News: The Hilton HHonors has unfortunately been closed to new applications in the UK.

The Hilton HHonors Platinum Visa Card is a decent hotel rewards credit card for small spenders. As a free card, it's generally a low-risk option for individuals who aren't massively committed to earning hotel rewards. We do expect you can earn 1% to 1.5% on your spending through the HHonors loyalty program, making it a competitive rewards credit card. However, those spending enough to make up for an annual fee will earn higher hotel rewards on the IHG Rewards Club Premium Credit Card or the Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card. HHonors points can also be redeemed for air miles at select airlines.

Hilton HHonors Platinum Card Review

The Hilton HHonors Platinum card is a decent card for those looking to dabble in earning hotel rewards. Cardholders can earn rewards rates around 1% on everyday spend and 1.5% on participating Hilton spend. There is also some extra value to be earned in the first year: a free night e-certificate (when you spend £750 in first 90 days) and the chance to earn 2,500 Bonus Points for each of your first four stays in your first 12 months. However, the lack of annual fee means no annual bonuses. Since it's free, there isn't much risk to the card, but more value can be found on some competing, paid hotel rewards cards like IHG and SPG, as you can see in the following graph (Hilton HHonors in purple).

How much can you earn each year? It depends on your spending patterns.

There is also some extra value on offer in the first year: a free night e-certificate (when you spend £750 in first 90 days) and the chance to earn 2,500 Bonus Points for each of your first four stays in your first 12 months. However, the lack of annual fee means no annual bonuses (other than the chance to earn Gold Elite Status with £10,000 spend/year). You can see estimated rewards of the Hilton card and two paid hotel rewards cards (Hilton HHonors in purple).

Bottom Line: The Hilton HHonors Platinum is a good hotel rewards card for limited spending. Those who will spend over £10,000 a year on their card may want to consider the IHG Rewards Club Premium Credit Card instead, for the chance to earn a free night stay each year.

Hilton HHonors Credit Card Features

For every £1 you spend on the Hilton HHonors card at participating hotels within the Hilton Worldwide portfolio, you'll earn 3 HHonors Bonus Points. Every £1 spent elsewhere earns you 2 HHonors Bonus Points. Given our estimated value of an HHonors point to be 0.5 pence, you should see ongoing rewards rates of 1.5% on participating Hilton spend and 1% elsewhere.

Representative example: 18.9% APR representative (variable). Based on an assumed credit limit of £1,200 and a purchase rate of 18.9% p.a. (variable). Annual fee: £0.

Exchanging HHonors Points for Flights

If you'd rather use your HHonors Points to fly than sleep, HHonors Points can be exchanged for miles at Virgin Atlantic, Hawaiian Airlines or Sri Lankan Airlines, according to the following conversion rates:

Hotels in the Hilton Portfolio

There is no shortage of hotels to choose from in the Hilton portfolio. The Hilton brands encompass more than 4,600 properties, part of 14 different brands, as listed in the table below. In our research, we also came across this helpful tool for searching Hilton properties by category, using Google maps. This tool is not related to us or to Hilton, and may not be completely up to date and accurate, but we found it very useful as a starting point for exploring Hilton hotels.

• Waldorf Astoria

• Conrad

• Canopy

• Hilton

• Curio

• DoubleTree

• Tapestry Collection

• Hilton Garden Inn

• Hampton

• tru

• Home2 Suites

• Homewood Suites

• Embassy Suites

• Hilton Grand Vacations

Hilton HHonors Platinum Compared to Other Credit Cards

To better understand the value of the Hilton HHonors Platinum Credit Card you need to see it relative to other available options. We’ve compared this card to other cash back and rewards cards so you can decide which will create more value for you given your individual needs and spending habits.

Hilton HHonors Platinum vs IHG Rewards

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The IHG Rewards Club Premium Credit Card offers an estimated 1% rewards on general spending and 2% rewards on IHG spend, with an added welcome bonus and the chance to earn a free night voucher every year. We particularly like this last feature, as the free night is achievable, with a minimum spend requirement of £10,000; additionally the free night can be used at any property in the IHG Rewards Club - you can use it at top tier, luxury IHG properties.

Quick Takeaway: If you'll spend more than £10,000 a year on your card, we think the IHG card offers more value, largely due to the free night voucher you can earn every year. If you will spend less (i.e., not enough to make back the annual fee or earn the free night), then the Hilton card is a better choice.

Hilton HHonors Platinum vs Starwood Preferred Guest

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The Starwood Preferred Guest is one of the best hotel rewards card. Solid rewards rates around 1.4% on general spending and 2.8% on SPG and Marriott Rewards hotel bookings, plus a generous welcome bonus worth over £100 and the chance to earn a free night stay every year can create significant value. However, you need to spend £25,000 a year to earn the free night voucher. You cannot redeem your voucher in the top-tier hotels in categories 5 or 6.

Quick Takeaway: If you're a big spender (over £25,000 a year), the SPG card can give you a lot of bang for the buck, due to higher ongoing rewards on spending. Smaller spenders will find the Hilton card less risky (i.e., no annual fee to earn back) and still quite rewarding.

Hilton HHonors Platinum vs Platinum Cashback Everyday by American Express

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The Platinum Cashback Credit Card by American Express is one of our favourite cashback rewards cards for those seeking a free card with an easy rewards program. Cardholders earn an ongoing rewards rate between 0.5% and 1% on all purchases (with a higher initial cashback rate of 5%). Do be aware that you must spend at least £3,000 on your card a year in order to receive any cashback. Rewards appear at statement credits once a year.

Quick Takeaway: The Hilton HHonors card has a higher expected ongoing rewards rate on your spending. However, those who want a no-hassle rewards program may prefer the simplicity of the Platinum Cashback Everyday card, since cashback appears automatically on your card statement once a year.