Just me or Hilton Cards poor value?
I have a platinum and get great value out of it, and have had the Delta Plat which I also got value out of. As a loyal Hilton customer I was very disappointed in the value of the AmEx Hilton cards.
- Reward from spend pretty worthless when compared to 2% cash back card, this is the case for most AmEx so not unique here, but just covering this base
- $400 towards Hilton Resort stay split every 6 months. Not sure who stays at more than 1 Hilton Resort in a year, so we'll call that a $200 value.
- $200 airfare reimbursement split quarterly. Again, most people aren't flying more than twice a year for personal trips, so we'll call that $100 value.
- $100 expense credit only at Waldorf Astoria or Conrad. Worthless
- 1 free night. Could be valued at $120 at a Hampton Inn off the interstate or $600 at a Hilton in NYC
$550 AF - $200 - $100 = $250
You'd need your 1 free night to be $250 in organic spend just to break even. Even if you use that 1 free night at somewhere really nice and expensive you're jumping through all those other hoops and that's the only real benefit, 1 single night somewhere. Everyone has their own preferences and I'm sure the card works great for some people who travel a ton for leisure and love swanky hotels, but it seems to me like for the vast majority of people this card is a pretty poor value, particularly compared to most of the rest of the cards in the AmEx ecosystem. Would love to see them revamp it so the benefits aren't so focused on resorts/high end hotels.
Posted Mar 6, 2026, 3:50 PM UTC