RIP Hilton Honors Business Card: Why I Had to Let It Go

Friends, Romans, Hilton Honors enthusiasts, lend me your ears! Today, we gather not to celebrate a birth, but to mourn a death – the death of my Hilton Honors Business card. Yes, as of today, it's officially gone, relegated to the credit card graveyard. But before you shed a tear, let me explain why I had to unceremoniously "kill" this card.

Let's get into the farewell of my Hilton Honors Business card.

A Year Ago: The Honeymoon Phase

I picked up the Hilton Honors Business card about a year ago, lured by the siren song of a 130,000-point signup bonus. My wife and I were planning a trip to Europe, and I needed to stockpile points. This card seemed like the perfect tool.

I even used it to pay for a lot of my Conrad stay in London and Eurostar train tickets! It was a points-generating machine.

The Card Deets

  • Annual Fee: $195 (almost "cheap" in the Amex world)

  • Earning:

    • 12x points per dollar at Hilton properties (on top of your Hilton status earnings!)

    • 5x points per dollar on the first $100,000 in spend per calendar year.

    • 3x points per dollar on everything else

The Hidden Superpower:

This card has a surprising superpower. If you're committed to using your points for Hilton stays, it can actually outperform the Amex Blue Business Plus! The Blue Business Plus earns 2x Amex Membership Rewards points (which translate to 4x Hilton points) on up to $50,000 in spend. The Hilton Business card earns a flat 5x Hilton points on a much higher limit.

The Coupon Book (and the Clutter):

Of course, being an Amex card, it comes with a "coupon book." In this case, up to $240 in Hilton credit each year, doled out quarterly. You can use it directly at properties or on prepaid rates.

I actually used the full $240 this year. But here's the rub: I also have the Amex Business Platinum card, which has its own $200 Hilton credit. That's too many quarterly credits to juggle! The thought of explaining to a Hilton front desk that I want to split a bill between three different cards to maximize credits is, frankly, exhausting.

The Real Reason: Simplicity... and Strategy

While the value was there (I easily got $600-$700 worth of value from the signup bonus and used all of the $240 quarterly credits), the simplicity wasn't.

But there's another, bigger reason why this card had to go.

The Amex Limit: Five is the Magic Number

American Express has an internal limit on the number of credit cards (not charge cards) you can hold. For me, that limit is five. Holding onto the Hilton Honors Business card was blocking me from getting other cards that better align with my current strategy.

The Replacements: Blue Business Plus or Hilton Surpass?

So, what cards are worth sacrificing the Hilton Business card for? Here are my top contenders:

1. Amex Blue Business Plus (Again!)

I love the Blue Business Plus and use it for everyday business expenses. Right now, there's a "no lifetime language" offer floating around for 75,000 points! Canceling the Hilton Business card, waiting a bit, and snagging that signup bonus would be a huge win. Plus, I could get another year of 0% interest purchases to help expand my business (new camera, better computer, etc.).

2. Hilton Surpass Card

If I can't get the Blue Business Plus offer, my next target is the Hilton Surpass. It regularly has solid signup bonuses. Plus, after getting the bonus, I'd love to try and upgrade it to another Aspire card (I already have one). Two Aspire free night awards each year, combined with the resort and airline credits, would be amazing!

3. Another Delta Card

If I'm still in "pop-up jail" for the Surpass, I might just go for another Delta card to boost my status.

The Verdict

The Hilton Honors Business card was a valuable companion for a time. But it's become a casualty of Amex's policies and my evolving points strategy. So here lies the Hilton Honors Business card.

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