Amex Hilton HHonors any good?

[CreditCuriosity]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@CreditCuriousity wrote:

Is Amex HHornors any good for a hotel card?  60k signup bonus, not quite sure what that equates to.. Like the 5x points on restraunts is the big seller, but not sure if they points are worth much?  Experts please advise.. I don't hear it talked about much, so probably not the best?

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I applied for the AMEX Hilton HHonors back in January.  Back then it was a 40k point signup bonus if spending $750 in 3 months.  

Per nerdwallet, "Given that HHonors Points are notoriously hard to redeem, we value them at 0.5 cents apiece on average, though depending on how you redeem your Hilton HHonors rewards, their value can vary from 0.1 cents to as much as 1 cent (if you're lucky)."

If I purchased from Hilton, 60000 points, it would cost me $600.

Since I had the card since January, I have earned 44021 points (including my 40000 point bonus) which equates to $1018.20 in purchases on the credit card.

It has a good reward lineup however at the end of the day I would much rather prefer cashback than points.  But then again I rarely stay at hotels.  I only applied for this card as it was the only one that I believed had a good reward lineup for my spending.

Have you thought about the Citi Double Cash or Fidelity AMEX that both offer 2% back on all purchases?  

Are you a Sam's Club member?  If you are you can get 3% for dining and travel purchases (excluding purchases at wholesale clubs other than Sam’s Club).

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Ya fidelity cash back is on my hit list this year... They solict me weekly and just hit me with a targeted signup offer of spend 500 get $50, not bad.. Have a Cash Management account and retirement with fidelity although it is issured through FIA/BofA... My TU inquires are dropping off like flies once it hits 1 or 2 I will apply for it.

I still want a hotel card though as you can get a free night with just AF alone which is worth more than the AF on the marriott/IHG/Ritz card..  Hilton HHonors is just the signup bonus, but eat out a TON so that is why I considered that as putting 12-18k through that a year would be no problem in food alone eating out so that would be 100k points there.

[PandiferBear]

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@CreditCuriousity wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:
Being pampered is the best! 😄 Hot stone massage and facial is a must for me.

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Win, well not the facial for me, but hot stone massage omg awesome sauce..  You only take trips every x amount of years or at least me, do it up and don't cheap out is my motto.. If you can offset the trip by free airfare by CC's and help out a bit with hotels by cc that just means more pampering money you can spend

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Exactly how I feel. When you can do it, you make sure you do it RIGHT!

[Anonymous]

Like heavenly posted, I narrowed down my next few vacation destinations and looked at the type of hotels in that area. I went back and forth with 3 different cards and I ended up choosing Marriott.

[NRB525]

As an update, I'm trying to get my $1k spend on the HHonors card. Tried to use it Friday for a birthday lunch with my family, "Oh, we don't take American Express, VISA and MasterCard only". So I used my Freedom card. Tried to use it tonight at dinner, "Oh, we don't take American Express..." So I used my Marriott card.

I'm seeing why they expanded the categories on this card beyond dining.

[B335is]

Some people feel the hotel cards don't give the best rewards value. SPG is overall a better card because the points are much more valuable, but the sign up bonus is marginal. I also have the Amex Hilton Surpass and most of the time get free wifi, free parking (not a stated benefit), Gold status and lounge floor access. They also say upgrades based on availability but that has yet to materialize. When I was in Australia last year it saved me 7 breakfasts and 7 days of parking ($30 per day). It's worked out for me and I kept it after the first year.

[CreditCuriosity]

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@B335is wrote:
Some people feel the hotel cards don't give the best rewards value. SPG is overall a better card because the points are much more valuable, but the sign up bonus is marginal. I also have the Amex Hilton Surpass and most of the time get free wifi, free parking (not a stated benefit), Gold status and lounge floor access. They also say upgrades based on availability but that has yet to materialize. When I was in Australia last year it saved me 7 breakfasts and 7 days of parking ($30 per day). It's worked out for me and I kept it after the first year.

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Surpass is the AF version, correct?

[CreditCuriosity]

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@Anonymous wrote:
Like heavenly posted, I narrowed down my next few vacation destinations and looked at the type of hotels in that area. I went back and forth with 3 different cards and I ended up choosing Marriott.

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Ya good way of thinking about it.. Figure out where I want to gto and based on hotel as you stated and heavenly make the decision based off that as part of the factoring.

[B335is]

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@CreditCuriousity wrote:

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@B335is wrote:
Some people feel the hotel cards don't give the best rewards value. SPG is overall a better card because the points are much more valuable, but the sign up bonus is marginal. I also have the Amex Hilton Surpass and most of the time get free wifi, free parking (not a stated benefit), Gold status and lounge floor access. They also say upgrades based on availability but that has yet to materialize. When I was in Australia last year it saved me 7 breakfasts and 7 days of parking ($30 per day). It's worked out for me and I kept it after the first year.

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Surpass is the AF version, correct?

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Yeah it's the AF version. The earning rate is higher and the bonus was better. I've coupled it with a few Citi HHonors cards as well. 

[Anonymous]

I don't know if this is any interest to you, but the Amex SPG, in addition to accruing points for hotel partners, has a 1:1 transfer ratio to the AAdvantage program... I just learned this! The signup bonus isn't all that great, but there is one (10k miles upon first purchase, an additional 15k miles if you spend $5k in 6 months).