Yesterday, I wrote about my first new credit card of the year. I don’t just keep adding new cards to my wallet, I also cancel cards from time to time if I don’t think the fees/benefits are worth it. I just canceled my first card of the year.
Hilton Honors American Express Business Card
After years of getting the dreaded Amex pop-up box, back in 2022 I was finally approved for a new American Express card: Hilton Honors American Express Business Card (affiliate link) I was so excited! (See this post). I used the bonus miles for hotel stays on my trip to Europe last year. I had planned to keep this card for several years to build back my good standing with American Express. The annual fee was just $95, so it wasn’t a huge burden.
However, last year, the card was revamped with new features, and the annual fee increased to $195. The card now features up to $240 in Hilton credits, dispersed at $60 per quarter. That credit completely covers the annual fee as long as you have some Hilton stays coming up. You can potentially use the credit to buy gift cards or pre-pay hotel credit for a future stay (see this post).
However, when my family of 5 travels together, we try to stay in home rentals for the extra space. I have no Hilton stays coming up, and the $195 annual fee is not worth it for me. So, I decided to cancel the card.
I logged into my Amex account and used the chat feature to cancel the card. I started the process in the evening, but the chat agent informed me I needed to return to the chat between the hours of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. EST to officially cancel.
When I did that the next day, I was offered a retention offer of another $50 statement credit after spending $2000 within the first 3 months. I declined and continued with the cancellation.
Bottom Line
I don’t get too attached to credit cards, especially if the fees and benefits change. If I never canceled any cards, I’d be spending a bundle on annual fees every year. Cancelling this card was an easy decision.
Author: Nancy
Nancy lives near Dallas, Texas, with her husband and three kids. Her favorite vacations include the beach, cruising and everything Disney.
The value proposition on the Hilton Biz went down dramatically with these changes. I cancelled mine last year too.
I’m in pop up jail now but I think that’s related to general shenanigans rather than cancelling this one card.
@projectx Sorry to hear you’ve back in popup jail. I’ll probably be in the same boat, but we’ll see.
Canceling Hilton biz when AF comes up in July.
@Nat With so many cancelling, I’m surprised Amex hasn’t had better retention offers for this card.
I did as well in the past year but since then I have been in popup jail. My first AMEX card from 2001 is still open and I have had Gold for 2 years. My only other AMEX churn was 1-2 years of Aspire card 4 years ago that I cancelled. Good luck
@Brian Oh no, not the popup jail! I hope I’m not back in there after this cancellation.
I agree, the Hilton Business card price increase has made it too expensive to keep unless you are able to use it each quarter. Mine will be due in July and I will cancel it too. I also have the Surpass. I am undecided on whether I will cancel that one as well. The price increase on that one was not quite as bad. I do spend a shocking amount on annual fees. But I make sure I am getting more than that value from each card.
@Cari D I waited until literally the last day to cancel this card, on the day my annual fee was due! LOL
I did the same. After they cancelled the FNC with $15k spend I had this lined up to cancel once the AF hit, which I did a couple of weeks ago. I can’t remember the exact retention offer – maybe $100 for $3000 in spend or something like that, which I declined. I have the surpass card so there was no need for this one after they made all those changes, which for me, hurt more than helped.
@Tom These retention offers have been so weak!