Citi Hilton Honors, Amex Hilton Honors, or Amex SPG

[frugalQ]

My DH and I have decided to put off home building until next year.  Now, we are planning to go on vacation to Hawaii this summer for our 40th b-days.   I'm considering apping for one of the cards in the title, but I'm not sure which one is best.

Planning travel to Hawaii for 5 nights

Have employee discounts for both Starwood and Hilton

My scores are between 680-700. 

I carry a $1K balance on my Freedom (0% interest)

I put approx 2K per month on my Amex Green card (all bills and daily expenses)

I'm leaning towards the Hilton, but I'm not sure what the difference is between Citi vs Amex Hilton card.  Any help/advice is greatly appreciated.

[sengpatt]

If you're planning on staying over a weekend and would consider the Citi Reserve, the 2 free weekend nights that come with it might be the best value once the devaluation goes into effect end of March.

Also, there's nothing saying you can't apply for a Citi and an Amex. If you really want to pay for the entire stay with points, both you and your DH could apply for 8 Hilton CC between Citi and Amex! (I'm exaggerating, but you get the point.)

[frugalQ]

Thanks for the response. I didn't consider apping for 2 Hilton cards.

I'm not sure that I will qualify for the citi Hilton reserve card. Do you know the score range? Salary and years of employment aren't the issue. However, I'd suspect the score needs to be over 700.

Also, I'm not sure that I want 2 hard pulls on my credit since we do want to build a new house next year. I'll ask DH if he is interested in applying.

[Cdnewmanpac]

Unless you really need the card right now, I would hold off on applying for an Amex hilton card until after march 28th. If the axon code goes away, the Amex version loses a lot of its value. 

Flat out, the citi is a better card at this point. But the underwriting is much stricter. If you don't plan to seek financing for 6 months or more, 1 vs 2 Inq aren't going to matter much. I would apply for the citi reserve, then consider Amex only if rejected by citi. Two free nights in the new system are worth way more than they were a month ago, even more so if axon disappears.

[frugalQ]

What is happening to the Amex Hilton card after 3/28?

[distantarray]

btw did you notice how bad hilton got hit recently? they devalued their points A LOT  and they were pretty worthless as it was (0.5 cents) now they're worth even less, and they dropped 6x category for pharmacies. So what's the point of Hilton card now anyways?

[Cdnewmanpac]

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@frugalQ wrote:
What is happening to the Amex Hilton card after 3/28?

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Nothing happens to the cards. But that is the day the new hhonors redemption structure kicks in. They are adding three new hotel categories (8-10), adding seasonal pricing for redemptions, etc. One of the last remaining advantages of the amex cards was access to the AXON code for redeeming 4 night stays at a discounted point total. Nobody is sure if these will work after march 28, so thus my advice. If the codes are discontinued, there is no reason to choose amex over citi.

[frugalQ]

I am actually looking for a card where I can get points for hotel stay this summer. The last couple of years we've stayed at a Hilton hotel. I figure that I can use the card to get points for future trips.

So, Hilton cards aren't good cards anymore?