American Express Hilton Honors Surpass
American Express · American Express · $150 annual fee · earns Hilton Honors, valued at 0.40¢ a point.
Rates checked against the issuer 2026-08. 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 $462, or $312 after the fee.
- Weighing it up against: Hilton Honors Aspire.
Is the annual fee worth it?
It earns about $462 a year on the illustrative household's spending, which is $312 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 $747 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 | Conditions |
|---|---|---|
| Hotels | 12x | Hilton only · Hilton properties only |
| Restaurants & Bars, Food Delivery, Groceries, Gas Stations | 6x | US merchants only |
| Online Shopping | 4x | US online retail |
| Everything else | 3x |
Where a year's rewards come from
| Spending on | Earns a year |
|---|---|
| Groceries | $144 |
| Restaurants & Bars | $86 |
| Everything Else | $72 |
| Gas Stations | $43 |
| Online Shopping | $29 |
| Utilities | $22 |
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.
Protections and travel benefits
From the issuer's own benefit summary as of 2026-09. These are read from summaries rather than the full guide to benefits, which has the exclusions — check it before relying on one.
- Purchase protection — up to $1,000 per claim · 90 days
- Extended warranty
- Hotel elite status
What the issuer lists besides rewards
- Automatic Hilton Gold status
- Quarterly Hilton statement credits
- No foreign transaction fees
- Purchase protection up to $1,000 per claim for 90 days after you buy
- Extended warranty adds a year to manufacturer warranties of five years or less
Similar cards
- Chase IHG One Rewards Premier — annual fee $99 a year
- Chase Bonvoy Boundless — annual fee $95 a year
- Chase World of Hyatt — annual fee $95 a year
- American Express Hilton Honors Card — annual fee none
- 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.
Carry this card?
Cardful tells you at the checkout whether it is the right one to use, store by store.