We are an independent publisher. Our reporters create honest, accurate, and objective content to help you make decisions. To support our work, we are paid for providing advertising services. Many, but not all, of the offers and clickable hyperlinks (such as a “Next” button) that appear on this site are from companies that compensate us. The compensation we receive and other factors, such as your location, may impact what ads and links appear on our site, and how, where, and in what order ads and links appear. While we strive to provide a wide range of offers, our site does not include information about every product or service that may be available to you. We strive to keep our information accurate and up-to-date, but some information may not be current. So, your actual offer terms from an advertiser may be different than the offer terms on this site. And the advertised offers may be subject to additional terms and conditions of the advertiser. All information is presented without any warranty or guarantee to you.

This page may include: credit card ads that we may be paid for (“advertiser listing”); and general information about credit card products (“editorial content”). Many, but not all, of the offers and clickable hyperlinks (such as a “Apply Now” button or “Learn More” button) that appear on this site are from companies that compensate us. When you click on that hyperlink or button, you may be directed to the credit card issuer’s website where you can review the terms and conditions for your selected offer. Each advertiser is responsible for the accuracy and availability of its ad offer details, but we attempt to verify those offer details. We have partnerships with advertisers such as Brex, Capital One, Chase, Citi, Wells Fargo and Discover. We also include editorial content to educate consumers about financial products and services. Some of that content may also contain ads, including links to advertisers’ sites, and we may be paid on those ads or links.

For more information, please see How we make money.

These AMEX Card Changes Could Mean More Points for You!

  • Jason Stauffer

    • Signing up for credit cards through partner links earns us a commission. Terms apply to the offers listed on this page. Here’s our full advertising policy: How we make money.

    Folks With Citibank Hilton Cards Have a Lot to Think About With the Upcoming Conversion to AMEX Hilton Cards

    Update: One or more card offers in this post are no longer available. Check our Hot Deals for the latest offers.

    AMEX strictly limits their welcome bonuses to once per lifetime, per card.  But there’s an opportunity on the horizon that may let you earn more Hilton points with AMEX!  

    Starting in January 2018, AMEX will become the sole issuer of Hilton credit cards.  If you have a Citi Hilton card, it will be automatically converted to an AMEX Hilton card.  And this could affect your plans of getting that next big bonus. 🙁

    Folks With Citi Hilton Cards Have Something to Think About With the Upcoming Conversion to AMEX Hilton Cards

    Million Mile Secret Agent Dan commented:

    Should we close our Citi Hilton cards?  Will allowing them to convert to the new AMEX Hilton Honors cards prevent me from getting a new card with the welcome bonus?

    Lots of folks have the same question, Dan.  So thanks for asking!  Let’s take a look at how this change will affect your opportunity to get the welcome bonuses on the new AMEX Hilton cards.  But first, let’s review the transition Dan is asking about.

    No More Citi Hilton Cards

    Link:   AMEX Is Issuing 2 New Hilton Cards!

    Hilton is ending their relationship with Citi.  So in January 2018, all Citi Hilton cards (already no longer available to new applicants) will be converted to AMEX Hilton cards.  If you don’t cancel your Citi cards before then, they will convert as follows:

    As part of this process, the AMEX Hilton cards will get some updates, like no foreign transaction fees!  Plus, AMEX will introduce 2 brand new Hilton cards!

    Celebrate! New AMEX Cards Mean More Points for Everyone!

    AMEX only lets you get the welcome bonus on each card once per lifetime.  So having 2 new credit cards will give folks who have already had the AMEX Hilton cards before a shot to earn more welcome bonuses.

    Should You Close Your Citi Card or Let It Convert?

    If you have never had an AMEX Hilton card and you want to earn a future Hilton welcome bonus, then you could consider canceling your Citi Hilton cards.  Because AMEX restricts you from earning a welcome bonus if you have or have ever had the card before.

    It doesn’t matter if you never earned a welcome bonus on the card.  Once you’ve had an AMEX card, you can NOT earn that bonus again.  The only exception is if you are lucky enough to receive a targeted welcome bonus or upgrade offer.

    But if you already earned the bonus on the same AMEX Hilton card before, you might want to let your account stay open, especially if you aren’t paying an annual fee.  Because closing it will affect the overall age of your accounts on your credit report.  And can cause your score to drop.

    Will the Changes Made to the Old AMEX Hilton Cards Allow Folks to Earn the Welcome Bonus Again? Maybe?

    It is possible that AMEX will consider the AMEX Hilton Honors Ascend or the updated AMEX Hilton Honors cards to be new credit cards.  Because they are making significant changes to both of them.  In that case, it might be better to close your Citi Hilton cards.  Because if they are considered new cards,  you could earn the bonus again.

    I reached out to American Express about this.  I was told that once the new AMEX card applications and welcome bonuses are finalized they will update us on whether or not the re-vamped Hilton cards are considered new products.  So right now, we don’t know.

    Unless the annual fee is due on your Citi Hilton cards, I recommend waiting until closer to January 2018, to decide on whether to keep it or not.  Just in case we get new information!  We’ll have a post as soon as we know, so keep an eye out.

    Bottom Line

    Hilton is ending their relationship with Citi.  In January 2018, Citi Hilton cards will be automatically converted to AMEX Hilton cards.

    So if you want to earn the welcome bonus on the AMEX Hilton cards in the future, you might consider canceling your Citi Hilton cards before January 2018.  Because you can NOT earn a welcome bonus on an AMEX card you have or have ever had before.

    And we don’t know if AMEX will consider the Hilton cards they are making changes to new cards.  But we’ll update you when we do!

    Editorial Note: We're the Million Mile Secrets team. And we're proud of our content, opinions and analysis, and of our reader's comments. These haven’t been reviewed, approved or endorsed by any of the airlines, hotels, or credit card issuers which we often write about. And that’s just how we like it! :)