Hilton HHonors Visa Review

hilton-hhonors-credit-card-visaThe Hilton HHonors Visa offers rewards and benefits to people who frequently stay at Hilton Hotels. If your hotel of choice is a Hilton, this card delivers real value.

The Hilton Portfolio consists of many different brands. These include focused-service hotels such as Hilton Garden Inns (with over 600 worldwide locations), Hampton Inns (with more than 2,000 properties in 16 countries) and Homewood Suites (consisting of 358 properties in three countries). Full-service hotels include Hilton Hotels and Resorts (558 properties in 81 countries), Doubletree by Hilton (380 locations in 33 countries), and Embassy Suites Hotels (with nearly 220 properties in five countries). For travelers who regularly stay at Hilton Hotels, The Hilton HHonors Visa provides a quick and easy method to earn bonus points.

New cardholders are currently eligible to earn 75,000 Hilton HHonors Bonus Points after making at least $2,000 in eligible net purchases within the first three months that your account is open. Net purchases are the total amount of transactions minus any credits and/or returns. Fees, interest charges, cash advances, and balance transfers do not qualify as purchases. Once you meet the spending threshold, the Hilton HHonors Bonus Points will appear in your Hilton HHonors account in 4-6 weeks. Note: These Bonus Points do not count toward Elite tier qualification. This bonus offer is not available if you have had a Hilton HHonors Visa account that was opened or closed in the past 18 months.

Members earn Hilton HHonors points at the following rates:

  • 6X points per dollar spent on hotel stays within the Hilton brand Portfolio
  • 3X points per dollar spent at supermarkets, drugstores, and gas stations
  • 2X points per dollar spent on all other purchases

There is no cap on the amount of points you can earn.

Cardholders automatically receive Silver status upon approval for the card. Members may fast track to HHonors Gold status after completing four stays within the first 90 days that your account is open or when you make $20,000 or more in purchases each calendar year.

Hilton HHonors Visa account holders can earn an annual loyalty bonus of 10,000 Hilton HHonors Bonus points at the end of each calendar year in which you spend $1,000 or more on stays within the Hilton brand portfolio.

Silver loyalty benefits include:

  • 15% bonus on all HHonors Base Points you earn
  • 5th night free on Standard Room Reward stays of 5 nights or more
  • Complimentary access during your stay to health club or fitness center where available
  • Complimentary in-room and lobby Standard Internet access at participating hotels in the Hilton portfolio

The APR for both purchases and balance transfers is 15.24%, 17.24%, or 19.24% based on your creditworthiness at the time of approval. A balance transfer fee of $10 or 5% of the total amount of the transfer (whichever is greater) will be applied to all balance transfers.

Members are charged a 3% foreign transaction fee on all purchases made on the card while traveling outside of the U.S.

There is no annual fee for this card.

The Facts

Below we have broken down the facts of the Hilton HHonors Visa to help you determine if it’s the right card for you.

The Good:

Signup bonus:

New cardholders are currently eligible to earn 75,000 Hilton HHonors Bonus Points after making at least $2,000 in eligible net purchases within the first three months that your account is open. Net purchases are the total amount of transactions minus any credits and/or returns. Fees, interest charges, cash advances, and balance transfers do not qualify as purchases. Once you meet the spending threshold, the Hilton HHonors Bonus Points will appear in your Hilton HHonors account in 4-6 weeks. Note: These Bonus Points do not count toward Elite tier qualification. This bonus offer is not available if you have had a Hilton HHonors Visa account that was opened or closed in the past 18 months.

Generous rewards program:

Members earn Hilton HHonors points at the following rates:

  • 6X points per dollar spent on hotel stays within the Hilton brand Portfolio
  • 3X points per dollar spent at supermarkets, drugstores, and gas stations
  • 2X points per dollar spent on all other purchases

Hilton HHonors members can redeem points for a hotel room using any of the following room rewards:

  • Premium Room Rewards
  • Room Upgrade Rewards
  • Points & Money Rewards
  • Standard Room Rewards

Points can also be redeemed for merchandise, vacation packages, and to make charitable contributions.

The 75,000 bonus points signup offer is more than enough for two free nights at most Category 6 properties within the Hilton portfolio of properties.

No annual fee:

There is no annual fee associated with this card.

The Bad:

Foreign transaction fees:

Even though this card is targeted at frequent travelers, cardholders are charged a three percent foreign transaction fee on every purchase made outside of the U.S. If you travel often internationally, these fees can mount up quickly.

No promotional APR:

There is no 0% introductory APR offered with this card. Members are charged a variable APR of 15.24%, 17.24%, or 19.24% on both purchases and balance transfers. Your specific APR is determined at the time of approval and is based upon your creditworthiness.

The Ugly:

Low redemption values:

An HHonors point is valued at roughly $0.05 which is a fraction of what points are worth on some cards. For example, a Starpoint from Starwood American Express is worth 2.4 cents when redeemed for hotel stays. If you want accumulate a lot of rewards within a very short period of time, this may not be your best bet.

Limited redemption options:

When you convert your HHonors points to airlines miles, they lose a lot of their value. 10,000 HHonors points will only give you 1,000 Virgin America Elevate Points and US Airways Miles gets you even less- 850 miles.