Hilton HHonors - Should I get a Hilton charge card?

Hi guys,

My score is not at a point where I want to apply for a new card right now, however, while Hilton brand hotels are where I tend stay when doing personal travel, is it worth getting a Hilton card from either Citi or AMEX?

To date I have been happy earning United miles by throwing my stays on my United Club card and am wondering, is it worth earning Hilton points on a Hilton branded affinity card at all?

Thanks!

Eric

PS: Miles on United/*A mean more to me than hotel points.

You may sign up for both cards (Citi & AMEX) or if you just want to stick with one, I would suggest the one from AMEX with all the extra benefits from the card alone. You can earn the points and use it to convert to miles. Take a look here (http://hhonors1.hilton.com/en_US/hh/points/pointsformiles.do#exchange) to see the point to miles conversion and see if this is worth it or if it's better to just charge it on your United Club card.

If the point to mileage return rate is worth it over United Club, then I would suggest looking into getting the Hilton Surpass Card instead (also from AMEX but with a $75 annual fee). See here (http://hhonors1.hilton.com/en_US/hh/about/creditamex.do). More points and extra 20,000 bonus if you spend 3K within the first 3 months.

Make sure you factor in the extra points from being a Silver/Gold/Diamond member. As far as what I read here though, the best return for airline miles is from SPG. So I'm not sure how Hilton HHonors points will work out compared to United Club Card.

One other thing you can look into (if you haven't already) is to change the Double Dipping (http://hhonors1.hilton.com/en_US/hh/points/doubledipping.do) to earn miles also.

If you are really concerned about your credit (is it really low?), then just hold off for now and stick with your United Club card since you value the miles more anyway.

You may sign up for both cards (Citi & AMEX) or if you just want to stick with one, I would suggest the one from AMEX with all the extra benefits from the card alone. You can earn the points and use it to convert to miles. Take a look here (http://hhonors1.hilton.com/en_US/hh/points/pointsformiles.do#exchange) to see the point to miles conversion and see if this is worth it or if it's better to just charge it on your United Club card.

If the point to mileage return rate is worth it over United Club, then I would suggest looking into getting the Hilton Surpass Card instead (also from AMEX but with a $75 annual fee). See here (http://hhonors1.hilton.com/en_US/hh/about/creditamex.do). More points and extra 20,000 bonus if you spend 3K within the first 3 months.

Make sure you factor in the extra points from being a Silver/Gold/Diamond member. As far as what I read here though, the best return for airline miles is from SPG. So I'm not sure how Hilton HHonors points will work out compared to United Club Card.

One other thing you can look into (if you haven't already) is to change the Double Dipping (http://hhonors1.hilton.com/en_US/hh/points/doubledipping.do) to earn miles also.

If you are really concerned about your credit (is it really low?), then just hold off for now and stick with your United Club card since you value the miles more anyway.

Yeah, the credit really is in the stinker zone right now. Not doing anything with regards to getting any new cards until EOY probably. Went crazy a few years ago and am now paying the price. The good news is that debt is about 80% retired (aside from a student loan) and I don't carry any card balances (aside from my last card that is currently being paid off).

Just wanted to see what my option was for down the road. Thanks for the info!