Which credit card should you use for Hilton stays?

21 hours ago 2

There are multiple cobranded credit cards from Hilton Honors, and we often hear people ask which one is best for their situation

After comparing the available Hilton credit cards, you may be ready to pull out one of these cards to pay for your next stay at a Hilton hotel.

Let's take a look at some popular cards you might use to pay for your next stay at hotels in the Hilton Honors program and what these cards can offer you in terms of return on spending and perks during your stay.

Comparing credit cards for a Hilton hotel stay

Aside from using a Hilton cobranded credit card, you might also consider using a good travel rewards card that earns transferable points on travel purchases, such as a hotel stay. Let's look at some common options and what you could get when using these cards.

Card nameEarning rate at Hilton hotelsValue of the rewards earned*Hilton-related benefits from the card**Annual fee

Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card	34 points per dollar (14 points from the card plus 10 base points as a Hilton member plus 100% Diamond status bonus)	20.4 cents	Diamond status: Room upgrades, free breakfast, lounge access, early check-in and late checkout Resort credit: Up to $200 biannual resort statement credit Free nights: Up to three reward nights annually (one on cardmember anniversary; two more with eligible spending) Property credit: Up to $100 per booking when you book a two-night paid stay at select hotels using an exclusive link for cardmembers	$550 (see rates and fees)
Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card	30 points per dollar (12 points from the card plus 10 base points as a Hilton member plus 80% Gold status bonus)	18 cents	Gold status: Room upgrades, free breakfast, early check-in and late checkout Pathway to Diamond status: After spending $40,000 in a calendar year Free night reward: One after eligible spend in a calendar year Hilton credit: Up to $50 in quarterly statement credits on eligible Hilton purchases	$150 (see rates and fees)
The Hilton Honors American Express Business Card	30 points per dollar (12 points from the card plus 10 base points as a Hilton member plus 80% Gold status bonus)	18 cents	Gold status: Room upgrades, free breakfast, early check-in and late checkout Pathway to Diamond status: After spending $40,000 in a calendar year Hilton credit: Up to $60 in quarterly statement credits on eligible Hilton purchases	$195 (see rates and fees)
Hilton Honors American Express Card	19 points per dollar (7 points from the card plus 10 base points as a Hilton member plus 20% Silver status bonus)	11.4 cents	Automatic Silver status: Free bottled water Pathway to Gold status: After spending $20,000 in a calendar year	$0 (see rates and fees)
Chase Sapphire Reserve®	3 points per dollar (or 10 points per dollar if booked via Chase Travel℠)	6.1 cents (or 20 cents)	None	$550
American Express® Green Card	3 points per dollar	6 cents	None	$150
Citi Strata Premier℠ Card (see rates and fees)	3 points per dollar (or 10 points per dollar if booked via CitiTravel.com)	5.4 cents	None	$95

* Value of rewards is based on TPG's March 2025 valuation and not the card issuer.
** Enrollment is required in advance for select benefits. Terms apply.

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

Which card should you use?

When choosing a credit card for your next stay at a Hilton property, consider two factors: the benefits you enjoy during your stay and the points you earn on the card when paying for your stay.

The first part is relatively simple. Your elite status perks will apply regardless of whether you use a specific card for your stay. For example, you don't actually need to pay with the Amex Hilton Aspire card to enjoy your Diamond status benefits during your next Hilton stay.

(The one exception is booking a paid stay at a Hilton hotel using the Sapphire Reserve through Chase Travel℠ or Citi Strata Premier through the Citi travel portal. This will generally count as a third-party booking, so while you'll earn 10 points per dollar spent on the purchase, you'll likely forgo any perks of Hilton elite status.)

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When it comes to earning points from spending money at hotels that participate in Hilton Honors, using your Hilton credit card is actually a good option. These provide a better rate of return than using a Marriott credit card at a Marriott hotel, and with statement credits on several Hilton cobranded cards, the cost of your stays can be reduced.

However, the value to be had here is subjective in some ways: Do you prefer to earn the maximum value according to our monthly points valuations? Are you OK with that even if it means earning points that are stuck in a single program and can only be used with Hilton (or transferred to airlines in such a way that you lose a lot of value)?

Or do you prefer to earn transferable points because you know how to maximize these for first- and business-class flight awards, obtaining outsize value for your points? In this case, using a card that earns American Express Membership Rewards points may be your best bet since you could access the full range of transfer partners and still have the option to transfer to Hilton Honors if you're a few points shy of your next redemption.

Suppose you have both the Aspire and the Sapphire Reserve. That means that you'd earn 20 Hilton points per dollar spent thanks to your Diamond status, which you'll earn regardless of which card you use. Then, you can choose to use your Aspire to earn 14 Hilton points per dollar spent (an 8.4% return according to our March 2024 valuations) or 3 Chase points per dollar spent with your Sapphire Preferred (a 6.2% return).

What's important in this situation is which type of points you want to earn. Are you willing to forgo a 2.2% return to earn Chase points instead of Hilton points?

Bottom line

Deciding which credit card to use on any given purchase can sometimes require tradeoffs. Maybe you earn more points but sacrifice some benefits. Or perhaps you're willing to earn fewer points but access a valuable insurance benefit by using a particular card.

Luckily, the choice of which credit card to use when staying at a Hilton hotel is pretty simple. With high earning rates on Hilton credit cards, you should be able to earn a high value in rewards while also enjoying their benefits — without the tradeoffs required by making this decision at some other hotel chains.

For rates and fees of the Amex Hilton Aspire card, click here.
For rates and fees of the Amex Hilton Surpass card, click here.
For rates and fees of the Amex Hilton card, click here.
For rates and fees of the Amex Hilton Business card, click here.
For rates and fees of the Amex Green card, click here.

Editorial disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airline or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.

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