Hilton HHonors Platinum Credit Card Review

The Hilton HHonors card is a travel rewards card with a generous points system: 5 points for every dollar spent at a Hilton, as well as money spent for gas, at supermarkets, drugstores, and other purchases. It’s not a Hilton-only rewards program by any means, making it one of the better hotel-affiliated credit cards available. Cardholders get 10,000 points after first purchase, as well as 10,000 additional points after the first stay at a Hilton Hotel.

Hilton Rewards In addition to 5 points rewarded at select merchants, the Hilton HHonors card gives cardholders a full three points for all other purchases. That’s pretty much unprecedented for a rewards card of this type. Most travel rewards card follow the point-per-dollar model. While points never expire, there is a limit of $100,000 in spending every year, which is more than enough for the vast majority of cardholders. Anyone spending more than that each year could combine this rewards card with a second rewards card to meet all of their spending needs and still get the great rewards offered by this card.

Hilton Bonus Points The Hilton HHonors card can be combined with the HHonors® reward program, which allows cardholders to earn points or frequent flyer miles towards a hotel stay. In addition to 10,000 points after first purchase, cardholders are eligible for 15,000 bonus points if $5000 is spent in five months of having the card. A cardholder could conceivably receive 35,000 bonus points within the first five months of using the card. That is a lot of bonus rewards points to cash in quickly when first getting the card.

Personalize your Rewards You are actually able to personalize how you earn rewards on this card. You can earn points or you can earn miles or you can earn a combination of both depending on what suits you but. You set your own earnings style through your online account.

Redeeming Rewards Most cardholders are travelers so they will want to redeem their points for travel. There are many different ways to do that; you can redeem for hotels, cruises, car rental, or vacation packages. You can also redeem your rewards for “experiences” such as motorcycle rentals or wine tasting. If for some reason you aren’t going to be traveling for a bit, though, and want to redeem your rewards in other ways then that option is available to you as well.

The rewards can be cashed in for shopping, dining and entertainment. You can even share or gift your rewards to others if you are feeling generous. Note that if you’re close to having enough points to redeem for something you want but you want to get it now then you do have the option of simply buying points to push yourself up to having the points you need to redeem rewards. Or you could get a friend to share their points with you!

The Hilton American Express Card The HHonors® reward program is an Amex card, so the card comes with all the built in protection of an American Express card – travel accident insurance, car rental insurance, fraud protection, and replacement protection. As this is a travel-related credit card, this is important. The card also has no annual fee and a low introductory rate. However, the card does have a relatively high long-term rate, so it’s not a great card for carrying a balance month to month.

Conclusion As mentioned, the Hilton HHonors Platinum Card has one of the best travel rewards points programs available and it offers these rewards with no annual fee. At the same time, this is offset a bit by the APR so it’s best for people who don’t typically carry a balance on their cards. If you do a lot of traveling and frequently stay at Hilton hotels then check it out.