Amex Lifts Its Hilton Card Bonuses, Aspire Now 200,000 Points

Amex just raised the welcome offers across its personal Hilton Honors cards, and the bigger point totals are only half of it. Two of these cards now fold a Free Night Reward into the sign up, which they never did before.

• Hilton Honors Aspire: 200,000 points after $6,000 in 6 months, up from its usual 150,000. Annual fee $550. Points only here, no free night in the welcome, though the card still earns one every year.
• Hilton Honors Surpass: 130,000 points plus a Free Night Reward after $3,000 in 6 months. Annual fee $150, waived the first year.
• Hilton Honors, no annual fee: 70,000 points plus a Free Night Reward after $2,000 in 6 months. This card has never bundled a free night before.

Applications run through January 13, 2027.

The Free Night Reward is the part worth slowing down for. It books one standard award night at eligible Hilton properties, and the same certificate that covers a Hampton Inn on a road trip can cover a resort night that would otherwise cost a small fortune in cash. Landing one on a no fee card is genuinely unusual.

Be clear eyed about the Aspire before you chase the 200,000. It is $550 a year and asks for $6,000 in six months, and it earns that back through resort credits and Diamond status rather than the welcome alone, so it only pays off if you truly stay at Hilton. The Surpass and the no fee card are the softer entry if you are newer to Hilton or spend less.

If a Hilton stay is already on your calendar, a wedding block or a school break week, the Surpass Free Night Reward can quietly cover the priciest night of the trip. If you are only Hilton curious, the no fee card finally gives you a reason to start.

One more thing to check before you apply: Amex applies its once per card lifetime rule, so a welcome offer only counts if you have not already earned the bonus on that specific card.