When you start out with a new loyalty program it can be difficult to earn a lot of points. One way to help speeds things up, is by applying for a credit card with a generous welcome bonus offer. Lately, a lot of cards have been throwing around offers for about 80,000 to 100,000 points on various loyalty programs, and while some have hefty spending requirements, most are manageable.
Earlier this year I applied for two Hilton branded credit cards by American Express: The Hilton Business Card and the Hilton Ascend Credit Card. At the time, both had a welcome bonus of 100,000 HHonors Points in exchange for $3,000 spend over the course of three months, though as of October 2018, the welcome bonus goes up to 125,000 HHonors Points.
To make the ‘pain’ of having to spend $3,000 per card a little less, I applied for them 3 months apart, effectively requiring me to spend about $1,000 a month for half a year to get both bonuses. As I travel a lot, both for business as well as pleasure, this wasn’t too difficult and before I knew it, both welcome bonuses had posted to my HHonors account.
Combing points from different cards
American Express has a total of 4 Hilton branded credit cards. And the best part of this, is that each of these are considered separate products, meaning that theoretically you could apply for all 4 (Note that one of them is a business card and not applicable for consumers).
Right now, the following cards have generous welcome bonus offers:
- Hilton Honors American Express Ascend Card (150,000 points for $3,000 spend)
- Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card (150,000 points for $4,000 spend)
- Hilton Honors American Express Card (100,000 points for $1,000 spend)
- Hilton Honors Business Card (125,000 points for $3,000 spend)
The easiest win here is the Hilton Honors Card, requiring only $1,000 over the course of three months. But if you want to cash out on bonuses and apply for the entire collection, you could earn up to 525,000 HHonors Points, plus at least 33,000 points earned by the spend needed for the welcome bonus (Assuming all spend falls under the lowest earning category of 3 points per dollar).
Of course, this is not for everyone, but if you think you will be able to meet the requirements, it would definitely be worth a shot. One of the ways to make it easier to hit the requirements, is using one of various payment services that allow you to pay rent through a credit card.
So, 525,000 HHonors Points, now what?
One of the most valued redemptions with HHonors Points is the Conrad Maldives Rangali Island Resort on the Maldives. A Beach Villa goes for 95,000 points a night, so you could use these points for at least a 4 night stay there. Not bad, right?
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