Hilton Honors American Express Business Card refresh: Overwhelmingly negative changes - The Points Guy

The mid-tier Surpass and premium Aspire saw a 58% and 22% increase, respectively, so the more than 105% jump on the business card is disappointing.

Related: The complete guide to credit card annual fees

New Hilton statement credit

One positive development for the Hilton Honors Business Card includes the addition of a new statement credit. Cardmembers can now earn up to $240 in statement credits on eligible Hilton purchases.

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The statement credit is split up quarterly, providing up to $60 each quarter. Eligible purchases include room reservations at Hilton properties and also cover incidental charges such as dinner or spa treatments. Additionally, the credit can be used in a business setting, such as having a meeting over coffee with business partners or a meal at Hilton properties.

For frequent travelers, a statement credit is a great way to offset hotel charges; however, if you don't travel frequently or at least every quarter, this benefit may not be as useful.

To maximize the statement credit, you must use your credit every quarter; at the very least, if you don't plan on spending it on hotel stays, then use it to dine at restaurants or cafes within Hilton properties for work dinners or team meetings.

Related: How to maximize the new statement credits on the Hilton Surpass and Aspire cards

New car rental elite status

Cardmembers will now also receive complimentary National Car Rental® Emerald Club Executive® status. Useful benefits include guaranteed upgrades, access to Executive Area cars (in the USA and Canada) and no second driver fees.

While elite status with a car rental company is a nice perk, it isn't a benefit that is a make-it-or-break-it factor for most businesses, and it's certainly not one that fully offsets an increase in a card's annual fee. This benefit is useful as long as you rent cars often for business travel; if your preferred car rental company isn't National Car Rental®, many companies offer status match programs to entice you into their loyalty programs.

Enrollment in the complimentary Emerald Club program is required. Terms apply.

Related: Hitting the road this summer? Here's everything you need to know about rental car elite status

Changed earning rates

The earning structure on the card is changing somewhat.

Apart from still earning 12 points per dollar when making purchases directly with hotels and resorts in the Hilton portfolio, cardmembers now earn 5 points per dollar spent on all purchases up to $100,000 and then 3 points per dollar after that.

Despite the $100,000 spending limit, earning 5 points per dollar is solid and could be positive for businesses that spend a lot on everyday purchases. However, Amex has removed the 6 points per dollar categories, which were broadly defined and had no spending cap, so this could also be a negative development depending on your spending patterns.

Related: 12 ways you can earn more Hilton Honors points

Removal of Priority Pass lounge passes

Previously, the Hilton Honors Business Card offered cardmembers 10 complimentary visits to Priority Pass lounges annually. However, this is disappearing.

Existing cardmembers should aim to use their passes soon. This negative change edges the card toward less utilization for business-related travel.

For context, the Surpass and Aspire both lost their Priority Pass benefits back in October, so this is not a surprise. If your business relies on lounge use during travel, consider a card like the Capital One Venture X Business or The Business Platinum Card® from American Express.

The information for the Hilton Aspire card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

Related: Is a Priority Pass lounge membership actually worth it?

No more free nights

Cardmembers will also see the removal of a free night reward for those who spend $15,000 in a calendar year and another for those who spend $60,000 in a calendar year.

As a cobranded hotel credit card, earning free nights is a great benefit for those who meet spending requirements, even more so because Hilton uses a dynamic award chart.

This is a disappointing change and disincentivizes cardmembers to spend significantly on the card.

Our take on the Hilton Business card changes

TPG managing editor for credit cards Matt Moffitt has this card and is disappointed with the changes overall.

An annual fee increase to $150 instead of $195 (see rates and fees) would have been more palatable and in line with the new annual fee structure that Amex seems to be implementing. Removing Priority Pass visits doesn't affect him much, as he already has unlimited access to participating lounges through his Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card.

Furthermore, the inability to earn free night rewards after spending $15,000 and $60,000 yearly is a major blow to this card's value proposition.

And while the up to $60 quarterly Hilton statement credit more than offsets the annual fee, it's frustrating having to pull out this card four times a year to get value from this benefit.

Matt will definitely be asking for a retention offer when the (higher) annual fee posts at his next renewal in July. If that isn't successful, he'll try to downgrade this card to one with a lower or no annual fee or cancel the card as he doesn't see the long-term value of having it in his wallet when he already gets Hilton Honors Diamond status and more than enough value from the annual fee on his personal Aspire card.

Bottom line

American Express continues to refresh its lineup of cards; however, unlike its mid-tier and premium consumer cards, the Surpass and the Aspire, the changes to the Hilton Honors Business Card are overwhelmingly negative.

Removing several useful benefits and increasing the annual fee by more than double is detrimental to the card, even when you take into account the introduction of a quarterly statement credit.

However, this card may still make sense for business owners who stay at Hilton properties at least once per quarter and can get value out of the complimentary Gold status.

Like we've seen in the past, this card refresh is accompanied by a limited-time welcome offer to entice new cardmembers. They can earn 175,000 Hilton Honors bonus points after they spend $8,000 in purchases within the first six months of card membership. The best-ever offer we've seen on this card is 180,000 bonus points, so the current offer is highly worth considering — if you decide this card is worth it.

The information for the Hilton Aspire card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

For rates and fees of the Hilton Honors Business Card, click here.

Editorial disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airline or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.