Increased Sign-Up Bonuses on Hilton Hotel Credit Cards
At the beginning of November, Hilton announced their new lineup of cards exclusively with American Express. Since these new cards were released in January, there has not been a change in the sign-up bonus for any of the cards; however, the two cards below have a significantly raised sign-up bonus until June 27th!
First thing first, if you EVER plan on staying at a Hilton, please register for free to be a part of their rewards program by following this link. There is absolutely nothing to lose by doing it, and you might as well earn points if you are going to pay to stay. Even better though, register with Hilton rewards AND get one or both of the credit cards below!
***Be sure to create your Hilton rewards account through this link before signing up for a card (or if you get no card at all) in order to get 2,500 bonus points after your first stay.***
Be sure to share this article with someone who likes to travel, even if they already have one of these cards. There is nothing stopping someone from getting both cards!
The no fee card from Hilton has the typical perks of possible late checkout, free wifi, and book 4 nights on points get the fifth night free. Those are all staying the same from the previous no fee Hilton card. A new change is that it has no foreign transaction fees, which is a huge deal if you travel overseas.
Here’s the breakdown of how points are earned:
Sign up bonus: Earn 75,000 points after spending $1,000 in the first 3 months. This is a 25,000 point increase from the normal sign-up bonus!
7x points per dollar spent at Hilton
5x points per dollar at restaurants, gas stations, and supermarkets
3x points per dollar everywhere else
You also earn Hilton Honors Silver Elite status as long as you have the card. Read more here.Conrad Maldives
This card is similar to the old Hilton Honors Surpass card, but the annual fee is $20 more and with more perks. It has the same perks offered by the no fee card, like foreign transaction fees, but it has some awesome additions as well.
–Hilton Honors Gold Status as long as you have the card (free breakfast is awesome!)
-10 priority pass lounge visits per year (this is redeemed at airports)
-Free weekend night at any Hilton hotel once you hit your year anniversary in your first year
–Earn a second weekend night at any Hilton with $15,000 in spend for the year
Gold status is worth quite a bit of money if you are staying in Hilton Garden Inns, DoubleTree’s, Hilton’s, and now Waldorf Astoria with a free all you can eat breakfast.
Getting a free weekend night is a huge deal, because that could be redeemed at hotels for over $500 per night (like the Conrad Maldives pictured above). If you are traveling to a big city or beach, get one night at an incredible hotel!
Here’s how the points are earned:
Sign-up Bonus: Earn 100,000 points after spending $3,000 in the first 3 months.
12x points per dollar spent at Hilton
6x points per dollar spent at restaurants, gas stations, and supermarkets
3x points per dollar spent everywhere else
Getting 75,000 Hilton points from a no fee card equates to $450 in your pocket when redeemed at Hilton hotels. This is obviously a lot of money in points currency for a no fee card, and this card is a keeper long-term since it has no fee, which will only help your credit score as your history grows.
The Ascend card is also an incredible deal for only a $95 annual fee. Getting the 100,000 points PLUS the free weekend night after the first year PLUS another free weekend night after $15,000 spend can get you $1,500 worth of hotel nights. WOW!
Here are some great redemptions for free weekend night rewards:Hilton San Francisco Union Square Hilton New York Midtown Conrad Miami Hilton Dallas Lincoln Center The Roosevelt New Orleans
With over 5,000 hotels across the world, there is bound to be a Hilton in the area you want to visit. By using your points in the best way possible, you could easily get 4 free nights at a place like the Hiltons listed above by getting the Hilton Ascend card and spending $15,000 on it in the first year. If you are reticent to get a card with an annual fee, then the no fee card is there for you with a huge sign-up bonus. Do not forget to sign up for Hilton rewards through this link, also!