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Review: the Hilton Honors debit card

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This is our review of the Hilton Honors debit card issued in the UK.

It is part of our series of articles looking at the major UK loyalty credit and debit cards and discussing whether of not they are worth applying for.  These posts are linked to the relevant sections of the ‘Credit Cards‘ area in the menu bar. Our other UK airline and hotel credit card reviews can be found here.

Key link: Hilton Honors debit card application form

Review Hilton Honors debit card

Key facts: £60 annual fee

There is no interest rate to show you because this is a debit card, not a credit card. It links to your existing UK current account and money is withdrawn each time you make a transaction.

This article was updated on 1st November 2024, and all of the information is correct as of that date. Ignore the original publication date shown.

About the Hilton Honors debit card

The Hilton Honors debit card is issued by Currensea.

The Hilton Honors loyalty scheme covers 24 hotel brands including Waldorf Astoria, Conrad, Hilton, DoubleTree and Hampton.

There is a £60 annual fee. This is not refundable, in part or whole, if you choose to cancel during the year.

There are actually TWO different Hilton Honors debit cards. A more expensive £150 Plus version comes with Hilton Honors Gold status (not Silver), 0% FX fees (not 0.5%) and higher points earning rates.

We think that the £150 Plus version is best, primarily because of the strong benefits of Hilton Gold status. You can learn more about the Hilton Honors Plus debit card in our review here.

How does the card actually work?

When you sign up, your Hilton Honors debit card is linked to your UK current account. Virtually all banks are supported except for Metro Bank, Co-op Bank and Chase.

There is no hard credit check – only a soft check to verify your identity which does not show on your credit file.

Each time you make a transaction, the payment is taken from your linked bank account. Here is an example of what you will see on your regular HSBC, NatWest, Barclays etc statement:

Review Hilton Honors debit card

What is the Hilton Honors debit card sign-up bonus?

The sign-up bonus on the card is 3,500 Hilton Honors points. This is an introductory offer which runs to 30th November 2024.

You need to spend £1,000 in foreign currency in your first six months to trigger the bonus.

What are the rules for qualifying for the sign-up bonus?

As a new card (launched September 2024) there are no rules in place about applying if you have held the card in the past.

EVERYONE who is accepted will qualify for the sign-up bonus. This includes:

  • people who have another Currensea debit card – you are OK to apply and get the bonus
  • people who still have the closed Barclaycard Hilton Honors credit card – you are OK to apply and get the bonus

You can have this card alongside any existing Currensea or Barclaycard Hilton Honors cards. You do not need to close your other card down.

Review Hilton Honors debit card

What are the benefits of the Hilton Honors debit card?

There are two key benefits of getting the Hilton Honors debit card, apart from the Hilton Honors points you will earn on all of your spending:

  • you receive Silver status in Hilton Honors for as long as you hold the card
  • you pay 0.5% FX fees on your foreign currency spending worldwide – this is far lower than the typical 2.99% charged by UK credit and debit cards

What goes Hilton Honors Silver status get you?

There are three levels of elite status in the Hilton Honors programme. Diamond, not available via this route, is the top tier. Silver is the bottom of the elite tiers.

Hilton Silver status usually requires 4 stays or 10 nights in a calendar year.

You receive:

  • a 20% bonus on base points on every stay
  • free bottled water at most Hilton brands
  • eligibility for ‘5 nights for the points of 4’ when redeeming

To be frank, these are not life changing benefits. This is why we recommend paying £150 for the Hilton Honors Plus debit card instead which gets you Hilton Honors Gold status. The Gold benefits are far better:

  • free breakfast for two people (or a cash credit towards any food or drink spend in the US)
  • an 80% bonus on base points on every stay
  • a ‘preferred’ room of some sort on every stay (often just a higher floor or better view, not necessarily next category up)

Free breakfast is clearly the key benefit of Gold status. It could easily save two people £50 per day between them in an upscale hotel, meaning that the £150 fee for the Hilton Honors Plus debit card pays for itself very easily.

Does Hilton status from the card get me nearer to Gold Diamond?

Annoyingly, no. You are given Silver status directly and do NOT receive the equivalent number of elite nights.

This means that:

  • you will still need to do the full 20 stays or 40 nights or $7,500 of pre-tax spending to become Gold
  • you will still need to do the full 30 stays or 60 nights or $12,000 of pre-tax spending to become Diamond

This is the opposite of how the Marriott Bonvoy American Express credit card works. Instead of giving you Silver Elite status, it gives you 15 qualifying nights. This automatically gets you Silver Elite but ALSO puts you 15 nights nearer to Gold or Platinum status, and has become the key selling point of the card.

review hilton honors debit card

What do I earn per £1 spent on the card?

The benefits of the card are geared towards foreign currency spending, where you receive a higher earnings rate AND pay just 0.5% FX fees.

This is what you earn:

  • 1 Hilton Honors point per £1 spent in the UK
  • 2 Hilton Honors points per £1 spent in Hilton properties in the UK
  • 2 Hilton Honors points per £1 spent in foreign currency
  • 3 Hilton Honors points per £1 spent in Hilton properties outside the UK

Can you withdraw cash from ATMs?

Yes, you can use the Hilton Honors debit card at ATMs abroad.

There is a 0.5% fee for the first £250 per month of cash withdrawals and a 2.5% FX fee thereafter. The withdrawal is processed at the mid-market exchange rate.

UK ATMs are not supported. You do not earn points on cash withdrawals.

What is a Hilton Honors point worth?

Based on my recent hotel redemptions, I am happy to argue that you should be able to get 0.33p per point without much trouble. Click through for an article where I explain my reasoning.

As well as hotel stays, Hilton runs regular redemptions for top sporting events, both for regular and VIP tickets. We cover the best of these on Head for Points. You can check what is currently available by clicking here.

You can also transfer Hilton Honors points into many airline schemes including Avios, althuough the conversion rate is poor – usually 10 to 1 or 10 to 1.5.

How else can you earn Hilton Honors points from a payment card?

There are two interesting options, one of which is initially free.

The American Express Preferred Rewards Gold credit card offers 20,000 Membership Rewards points for signing up and is free for the first year. These convert to 40,000 Hilton Honors points.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 30,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review

The American Express Platinum credit card usually offers 50,000 Membership Rewards points for signing up. These convert to 100,000 Hilton Honors points.

You also receive Hilton Honors Gold status with The Platinum Card. It has a £650 fee, refunded pro-rata if you cancel.

Whilst this is a substantially higher fee than the £150 for the Hilton Honors Plus debit card, you would also receive Marriott Gold, Melia Gold and Radisson Premium hotel status as well as LOTS of other travel benefits.

The Platinum Card from American Express

Huge 80,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large fee Read our full review

Conclusion

If you are looking to ‘buy’ a worthwhile level of Hilton Honors elite status, I do NOT recommend this card.

Silver status does not offer much. I recommend paying £150 per year for the Hilton Honors Plus debit card instead and getting Hilton Honors Gold status instead. It is far more valuable.

People who should consider this £60 Hilton Honors debit card are:

  • people with a lot of overseas spend who are still paying 3% FX fees on their existing credit or debit card – you can cut this to 0.5%
  • people who have a 0% FX credit card which doesn’t give any rewards. Switching to a Hilton Honors debit card may be worthwhile because the points earned will offset the slightly higher 0.5% FX fee.
  • people who have a rarely used 0% FX credit card and would like to free up some credit by replacing it with a Hilton Honors debit card with a 0.5% FX fee
  • people who don’t meet the income requirements for other travel rewards credit cards. Students, the retired and other groups may not have the £20,000 income required for an American Express card for example.

If you don’t fall into one of these groups, you need to weigh up:

  • how much you spend each year in the UK and abroad
  • how much you spend in Hilton properties and
  • whether you value Hilton Honors elite status

You can apply for, or find out more about, the new Hilton Honors debit card here.

(Want to earn more miles and points from credit cards?  Click here to visit our dedicated airline and hotel travel credit cards page or use the ‘Credit Cards’ link in the menu bar at the top of the page.)

Disclaimer: Head for Points is a journalistic website. Nothing here should be construed as financial advice, and it is your own responsibility to ensure that any product is right for your circumstances. Recommendations are based primarily on the ability to earn miles and points. The site discusses products offered by lenders but is not a lender itself. Robert Burgess, trading as Head for Points, is regulated and authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as an independent credit broker.

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