Hilton is Seeking Summer. Should you?

Tl;dr: This is a decent deal if you’re new to Hilton and are over 5/24

When it comes to hotels, I’m firmly in the “a room is a room” camp, and will gravitate towards the cheapest option. That often means staying at an Airbnb (especially when vacationing abroad) or booking the cheapest option available through a travel portal like Capital One’s, where we get 10x points back with our Venture X. But when all else is more or else equal, I like to break out my IHG Premier and book an IHG property like the Holiday Inn, where I can earn tons of IHG points with my card, Amex points or miles by clicking through a shopping portal, and enjoy the card’s Platinum status perks like early check in and late checkout. 

A no-annual-fee version of the IHG Premier is the Hilton Honors card from American Express. If your best deal on a hotel is a Hilton anyway, booking with your Hilton Amex card can boost your Hilton points earning and offer a few minor “elite” perks. Nothing special here–it’s a no-fee card, after all–but you’ll earn 9 extra points on Hilton purchases (for a total of 19x), receive free bottled water each stay, and receive the fifth night free when booking stays of 5 or more nights with points. 

For me, those perks wouldn’t necessarily push it over the edge–if a Hilton property is $100 on both Hilton.com and Capital One Travel, I’d probably take the 1000 Capital One Miles over the 1900 Hilton points and the free bottled water because the miles are flexible and easily worth $10, emphasis on easy, whereas the Hilton points are more restrictive even if you could get roughly comparable value. But if I didn’t have the Venture X, and the choice was between getting, say, 100 Expedia points and 200 Bilt points or 1900 Hilton points, the choice becomes a lot easier, and I’ll take my free water bottles. 

So I think the Honors card from Amex is a great option to keep in the wallet as a utility card if you occasionally book Hiltons but not enough to invest heavily in the Hilton rewards ecosystem. I wouldn’t run scrambling to add it to your wallet, and certainly wouldn’t waste a 5/24 slot to pick it up either. But for the right person at the right time, it can be a valuable contributor.

Speaking of the right time, it might be worth checking to see if you’ve been targeted for their Seeking Summer promotion. After spending just $1,000 in the first 3 months, eligible new cardholders will receive 80,000 points (fairly standard) and a free night award (very much not standard on this card). Unlike many free night awards that are limited to rooms up to a certain point value, this award can be used virtually anywhere. That includes $800+/night ski-in-ski-out or 5-star midtown manhattan properties. If you have any one-night stays on the horizon, this welcome offer could get you that room for free, and in ultra-upscale luxury to boot.

Welcome bonus
80,000 Bonus Points + Free Night Reward after spending $1,000 in the first 3 months 

Annual fee
None

Credits/offsets
None

Earning rates
7x at Hilton (+2x via Silver status, +10x for base membership)
5x at U.S. restaurants
5x at U.S. supermarkets
5x at U.S. gas stations
3x on all other purchases

Protections
No foreign transaction fees
American Express Global Assist Hotline
Secondary car rental insurance
Extended warranty (up to 1 additional year for warranties of 5 years or less)
Purchase protection (damage or theft within 90 days, up to $1,000)

Perks
Silver status (bonus points on stays, free bottled water, fifth night free on reward stays)
Can receive Gold status after spending $20,000

Redemptions
Redeem for free nights at Hilton properties. Nerdwallet estimates points are worth 0.6¢ each, but values can vary, and you can get more value if you take advantage of the card’s 5th-night-free perk. 

Example redemptions (at time of writing, face values):

• Statler Dallas, September, 15-16th: 70,000 pts ($370 cash, .5¢/pt)

• Tru Dallas Market Center, September 15-17th: 60,000 pts ($279 cash, .5¢/pt)

• Hampton Inn Boston Crosstown Center, September 15-17th: 120,000 pts ($876 cash, .7¢/pt)

• Hampton Inn Miami-Coconut Grove, September 15-17th: 82,000 pts ($370 cash, .5¢/pt)

• DoubleTree Toronto Downtown, September 15-17th: 120,000 pts ($1,151 cash, 1¢/pt)

• Hampton Inn Rome (IT) East, September 15-17th: 60,000 pts ($332 cash, .6¢/pt)