Hilton Business Card Changes: Higher Fee, Different Benefits

American Express and Hilton Honors have a suite of co-branded credit cards.

In 2023, we saw changes to the personal card portfolio, including the Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card (review) and Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card (review). Now changes have just been announced for the only business card in the portfolio, which is the Hilton Honors American Express Business Card (review).

As you'd expect, these changes are a mixed bag. The card's annual fee is increasing significantly, some new benefits are being added, and some benefits are being taken away.

The information and associated card details on this page for the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card has been collected independently by OMAAT and has not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

Hilton Business Card annual fee increase to $195

The annual fee on the Hilton Business Card has been increased to $195 (Rates & Fees), which is a $100 increase over the previous $95 annual fee. This is of course a major increase, but there are some significant perks that make the card more compelling, at least for some consumers.

What's not changing about the Hilton Business Card

What hasn't been changed about the Hilton Business Card? As before:

• The card offers Hilton Honors Gold status for as long as you have the card, with no spending requirement
• The card offers Hilton Honors Diamond status when you spend $40,000 on the card in a calendar year
• The card earns 12x Hilton Honors points per dollar on eligible Hilton purchases

That's basically all that's not changing, so this card is very much being overhauled otherwise.

Hilton Business Card positive changes

There are three positive changes that have been made to the Hilton Business Card:

• The card now offers up to $240 in statement credits at Hilton properties each year; you receive $60 per quarter in statement credits, which can be triggered by any eligible purchase at a Hilton property
• The card now offers National Emerald Club Executive status
• The card now offers 5x Hilton Honors points on the first $100,000 spent every calendar year (and then 3x points); I value Hilton Honors points at 0.5 cents, so that's quite a good return

Hilton Business Card negative changes

Aside from the annual fee increasing, there are three negative changes that have been made to the Hilton Business Card:

• The card no longer offers 10 free Priority Pass visits per year
• The card no longer offers the ability to earn free night certificates (previously, you could earn them when spending $15,000 or $60,000 in a calendar year)
• The card has lost its 6x points bonus categories in favor of offering 5x points on everyday spending (for the first $100,000 every year)

What happens to existing cardmembers?

If you already have the Hilton Business Card, what should you expect in terms of these changes? Well, the positive changes kick in effective immediately, which is great. As far as the phasing out of existing benefits goes:

• Eligible purchases made through June 30, 2024, continue to count toward the free night certificate benefits, so you could still earn two of those
• If you enrolled in Priority Pass on or before June 30, 2023, your membership will expire on July 1, 2024, while if you enrolled on or after July 1, 2023, your membership will expire on April 1, 2025

So in the short term, there's the opportunity to double dip here, taking advantage of the new perks while also taking advantage of the old perks until they're phased out.

My take on these Hilton Business Card changes

The changes to the Hilton Business Card are a mixed bag, and whether they're positive or negative comes down to the individual consumer. Here are my thoughts:

• Of course, no one is going to be happy about the annual fee increasing
• At the same time, if you stay at a Hilton property at least once per quarter, it's awesome to be able to maximize the up to $240 annual statement credit with Hilton, which more than covers the annual fee
• The ability to earn 5x Hilton Honors points on everyday spending for the first $100,000 every year is awesome, though, for those who are maximizers, it probably doesn't offset the ability to earn two annual free night awards
• The loss of 10 Priority Pass visits per year is also unfortunate, as this was one of the most attractively priced options for getting a limited number of Priority Pass visits

So I'd say the card is easier to justify than ever before for someone who stays at Hiltons at least once a quarter. Meanwhile, for those who spent exactly $60,000 on the card per year, or those who valued the Priority Pass perks, this is probably negative.

Bottom line

The Hilton Business Card has been refreshed. Its annual fee has been increased to $195.

The good news is that the card now offers up to $240 in statement credits for Hilton stays per year (up to $60 per quarter), making it easy to justify the card. The card also offers an impressive 5x Hilton Honors points per dollar spent (on the first $100,000 every calendar year and then 3x), though that's coming at the expense of the free night awards, plus the bonus categories. On top of that, the card's Priority Pass perk has been eliminated.

What do you make of these Hilton Business Card changes?

The following links will direct you to the rates and fees for mentioned American Express Cards. These include: The Hilton Honors American Express Business Card (Rates & Fees).