2021 Review: The Hilton Honors American Express Business Card

Rewards
Balance transfers
Fees

How to Transfer a Balance on a Credit Card

Spending Rewards
12X Hilton Honors Bonus points per dollar for eligible purchases charged on your Card directly with a hotel or resort within the Hilton Portfolio
6X Hilton Honors Bonus points per dollar for: U.S. Gas stations U.S. Wireless telephone services directly from providers U.S. Restaurants U.S. Shipping purchases Flights booked directly with airlines or Amex Travel Car rentals booked directly with select car rental companies
3X Hilton Honors Bonus points per dollar on other eligible purchases

Introductory Bonus
130,000 Bonus points for spending $2,000 in the first 3 months; 50,000 Bonus points for spending a total of $10,000 in the first 6 months

Balance transfers

A balance transfer is a way to move debt from one card to another with the goal of saving money on interest.

Intro Balance Transfer APRN/A
Regular Balance Transfer APRN/A
Balance Transfer FeeN/A

Fees

Penalty APR29.24% Variable
Late FeeUp to $39
Returned Payment Fee$39
Additional Cards Annual FeeN/A
Foreign Transaction FeeNone

The information related to The Hilton Honors American Express Business Card has been collected by Credit Card Insider and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer or provider of this product.

The Hilton Honors Amex Business Card is a good option for small business owners who often stay at Hilton hotels and resorts. It provides a way to earn a lot of Hilton Honors points, much more than you would get for just being a regular Hilton member.

You’ll get 12X points per dollar at Hilton from this card, along with at least 18X more points per dollar because this card gives you automatic Hilton Gold status. That comes with a point bonus plus other nice perks, like a discounted rate on rooms, upgrades when available, and complimentary services.

There are also quite a few other business-related bonus reward categories where you’ll earn 6X points per dollar, giving you even more point-earning opportunities. And you can get a total of 130,000 Bonus points for spending $2,000 in the first 3 months; 50,000 Bonus points for spending a total of $10,000 in the first 6 months.

Besides Gold status, cardholders get a free weekend night stay for spending $15,000 in a given year, along with a second free night for spending $60,000 in a given year. There are more benefits too, like 10 free passes to Priority Pass Select airport lounges per year. Just note that these passes can’t be used for non-lounge Priority Pass experiences — only for lounge access.

There’s also a line of consumer credit cards that are co-branded with Hilton. The Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card (Review) is the consumer equivalent of this business card.

If you spend around $1,000 or more at Hilton properties per year, this card might be a good fit for your spending habits. Keep reading to learn all about the Hilton Honors Business Card, and see if it’s the right option to earn rewards and help manage cash flow for your business.

This is a very rewarding card, and it’s the only business card that’s co-branded with Hilton. But there are also some consumer card options, and cards made for other hotels. You can check out some of those below.

Insider Advice: Getting the Most Out of Your Card

Your card for Hilton, obviously: Use this card at Hilton hotels and resorts to earn both Bonus Points and Base Points on every purchase.
Use it for shipping, phone services, and gas: Spend in the other bonus categories to get 6X points on a wide variety of business-related expenses.
Earn the welcome bonus: Get the 130,000 Bonus points for spending $2,000 in the first 3 months; 50,000 Bonus points for spending a total of $10,000 in the first 6 months.
Redeem for Hilton award nights: Redeem your points for free nights or your 5th night free to get a great value.
Go for Gold, shoot for Diamond: Enjoy the Hilton Honors Gold status, which comes with some nice perks. And upgrade to Diamond by spending $40,000 in a given year.
Relax in the lounge: Visit Priority Pass Select airport lounges 10 times for free per year. After that, admission will be $32.
Reach the free weekend night award: Spend $15,000 in a given year to earn a free weekend night award stay. Spend a total of $60,000 per year to earn another weekend award stay.
Improve your business credit: The Hilton Honors card reports activity to the Small Business Financial Exchange. By using this card responsibly, you could improve your business credit.

The Rewards

Depending on how you earn and redeem your points, you can earn the equivalent of about 12–30% cash back or more in certain situations. Keep reading to find out how.

Earning

Spending Rewards
12X Hilton Honors Bonus points per dollar for eligible purchases charged on your Card directly with a hotel or resort within the Hilton Portfolio
6X Hilton Honors Bonus points per dollar for: U.S. Gas stations U.S. Wireless telephone services directly from providers U.S. Restaurants U.S. Shipping purchases Flights booked directly with airlines or Amex Travel Car rentals booked directly with select car rental companies
3X Hilton Honors Bonus points per dollar on other eligible purchases

Introductory Bonus
130,000 Bonus points for spending $2,000 in the first 3 months; 50,000 Bonus points for spending a total of $10,000 in the first 6 months

Business rewards cards tend to have more bonus categories than average, but this card has about as many as we’ve ever seen — 7 in total. That gives you more opportunities to use this card, and if your business spends a lot in those categories you’ll wind up with a whole lot of Hilton Honors points.

You’ll earn points at very high rates with this card, but Hilton Honors points tend to be worth a bit less than points in other reward programs. So it tends to balance out, although this is still a very rewarding card overall.

Take note that you’ll be earning both Bonus Points and Base Points when making Hilton purchases. Bonus Points are awarded by using this card. And Base Points are also awarded because this card comes with automatic Hilton Honors Gold status, which provides 18X Base Points per dollar (10 points for being a member, and an 80% bonus for Gold status).

Bonus Points and Base Points are valued the same by Hilton when you redeem them, so they’re basically equivalent. That means you’ll be earning a total of 30X points per dollar with this card (12X points from the card and 18X points for Hilton Honors Gold status). If that sounds like a lot, you’re right!

But you can potentially get even more. If you reach Diamond status you’ll get a 100% point bonus instead, for a total of 20X Base Points earned per dollar at Hilton. That would mean 32X points per dollar spent at Hilton. What would you do with that many points?

Redeeming

You’ll have several ways to redeem your Hilton Honors points. The value you get for them will vary depending on how, when, and where you redeem them.

The redemption options are:

Free night stays and 5^th night free at hotels and resorts
On-property purchases, like vacation packages, spa treatments, golf lessons, and more
Redemption Experiences like concerts, travel excursions, and others
Online shopping and dining experiences
Point transfers to airline/rail miles and credit card programs
Pooling and transferring points with family and friends

The best methods involve using them for stays at Hilton properties, because you’ll get the highest value per point. We’ll go over a couple examples of how you can use your points to get free night stays at Hilton properties with this card.

Generally, you’ll get a better value for your points when you redeem them at lower-category properties. But this isn’t always the case, because the value of your points will vary based on when and where you book your stay, along with other factors like current events.

The other redemption options will usually provide a lesser value, and they will vary quite a bit depending on the particular deal. We recommend avoiding them because you can get a better deal with free night stays, or by getting your 5^th night free.

However, you can also share points with friends and family. This could let you gather a ton of points to use for a special trip or vacation.

Another option is point transfers to a partner travel program. The transfer rate (one point for one mile, one point for two miles, etc.) will vary depending on the particular deal, time of year, and other factors.

There are four travel loyalty program you can transfer to, one rail miles program and three airline miles programs:

Amtrak

Virgin Atlantic

Hawaiian Airlines

Club Premier

We don’t recommend using this method unless you happen to get a great transfer deal. There’s no guarantee that you will, and in most cases you’ll be better off with one of the following redemption methods.

Point Redemption Examples

Let’s go over some examples of the two most valuable redemption options to see how they’d work: a free night’s stay, and a 5^th night free reward.

Free Night Stays

Imagine you’re taking a trip to Cincinnati, Ohio, for a quick business meeting and to try their famous goetta sausage.

You’ll stay for one night at the Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza, in a king-size room. This room would normally cost $219, or you could get it for 40,000 Hilton Honors points.

How much would you need to spend with the Hilton Honors Business card to earn enough points for that room?

Let’s say you earn your points at the best rate, of 30X points per dollar (12X points from the card and 18X points for Hilton Honors Gold status). At that rate you’d need to spend $1,334 to earn the 40,000 points. If you earn at a lower rate, you’ll need to spend accordingly more.

You’ll be able to redeem those points for the room, and they’ll cover all taxes and fees.

In this particular case you spend $1,334 to get enough points for a room valued at $219. That means you’re getting the equivalent of 16.42% cash back, an fairly good value.

Your points were worth about 0.55 cents each in this example. And the goetta was great.

5^th Night Free

Another valuable redemption option is to get your 5^th night free on reward stays of five nights or more. You must only use points for the booking to be eligible. Up to four free nights are available on stays of 20 consecutive nights.

You need enough points to book all five nights in the first place. After booking, you’ll get a discounted price and you won’t end up actually using all of those points.

For this example, let’s travel to Washington, D.C., for about a week. We’ll imagine that we’re staying at the Capital Hilton near the White House, which should be fun because it looks very nice.

The price per night is $319, so five days would cost $1,595 in total. You could also get the room for 60,000 points per night, which would be 300,000 for the entire five-night stay.

If you earn at the best rate, of 30X points per dollar (12X points from the card and 18X points for Hilton Honors Gold status), you would get those points by spending $10,000. You can then book the five nights and get your 5^th night free discount, meaning a 60,000-point reduction in the cost. That leaves you spending only 240,000 points for the entire stay.

So $10,000 in spending will get you enough points for this five-night stay, valued at $1,595. That’s a cash back equivalent of 15.95%.

However, you got those 60,000 points back too, to use another time. If we value those at 0.55 cents each, like we saw in the first example, that would make them worth $330.

So you actually get a total value of $1,925 (the price of the stay plus the points you save). That comes to a cash back equivalent of 19.25%, even better than we saw in the first example.

The Benefits

Annual Weekend Night Reward: Get a free weekend night after spending $15,000 on purchases in any calendar year. A redeemable code will be emailed to you after meeting the threshold.
Second Annual Weekend Night Reward: Get a second free weekend night by spending a total of $60,000 on purchases in a given year.
Complimentary Hilton Honors Gold status: Cardholders get Hilton Honors Gold status, which is two tiers above the basic Member status. It comes with some nice benefits, like an 80% bonus on all Base Points earned, tour 5th night is free when booking reward stays of five nights or more with points, tour 2nd guest stays free, room upgrades when available, and more.
Fast track to Hilton Honors Diamond Status: Cardholders will be awarded with Hilton Honors Diamond status if purchases for a given year reach $40,000. Diamond status comes with better benefits than Gold, including a 100% bonus on Base Points and a 48-hour room guarantee.
Priority Pass Select membership: Cardholders get access to hundreds of Priority Pass airport lounges around the world. 10 free lounge visits are provided per year; non-lounge experiences are excluded. After that, the entry fee will be $32 per person. You’ll need to manually enroll in this benefit, and you’ll receive your Priority Pass Select card within 10–14 business days.
Lowest Hotel Rates Guarantee: If you book a hotel through Amex Travel and find the same room for a lower price elsewhere, American Express will reimburse you for the difference.
Complimentary ShopRunner membership: Free membership with ShopRunner, which provides free two-day shipping and returns from some online retailers. Cardholders must enroll in this benefit.
Amex Offers: You’ll have access to extra point opportunities at a wide variety of merchants, and the selection changes now and then.
Entertainment Access: This benefit, also called Membership Experiences, provides pre-sale tickets to a variety of sports, music, and cultural events, as well as access to certain exclusive experiences. You’ll be able to search by interest, artist, event, or venue.
Employee Cards: You can get up to 99 employee cards, and they will all be free. Individual spending limits can be set for the cards. Take note that there are certain purchases where the spending limit won’t apply, like restaurant tips and extended hotel stays.
Amex OPEN Relationship Care Service: Call the number on the back of your card to speak with a specially-trained, business-oriented customer support representative. Based on our experience, this will be a cut above the typical customer support you’ll get with an Amex consumer card.
Account Manager: Designate a trusted Account Manager to share certain account activities, like reviewing statements and making payments. Must be at least 18 years old.
American Express business app: A tool to help manage your spending throughout the year. Allows you to add receipts and notes to transactions, making tax time easier.
Connect to QuickBooks: Provides an easy way to label and transfer your transaction data into a QuickBooks account.
Baggage Insurance Plan: If your carry-on luggage is lost or damaged by a common carrier, you and your immediate family members could be reimbursed. Up to $1,250 per person.
Car Rental Loss and Damage Insurance: Decline the rental car provider’s insurance offer and charge the full amount to your card to activate coverage against damage and theft.
Global Assist Hotline: Call 1-800-333-2639 to reach the Global Assist Hotline. Get specific information about your destination, plus help with finding lost passports, accessing translation services, locating missing luggage, and finding emergency legal and medical aid.
Extended Warranty: If you purchase an eligible item with a manufacturer’s warranty of five years or less, it can be extended by an additional year.
Purchase Protection: Your new eligible purchases are covered against damage and theft for 90 days. Up to $500 per claim, $1,000 per purchase, and to a maximum of $50,000 per year.

The Terms & Fees

Purchase APR	Balance Transfer APR	Cash Advance APR
15.74% - 24.74% Variable	None	25.24% Variable

Annual Fee	Foreign Transaction Fee
$95	None

Balance Transfer Fee	Cash Advance Fee
None	Either $5 or 3% of the amount of each cash advance, whichever is greater

Penalty APR	Late Fee	Returned Payment Fee
29.24% Variable	Up to $39	$39

The terms of this card are pretty clear, nothing tricky about them. The only thing standing out is that balance transfers are not allowed with this card.

If you carry a balance from month to month, which is known as revolving, you’ll be charged interest at the rate above. But you can completely avoid incurring any interest by paying your balance in full each billing period.

You’ll have a $95 annual fee to pay. You’ll be able to offset that for one year with as little as $494 in spending, or even less. After that any rewards you earn will be profit, assuming you’re not revolving a balance.

The Hilton Honors American Express Business Card (Rates & Fees)

The Bottom Line

The Hilton Honors American Express Business Card is made for small business owners who frequently find themselves landing in Hilton properties. If that sounds like you, you’ll be able to earn at least 30X points per dollar on those stays using this card (12X points from the card and 18X points for Hilton Honors Gold status).

There are quite a few business categories to earn in as well, along with the Amex Travel service. This rewards program should provide you with plenty of Hilton Honors points, but keep in mind that you’ll need to redeem them through Hilton to get the best value.

Be sure to take advantage of all the extra benefits, like everything that comes with Gold status. And try to get your two free weekend nights per year. If you meet the requirement for the second weekend night award ($60,000), you’ll have already met the requirement for Diamond status ($40,000) which will let you earn even more points.

In addition to the perks, you’ll also be building your business credit at Small Business Financial Exchange, assuming you’re using the card responsibly.

You can earn a lot of Hilton Honors points with this card, but maybe it’s not right for you. There are several other business travel cards with good hotel rewards, take a look at some of them below.

How Do I Apply for the Hilton Honors American Express Business Card?

Follow the link below to be directed to the credit card issuer’s website. From there, you can safely fill out an application with all the necessary information. You should typically hear back instantly with American Express’ decision.

What Credit Scores Do I Need to Qualify for the Hilton Honors American Express Business Card?

It’s recommended that you have good credit to qualify.

To be considered as having good credit, your FICO scores would need to be at least 670, or your VantageScores would have to be at least 700.

However, it’s important to note that credit card issuers look at more information in addition to your credit scores. Things like income and monthly rent or mortgage payments affect your creditworthiness. That means even if your scores are lower than what’s recommended, you might still be approved. But that also means even if your scores are where they should be, there’s a chance for denial.

Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card

Our rating:

Apply Now

securely on the issuer's website

Highlights
Rewards
Balance transfers
Fees

Earn 150,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points with the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card after you use your new Card to make $4,000 in eligible purchases within the first 3 months of Card Membership. Plus, enjoy a free Weekend Night Reward within your first year and every year after renewal.
Earn 14X Hilton Bonus Points when you make eligible purchases on your Card at participating hotels or resorts within the Hilton Portfolio.
Earn 7X Bonus Points for eligible purchases: on flights booked directly with airlines or amextravel.com, on car rentals booked directly from select car rental companies & at U.S. restaurants.
Earn 3X Hilton Honors Bonus Points for all other eligible purchases on your Card.
Enjoy up to $250 in Hilton Resort Credits on your Card each anniversary year, when you stay at participating resorts within the Hilton portfolio.
Enjoy complimentary Diamond status with your Hilton Honors Aspire Card.
$450 annual fee.
Terms Apply.

How to Transfer a Balance on a Credit Card

Spending Rewards
14X Hilton Honors Bonus points per dollar for eligible purchases charged on your Card directly with a hotel or resort in the Hilton portfolio
7X Hilton Honors points per dollar for: Flights booked directly with airlines or amextravel.com Car rentals booked directly from select car rental companies U.S. restaurants
3X Hilton Honors points per dollar on other eligible purchases

Introductory Bonus
150,000 bonus points for spending $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months after account opening

Balance transfers

A balance transfer is a way to move debt from one card to another with the goal of saving money on interest.

Intro Balance Transfer APRN/A
Regular Balance Transfer APRN/A
Balance Transfer FeeN/A

Fees

Penalty APR29.24% Variable
Late FeeUp to $40
Returned Payment FeeUp to $40
Additional Cards Annual FeeN/A
Foreign Transaction FeeN/A

American Express is a Credit Card Insider advertiser.

The information related to Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card has been collected by Credit Card Insider and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer or provider of this product.

Was this helpful?

Yes No

Alternatives to the Hilton Honors American Express Business Card

Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card

Our rating:

Apply Now

securely on the issuer's website

Highlights
Why We Picked It
Rewards
Key Features

Earn 150,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points with the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card after you use your new Card to make $4,000 in eligible purchases within the first 3 months of Card Membership. Plus, enjoy a free Weekend Night Reward within your first year and every year after renewal.
Earn 14X Hilton Bonus Points when you make eligible purchases on your Card at participating hotels or resorts within the Hilton Portfolio.
Earn 7X Bonus Points for eligible purchases: on flights booked directly with airlines or amextravel.com, on car rentals booked directly from select car rental companies & at U.S. restaurants.
Earn 3X Hilton Honors Bonus Points for all other eligible purchases on your Card.
Enjoy up to $250 in Hilton Resort Credits on your Card each anniversary year, when you stay at participating resorts within the Hilton portfolio.
Enjoy complimentary Diamond status with your Hilton Honors Aspire Card.
$450 annual fee.
Terms Apply.

The Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card isn’t a business card, so it lacks the business-related features you’ll find above. But if you spend a lot at Hilton properties every year, you might want something more high-powered than the Hilton Honors Business card.

The Aspire card is much more expensive at $450 per year, but it provides more points and better perks too.

Cardholders get automatic Hilton Diamond status, an upgrade from Gold, which comes with a 100% bonus on Base Points. You won’t have as many other bonus categories, however, so if those are very important to you the Business version might still end up being a better pick.

There are a number of valuable benefits that can make this card worth the cost for frequent travelers. One of the most useful might be the $100 on-property Hilton credit. It’s available for stays of at least two nights at a Hilton property, and the great thing is that you can use it over and over.

And there’s much more than that. There’s also a $250 annual Hilton resort credit, plus a $250 airline credit for incidental fees charged by the airline of your choice, and unlimited access to Priority Pass Select lounges. If you could use both of these credits in full every year that would more than cover the annual fee, not even counting the repeatable $100 credit.

Cardholders also get two annual weekend night awards, just like the Business card. But with the Aspire the first night is free, you don’t need to spend $15,000 to get it. However, you’ll still need to spend $60,000 to get that second night award, which is the same as the Business card.

Spending Rewards
14X Hilton Honors Bonus points per dollar for eligible purchases charged on your Card directly with a hotel or resort in the Hilton portfolio
7X Hilton Honors points per dollar for: Flights booked directly with airlines or amextravel.com Car rentals booked directly from select car rental companies U.S. restaurants
3X Hilton Honors points per dollar on other eligible purchases

Introductory Bonus
150,000 bonus points for spending $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months after account opening

Earning at the 34X rate, we would get a cash back equivalent of 13.6%–34% at a value of 0.4–1 cent per point (14X from the card, 20X for Diamond status).

Hilton Honors Diamond status: Includes a 100% bonus on Base points earned, room upgrades to suites when available, executive lounge access, a 48-hour room guarantee, and more
Annual free Weekend Night Award: One free night every year, and earn another free weekend night by spending $60,000 in a calendar year
Annual $250 Hilton resort statement credit: Get up to $250 in Hilton Resort Credits on your Card each anniversary year, when you stay at participating resorts within the Hilton portfolio
Annual $250 airline fee statement credit: For incidental fees only
$100 Hilton on-property credit: Good for every eligible stay of two nights or more at Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts and Conrad Hotels & Resorts, valid for incidental fees only
Priority Pass Select membership: Complimentary access to Priority Pass airport lounges (excludes non-lounge experiences)
American Express Concierge: Call for help with select services, like buying event tickets, making dining and other reservations, and finding hard-to-find items.
Shopping and travel protections: Purchase Protection; Extended Warranty; Return Protection; Baggage Insurance Plan; Car Rental Loss and Damage Insurance; Trip Delay Insurance; Trip Cancellation and Interruption Insurance
No foreign transaction fee
Annual fee: $450

Enrollment required for select benefits; terms and limitations apply.

Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card (Rates & Fees)

American Express is a Credit Card Insider advertiser.

The information related to Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card has been collected by Credit Card Insider and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer or provider of this product.

Marriott Bonvoy Business™ American Express® Card

Our rating:

Why We Picked It
Rewards
Key Features

If you’re not a fan of Hilton or you don’t happen to stay with them often, maybe you prefer Marriott. The Marriott Bonvoy Business™ American Express® Card (Review) is also very rewarding, and comes with a similar set of benefits but aimed towards Marriott Bonvoy properties.

There are a few important differences in the benefits of these cards. You won’t get every fifth night for free with the Bonvoy Business card, but current offers do allow you to get one or two free nights a year starting after your first anniversary as a cardholder. You won’t get any access to airport lounges.

Cardholders get automatic Silver Elite status, which comes with some nice features like priority late checkout and a dedicated reservation line. An upgrade to Gold status is available by spending $30,000 per year with the card, which comes with a 25% bonus on Base points and other perks.

As a business card from Amex, the Marriott Bonvoy Business has all the same Amex OPEN benefits as the Hilton Business card.

Spending Rewards
6X Marriott Bonvoy Bonus points per dollar for eligible purchases charged on your Card directly with a hotel or resort within the Marriott Bonvoy Portfolio
4X Marriott Bonvoy Bonus points per dollar for eligible purchases at: U.S. restaurants U.S. gas stations Wireless telephone services purchased directly from U.S. providers U.S. purchases of shipping
2X Marriott Bonvoy Bonus points per dollar spent on other eligible purchases

Introductory Bonus
75,000 bonus points for spending $3,000 in the first 3 months; up to $150 back in statement credits on eligible purchases in the first 3 months

This rewards program includes a variety of bonus categories, but there aren’t many business-specific expenses included. Your point-earning options are slightly more limited, but if you only care about using this card at Marriott Bonvoy properties that won’t matter much. You’ll have a variety of redemption options, just like with the Hilton card, and your best choices will usually be for hotel stays of some kind.

At 6X points from the card plus 11X points for Silver status (17X total), we’ve calculated that you can get a cash back equivalent of 13.6%–34%, when spending at Marriott Bonvoy properties, but it depends on how you earn and redeem your points. That’s quite a good offer, making the Marriott Bonvoy Business a strong contender when compared with the Hilton Business card.

Free Night Award: Every year after your account anniversary you’ll get a Free Night Award, good for redemption values of 35,000 points or fewer; earn a second free night by spending $60,000 in a calendar year.
Marriott Bonvoy Silver Elite status: Includes a 10% bonus on Base points and priority late checkout
Earn Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite status: Spend $35,000 in a calendar year to gain a Gold Elite membership.
Free premium in-room WiFi
15 Elite Night Credits: Each year you’ll get 15 Elite Night Credits towards a higher member status.
$100 property credit: Earn up to $100 in property credits when booking at least two nights direct with a special rate code at The Ritz-Carlton or St. Regis.
Shopping and travel protections: Baggage Insurance Plan, Car Rental Loss and Damage Insurance, Global Assist Hotline, Extended Warranty, Purchase Protection
No foreign transaction fee
Annual fee: $125

Enrollment required for select benefits; terms and limitations apply.

Marriott Bonvoy Business™ American Express® Card (Rates & Fees)

The information related to Marriott Bonvoy Business™ American Express® Card has been collected by Credit Card Insider and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer or provider of this product.

United Club℠ Business Card

Our rating:

Apply Now

securely on the issuer's website

Highlights
Why We Picked It
Rewards
Key Features

2X miles per dollar spent on United Airlines purchases
1.5X miles per dollar spent on all other purchases
100,000 bonus miles for spending $10,000 on purchases in the first 3 months
First and second checked bags are free for you and one companion
MileagePlus Premier® members may receive free upgrades when traveling on an award ticket
Current United Club members can apply and be reimbursed for the unused portion of your membership once approved
No close-in awards booking fees on United tickets
Unlimited miles that never expire
Complimentary employee cards
No foreign transaction fees
No blackout dates
$450 annual fee

The United Club℠ Business Card is the high-end option available to business owners who love flying United.

However, it offers half the cash back equivalent of the Hilton card. We found United miles to be worth about 1–2 cents, so if you earn 7X miles per dollar, you’d see a cash back equivalent of 7%–14%, compared to 12%–30% from the Hilton card.

And because it’s a high-end card, it carries a substantial annual fee. But it does come with a few top-notch benefits to help mitigate that fee. The most valuable amongst them are unlimited access to United Clubs, Premier Access travel services, and upgraded award flight tickets when available.

Whereas the Hilton card offers amenities for when you land, this card is aimed at making your airport and flight experience more comfortable.

However, some high-end travel cards offer yearly credits that effectively lower the substantial annual fee (see The Business Platinum Card® from American Express (Review) below). But business owners who travel frequently would have a less stressful airport experience, plus save some money.

Spending Rewards
2X miles per dollar spent on United Airlines purchases
1.5X miles per dollar spent on all other purchases

Introductory Bonus
100,000 bonus miles for spending $10,000 on purchases in the first 3 months

United Club membership: The primary cardholder and eligible companions can access United Clubs and Star Alliance-affiliated lounges around the world.
Free first and second checked bags: You and one traveling companion on the same reservation won’t have to worry about checked bag fees for two of your bags.
Premier upgrades on award tickets: If you’re traveling on an award flight and are a MileagePlus Premier member, you can take advantage of complimentary premier upgrades for your flight (when available).
Premier Access travel services: Expedite your airport experience with priority check-in, security screening (where available), and boarding and baggage handling privileges.
Hertz Gold Plus Rewards President’s Circle: You can enroll in the top tier of the Hertz Gold Plus Rewards Program for a 50% bonus to Gold Plus Reward Points, exclusive offers, upgrades, and more.
Free employee cards: You can add employees as authorized users for no additional charge.
Travel protections: Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance, Lost Luggage Reimbursement, Baggage Delay Insurance, and primary rental car insurance
Shopping protections: Purchase Protection, Price Protection, Return Protection, and Extended Warranty Protection
No foreign transaction fee
Annual fee: $450

The Business Platinum Card® from American Express

Our rating:

Why We Picked It
Rewards
Key Features

The Business Platinum Card® from American Express (Review) is one of the more well-known luxury business cards. It provides decent rewards and an impressive array of benefits.

The annual fee is daunting, but the benefits package is one of the best available. It features access to the largest collection of airport lounges of any card, an annual $200 airline fee credit, a repeatable $100 hotel credit, plus complimentary Elite hotel statuses at Marriott Bonvoy and Hilton. That means if Hilton is your go-to hotel, you’ll still enjoy the suite of amenities that come with Gold status.

The rewards, however, are less impressive. It can earn a cash back equivalent of 10% or more, depending on how you spend and redeem points.

But the rewards aren’t why you’d consider this card. Business owners who travel often could get enough value from the perks to justify the fee, but if you travel only a handful of times per year, it likely wouldn’t be worth it.

Spending Rewards
5X Membership Rewards points per dollar on Flights and Prepaid Hotels booked through Amex Travel
2X Membership Rewards points per dollar for other eligible purchases through Amex Travel
1.5X Membership Rewards points per dollar (up to $2 million spent per year) for eligible purchases of $5,000 or more, and eligible U.S. purchases from: Construction material and hardware suppliers Electronic goods retailers and software/cloud system providers Shipping providers
1X Membership Rewards point per dollar on other eligible purchases

Introductory Bonus
120,000 bonus points for spending $15,000 within the first 3 months

Global Lounge Collection: Complimentary access to Priority Pass, Centurion, American Express International, Delta Sky Club, Escape, Airspace, Lufthansa, and Plaza Premium Lounges
Up to $200 in airline fee statement credits annually: Good for incidental costs like checked bags and inflight food, not tickets, at your selected airline
Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee credit: A statement credit for the application fee of either Global Entry ($100 once every four years) or TSA PreCheck ($85 once every four-and-a-half years)
Complimentary elite hotel statuses: Hilton Honors Gold status and Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite status
$400 Dell statement credit: Enroll to get up to $400 in annual statement credits for U.S. purchases with Dell: $200 from January through June, and $200 from July through December.
$360 in annual statement credits for Indeed: Up to $90 in statement credits per quarter for all Indeed hiring and recruiting products and services
Up to $150 in annual statement credits for Adobe: Annual credits for select Adobe products, including Adobe Creative Cloud and Acrobat Pro DC
Up to $120 in annual statement credits for wireless services: Up to $10 per month, good for purchases of monthly wireless services made directly from U.S. wireless telephone providers
The Hotel Collection: A $100 hotel credit and room upgrades when available for every eligible two-night stay
Fine Hotels & Resorts Program: Daily breakfast for two, room upgrades when available, amenities valued at $100, and more at eligible properties
Point transfer: To a selection of airline and hotel partners
No foreign transaction fee
Annual fee: $595 ($695 if application is received on or after 1/13/2022)

Enrollment required for select benefits; terms and limitations apply.

The Business Platinum Card® from American Express (Rates & Fees)

The information related to The Business Platinum Card® from American Express has been collected by Credit Card Insider and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer or provider of this product.

The Hilton Honors American Express Business Card

Our rating:

Rewards
Balance transfers
Fees