Hilton Honors American Express Business Card 2024 Review
Booking hotel stays can get expensive when traveling for business. Earning free nights with a hotel rewards credit card helps the bottom line.
The rewards business travelers with points on Hilton stays and on everyday business purchases.
The card also allows you to unlock the benefits of Hilton Honors Gold status, with a reasonable annual fee.
Look:
If you spend regularly on hotels each year, this card's combination of rewards and benefits could easily outweigh the card's annual cost.
Learn more about what the Hilton Honors American Express Business Card has to offer to decide if it's right for you.
*See Rates & Fees. Terms apply.
Hilton Honor American Express Business Card Pros & Cons
Generous Rewards for Business Travel
The Hilton Honors American Express Business Card features a solid rewards program that's most rewarding when you book Hilton hotel stays.
Here's how the rewards program breaks down:
This card could easily allow you to rack up some serious points if you spend frequently. For example, spending $10,000 a year on Hilton stays could translate to 120,000 points earned.
If you add in another $10,000 for business travel, $10,000 for gas and cell phone services and $10,000 in everyday spending, you'd add another 150,000 points to the pile.
Those totals don't include the extremely generous introductory welcome bonus this card offers. If you qualify for the bonus by meeting the minimum spending requirement, you could be well on your way to booking free award nights.
Points can be redeemed through the Hilton Honors loyalty program for:
Rewards can be redeemed for free nights starting at 5,000 points with a maximum of 95,000 points needed to book a standard room. Select properties may require 120,000 points to book standard rooms.
Generally, you'll get the most value when using points to book award nights. You typically get the least value when using points for shopping.
Premium Hotel and Travel Benefits
The Hilton Honors American Express Business Card helps make every stay more comfortable by included these features:
Complimentary Hilton Honors Gold status
Gold status in the Hilton Honors loyalty program is an automatic card benefit.
At the Gold level, you enjoy perks like:
You also get an 80% bonus on base points earned toward free nights.
That can give you an edge when earning points toward free stays.
And when you spend $40,000 on your card in a calendar year, you can upgrade to Diamond status for more benefits.
Free weekend reward night
When you charge $15,000 on your card in a calendar year, you get a free weekend reward night.
You can earn a second weekend reward night when you charge $60,000 or more in purchases in a calendar year.
Free Priority Pass visits
If you want to hit the lounge between flights, you can do so up to 10 times per year for free. This card offers 10 complimentary Priority Pass visits you can use at lounges worldwide.
All of these benefits make the card that much more valuable.
What Else Do You Get With the Card?
The Hilton Honors American Express Business Card includes several other benefits you might appreciate:
These are included at no additional charge, giving you even more incentive to consider this card.
Fees
At $95, the annual fee (see Rates & Fees; terms apply) doesn't necessarily break the bank.
Between the points you can earn and the other card benefits you may have no trouble earning it back each year.
Compared to Other Business Credit Cards
The Hilton Honors American Express Business Card is just one card you might consider for earning hotel rewards.
Here are three others to compare.
American Express Business Gold Card
The rewards you for what your business spends the most money on.
With this card, you can earn four Membership Rewards points per dollar on two categories your business spends the most in each month. Categories include airfare (offer ends 1/31/2024), gas stations, advertising and restaurants in the U.S.
Once you reach $150,000 in purchases in a calendar year, you earn one point per dollar on your top two spending categories going forward.
There's no limit on the total number of points you can earn. This card has a $295 annual fee ($375 if application is received on or after 2/1/24) (see Rates & Fees; terms apply).
*See Rates & Fees. Terms apply.
Read the American Express Business Gold Card editor's review.
American Express Business Platinum Card
The is a premium travel rewards option. This card offers five Membership Rewards points per dollar on flights and hotels booked through amextravel.com.
Purchases over $5,000 earn 1.5 points per dollar, up to 50,000 additional points per year. All other eligible purchases earn one point per dollar. Card benefits include American Express Global Lounge Collection access and fee credit toward Global Entry or TSA PreCheck.
The annual fee is currently $695 (see Rates & Fees; terms apply) so it could be a good option if you don't mind a higher annual fee.
*See Rates & Fees. Terms apply.
Read the American Express Business Platinum Card editor's review.
Chase Ink Business Preferred
The offers three points per dollar on the first $150,000 spent in combined purchases on:
After that, you continue earning one point per dollar on those purchases. Plus, you earn one point per dollar on all other purchases with no limit.
This card could be a good choice if you book hotels other than Hilton. When you redeem points for travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards, you get 25% more value. Like the Hilton Honors American Express Business Card, it has a $95 annual fee.
Read the Chase Ink Business Preferred Card editor's review.
Business Credit Cards vs. Personal Credit Cards
A business credit card and a personal credit card aren't exactly the same.
For example, you may notice that business cards offer different rewards and perks versus personal cards. That's because they're intended to be used differently, i.e. business cards for business purchases and personal cards for personal spending.
Business and personal credit cards can also vary when it comes to the fees and interest rates you pay. Many business credit cards also don't allow balance transfers, while personal cards do. The two also vary when it comes to fraud protections and benefits.
Additionally, business credit cards are typically reported to the business credit bureaus. Personal cards show up on your personal credit history.
The only time they might overlap is if you default on a business credit card. In that scenario, a delinquency could be reported on your consumer credit report if you used your social security number to open the account.
How to apply for a business credit card
Applying for a business credit card isn't that different from applying for a personal card. You can fill out the application online and here's what you'll need to do it:
If you want to get a business credit card for a new business, you may not have revenue or employees to report. But you can still use your social security number and personal income to get approved.
You can apply for a business credit card using an employer identification number (EIN) instead. But that doesn't mean your personal credit isn't affected, since you'll need a Social Security number to apply for an EIN.
Final Verdict
The is a good choice if you like the Hilton hotel brand and you want a card that can help you earn free nights faster.
The card's annual fee isn't overwhelming and there are more than enough perks included to make up for it.
You might try another rewards card option if you'd rather earn points toward stays at a different hotel or you want to earn miles instead.
Overall, this card could be a great fit if you're already a Hilton Honors loyalty program member or you're interested in joining to earn more free award stays.
See the rates & fees for the mentioned American Express cards: The Hilton Honors American Express Business Card (Rates & Fees; terms apply), The Business Platinum Card from American Express (Rates & Fees; terms apply) and American Express Business Gold Card (Rates & Fees; terms apply).
