Benefits of the (closed) Hilton credit card

[krys_k]

I’m being a dumbo and can’t find the benefits of the Hilton card. So long since applied for it (seem to remember a free night at Hilton, used at Conrad in NY). But thinking of cancelling, waiting six months and getting the new Barclaycard Mastercard (points, upgrade voucher etc.). Or am I missing a great Hilton card feature that I should be aware of. Thanks

[AJA]

-The card gives you at least Silver status with Hhonors.
-It stops Hhonors points from expiry provided you earn at least one point a year (see downsides below)
-You get the 5th night free ie pay for 4 nights and stay for 5 (a benefit of Silver status or above)
-You get Gold status if you spend £10k per annum
-The card itself is free to hold

Downsides
-you can’t get the SUB or even apply for the Avios product
-Points transfer to Hhonors is patchy, either happens or it doesn’t and you have to chase
– Customer Service is awful (same issue with Avios card though)

[krys_k]

Super answer. Thanks AJA

[Carlos]

RE: -You get the 5th night free ie pay for 4 nights and stay for 5 (a benefit of Silver status or above)

is this for reward bookings only or paid for night as well?

[AJA]

I’d be interested to know whether you are still going to cancel.

I keep swaying but have for the moment decided to keep the card as I am not far off the £10k spend and it seems silly to cancel when so close to the £10k.

I like the fact that it keeps points alive without having to stay in a hotel or do a transfer from Amex MR (not an option as I currently don’t have an Amex MR card)

[AJA]

Carlos wrote:

RE: -You get the 5th night free ie pay for 4 nights and stay for 5 (a benefit of Silver status or above)

is this for reward bookings only or paid for night as well?

I have always assumed it is for reward stays only, happy to be proven wrong.

[Peter K]

5 for 4 is only on standard reward stays. It’s not on premium reward stays or cash stays.

[memesweeper]

It’s a Visa card, not a Mastercard. Pretty much every new card in the co-brand/affinity space is a MasterCard these days (in the UK). Having a Visa card for diversity can be useful, especially if you hold a curve card.

I’m keeping mine until the product is withdrawn I suspect, and I spend close to the full credit limit each month. Having said that, Chase is now my go-to non Amex non Curve card, so my spending on the Hilton card is down somewhat. It’s just Curve, c-back offers, and stuff I want s75 protection on that for I use Hilton for.

[krys_k]

I think I’ll get rid of it as have gold via platinum. And in case I tend to stay at Marriott as have Titanium so better benefits than Gold; and where I tend to travel Hilton aren’t as well positioned geographically. And the Barclays voucher works as a great addition to BA vouchers as we are a family of three.

[The Savage Squirrel]

I’ll be holding until it’s withdrawn for exactly the reasons that Memesweeper gave above. I don’t always hold Amex Plat and wouldn’t get HH Gold just from stays, so this card has given me a lot of free breakfasts.

[The Urbanite]

There’s nothing to lose by keeping it. Hotel points are difficult to earn and as cards go it’s a good one.

There are three cards on my Barclaycard account plus I had the Avios card so they do allow more than one card to be held.

[Harrier25]

I can’t understand why anyone would want to get rid of this card voluntarily. The benefits are good and it’s free!

[NorthernLass]

Harrier25 wrote:

I can’t understand why anyone would want to get rid of this card voluntarily. The benefits are good and it’s free!

Hmm. My points earning has dropped through the floor since July. I am putting most non-Amex spend through the Virgin card and would aim to retain HH gold via Plat so I am mulling over the options. The uselessness of the BC upgrade voucher is deterring me from making a decision though (well it’s not completely useless but I’d be a lot happier if it worked properly for RFS and let you have a domestic connection!)

Also since IHG introduced the new Diamond benefits (and the recent redemption bonanzas) I’m not feeling like I’d miss Hilton so much.

[Harrier25]

I suppose it’s what you want to achieve from a card. For me it’s hotel points and status, if achievable…that’s what I use my Amex MR points for and what I have been using Virgin Atlantic for over the past 10 months. This card will be gone though next month before they charge me another £160…received 15,000 bonus points last year.

I will revert back to the Hilton Barclaycard for 100% of my non Amex spend from September, with the free Virgin Atlantic card as back up and for EU spend.

I have never been a fan of airports and long haul flights, so nearly all my flying is short haul with the likes of Jet2 and EasyJet. This means I have zero interest in Avios and VA Flying Club.

Also, personally I usually find that most Hilton branded properties are much better than their Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn equivalents, although there are a few exceptions to that rule.

[Rob]

Here’s our old review of the card – https://www.headforpoints.com/2017/10/23/hilton-hhonors-platinum-visa-credit-card-review-3/

[aseftel]

One thing not yet mentioned is that card holders have been given enhanced bonus point promotions in recent years for paying with a Hilton credit card. 3x vs 2x points I think it was last time.

[alig4th]

Is there still the “10th Trip Free” with Uber? We’ve not done a lot of Uber trips recently, but used to get good value out of this pre-pandemic (and pre-children!)

[bungalow]

aseftel wrote:

One thing not yet mentioned is that card holders have been given enhanced bonus point promotions in recent years for paying with a Hilton credit card. 3x vs 2x points I think it was last time.

Am sure I must have held this card for around 10 years now and never heard of this, when and how did/does this happen?

[aseftel]

undefined wrote:

aseftel wrote:

One thing not yet mentioned is that card holders have been given enhanced bonus point promotions in recent years for paying with a Hilton credit card. 3x vs 2x points I think it was last time.

Am sure I must have held this card for around 10 years now and never heard of this, when and how did/does this happen?

It’s an extension of some of their regular global promotions. Here is the most recent one from last year
https://www.hiltonhonors.com/en_US/2021-hh3-power-up-GB-2x/landing/

[bungalow]

aseftel wrote:

Am sure I must have held this card for around 10 years now and never heard of this, when and how did/does this happen?

It’s an extension of some of their regular global promotions. Here is the most recent one from last year
https://www.hiltonhonors.com/en_US/2021-hh3-power-up-GB-2x/landing/

[bungalow]

aseftel wrote:

undefined wrote:

aseftel wrote:

One thing not yet mentioned is that card holders have been given enhanced bonus point promotions in recent years for paying with a Hilton credit card. 3x vs 2x points I think it was last time.

Am sure I must have held this card for around 10 years now and never heard of this, when and how did/does this happen?

It’s an extension of some of their regular global promotions. Here is the most recent one from last year
https://www.hiltonhonors.com/en_US/2021-hh3-power-up-GB-2x/landing/

Ahh right, I rarely if ever use my Hilton card for hotel stays unless it’s in GBP, almost all of my stays are overseas and I’m not sure the extra point per $ is worth it to cover the exchange fees

[John]

bungalow wrote:

aseftel wrote:

undefined wrote:

aseftel wrote:

One thing not yet mentioned is that card holders have been given enhanced bonus point promotions in recent years for paying with a Hilton credit card. 3x vs 2x points I think it was last time.

Am sure I must have held this card for around 10 years now and never heard of this, when and how did/does this happen?

It’s an extension of some of their regular global promotions. Here is the most recent one from last year
https://www.hiltonhonors.com/en_US/2021-hh3-power-up-GB-2x/landing/

Ahh right, I rarely if ever use my Hilton card for hotel stays unless it’s in GBP, almost all of my stays are overseas and I’m not sure the extra point per $ is worth it to cover the exchange fees

If you just have the Hilton card in the booking, you can sometimes get the triple points even when paying by another means. But often when you ask the front desk to pay manually they insist on entering your card number into their computer, despite there being card readers they somehow can’t just bring up a charge and let you insert any card

[bungalow]

John wrote:

bungalow wrote:

aseftel wrote:

undefined wrote:

aseftel wrote:

One thing not yet mentioned is that card holders have been given enhanced bonus point promotions in recent years for paying with a Hilton credit card. 3x vs 2x points I think it was last time.

Am sure I must have held this card for around 10 years now and never heard of this, when and how did/does this happen?

It’s an extension of some of their regular global promotions. Here is the most recent one from last year
https://www.hiltonhonors.com/en_US/2021-hh3-power-up-GB-2x/landing/

Ahh right, I rarely if ever use my Hilton card for hotel stays unless it’s in GBP, almost all of my stays are overseas and I’m not sure the extra point per $ is worth it to cover the exchange fees

If you just have the Hilton card in the booking, you can sometimes get the triple points even when paying by another means. But often when you ask the front desk to pay manually they insist on entering your card number into their computer, despite there being card readers they somehow can’t just bring up a charge and let you insert any card

Now THAT is interesting.

Because most/all of my stays are abroad I don’t even have my Hilton card listed as payment in my HH account, default has always been curve (FX), but linked to HH Card.

Food for thought, thank you…

[BJ]

I think everybody is overanalysing this and cannot see the wood for the trees. The facts are simple: regardless of whether you want to earn Hilton points or get Hilton status then amex MR cards trump Honors visa provided you take out amex Platinum at some point for at least one month (and apply for Hilton Gold via it) and hold any amex MR card at all other times. The only sensible reason to keep Honors visa would be if you did not want, or could not get, the amex cards. Purely on reward value to spend ratio Barcs avios cards substantially better Honors visa, particularly in recent years as the points requured for Hilton rewards nights has soared. If Honors points is your game it now makes more sense to buy them with a 100% bonus using another card of choice such as Barcs avios cards than try to collect them using Honors vis, just vonsider the spend required for a night in the CSJ.

[Harrier25]

I don’t disagree about the benefits of Amex MR points and the fact that you have 3 hotel schemes that you can transfer points to, but if you wish to collect hotel points for free at places that don’t accept Amex, then the Hilton Barclaycard is the best option around at the moment.