As we’ve mentioned many times before, signing up for credit cards and getting the associated signup bonuses can be one of the strongest ways to get a lot of points.  It’s hard to top earning 10, 20 or even more miles and points per dollar you spend, which is fairly common when you’re trying to earn a signup bonus on a card.

Having said that, allow me to repeat my oft-spoken mantra – DO NOT SIGN UP FOR CARDS BECAUSE SOMEONE ON THE INTERNET SAID THAT YOU SHOULD!  Figure out what works for you and only go as fast as you understand and feel comfortable.

100,000 Hilton points plus a free weekend night

The highest offer for the Hilton Honors™ Surpass® Card from American Express was for 100,000 Hilton points plus a free weekend night after the card’s first anniversary!  The offer is scheduled to expire October 4, 2017. The card carries a $75 annual fee which is not waived the first year.

As a reminder, American Express will currently only give you one signup bonus per card per lifetime, so you want to make sure to do it when the signup bonus is at an all-time high.

Find this and other top hotel cards here – I may receive a commission if you’re approved for the card through this link

75,000 Hilton Honors points with no annual fee

Another option is the no-fee Hilton Honors™ Card from American Express, which is back up to an increased amount of 75,000 Hilton points.  You can find the application and more details on this and other top hotel cards here –  I may receive a commission if you’re approved for the card through this link

• 50,000 Hilton points after spending $1000 in the first 3 months
• 25,000 Hilton points after spending an additional $1000 in the first 6 months

This is not the highest we’ve ever seen for this card – it was 80,000 points a few months ago, but does represent an increase over the “regular” signup bonus which is around 40,000 or 50,000 points.  Here’s a shot of the pool at the Doubletree Hilton Johor Bahru Malaysia, an absolute steal at only 10,000 Hilton points / night

What to do with all those Hilton points

Hilton points get a bit of a bad rap, and it’s true that Hilton point is worth much less than other points (like Hyatt or Starwood), but I would say it’s comparable with IHG, Marriott or Choice points. Here’s an idea of some of the 5 best uses for Hilton points that we came up with

1. Stretch your points at low level hotels (PwaC stayed at a Doubletree for 10,000 points that was AMAZING!)
2. High-end hotels like the Grand Wailea in Maui and Conrad Maldive
3. Expensive destinations.
4. Special events (Super Bowl, College football weekends, Times Square at New Year’s, etc)
5. Don’t forget – 5th night free!

If you are looking for a Hawaii vacation, 100,000 points is enough for two nights at some Hilton properties on Waikiki or the Big Island (Hilton Waikoloa Village costs just 50,000 points a night). A new Hilton Garden Inn on Kauai cost just 37,000 points a night.

We also wrote a post talking about 5 Hilton hotels where you might want to use your free weekend certificate, should you sign up for and be approved for the card. I recently used my free weekend certificate at the Hilton Garden Inn Central Park South in New York, awesome location with walking distance to both Time Squares and Central Park. I am hoping to use my remaining free weekend certificate at the Embassy Suites Napa Valley and bring the family to the wine country for harvest this fall!

Where to get the card

You can apply for this card along with many other top hotel cards here. If you are approved for either of those cards through PWaC link, PwaC will receive a commission.  If you’d rather give that commission to someone else, I’d imagine most of your friendly neighborhood bloggers have similar links.  Or, if you’d rather Amex just keeps the money, you can probably find these offers at americanexpress.com 🙂

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