American Express has sent out surveys regarding possible changes to the Hilton Business card. Currently the card has the following structure:
- $195 annual fee, normally waived first year
- $240 Hilton Credit ($60 per quarter)
- Hilton Gold Status, upgrade to Diamond with $40,000 in spend
- National Car Rental Emerald Club Executive Status
- Card earns at the following rates:
- 12x on Hilton
- 5x on all other purchases on up to $100,000 in spend, then 3x
Contents
Surveyed Changes
Like most surveys they sent out different variations and then asked respondents to pick their favorite.
- Annual fees ranging from $195 to $345 (currently $195)
- Hilton credits from $240 to $320 (currently $240, $60 per quarter)
- New $150 business credit (good for AI, advertising, accounting software, tax prep and cloud software) others had a credit that could be used for electronic goods?
- New ‘value back’ when you book 7+ stays through Hilton for business (e.g $100 statement credit, 200k Hilton points etc)
- Free night after $15,000 and $60,000 in spend (some variations had free nights at both levels and others only one)
- New increased earn rates on select categories
- Access to Hilton lounges & events (e.g F1)
- Annual upgrade certificates
Our Verdict
American Express already updated this card back in 2024 with an increased annual fee (was originally $95). I wouldn’t be surprised if they increased the annual fee again and then introduced a new ~$100 annual fee card or no fee business card. It’s impossible to really get excited or worried about these changes with so many different variations.
Banks send out surveys frequently, they don’t all result in card changes being made. It is a good indication that at the very least changes are being considered. We will add this to our list of rumored cards for 2026.
Hat tip to reddit.com/r/hilton
