American Express Hilton HHonors

Est Annual Rewards, Net
$300
of Hilton Honors Points
 American Express Hilton HHonors Credit Card
Reward RateReward DetailsAnnual Fee & PromosAPR, variableIntro APR Promotions
1.03% for first $20,000 /yr then 1.13 % thereafter.
  1. Earn 3.45 points per $1 spent on purchases
  1. Hilton points worth ~3/10 of a cent
  2. 6 points per $1 at Hilton, Gas, Groceries, Drug stores, Cable/internet/wireless bills
  3. 3 points elsewhere
  4. 15% bonus for points with complimentary Silver Status
 Fee:$0
Promo: 20,000 Hilton Honors Points Bonus 		Min Apr: 15.24%
Default: 27.24%
Cash Adv: 25.24% 		Purchase:2.9% for 6 mos.
Transfer:2.9% for 6 mos.
Finance Charge Calculator
Use the sliders to the left to calculate balance transfer interest and APR interest for this particular card.
Finance Charge, Balance Transfer*
TypeInterest
Balance Transfer Fee, 3.0%$300
Promo APR, First 6 months$150
APR, 30 months$4,810
Total$5,260
* calculations assume a balance transfer of $10,000 over 3 years.

Effective Annual Rate for Balance Transfers of 15.1% includes transfer fees and APR promotions. EAR>APR because APR is compounded monthly while EAR is compounded annually.

Effective Annual Rate, Purchases
Promo EAR, 6 months2.94%
Ongoing EAR, 30 months16.35%
Total EAR, 36 months14.00%
APR Rankings
APR 15.24% ranks # 237 out of 313 cards. Average is 13.66%.
Balance Transfer Fee 3% ranks # 46 out of 305 cards. Average is 3%.
Cash Advance APR 25.24% ranks # 262 out of 304 cards. Average is 22.19%.

Rewards Rankings
Annual Fee $0 ranks # 1 out of 322 cards. Average is $19.
Base Reward Rate 1.03% ranks # 23 out of 248 cards. Average is 0.95%.
Effective Reward Rate 1.29% ranks # 26 out of 248 cards. Average is 1.04%.
Sign-up Bonus $60 ranks # 54 out of 317 cards. Average is $35.

Rewards Type: Hilton Honors Points
Signing Promotion
($60=20,000 points)/3 yrs 		$20
Estimated Annual Rewards
$21,600 * 1.29% 		$280
Annual Fee, 3 yr avg
 $0
Annual Rewards (Rewards less Fees) $300

NerdWallet's Review

The key to understanding the Hilton HHonors cards is understanding what a Hilton Point is worth. If each point had similar value to other point programs, the card would be very attractive, because you earn in excess of 3 points per $1 spent. However, this is not the case.

NerdWallet estimates Hilton points are worth 3/10 of a cent, about 1/3 the value of other point programs.

Our methodology:

  • Waldorf Hotel: 50,000-60,000 points per night versus retail of $250 per night. Point value, about 4.5/10 of a cent.
  • Hilton Casino Gaming Chip: 40,000 points versus face value of $100. Point value, about 2.5/10 of a cent.
  • Carnival Cruise Gift Certificate: 480,000 points versus face value of $1000. Point value, about 2.1/10 of a cent.
  • American Airlines Gift Certificate: 25,000 points versus face value of $50. Point value, 2/10 of a cent.

    • The exchange rate is even less favorable when you exchange Hilton points for airline miles or buy points directly:

  • You can exchange 10,000 Hilton points for 1,500 airline miles, which is about a $15 value. Participating partners include American Airlines, Gulf Air, Hawaiian Airlines, Mexicana Airlines, Midwest Airlines, Qantas Airways, South African Airways, and Virgin Atlantic Airways
  • You can purchase points for 1 cent each when you buy more than 10,000 at a time.



    • If you’re confident you can consume all of your Hilton points at Hilton/Waldorf hotels, assume more rewards than NerdWallet’s estimate. If you never stay at Hilton/Waldorf hotels, assume fewer rewards than our estimate.
    Also, before you take the leap with HHonors, we’d recommend considering the American Express Blue Cash and Blue Sky, the Discover Escape with 2% rewards on all purchases, and the American Express Costco Card with 3% on gas/groceries and 2% on travel.

    How to decide between the Hilton HHonors, the Hilton HHonors Surpass, and the Citibank Hilton HHonors card?

  • The Citibank card only offers a base reward rate of 2 Hilton points per $1 spent, so unless you really need a Visa card, it is a poor choice.
  • The Surpass has difficult to value fringe benefits, such as airport lounge access. Excluding these benefits, the main tradeoff is that the Surpass card has an annual fee of $75 but earns points slightly faster, so we’d use our Credit Card Finder to calculate which card is a better deal based on your spending habits. Roughly speaking, you have to earn an EXTRA 25,000 points each year to offset the $75 annual fee, which translates to ~$80,000 per year in spending.

    • Leave a Reply





    about | blog | contact us | credit card finder | credit card index | press room | privacy policy
    © Copyright 2010 NerdWallet LLC. All Rights Reserved.
    Disclaimer: We make best efforts to keep card offer information accurate and up to date, however we cannot make warranties regarding the accuracy of our information. Please verify card information during the application process.