One of the best ways to earn Hilton HHonors points (which can give you free rooms at the Hilton Hotels and Resorts family of hotels) is to to sign up for one of the four types of Hilton-sponsored credit cards.
American Express Hilton Surpass card
One Hilton-sponsored card is the American Express Hilton Surpass card. It has a $75 annual fee. There is usually a signup bonus offered with the card; the bonus varies from 60,000-85,000 HHonors points, which are credited to your account after you spend a certain amount within the first 3 months of card membership.
The American Express Hilton Surpass card has great earning potential:
– Earn 12 HHonors points per dollar spent at participating Hilton properties
– Earn 6 HHonors points per dollar spent at U.S. restaurants, supermarkets (unfortunately, warehouse stores are not considered supermarkets in this regard), and standalone gas stations
– Earn 3 HHonors points per dollar spent everywhere else
You will also receive HHonors Gold status for as long as you have the card. If you spend $40,000 per year on the card, you will also receive Diamond status. The loyalty rewards benefits for HHonors are described on the HHonors website.
American Express HHonors card
The American Express HHonors card has no annual fee. There is usually a signup bonus that ranges from 40,000-60,000 HHonors points when you spend $750 on the card within the first 3 months of card membership.
This card has the same categories as the Surpass card, just with lower category bonuses:
– Earn 7 HHonors points per dollar spent at participating Hilton properties
– Earn 5 HHonors points per dollar spent at US restaurants, supermarkets (excluding warehouse stores), and standalone gas stations
– Earn 3 HHonors points per dollar spent everywhere else
You will also receive HHonors Silver status for as long as you have the card. If you spend $20,000 per year on the card, you will receive Gold status.
Citi Hilton HHonors Reserve
The Citi Hilton HHonors Reserve card comes with a $95 annual fee. There is a signup bonus of 2 weekend night certificates, each good for one weekend night in a standard room at select Hilton properties, after you spend $2,500 on the card within the first 4 months.
The category bonuses are slightly different than the American Express Cards:
– Earn 10 HHonors points per dollar spent at participating Hilton properties
– Earn 5 HHonors points per dollar spent on airline and car rental purchases
– Earn 3 HHonors points per dollar spent everywhere else
You will also receive HHonors Gold status for as long as you have the card.
Citi Hilton HHonors Signature
The Citi Hilton HHonors Signature card has no annual fee. There is usually a signup bonus offered with the card that varies from 40,000-75,000 HHonors points after you spend a certain amount within the first 4 months of card membership.
The category bonuses are slightly different than the American Express Cards:
– Earn 6 HHonors points per dollar spent at participating Hilton properties
– Earn 3 HHonors points per dollar spent supermarkets (excluding warehouse stores), drugstores, and gas stations
– Earn 2 HHonors points per dollar spent everywhere else
You will also receive HHonors Silver status for as long as you have the card. You can receive Gold status if you have 4 stays at Hilton properties within 90 days of opening the account, or if you spend $20,0000 on the card in a calendar year.
Those are the various cards that will get you Hilton HHonors points. You can visit either the American Express or Citibank website to see all the various details about each card. If you and your spouse each signed up for one or more cards and met the criteria for the sign-up bonus, you could accumulate a huge amount of Hilton points to use while on vacation.
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