This card is a solid choice for business travelers who prefer Hilton properties. Earning Hilton points from stays and bonus categories helps build balances and earn rewards.
Rewards: Common bonus categories and status boost
While a high earning rate on Hilton hotel stays is expected, the card’s 5X points on all other eligible purchases on the first $100,000 in purchases per calendar year and 3X points thereafter is solid. These work well for everyday use and traveling, giving a solid way to earn significant Hilton points. You have more flexibility in where you can earn boosted rates, so you won't have the hassle of keeping track of bonus categories.
And the card’s complimentary Gold status in the Hilton Honors program gives you an 80 percent bonus on base points. So paying for a room at an eligible Hilton property with your card gets you a robust 30X points: 12X points for the card’s rewards structure, 10X base points for being a member in the Hilton Honors program and 8X bonus points for Gold status.
Even though you can earn plenty of points on certain hotel stays with the Hilton Honors Amex Business, its points value lags behind some competitors. Based on Bankrate's latest valuations, Hilton Honors points are worth around 0.6 cents . For comparison, World of Hyatt points are worth 2.3 cents and Marriot Bonvoy points are worth 0.7 cents. Despite its slightly lower point value, you can transfer points to partner airlines and redeem points for Lyft rides and rental cards, which makes them extremely flexible.
Welcome offer: Solid value for reasonable spending
The card’s welcome offer of 130,000 points is a decent value for a premium hotel business card in its class, especially since it only requires spending $6,000 in the first six months. If you meet the spending requirement and get the sign-up bonus, it can be worth a solid $780 value, assuming Hilton’s estimated point value of 0.6 cents.
Some hotel and general-purpose business travel cards may offer a more valuable welcome offer worth $1,000 or more, but they may require you to spend $8,000 or more in a potentially tighter three-month timeframe. Granted, the current offer is a drop down from the card's previous limited-time offer of 175,000 points after spending $8,000 in the first six months (a limited-time offer through June 5, 2024). However, the current value for a smaller spending requirement may be more manageable for some small businesses.
The current 130,000-point offer is the typical intro bonus we've seen the Hilton Honors Amex Business card provide in the past, so we expect it to hang around for a while. If you're thinking about applying, the current offer is still a great kickstart to your rewards journey, so it might not be worth waiting around until another limited-time offer may roll around.
Perks: Hilton hotel credits
The Hilton Honors American Express Business card comes with a host of perks and benefits that make it worth the annual fee.
You can get up to $60 in statement credits each quarter for purchases made directly with a property in the Hilton portfolio on your Hilton Honors American Express Business Card. That's up to $240 in statement credits annually. The card’s complimentary Gold status also provides bonus points on stays, property credits, upgrades and late checkout. Higher-spending business owners can get a considerable boost to these benefits by earning Diamond status through the next calendar year if they spend $40,000 on purchases in the current calendar year.
However, other hotel programs offer free night redemptions, so if you are looking for this benefit another hotel business card might suit you best.