Citi Hilton Cards Moving to Amex in January

Back in June, Hilton announced that American Express would become the exclusive issuer for Hilton Honors co-branded credit cards in the United States beginning January 1, 2018. As that date is approaching, the question of what would become of current Citi Hilton Card holders as finally been addressed.

American Express has revamped its portfolio of Hilton Honors credit cards. They’ve added two new cards and increased benefits to re-branded versions of their 2 existing cards. Current Citi Hilton cards will be automatically replaced with one of those two re-branded cards on January 30, 2018.

The Citi Hilton Honors Card will automatically be replaced with a Hilton Honors American Express Card. If you have the Citi Hilton Honors Reserve Card, it will be replaced with the Hilton Honors American Express Ascend Card.

Old vs. New

Both American Express replacements are upgrades to the current Citi cards in almost every way. The no-annual-fee Hilton Honors American Express Card has better Honors points earning multiples then the old Citi version and will add a no-foreign-transaction-fee benefit.

The Hilton Honors American Express Ascend Card also has higher Honors Points earning multiples then the Citi Honors Reserve. The only downside is the additional $5,000 spend required for the Free weekend night.

As long as your Citi Hilton Honors Card account is open and eligible, it will automatically transfer to American Express on January 30, 2018. There is no need to reapply and American Express will not perform a credit check as part of the transfer.

Hilton has published a FAQ that answers most questions that current Citi card holders might have.