Hilton Honors Debit Card review: Is the high annual fee worth it?

Hilton Honors is Hilton’s rewards programme. It has partnered with Currensea to launch a pair of debit cards that allow you to earn points for spending, which can be redeemed at Hilton hotels and a few other ways.

The Hilton Honors Debit Card comes with a £60 annual fee, while the Hilton Honors Debit Card Plus has a £150 annual fee. They come with an instant upgrade to silver status or gold status, respectively.

While rewards cards are usually credit cards, these debit cards work by being connected to your current account. Then money is taken out of your account as you spend and you earn points in your Hilton Honors account.

To apply for a card, you need to be 18 years old, have a mobile number and a current account with Barclays, Bank Of Scotland, Coutts, First Direct, HSBC, Halifax, Lloyds, Monzo, Nationwide, Natwest, Revolut, Royal Bank of Scotland, Santander, Starling, TSB, Virgin Money or Ulster Bank. You can’t open an account if you have an active county court judgment (CCJ).

Earn rates start at 1 point per £1 for the standard card and 1.5 points per £1 for the Plus card for spending in GBP. They are higher if you spend with Hilton or overseas.

To redeem points, Hilton says you can find rooms from 5,000 points per night, but more popular hotels can cost upwards of 120,000 per night.

Features

There’s a range of features with these cards. They include:

• Instant status upgrades to silver status with the Hilton Honors Debit Card and to gold status for the Plus card. Silver status comes with a 20% point-earning bonus, a fifth night free on reward stays when you pay with points and free bottled water. Gold comes with those perks and an 80% point-earning bonus, free breakfast and room upgrades when they’re available.
• Earn up to 4.5 Hilton Honors points per £1 when you spend in a foreign currency at Hilton properties with the Plus card. You can also earn points for eligible everyday spending on both cards, but the earn rates are lower.
• You can spend with no FX fees on the Plus card and 0.5% FX fees on the standard card, with real-time exchange rates on major currencies.
• Earn 1,000 points for each friend you refer. They’ll get 500 points if they open a standard card or 1,000 points if they choose the Plus card.
• You can add the cards to Apple Pay and Google Pay, so you can leave your wallet at home (or in your hotel room) and still earn points while you spend.
• Point Booster allows you to round up your spending to the nearest 10p and earn 1 point per 1p if you opt in to do that. As the name suggests it’s a way to boost your points balance, but you’re essentially just paying for extra points rather than earning them on your spending.

Is it worth it?

It really depends how often you stay at the Hilton. If you’re a regular guest there and normally pay for breakfast then you’ll get good value from paying the annual fee for the Plus card and getting the accompanying upgrade to gold status, especially if you travel with a guest. You’d also be earning more points that you can put towards future stays with that card. It’s also useful for international transactions as there are no FX fees and has free cash withdrawals up to £500 a month, which is competitive among other other cards.

The standard card costs less but doesn’t really provide as much value, so you’d be hard pressed to get your money’s worth.

If you think you might only use it as a travel card and not stay at a Hilton then the annual fee is not worth paying as there are cheaper, better travel options available.

Pros and cons

Who might this suit?

The Plus card would suit someone who is a regular Hilton guest. If you pay for breakfast when you stay and spend money overseas then you’re likely to find value in it.