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Hilton Debit Card UK – My Guide

The Hilton Debit Card is the only Hilton Financial Product in the UK. There is no UK Hilton Credit Card.

It’s also the cheapest way to attain gold status. Costing £150 per year. Hilton Gold status is highly sought after and provides benefits at Hilton Hotels. Free breakfast, room upgrades, 80% bonus on earning Hilton points, late checkouts and more.


The card has other benefits too. No FX rates when spending abroad. You earn Hilton Points when you spend on the card. There’s a sign-up bonus of 10,000 Hilton Points, if you spend £2,500 in 6 months.

Because the card is a debit card, most UK applicants will be accepted. Regardless of income.

It's a really strong package.

The card isn’t for everyone. If you don’t visit many Hilton hotels. Or if you already have Hilton Gold status. The card may not be right for you.

However, if you log a couple of stays in Hilton Hotels a year. Then the card can easily pay for itself. When I stayed at the Waldorf Astoria Edinburgh (review here), I got free breakfast. Otherwise breakfast would have cost £70 per day, for two people.

If you visit more Hilton Hotels, then you’ll save a lot of money.

This review is an in-depth guide about the Hilton Debit Card. If you signup using the below link, you’ll get a bonus of 10,000 Hilton Points.

You can sign up for the Hilton Debit card here.

Please note that this guide is for the Hilton Honors Plus Debit Card, which costs £150 per year. There is a basic version of the Hilton Honors Debit card, which costs £60 per year. But I don’t think that card is good value. So this review only deals with the Plus Card.


What I Like

  • Hilton Gold Status for £150
  • Gold status provides free breakfast, upgrades, late checkouts and more
  • No FX fees to use your card abroad
  • Signup bonus of 10,000 Hilton Points
  • Earn up to 4.5 Hilton Points per £1 spent
  • Debit Card. So easier to be accepted, compared to a credit card

What I don’t Like

  • Card not worth it if you don’t stay at Hilton hotels
  • Card may not be worth it if you already have Hilton Gold Status

The Benefits of Hilton Gold

The Hilton Debit Card comes with Hilton Gold Status.

Hilton Gold Status is a highly sought after status. I’ve been a Hilton gold for many years and I love it! It was the first hotel status I achieved, and it got me hooked on luxury travel.

Hilton Gold comes with the following benefits:

  • Free breakfast for two people at Hilton hotels outside the US
  • Dining Credit at Hilton Hotels in the US
  • Room upgrades
  • Late Checkouts
  • Earn 18 Hilton Points per $1 spent, rather than 10 points per $1
  • When you use Hilton Points to book your room, you get 5 nights for the price of 4


To earn Hilton Gold status, you normally need to stay at Hilton Hotels for 50 nights per year. So to receive Hilton Gold for only £150 is a good deal.

The other main shortcut to Hilton Gold is by taking out an American Express Platinum Card. Although that has an annual fee of £650. There is no Hilton Credit Card in the UK.

My Hilton Gold wins

 

I’ve had fantastic experiences as a Hilton Gold. Like when I stayed at the Conrad Maldives (review here). I used Hilton Honors points to book my stay.

I got free breakfast every day. Breakfast at the Conrad normally costs $120 per day for two people. It’s the best breakfast I ever had, with seven counters of world cuisine, Including sushi, exotic fruit and dim sum.

I was upgraded from a beach villa to a deluxe beach villa. I just checked the Hilton website on a random date. A beach villa costs $1,831 per night. But a deluxe beach villa cost $2,731 per night. A full $900 more. My Hilton Gold upgrade was worth $900 per night.

Happy hour cocktails every day between 4.30pm and 5.30pm. Cocktails at the Conrad cost around $35 (including taxes). So how much you save depends on how much you can drink in 1 hour!

I also got a welcome gift of wine, chocolates and fruit.

The best way to maximise the benefits as a Hilton Gold is to stay at luxury properties.

If you signup for the Hilton Debit card here, then you’ll get a bonus of 10,000 points.

Earning Hilton Points

You can earn Hilton Points when you spend on the Hilton Debit Card.

  • 1.5 points per £1 spent in the UK
  • 3 points per £1 spent at Hiltons in the UK
  • 3 points per £1 spent outside the UK
  • 4.5 points per £1 spent at Hiltons outside the UK


There’s also a signup bonus. Earn 10,000 points if you spend £2,500 in the 1st 6 months.

You can use Hilton points to book stays at Hilton Hotels. I booked the Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills using 120,000 Hilton Points. My review is here. The cash rate for the room was $1,414. I got a decent upgrade when I stayed too. The upgraded room was worth $200 more than the room I booked.

Signup for the Hilton Debit card here.

How the Hilton Debit Card Works

The product is a Debit Card and not a Credit Card. There’s no Hilton Credit Card in the UK.

Credit Cards have stricter application requirements. This is because the bank lends your money when you spend on a credit card.

With a debit card, you only spend the money in your bank account. So the application requirements for a Debit Card are far looser. It’s much easier to be accepted.

You don’t need to open a new bank account either. Your Hilton Honors Debit Card will be linked to your existing bank account. Nearly all major UK banks are compatible with the Hilton Honors Debit Card.

If you stay at Hilton Hotels with any regularity, or you spend money abroad. Then the Hilton Honors Debit card is a great product.

Signup for the Hilton Debit card here.