Charles H. Miller
Citi and Hilton have prepared not one but two different credit cards for travelers who frequent (or want to frequent) Hilton properties such as Hampton Inns, Doubletree hotels, Embassy Suites, and even the Waldorf-Astoria. One of them, Citi® Hilton HHonors™ Visa Signature® Card, is made for folks who don’t want to pay a single dime upfront for a credit card; on the other hand, the Citi® Hilton HHonors™ Reserve Card comes with a $95 annual fee, but includes way more benefits. Let’s dive into details, shall we…
Also read: Hilton HHonors Cards from American Express.
Highlights
- Sign-up bonus comes included with both cards.
- Automatic HHonors Silver or HHonors Gold status
- Easy way to collect points and earn a free night stay
- Two weekend night certificates with Citi® Hilton HHonors™ Reserve Card
- No annual fee with Citi® Hilton HHonors™ Visa Signature® Card, $95 with Citi® Hilton HHonors™ Reserve Card
How They Work
Sign-up bonus: 40,000 points with Citi® Hilton HHonors™ Visa Signature® Card after making $1,000 in purchases within the first 4 months. On the other hand, Citi® Hilton HHonors™ Reserve Card offers 2 weekend nights after making $2,500 in purchases within the first 4 months after account opening.
Easy way to build points: Citi® Hilton HHonors™ Visa Signature® Card cardholders earn 6 points per dollar spent at all of the different Hilton properties; 3 points for every dollar spent at supermarkets, drugstores, and gas stations; and double points on all other purchases. With Citi® Hilton HHonors™ Reserve Card, cardholders earn 10 points for every dollar spent on hotel stays within the Hilton Portfolio, 5 points for every dollar spent on airline and car rental purchases, and 3 points for every dollar spent on all other purchases. Once earned, points can be redeemed for free night stays at any of the brands in the Hilton portfolio, with no blackout dates or capacity controls.
HHonors Status: Citi® Hilton HHonors™ Visa Signature® Card users automatically receive Silver elite status which includes a 15% points bonus, free access to fitness centers, and a fifth night free on award stays of five nights or more. Also, cardholders who spend $20,000 on their cards are given Gold status that offers a 25% points bonus on their award points, room upgrades, early and late checkouts, and free WiFi. On the other hand, with Citi® Hilton HHonors™ Reserve Card, users automatically get Gold status and from here they can be upgraded to Diamond status after spending $40,000 within a calendar year.
Annual bonus: Cardholders can earn an annual loyalty bonus of 10,000 Hilton HHonors bonus points at the end of each calendar year in which they spend $1,000 or more on stays within the Hilton Portfolio. With Citi® Hilton HHonors™ Reserve Card, users receive a weekend night certificate for each calendar year in which they spend at least $10,000 on purchases and remain a cardmember.
Annual fee: While Citi® Hilton HHonors™ Visa Signature® Card doesn’t have an annual fee, Citi® Hilton HHonors™ Reserve Card costs $95 per year. You will be earning more points and get those two free weekend nights in return, though.
APR: Citi® Hilton HHonors™ Visa Signature® Card has a variable APR ranging from 15.49% to 19.49%, based on your creditworthiness. Citi® Hilton HHonors™ Reserve Card has an APR of 15.49%.
Visa Signature benefits: Travel insurance and purchase protection benefits such as lost baggage protection, trip cancellation and interruption protection, as well as damage and theft protection.
Citi Price Rewind: All purchases made on these two cards are eligible to participate in Citi’s Price Rewind program — meaning Citi will refund the difference in price of any purchase (up to $300 per item, up to $1200 per year) that is available if discovered within 30 days of the original purchase.
Pros
- Sign-up bonus – both of Citi’s Hilton credit cards will allow you to enjoy/earn a free night stay. Also with Citi® Hilton HHonors™ Reserve Card, you will get two free weekend night certificates after spending at least $10,000 on purchases in a calendar year.
- Automatic HHonors status – Silver status with Citi® Hilton HHonors™ Visa Signature® Card, and Gold with Citi® Hilton HHonors™ Reserve Card.
- Easy way to build points – don’t forget to use one of these cards for your everyday purchases, and soon enough you’ll earn yourself a free night at some Hilton property.
- No or reasonable annual fee, in the case of Citi® Hilton HHonors™ Reserve Card – considering all the benefits.
Cons
- Hilton points are not as worth as points of some other hotel chains. Then again, this is one of the largest hotel chains in the world with more than 4,200 locations in 93 countries so they have every right to be more demanding than other hotels.
- APR is rather high which doesn’t comes as a surprise with any travel credit card.
Head to Head Comparison
Should You Get One of Citi’s Hilton HHonors™ Cards?
If you frequent Hilton hotels or cities/places where some Hilton property is operating, the answer is “YES.” The only reason why not to get a Hilton-branded credit card would be to get a card branded by some other hotel chain you visit more frequently. Then again, nothing stops you from owning multiple credit cards. As long as you pay your bills in full and on time, you can get pretty much any travel credit card, Citi’s Hilton HHonors™ cards included.
