On Monday, it was revealed that there was a great new Citibank Hilton card. This new card was different from the other Hilton cards that are already out there – giving a set amount of points for fulfilling the spending requirements. The cards offer points in amounts of 40K, 50K, and 60K. Then of course, there are the cards that have points that can be transferred into the Hilton program (Hawaiian Airlines and Virgin Atlanta). However, Hilton never really had a card that competed with the other hotels and their offerings – Hyatt (2 free nights), Marriott (points and free night), SPG (points, but can get substantial hotel offerings with the points), Fairmont (2 free nights), etc. While Hilton gives points (similar to Marriott and SPG), you do not really get any type of great free nights with them.
Waldorf Astoria Maldives
London Syon Park
Until now. On Monday, Citibank/Hilton released their Hilton HHonors Reserve card. Here is what you get with this card:
- 2 free weekend nights after spending $2,500 in 4 months at any Hyatt or Waldorf Astoria (except Hilton Grand Vacation properties and Waldorf Astoria Hotels/Restorts that only offer suites)
- Annual fee (not waived the first year) is $95
- Instant Hilton Gold for as long as you have the HHonors Reserve card
- Diamond status (top tier) after spending $40,000 in annual spending
- No foreign transaction fee
- 1 free weekend night each year after spending $10,000 in a year
- 10 points per $1 for Hilton spend, 5 points per $1 for airfare and car rental, 3 points per $1 for all other spending
This card is a great card to use for some great hotels. The Waldorf hotels typically cost from 50,000 – 80,000 points, so this card is basically worth about 100,000 – 160,000 points (plus the additional free night annually). The only catch is that these nights are only good for weekend nights. However, this is not really a bad thing as you would most likely want to use these free nights on a vacation which would more than likely cover a weekend.
If you stay at hotels, specifically Hilton hotels, this is a must-have card. You get a lot of points for using this card at Hilton properties, plus there is no foreign transaction fee so it is good to use at the various Hiltons around the world. The instant Gold status is great as well as the possible Diamond status (after spending $40,000 annually).
I am currently collecting Hilton points for our anniversary in a few years so this would be a card I will add as time gets closer to get my two nights added on to our vacation (free nights are only good for 1 year from issue) and get Gold again (I currently have Gold now, but that will end in a couple of years).
So, consider adding this card to one of your next card application splurges. I do not have an affiliate link for this card, so I would appreciate it if you would use Gary’s link from View From the Wing (he is a fantastic blogger and the one that first broke the news about the card).
