Hilton Hotels launches loyalty debit cards – are they any good?

Hilton Hotels & Resorts has partnered with travel card company Currensea to launch a first-of-its-kind hotel debit card in the UK. The new cards allow customers to earn Hilton Honors Points on everyday spending while getting low foreign exchange rates fees on overseas transactions, and additional travel benefits through its loyalty scheme.

Fintech platform Currensea already has its own range of travel cards which offer competitive foreign exchange rates plus low to no fees (depending on the plan you choose), making it one of the best travel cards on the market. The new cards in partnership with Hilton add another major benefit – customers can collect Hilton Honor Points on their everyday spending. 

Using a travel card is a good way to save money on holiday as James Lynn, co-founder of Currensea explains: ”Currensea users saved almost £1.5m during the summer holidays as the card was used once every five seconds globally as travellers increasingly look for greater value when they’re spending abroad.” 

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So, how do the Hilton loyalty debit cards work and how do they rank against other travel cards? 

How does the Hilton Hotels loyalty debit card scheme work? 

Hilton has launched its new loyalty cards with Currensea. Currensea uses open banking technology to connect your Hilton loyalty debit card to your current account. It means that wherever you are, you can spend directly from your current account.

Fees

Both cards have an annual fee: the Hilton Honors Debit Card costs £60 per year, while the Hilton Honors Plus Debit Card costs £150 per year, but you’ll get more Hilton Honors points for every pound you spend and fees for foreign exchange and ATM withdrawals are waived.

Honors Points

The Hilton Honors loyalty scheme allows members to earn points towards free nights at over 8,000 Hilton Hotels globally – including Hilton hotels, DoubleTree Hilton, the Waldorf Astoria and Hampton by Hilton. You can also put your points towards experiences such as sports events, dining and VIP access to concerts.

Other benefits
A great feature of these debit cards is that you automatically get to silver status if you hold the Hilton Honors Debit Card and gold status if you have the Hilton Honors Plus Debit Card. Usually, to get silver status, you need at least 10 nights, four stays, or 25,000 points. For gold status, you would need 40 nights, 20 stays or 75,000 points. 

• Silver status gives you a 20% bonus when earning points on stays (12 points), a fifth night free on reward stays and a spa discount of up to 15% off at Hilton brands. 
• Gold status gives you an 80% bonus on stays (18 points), food and drink credit when staying at Hilton brands and room upgrades where available. 

Here’s a side-by-side comparison of the features each card offers and how they differ.

You can view real-time FX rates on the Hilton website.  

Note: If you open an account by 30 November, you can earn bonus Hilton Honor points. 

• Get 3,500 bonus points if you sign up for the Hilton Honours debit card and spend £1,000 in the first six months. 
• Get 12,000 bonus points when you open the Hilton Honors Plus debit card and spend £2,500 in the first six months. 

How to apply for a Hilton Honors debit card account

You can open an account online on the Hilton Honors website – just click ‘get started’. To link an existing current account, you’ll also need to download the Currensea app and follow these steps:  

• Open the Currensea app and tap ‘account’ at the bottom of the screen 
• Click on the ‘Linked Bank’ button 
• Then tap ‘New Bank Account’
• Select your bank from the list on the screen. (A list of eligible banks that can be linked to Currensea can be found on its website – they are mostly high-street providers)
• After this step, follow the instructions on the screen to complete linking to your current account.

How does Hilton’s new debit card compare to the rest of the market? 

Hilton’s new debit cards offer low foreign exchange rates and access to its loyalty scheme. But, how do they compare to the rest of the market? 

If we look at other travel debit cards, Chase Bank, First Direct and Starling Bank come out on top. They all offer fee-free spending abroad and fee-free ATM withdrawals up to a certain limit (£1,500 a month, £500 a day and £300 a day respectively). They also come with typical debit card perks, for example the First Direct account comes with a 7% linked regular saver and £250 interest-free overdraft, and Chase offers 1% cashback on spending for a year. 

So, it all comes down to what you want out of your travel debit or credit card. If it’s fee-free spending abroad and perks on Hilton accommodation, then the Hilton Debit card could be worth it.  But if you want a competitive savings account attached to your debit card or cashback, it’s worth looking at the options on our best travel cards guide.