AMEX Hilton and AMEX as a travel card

[laboi_22]

I've been wanting/desiring the AMEX Hilton. I use Hiltons often when traveling and I don't have any travel reward cards with the exception of my AMEX Green (which I think is a pretty nice travel card--often overlooked as such). I've looked into the details of the Hilton card, and read reviews. I decided to take the hit and apply. I'm sure I'm approved since I've had a HP on EX, but application is still in progress. Fully expecting the fraud call on Monday morning.

Now that I've applied, I've noticed that this card might not be that nice. I thought 7,500 points would get you a free night at the Hampton Inn (which I like), but when looking through the rewards site for Hilton HHonors, I'm seeing no free hotels for less than 30,000. So that means with my bonus 40,000 points I'll get hardly a free night at a Hampton Inn? Am I missing something? Now I'm discouraged.

I should have just stayed put and used the Green. It is my understanding that you can use points for hotels through the travel site. Also you can get cheaper rates there than directly through the hotel chain. I also think you can become a member of the hotels rewards program for free and can put your loyalty accounts into AMEX's travel site to get points booked from there. 

Any thoughts on this card?

[Cdnewmanpac]

First, you need to google AXON and GLON. These are codes used to redeem points for long stays at aspirational hotels, But the Internet explains them in detail, so I won't repeat. 7500 points gets you a room at a Hampton inn somewhere in western Oklahoma. If you stay at hiltons a lot, then the card accumulates points quickly because of the point multiplier. Using my surpass for a 5 night stay at 240/night netted me almost 15000 points. I paid for a weekend stay for my parents at the local garden inn using a double points deal and got another 8000. I know the regular Amex has a lower multiplier, but it still adds something. However, if you dont stay at Hilton a lot, there are better generic travel cards out there.

[isoldmyatlas]

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@laboi_22 wrote:

I've been wanting/desiring the AMEX Hilton. I use Hiltons often when traveling and I don't have any travel reward cards with the exception of my AMEX Green (which I think is a pretty nice travel card--often overlooked as such). I've looked into the details of the Hilton card, and read reviews. I decided to take the hit and apply. I'm sure I'm approved since I've had a HP on EX, but application is still in progress. Fully expecting the fraud call on Monday morning.

Now that I've applied, I've noticed that this card might not be that nice. I thought 7,500 points would get you a free night at the Hampton Inn (which I like), but when looking through the rewards site for Hilton HHonors, I'm seeing no free hotels for less than 30,000. So that means with my bonus 40,000 points I'll get hardly a free night at a Hampton Inn? Am I missing something? Now I'm discouraged.

I should have just stayed put and used the Green. It is my understanding that you can use points for hotels through the travel site. Also you can get cheaper rates there than directly through the hotel chain. I also think you can become a member of the hotels rewards program for free and can put your loyalty accounts into AMEX's travel site to get points booked from there. 

Any thoughts on this card?

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I have it, and I have the Amex Green as well.  I also stay mainly at Hampton Inns.  I got it because you get way more HHonors points with it rather than with the Green.  1 MR point per dollar =  1.5 HHonors points per dollar with the Green, whereas with the Hilton Card I get between 3 and 6 HHonors points per dollar (depending on where I'm using my card).  So, if you really are going to be staying at Hilton Hotels, it makes sense to have.

You can also use points + cash to book rooms (one that I looked at was 12500 points + $40 cash per night), which can be a decent deal.

[laboi_22]

Ok. Thanks for the input. You guys are making me feel better lol. I didn't research the difference between the Green to Hilton points. That makes sense. I'm hoping to find deals! Thanks for the reward code tips as well. Will look into that.

[SnackTrader]

You're right that there are very few hotels for under 30,000 points with the HHonors program.  However, once in a while I find a desirable 25,000 point Hampton Inn.  Anyway, don't forget to sign up for the quarterly bonuses on the HHonors website, they will get you points faster for free nights.  Otherwise, the card works well for what it does, not necessarily the signup bonus offer, but in getting you a big points multiplier during your stays at Hiltons and when you make other types of purchases.  If you use it exclusively for ALL purchases (probably not recommended given the points value) you can easily get lots of free nights.  And at the end of the day, if you are staying at Hilton's for travel anyway, you might as well use a card that gets you a multiplier when you stay there.

[laboi_22]

Thanks for the tips. I was really betting on the 7,500 points per night. Oh well. Too late now. Ill make it work.

[pkosheta]

The best way to value this card IMHO is a follows.  If most Hilton stays are going to cost 30-35k points what is the spend req to get there.  30-35k/3pts yields a spend of 10k plus.  Fo spending that 10k what is the value of the room u get?  If the room is only 100 dollars ur only netting 1% at best.  BUT if you use theeh when the night stay would be very expensive bc the merchant is charging a higher than normal rate...like when Itravel to go see a football game...that 100 room is now biling at 250-300. A 250-300 reward for spending around 10k is 2.5-3%.  Since I book these overpriced roomevery darn year  I feel like I'm getting good value.  Plus with some catergories,t 6 points, I'm getting 5-6% backessentially .  It's all in how u spend ur pointscause them wiselexpand conserve them for expensive unavoidable stays when they will try and gouge you.

[laboi_22]

Good points. I agree. As I dig a little more I'm seeing a bit more value however nothing like what I thought I was getting. Shame on me for not digging a bit more!

[CreditScholar]

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@Cdnewmanpac wrote:

First, you need to google AXON and GLON. These are codes used to redeem points for long stays at aspirational hotels, But the Internet explains them in detail, so I won't repeat. 7500 points gets you a room at a Hampton inn somewhere in western Oklahoma. If you stay at hiltons a lot, then the card accumulates points quickly because of the point multiplier. Using my surpass for a 5 night stay at 240/night netted me almost 15000 points. I paid for a weekend stay for my parents at the local garden inn using a double points deal and got another 8000. I know the regular Amex has a lower multiplier, but it still adds something. However, if you dont stay at Hilton a lot, there are better generic travel cards out there.

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+1. AXONs and GLONs are where the real value in Hilton HHonors is. I wouldn't bother redeeming for anything other than 4+ night stays at category 6-7 hotels. All other stays should be paid ones. If your reward stays match this pattern there is incredible value in the Hilton cards. This goes for the Citi Hilton Reserve as well, and for most people the best combo is the Reserve card plus the no AF Amex. If you're looking to use your points for low tier hotels or for stays under 4 nights, don't bother with Hilton. There are far better alternatives out there for that.

[distantarray]

• Earn 3 points per $1 spent on purchases
• NerdWallet estimates Hilton HHonors Points are worth 0.5 cents based on our analysis of point redemption options at hotels around the world
• 9 points per $1 at Hilton
• 6 points per $1 spent on, Gas, Groceries, Drug stores, Cable/internet/wireless bills
• 3 points elsewhere
• 25% bonus for points with complimentary Gold Status

That's what I'm more interested on it might be a good go to card since most hotel cards only give you bonuses on hotel stays.