American Express Hilton Honors Business Card
American Express, American Express, $195 annual fee. Earns Hilton Honors, valued at 0.40¢ a point.
Rates checked against the issuer 2026-10. Foreign transaction fee: none.
The short version
- Best at: nothing in particular — no category puts it in the top three of the catalogue.
- A year's rewards: about $529, or $334 after the fee.
Is the annual fee worth it?
It earns about $529 a year on the illustrative household's spending, which is $334 once the fee is paid. The best card with no fee, American Express Blue Business Plus, nets $1,058 on the same spending — so this card is $724 a year behind. On earning alone it does not catch up at any level of spending this looks at — its credits and perks have to make up the difference, or the fee is not paying for itself.
Priced on an illustrative household spending $2,205 a month on a card — the assumption, in full. Credits and perks are not priced: they are worth their face value only if you would have spent that money anyway.
What it earns, category by category
| Earns on | Rate | ConditionsWhat the issuer attaches to this rate: a spending cap, a category you have to switch on, or a booking you have to make through its travel portal. |
|---|---|---|
| Hotels | 12x | Hilton only. Booked directly with Hilton hotels and resorts |
| Restaurants & Bars, Food Delivery, Groceries, Grocery Delivery, Wholesale Clubs, Superstores, Gas Stations, EV Charging, Rideshare & Taxis, Public Transit, Parking & Tolls, Car Rental, Flights, Hotels, Vacation Rentals, Online Shopping, Department Stores, Clothing, Home Improvement, Sporting Goods, Pet Supplies, Beauty, Auto Parts & Service, Office & Shipping, Drugstores, Medical, Phone & Internet, Utilities, Rent, Entertainment, Gyms & Fitness, Streaming, Everything Else | 5x | Up to $100,000 per year, then the base rate. 5x on every other purchase |
| Everything else | 3x |
Where a year's rewards come from
| Spending on | Earns a yearWhat this card earns on each kind of spending over a year, for the illustrative household on the method page. Before the annual fee. |
|---|---|
| Groceries | $120 |
| Everything Else | $120 |
| Restaurants & Bars | $72 |
| Gas Stations | $36 |
| Online Shopping | $36 |
| Utilities | $36 |
Priced on an illustrative household spending $2,205 a month on a card — the assumption, in full. Credits and perks are not priced: they are worth their face value only if you would have spent that money anyway.
Similar cards
- Chase World of Hyatt Business Card — annual fee $199 a year
- Chase IHG One Rewards Business — annual fee $200 a year
- American Express Hilton Honors Surpass — annual fee $150 a year
- American Express Marriott Bonvoy Bevy — annual fee $250 a year
- Every hotel card, ranked
- When an annual fee pays for itself
- The best two- and three-card combinations
Point values: published industry valuations, read 2026-09. How every number here is worked out.