Hilton Honors American Express^® Card

The Hilton Honors American Express^® Card is a Hilton co-branded credit card from American Express Canada. It comes with complimentary Hilton Honors Gold status, earns up to 6 Hilton Honors points per dollar spent, and has an annual fee of $150.

Until now, Canadians who wanted a Hilton credit card had to apply for one of Hilton's US cards with US credit history. The main way to get Hilton Gold status from a Canadian card was the American Express Platinum Card, which has a $799 annual fee.

New cardholders can earn 60,000 Hilton Honors points and a Free Night Reward after spending $3,000 in the first three months of cardmembership.

You can earn another 10,000 Hilton Honors points after spending $500 in the 13th month, bringing the total to up to 70,000 points plus the Free Night Reward. The offer is open to applications until January 11, 2027, and current or former holders of this card aren't eligible.

The card has an annual fee of $150, and you can add up to nine additional cards at no cost. Purchases in a foreign currency carry a 2.5% conversion fee.

How Much Is This Offer Worth?

We value Hilton Honors points at 0.7 cents per point.

In the first year, the 60,000-point welcome bonus is worth about $420, and the 6,000 points you'd earn on the required $3,000 in spending add about $42. After the $150 annual fee, that's an estimated first-year value of $312, before counting the Free Night Reward.

The Free Night Reward adds to that. It's good for one night in a standard room for two at Hilton properties, any night of the week, with no points cap in Amex's terms, so it's worth the most at a hotel where reward nights cost a lot of points. Hilton lists a few excluded properties, and you book the night by phone.

Hilton emails the Free Night Reward up to 16 weeks after you reach the $3,000, and it expires 12 months after it's issued. Our guide covers how Hilton Free Night Rewards work.

If you keep the card into the second year, the month 13 bonus of 10,000 points is worth about $70, against the second-year fee of $150. Amex doesn't list an annual Free Night Reward among the card's benefits, so from the second year on, the card's value comes from Gold status, the points you earn, and the calendar-year spending bonuses.

The Hilton Honors American Express^® Card earns Hilton Honors points at three rates.

• 6 points per dollar spent on purchases made directly with Hilton hotels and resorts, including room-charged dining and spa visits
• 4 points per dollar spent at restaurants, coffee shops, bars, grocery stores, gas stations, and food delivery services in Canada
• 2 points per dollar spent on all other purchases

The 6x at Hilton comes on top of the base points you earn as a Hilton Honors member. At our valuation of 0.7 cents per point, the card's rates work out to about 4.2% on Hilton stays, 2.8% on dining, gas, and groceries in Canada, and 1.4% on everything else.

The 4x categories only apply to purchases in Canada, so restaurant and grocery purchases abroad earn the base rate of 2 points per dollar spent. Grocery purchases need to be at stand-alone grocery stores.

For dining and groceries at home, the American Express Cobalt Card earns 5 MR points per dollar spent, which are worth considerably more and transfer to airline partners like Aeroplan.