Honors doesn’t have a published award chart, the Points Explorer tool can show you the award redemption price range over the next 30 days. This can help you know what to expect when considering locations for using your points.

If you’re looking to maximize your Hilton redemption options, check out these three guides:

Hilton Honors American Express Business Card benefits

For just $95 each year, the Amex Hilton Honors Business card offers a variety of valuable cardholder benefits and perks.

a hand holds a credit card — WYATT SMITH/THE POINTS GUY

You’ll enjoy the following:

Complimentary Hilton Honors Gold elite status: With Gold status, you’ll earn an 80% points bonus on Hilton stays, the fifth night free on award redemptions, elite tier rollover nights, complimentary breakfast or food and beverage credits at all hotels, room upgrades (when available) and more.
Upgrade to Diamond status: You can reach Diamond elite status when you spend $40,000 with your card in a calendar year. Diamond status comes with even more benefits, such as better upgrades (when available), executive lounge access, a 48-hour room guarantee and more — though if you want this tier of status, you’re likely better off applying for the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card, which offers Diamond status as a built-in perk.
Free night rewards: You can earn up to two free night rewards each year with the Hilton Business card: one when you spend $15,000 in a calendar year and another when you spend $60,000 in that same calendar year. Note that in order to redeem free night rewards, you must call to book your stay.
Priority Pass membership: The Hilton Business card comes with 10 free Priority Pass visits to airport lounges every year.
Travel protections: Baggage insurance*, secondary car rental loss and damage insurance**, access to the Global Assist Hotline#, and extended warranty* and purchase protection* benefits are available to cardmembers.
Expense management tools: As a business card holder, you’ll have access to tools such as the American Express Business app, QuickBooks integration, Vendor Pay and more.

Enrollment is required for select benefits.

The information for the Hilton Aspire card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

*Eligibility and benefit level varies by card. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for details. Policies are underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company.
**Eligibility and benefit level varies by card. Not all vehicle types or rentals are covered, and geographic restrictions apply. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for details. Policies are underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company. Coverage is offered through American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc.
#Eligibility and benefit level varies by card. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for details. Cardmembers are responsible for the costs charged by third-party service providers.

a king-sized bed inside a luxury hotel room, showing the bathroom beyond — A one-king studio room at the Conrad Los Angeles. MELANIE LIEBERMAN/THE POINTS GUY

Which cards compete with the Hilton Honors American Express Business Card?

The Hilton Business card is the only business card offered by Hilton, but it has solid competition from other cobranded hotel and standard business cards.

If you want a hotel business card and aren’t loyal to Hilton: The Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card offers automatic Gold Elite status with Marriott Bonvoy, up to 7% off room rates for cardmembers and a free night award (worth up to 35,000 points) on each account anniversary. You’ll also receive 15 elite night credits per year to help you reach higher status tiers; the card has an annual fee of $125 (see rates and fees). For more information, read our full review of the Amex Marriott Bonvoy Business card.
If you want a hotel business card, also consider: The World of Hyatt Business Credit Card has a $199 annual fee and offers entry-level Discoverist status for you and up to five employees, up to $100 in annual spending credits with Hyatt and two benefits you can unlock through spending: tier-qualifying nights toward elite status and earning a 10% points rebate. For more information, read our full review of the World of Hyatt Business card.
If you want flexible points that you can use beyond Hilton stays: The American Express® Business Gold Card doesn’t offer any hotel status but instead earns American Express Membership Rewards points, which you can transfer to Hilton but also use with more than a dozen hotel and airline partners. You’ll earn 4 points per dollar in your top two spending categories each billing cycle — on up to $150,000 in purchases per calendar year. The card has a $295 annual fee (see rates and fees). For more information, read our full review of the Amex Business Gold card.

For additional options, see our list of the best business credit cards and the best American Express cards.

Is the Hilton Honors American Express Business Card worth it?

a waiter walks between tables at an underwater restaurant, where many aquatic species swim over the glass dome — The Ithaa undersea restaurant at the Conrad Maldives Rangali Island. ZACH HONIG/THE POINTS GUY

You may be hesitant to pay an annual fee on a credit card or may wonder if $95 per year is worth it for the Hilton Business card. Consider that TPG values Hilton Gold status at $1,220 annually, and this is a built-in benefit for cardmembers. You’ll also receive 10 Priority Pass visits per year, though purchasing this membership typically costs $329. You’ll get both for a $95 annual fee.

Bottom line

For business travelers who frequently stay with Hilton, there is a lot to love about the Hilton Honors American Express Business card. You’re getting a solid return when you use the card during Hilton stays, and it comes with a nice array of perks for a moderate annual fee. If you apply now, you’ll also get to take advantage of its incredible new welcome offer of 165,000 points.

Application link: Hilton Honors Amex Business card with a 165,000-point welcome offer after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first three months of cardmembership.

Additional reporting by Benét J. Wilson and Chris Dong.

For rates and fees of the Amex Hilton Business card, click here.
For rates and fees of the Amex Marriott Business card, click here.
For rates and fees of the Amex Business Gold card, click here.