Hilton credit cards are currently issued by Citi and American Express, but as you’ve probably heard already, that’s about to change. American Express won the exclusive rights to issue credit cards for Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. and ending an agreement in which the two banks shared the business. The new  arrangement takes effect Jan. 1, 2018. The cards will be probably gone before that so it might be a good idea to apply while you can.

Citi Hilton Cards No Longer Advertised

Citi didn’t wait long to act after the announcement. They have already removed all Hilton credit cards from their website. As a reminder, Citi currently issues two Hilton products, Citi® Hilton Honors™ Reserve Card and Citi® Hilton Honors™ Visa Signature® Card.

You can Still Apply for Citi Hilton Cards

Even though the credit cards have been removed and are no longer advertised, there are still working links for both Citi Hilton cards. There’s currently one offer for the Citi Hilton Reserve card and two offers for the no fee Citi Hilton card, one of them without the 24 month language.

These are the offers available:

• Citi Hilton HHonors Reserve Card
  • Earn 2 Weekend Night Certificates and Hilton Honors Gold status after making $2,500 in purchases within the first 4 months of account opening.
  • Apply Here.
• Citi Hilton HHonors Visa Signature Card
  • Earn 50,000 Hilton Honors bonus points after making $1,000 in purchases within the first 4 months of account opening.
  • Apply Here.
  • Earn 40,000 Hilton Honors bonus points after making $1,000 in purchases within the first 4 months of account opening. No 24-month restriction.
  • Apply Here.

Citi Application Rules

Be aware of Citi’s credit card application rules. They have some pretty strict rules about the frequency of applications. You can only apply for one personal credit card every 8 days and you can only apply for two personal credit cards every 65 days.

Should You Apply Now?

If you’re interested to add some Hilton points to your account or grab the 2 free weekend nights, this is a good opportunity that will probably go away soon. Amex will soon be your only option and they have a once per lifetime restriction.

Citi itself has a 24 month restriction for card of the same brand. You are eligible for a Hilton sign up bonus only if you have not opened or closed any Citi Hilton Honors cards in the past 24 months.

That means that if you have opened or closed any Citi Hilton cards in the last 24 months, the only option for you is the 40K Points bonus on the no fee card, since that offer doesn’t have the 24 month restriction.

If you’re not affected by the 24 month restriction, then the Citi Hilton HHonors Reserve Card is probably the best choice. Two weekend nights could be worth well above 50K points, but you need to pay the annual fee of $85 on that card and keep in mind that the certificates are valid for twelve 12 months after the date of issuance. After 8 days then you can use the 40K link if it’s still around.

Guru’s Wrap-Up

These are not the best offers on either card. We have seen a 2 night and $100 credit for the Hilton Reserve card and a 75K bonus for the no fee card in the past. But I doubt we will see any of those offers again now that Citi is phasing out these credit cards.

If you’re interested in any of these cards, make sure you apply sooner than later. We don’t know how long these applications will be up, but my guess is that they will be pulled way before the end of the year when the new Amex-Hilton agreement kicks in. If it happens that a better offers pops up, you can always ask to be matched within 90 days, but that’s highly unlikely.

HT: r/churning