Hilton credit cards compared: no-fee, Surpass, Aspire and Business
All four Hilton cards have new welcome offers through January 13, 2027, including a record 200,000 points on the Aspire. What each card costs, what the credits are worth, and which to pick.
American Express put new welcome offers on all four Hilton cards on September 10, 2026, and they run through January 13, 2027. The Aspire’s is the largest that card has had: 200,000 points after $6,000 in purchases in the first 6 months. Three of the four offers now include a Free Night Reward.
What each card costs and gives you
Hilton Honors Card, $0
The no-fee card earns 7x at Hilton hotels, 5x at US restaurants, supermarkets and gas stations, and 3x on everything else. Silver status comes with it, and Gold follows after $20,000 in spending in a calendar year.
New cardholders earn 70,000 points plus a Free Night Reward after $2,000 in 6 months.
Hilton Honors Surpass, $150
Earning rises to 12x at Hilton, 6x at US restaurants, supermarkets and gas stations, 4x on US online shopping, and 3x elsewhere. Gold status is automatic. You get up to $200 a year in Hilton statement credits, paid as $50 a quarter, and a Free Night Reward after $15,000 in purchases in a calendar year.
Spend $3,000 in the first 6 months and you earn 130,000 points plus a Free Night Reward.
Hilton Honors Aspire, $550
The Aspire earns 14x at Hilton and 7x on flights booked with the airline, car rentals and US restaurants. Diamond status is automatic and so is one Free Night Reward every year. The credits are large: $400 a year at Hilton resorts in two $200 halves, $200 a year toward flights in $50 quarters, and a CLEAR Plus credit.
Its offer is the record: 200,000 points after $6,000 in 6 months.
Hilton Honors Business, $195
The business card earns 12x at Hilton and 5x on other purchases up to $100,000 a year, then 3x. It comes with Gold status and up to $240 a year in Hilton credits, paid as $60 a quarter.
Today it pays 150,000 points plus a Free Night Reward after $8,000 in 6 months.
Why the Free Night Reward matters more than the points
Hilton points are cheap. We value them at 0.35 cents each, which makes 70,000 points worth about $245.
A Free Night Reward works differently. It covers a standard room at nearly any Hilton property with no cap on the points price. The same certificate is worth $150 at an airport Hampton Inn and several times that at a resort that charges 100,000 points or more a night. It expires a year after it is issued.
That changes how to read the no-fee card’s offer. It fell from 80,000 points to 70,000 points plus a free night. You gave up 10,000 points, about $35, and got a night you can spend almost anywhere. Unless you waste the certificate, the new offer is the better one.
Surpass or Aspire
The Surpass is the easy card to justify. Its $200 in Hilton credits covers the $150 fee if you spend at least $50 at a Hilton property in each quarter of the year. Miss a quarter and you still roughly break even. Gold status adds a daily food and beverage credit or a continental breakfast, depending on the region.
Getting value from the Aspire takes more work. Its $550 fee is offset by $400 in resort credits, $200 in flight credits and the annual free night, but the resort credit works only at properties Hilton classifies as resorts, and the flight credit comes $50 a quarter. A traveler who takes one resort trip in each half of the year and flies every few months gets all of it back and keeps Diamond status and the free night as profit.
If your Hilton stays are mostly business trips to city hotels, you will not use the resort credit. Take the Surpass.
How today’s offers compare with past ones
The Aspire had spent three years alternating between 150,000 and 175,000 points, with one 180,000-point spike in late 2023. Its 200,000 is the highest on our record.
On the Surpass, 130,000 points is the usual offer, and the free night is the extra. It has been higher on points alone, reaching 155,000 in October 2025, but that offer had no certificate.
The no-fee card paid 100,000 points plus a $100 statement credit from May through July 2026. On points that was richer than today.
For the Business card, 150,000 points plus a free night is the best public offer since a brief 175,000-point run in March 2024, though the required spending rose from $6,000 to $8,000.
Every past offer for each card is charted on the Offer History Tracker.
Timing matters with Amex
American Express limits each welcome offer to one per card per lifetime. If you have held the Aspire before, expect no bonus, and the application warns you before you submit it. For everyone else, the offer you apply under is the only one you will get on that card.
That makes a record offer worth acting on. If the Aspire fits how you travel, this is the best time we have recorded to apply for it.
Which one to get
The Surpass is the right card for most Hilton guests. A few stays a year in any kind of Hilton hotel is enough, and it pays for itself with less effort than any other card here.
Resort travelers should take the Aspire. Two resort stays a year use the credits, and the bonus has never been higher.
If you want Hilton points and a free night without a yearly bill, the no-fee card does that.
Business owners get the most from the Business card when real company spending runs through it, since 5x on everything outside Hilton adds up fast.
