Hilton Honors American Express Card Review: How the program works and how to get the most out of it
Nerdy Verdict
People who stay at Hilton hotels a few times a year and can put about $12,000 a year on one card to unlock the annual 50,000-point bonus.
Not ideal for:
People who rarely stay at Hilton properties, because the top rate (6×) applies only at participating Hilton brands and there is no benefit to be gained through Gold status.
Why we like it:
The automatic Gold status is valuable in that it normally would cost a lot to attain it. The welcome bonus is also valuable, clocking in at $360 and not counting the free night’s stay.
Canadians haven’t had much choice in hotel credit cards. If you wanted one, you went with Marriott Bonvoy. Now Hilton has entered the mix with the Hilton Honors American Express Card, offering Gold status and points on everyday purchases.
If you already stay at Hilton hotels, there’s a clear reason to take a look. If you don’t, the perks and rewards probably won’t be enough to win you over.
View details
Points for every $1 in eligible Card purchases at participating Hilton brands, plus the Points you already earn as a Hilton Honors Member
Points for every $1 in eligible Card purchases at gas stations, grocery stores, and restaurants in Canada.
Points for every $1 in all other Card purchases.
The Hilton Honors American Express Card puts hotel perks within reach even if you only travel a few times a year. Complimentary Gold status can save you money on breakfast at eligible properties, while a 50,000-point annual spending bonus gives you another reason to use the card between trips.
Pros
- Complimentary Gold status includes breakfast or food and beverage credits at eligible properties, plus potential room upgrades.
- Earn 50,000 bonus points after $12,000 in purchases each calendar year.
- Bonus earn rates on groceries, gas and restaurants in Canada.
Cons
- Rewards are most useful for Hilton stays, limiting flexibility.
- $150 annual fee.
- No recurring anniversary free night.
- Earn up to 70,000 Hilton Honors™ Points and a Free Night Reward
- New Hilton Honors American Express® Cardmembers, can earn 60,000 Points and a Free Night Reward after spending $3,000 on your Card in the first 3 months
- Plus, earn an additional 10,000 Points after you spend $500 on your Card in month 13
- Offer ends January 11, 2027
- Apply with confidence! See if you’ll be approved before you apply – with no impact to your credit score*
- * Instant decisions are only available for Consumer (also known as Personal) Card applications
- Earn 6 Points for every $1 in eligible Card purchases at participating Hilton brands, plus the Points you already earn as a Hilton Honors Member
- Earn 4 Points for every $1 in eligible Card purchases at gas stations, grocery stores, and restaurants in Canada
- Earn 2 Points for every $1 in all other Card purchases
- Enjoy complimentary Hilton Honors Gold status, then get upgraded to Diamond status after you charge $40,000 in net purchases to your Card each year
- Get to your next stay faster with an annual 50,000 Points bonus. Spend $12,000 in a calendar year to unlock the 50,000 Hilton Honors Points bonus
- No annual fee on Additional Cards
- American Express is not responsible for maintaining or monitoring the accuracy of information on this website. For full details and current product information, click the Apply Now link. If you apply and get approved for an American Express Card, (I/we) may receive compensation from American Express, which can be in the form of monetary payment
5 things to know about the new Hilton Honors American Express Card
1. A useful hotel card, if Hilton fits your travel plans
The Hilton Honors American Express Card is one of two co-branded hotel cards in Canada. It provides value to those staying at Hilton-affiliated hotel properties, like Hampton, DoubleTree and Hilton Garden Inn. There’s also some strong benefits, like complimentary Gold status and a welcome bonus worth $210 (when you account for the $150 annual fee) plus a free night’s stay.
Other than that, the earn rates are average due to the low point value, and there isn’t much incentive for those who don’t stay often at Hilton hotels.
Is it worth signing up for if you don’t already stay at Hilton as your preferred hotel? Looking at the bonuses, the spending required to earn them, and the benefits of the card, it could be. It’s dependent on whether your destinations and travel habits can accommodate swinging towards Hilton hotels. The rest of the numbers generally add up, but your habits have to fit the equation, too.
2. You may already have a head start with Hilton Honors
You don’t need a Hilton credit card to join Hilton Honors. Membership is free, so you may already have an account and some points from a past hotel stay.
Hilton Honors calculates its rewards points based on how much you spend on their hotels. The standard earn rate is 10 points per $1 USD spent (this is converted if you pay in Canadian Dollars). Some economy brands and apartment hotels will earn fewer points per dollar.
There are also connections through other Canadian Amex cards. Eligible Membership Rewards points transfer to Hilton Honors at a 1:1 ratio, while Platinum cardholders can enrol in complimentary Hilton Gold status.
If you already have Gold through Platinum, this would mainly be a play to earn even more Hilton points. If you’re into that sort of thing. Otherwise, if you’re a basic Hilton Honors member, the card will give you access to benefits you haven’t been getting.
With elevated status, you’ll earn more points per dollar spent along with other benefits like complimentary breakfast and potential room upgrades.
3. We value Hilton points at 0.6 cents, but your redemption matters
Based on research conducted by NerdWallet in October 2026, each Hilton Honors point in Canada is worth 0.6 cents — here are the earn rates and how much it’s all worth:
6 Points for every $1 at participating Hilton brands – 3.6%
4 Points for every $1 at gas stations, grocery stores, and restaurants in Canada – 2.4%
2 Points for every $1 on all other purchases – 1.2%.
Redemption prices vary by hotel and date. In our research across 20 different cities on four different dates, we found nights that cost as little as 31,000 points (Edmonton), topping out at 242,000 (Tokyo). Those point totals show the range you might need; you’ll also need the comparable cash price to judge a redemption’s value.
Hotel value can also vary based on date, as the same hotel in Amsterdam cost 133,000 points for a stay three weeks after our search, compared with 33,000 points for a stay four months later. That shows how much your dates can affect the points required, rather than a guarantee that booking earlier costs fewer points.
An effective 2.4% return is not outstanding for a rewards credit card on its own, especially since you’re locked into redeeming them at Hilton hotel stays unless you kill your value transferring them to airlines at 10:1. It’s better than nothing — some cards only have bonus earn rates on booking co-branded hotels or travel in general and leave you with the base earn rate on all other purchases.
So if you aren’t staying at their hotels often, it may be better to have a card with a higher rewards rate and more flexible redemption options. Take for example, the Amex Cobalt card. It has higher earn rates across the board and points that can be transferred to many different partners at a better ratio.
View details
Points on eligible eats and drinks in Canada, including groceries and food delivery.* Spend cap applies.
Points on eligible streaming subscriptions in Canada.
Points on eligible ride shares, transit & gas in Canada.
Point for every $1 in Card purchases everywhere else.
Additional point on eligible hotel and car rental bookings via American Express Travel Online.
A standout everyday earner with up to 5x points on a spectrum of everyday spending categories, including eats and drinks, streaming services, gas and more. Unusually robust travel insurance for a mid-tier card makes it a decent travel companion, too. Best for: Those who spend big on groceries, entertainment or transit and want a flexible rewards program.
Pros
- Includes 10 forms of insurance.
- Points can be transferred to other rewards programs, including Aeroplan and Marriott Bonvoy.
- Up to $60 in Instacart statement credits.
Cons
- No lounge access.
- The 5x earn rate is capped at $2,500 monthly — purchases above the cap drop to 1x.
- In your first year as a new Cobalt Cardmember, you can earn 1,250 Membership Rewards® points for each monthly billing period in which you spend $750 in net purchases on your Card. This could add up to 15,000 points in a year. That’s up to $150 towards a weekend getaway or concert tickets.
- Earn 5x the points on eligible eats and drinks in Canada, including groceries and food delivery. Spend cap applies.
- Earn 3x the points on eligible streaming subscriptions in Canada.
- Earn 2X the points on eligible ride shares, transit & gas in Canada.
- Earn 1 additional point on eligible hotel and car rental bookings via American Express Travel Online.
- Earn 1X point for every $1 in Card purchases everywhere else.
- Enjoy access to hotel bookings, a room upgrade (when available), 12pm check-in and late check-out (when available), and up to $100 USD hotel credit to use on amenities when charged to the room for a stay of 2 or more consecutive nights through The Hotel Collection from American Express Travel
- Transfer points 1:1 to several frequent flyer and other loyalty programs.
- Access Front Of The Line® Amex Presale & Reserved Tickets to some of your favourite concerts and theatre performances and special offers and events curated for Cardmembers with Amex Experiences™
- American Express is not responsible for maintaining or monitoring the accuracy of information on this website. For full details and current product information, click the Apply Now link. If you apply and get approved for an American Express Card, (I/we) may receive compensation from American Express, which can be in the form of monetary payment.
4. Gold status could justify the annual fee
Hilton Honors Amex Cardmembers receive complimentary Gold status, with an upgrade to Diamond status after charging $40,000 to their card per year.
Here’s what’s included with Gold status:
Up to 8 bonus points per dollar spent on a stay
Room upgrades
Daily food and beverage credit or continental breakfast
10,000 bonus points every 10 nights after staying 40 nights per calendar year
5th night free on reward stays
Discounts at all-inclusive spas
Normally, the eligibility for Gold status is one of the following:
25 nights
15 stays
$6,000 USD spend
Considering the annual fee for this card is only $150, this is a major source of value for the card. Because of this, are the main drivers in determining whether it's worth it to sign up for the card.
For someone who already has Gold, this isn’t an additional benefit. For everyone else, the value depends on using the breakfast or food credit, potential upgrades and other benefits on stays they would choose anyway.
5. The welcome offer and annual bonus can put your next Hilton stay within reach
The welcome offer is reasonably easy to get — 60,000 Hilton Honors points and a free night’s stay after spending $3,000 in your first 3 months. If you keep the card, there is a second year’s bonus of 10,000 points for spending $500 in month 13. The offer is valid until January 11, 2027.
The first year is equal to $360 in value (not including the free night), with $60 available in the month 13.
Subtracting the $150 annual fee, this equals $210 in the first year. After the welcome offer, ongoing value comes from purchase rewards, the annual spending bonus and the Gold benefits you use. There is no automatic anniversary free night, as there is with the Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card.
Annual points offer: If you spend $12,000 in a calendar year (this can be spent anywhere — it’s not tied into staying at Hilton hotels), you’ll receive 50,000 bonus points. That’s worth $300.
This represents 2.5% extra on top of whatever you would earn from purchases alone. And $12,000 isn’t a ridiculously high spending amount, so you’ll be able to offset the $150 annual fee with spending alone.
If your normal spending hits $12,000 and you primarily book Hilton stays on your annual travel adventures, it’s a keeper for sure. Does it make sense to grab this card to become a Hilton regular? If you are comfortable with moving your stays to Hilton properties, then it can be. But if your spending falls short or Hilton hotels are inconvenient, a more flexible travel card may be a better fit.
How does it compare with the Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card?
Until this card was released, Canada only had one co-branded hotel card, the Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card.
Hilton Honors Amex Card | Marriott Bonvoy Amex Card | |
|---|---|---|
Annual fee | $150 | $120 |
Welcome bonus | Up to 70,000 Hilton Honors Points | Up to 70,000 Marriott Bonvoy points |
Earn rate | 6 Points for every $1 in eligible Card purchases at participating Hilton brands, plus the Points you already earn as a Hilton Honors Member 4 Points for every $1 in eligible Card purchases at gas stations, grocery stores, and restaurants in Canada 2 Points for every $1 in all other Card purchases | 5 Points for every dollar in eligible Card purchases at participating Marriott Bonvoy hotels 2 Points for every dollar spent on anything else. |
Point value | 0.6 cents | 0.76 cents |
Status upgrades | Complimentary Hilton Honors Gold status | Automatic Marriott Bonvoy Silver Elite status, 15 Elite Night credits |
Free night voucher eligibility | Currently only through the welcome offer | Annual free night worth up to 35,000 points after each card anniversary |
Annual spending bonus | 50,000 points after $12,000 in calendar-year spending | None |
Airline transfers | Often around 10:1 | Often around 3:1 |
Travel insurance | Flight delay ($500) Baggage delay ($500) Lost/stolen baggage ($500) Hotel burglary ($500) Rental car theft and damage | Flight delay ($500) Baggage delay ($500) Lost/stolen baggage ($500) Hotel burglary ($500) Rental car theft and damage |
A highlight to consider is that the Hilton Honors Gold Status offers more substantial on-property benefits than Marriott Bonvoy Silver Elite status.
Some things that the Gold status has that are absent in the Silver Elite status include:
Potential room upgrades.
Free breakfast or food credits.
Increased bonus points on stays (80% for Hilton vs. 10% on Marriott).
The Hilton card is also the stronger card for everyday spending as the earn rates for gas, groceries and restaurants will yield a higher return.
Marriott counters this with an anniversary free-night award and much better transfer ratios to other airlines.
Of course, it all depends on which hotel group you spend more time staying at. There are more Marriott-affiliated hotels in Canada (310 compared to 223 for Hilton) and across the globe. If you’re going to areas underserved by Hilton, Marriott may be a better choice.
Other options for rewards on hotels
A hotel card makes sense when you can use its rewards and benefits at that group’s properties. Some options work better when you prefer to choose accommodation trip by trip.
| Card | NerdWallet rating | Best for | Apply Now |
|---|---|---|---|
| American Express Cobalt® Card | APPLY NOW on American Express' website | ||
 APPLY NOW on American Express' website | 5.0/5 | Everyday spending toward travel | |
| Scotiabank Passport® Visa Infinite +* Card | APPLY NOW on Scotiabank's website | ||
 APPLY NOW on Scotiabank's website | 5.0/5 | Hotel rewards without FX fees | |
| Scotiabank Passport® Visa Infinite Privilege* Card | APPLY NOW on Scotiabank's website | ||
 APPLY NOW on Scotiabank's website | 4.7/5 | Hotel rewards without FX fees | |
| TD® First Class Travel® Visa Infinite* Card | APPLY NOW on TD's website | ||
 APPLY NOW on TD's website | 4.6/5 | Booking through Expedia For TD | |
| Tangerine Money-Back Credit Card | APPLY NOW on Tangerine's website | ||
 APPLY NOW on Tangerine's website | 4.9/5 | Hotel cash back, no fee | |
Choose the American Express Cobalt for greater point value, especially if you aren’t married to staying at a single hotel group’s properties. You can save on the flight instead and find your own reasonably priced accommodations.
Choose the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite+ for similar rewards, better acceptance and no FX fees. Amex cards generally have less acceptance than Visa cards, and if you’re travelling abroad, you may have even more trouble. Saving 2.5% on foreign transaction fees is the cherry on top.
Choose the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Privilege for a more premium Passport experience. The Privilege card increases that total to 6 Scene+ points per dollar: 3 from the card, plus 3 through the same booking service. It also offers no foreign transaction fees and more extensive travel benefits, but carries a $599 annual fee.
Choose the TD First Class Travel Visa Infinite for more rewards on hotel purchases. Earn 8 TD Rewards points per dollar on travel booked through Expedia For TD. It rewards using a particular booking service while leaving you a choice of hotel brands.
Choose Tangerine Money-Back for easy cash-back on hotels, when you choose that rewards category. There’s no annual fee or commitment to one hotel group.
Nerdy Verdict
Best for:
People who stay at Hilton hotels a few times a year and can put about $12,000 a year on one card to unlock the annual 50,000-point bonus.
Not ideal for:
People who rarely stay at Hilton properties, because the top rate (6×) applies only at participating Hilton brands and there is no benefit to be gained through Gold status.
Why we like it:
The automatic Gold status is valuable in that it normally would cost a lot to attain it. The welcome bonus is also valuable, clocking in at $360 and not counting the free night’s stay.
DIVE EVEN DEEPER
Shannon Terrell
