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This 75k Hilton and 50k ThankYou Premier offers have expired. Click here for the top current credit card sign up bonuses.
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Fred asks:
“Hey Scott, I see that the Hilton card is offering 75k points, and the ThankYou Premier is offering 50k points which transfer to 75k Hilton points. Is there a reason I should choose one over the other?”
We are rolling in the huge sign up bonuses at the moment.
The Citi® Hilton HHonors™ Visa Signature® Card with 75,000 bonus Hilton points after $2,000 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening. For most of the last few years, this no annual fee card has offered only 40,000 bonus points.
Read my review of the Hilton 75k Offer
The Citi ThankYou® Premier Card with 50,000 bonus ThankYou Points after $3,000 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening. Until April of this year, you had to wait two years to get the full 50,000 bonus points. ThankYou Points transfer to 11 airline plus Hilton. All the airline transfers are 1:1, but the Hilton transfers are 1,000 ThankYou Points to 1,500 Hilton points.
Read my review of the Citi ThankYou Premier
That means either card’s sign up bonus could be worth 75,000 Hilton points. So which card is better for you?
Why the Citi ThankYou Premier is Better in This Case
Here are the category bonuses on the Citi ThankYou® Premier Card:
- Earn 3x ThankYou Points on Travel including Gas
- 2x ThankYou Points on Dining Out and Entertainment
- 1x ThankYou Points on Other Purchases
1,000 ThankYou Points transfers to 1,500 Hilton Points, so that’s really like 4.5x, 3x, and 1.5x if you plan on transferring to Hilton points.
You will earn Hilton points faster on travel (other than at Hilton hotels), gas, restaurant, and entertainment purchases with a Citi ThankYou® Premier Card than with a Citi® Hilton HHonors™ Visa Signature® Card.
That’s really the only reason to get the Citi ThankYou® Premier Card for Hilton points because everything else is stacked toward the Citi® Hilton HHonors™ Visa Signature® Card.
Why the Hilton HHonors Card is Better in This Case
The Citi® Hilton HHonors™ Visa Signature® Card has no annual fee ever. The Citi ThankYou® Premier Card has no fee for 12 months, and then $95 per year.
The Citi® Hilton HHonors™ Visa Signature® Card comes with automatic Hilton Silver Status as long as you hold the card.
The Citi® Hilton HHonors™ Visa Signature® Card offers 6x points on Hilton stays and at least 2x Hilton points on all purchases. The Citi ThankYou® Premier Card offers only 4.5x Hilton points on Hilton stays and only 1.5x Hilton points on all non-bonus purchases.
But the main reason the Citi® Hilton HHonors™ Visa Signature® Card is the better card to get Hilton points is that you should save your Citi ThankYou® Premier Card and its ThankYou Points for more valuable purposes.
I value ThankYou Points at 1.9 cents each and Hilton points at 0.4 cents each. I would much rather transfer my ThankYou Points to Singapore miles to book these awesome awards or use my ThankYou Points like cash to buy flights on 20 airlines with no blackouts at a rate of 1.6 cents each than transfer them to 1.5 Hilton points.
Get the Citi® Hilton HHonors™ Visa Signature® Card for Hilton points and use 80,000 Hilton points for 20 free nights at these great hotels. Get the Citi ThankYou® Premier Card to transfer the ThankYou Points as needed among the 12 partners for high value awards.
Bottom Line
While the Citi® Hilton HHonors™ Visa Signature® Card offers 75,000 bonus Hilton points and the Citi ThankYou® Premier Card offers 50,000 bonus ThankYou Points that can transfer to 75,000 Hilton points, the two cards are very different.
If you just want Hilton points, get the Citi® Hilton HHonors™ Visa Signature® Card. You’ll never pay an annual fee, and you’ll get Hilton status.
Get the Citi ThankYou® Premier Card when you want to take full advantage of all of its transfer partners.
If you want to get both, remember Citi’s application rules. You can get no more than one Citi card in a week and no more than two in two months. That means if you want three Citi cards, you should apply on Day 0, Day 8, and Day 65.
Just getting started in the world of points and miles? The Chase Sapphire Preferred is the best card for you to start with.
With a bonus of 60,000 points after $4,000 spend in the first 3 months, 5x points on travel booked through the Chase Travel Portal and 3x points on restaurants, streaming services, and online groceries (excluding Target, Walmart, and wholesale clubs), this card truly cannot be beat for getting started!
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