[Lotte Card Hilton Amex] Comparison with the Shinhan Card Marriott Bonvoy The Best. January event and analysis. Companion access to airport lounges possible.

Hello.

I’m Dr. Baek, a dentist who dreams of becoming a master of implants and a gourmet.

2024 was a year of rebuilding my credit cards for me. Because of the nature of my profession, where expenses are high and credit card payments are frequent, I spent the year thinking things through from every angle and busily filling my wallet with new cards based on my own reasoning. Haha.

I’m writing this down partly for my own reference, and also because I think there are many people with similar concerns, so I’d like to keep a post for each point in time.

I am a professional sole proprietor, I’m interested in travel including hotel stays, and I do not play golf.

I hope this post is helpful for people living a similar lifestyle.

Lotte Card Hilton Honors Amex

Lotte Card Hilton Honors Amex Premium

The world’s top three hotel chains are Marriott, Hyatt, and Hilton. All of them are American companies. Among them, Hilton’s membership program is called Hilton Honors.

Marriott has two versions of the Shinhan Card Marriott Bonvoy, and the annual fee is lower than the card above. The card I want to compare in this post is the Shinhan Card Marriott Bonvoy The Best (the higher-end version).

Hyatt pursues a very private feel, so as far as I know, there are almost no affiliated credit cards.

Hyundai Card Amex Platinum

• Can receive Hilton Honors Gold status.

The Lotte Card Hilton Honors Amex is not the only credit card tied to Hilton Honors membership.

The Hyundai Amex Platinum (hereafter, Hyundai Amex Platinum) also gives Hilton Honors Gold status when the credit card is issued. For reference, Hilton Honors is divided into Silver < Gold < Diamond tiers.

When I went on my honeymoon in 2023, I urgently got the Hyundai Amex Platinum, and used the Hilton points I had earned at the time along with purchased Hilton points to go to Hawaii at good value. At that time I had Hilton Honors Gold status, and even so I received a fairly satisfying room upgrade.

Why are Hilton Honors Gold/Diamond status important?

The Lotte Card Hilton Honors Amex, released in January 2025, comes in a total of two versions:

a premium version with an annual fee of 500,000 won and a regular version with an annual fee of 250,000 won.

To get straight to the point, I received the “premium” version, and above all, I wanted Hilton Honors Diamond status.

Is the 250,000 won card useless?

https://www.lottecard.co.kr/app/LPCDADB_V100.lc?vtCdKndC=P14733-A14733

Fortunately, the benefits are simpler than I expected, so I can review it quickly.

The “points” benefits are too weak on both cards, so I’ll leave them out for now.

1. Free night certificate

If you pay the 250,000 won annual fee, you get one Hilton hotel weekend free night certificate “the following year.” You can use it for one night of a standard room stay on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. If you choose the hotel category well, even in nearby Japan, you can get a certificate that effectively saves you over 1 million won.

2. Membership status

You receive Hilton Honors Gold status. What does Gold status mean? Simply put, it gives free breakfast for two and room upgrades. If you already have the Hyundai Amex Platinum like I do, it’s not very meaningful, but if you don’t, Gold status alone is pretty good value.

However, room upgrades do not include suites, and executive lounge access is not provided.

It’s not that it never happens; sometimes Gold status can still get you executive lounge access. From my own experience, I’d think of it as 100% chance of breakfast (or credit in English-speaking countries), 50% chance of a room upgrade, and 10% chance of executive lounge access. That’s roughly how I see it.

3. Companion access to airport lounges

I also think this is a pretty good benefit. One companion can enter the airport lounge with you. However, it can be used twice per year, so if you bring a companion, that counts as two uses, which means it can only really be used once a year. That’s a bit stingy. It also requires 500,000 won in spending the previous month.

4. Conclusion

For an annual fee of 250,000 won, I think one free weekend night certificate + Gold status + airport lounge companion access can be quite useful for people who travel once or twice a year.

However, to maintain all of these benefits, you need to spend 12 million won per year. I think the typical earning rate of a credit card is 1–2%, so at 12 million won in spending, the expected return at a 1–2% rate would be 120,000–240,000 won. When spending 12 million won, you get 16,000 Hilton points, which is worth about 100,000 won, so even taking that into account, I think it’s a good choice.

For reference, Hilton points have an annual purchase limit, but they can be used after buying them directly. If you look for the right redemption options, you can also enjoy a great hotel stay at about half the accommodation cost.

I had a very satisfying experience at Conrad Osaka. The Conrad Tokyo I visited this time was also very, very satisfying! I’ll write about it later :)

Let’s also analyze the 500,000 won card.

The “points” benefits are too weak on both cards, so let’s think about them at the end. (Even if there were none, it would still be a gain.)

1. Free night certificate

If you pay the 500,000 won annual fee, you get two Hilton hotel weekend free night certificates “the following year.” (They give them the following year...) You can use them for one night of a standard room stay on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. If you choose the hotel category well, even in nearby Japan, you can get a certificate that effectively saves you over 1 million won. And from what I checked, it can deliver well over 250,000 won in value even at preferred resort destinations or in the U.S./Europe. (How could you stay at a 5-star hotel for 250,000 won these days?)

2. Membership status

You receive Hilton Honors Diamond status. What’s better than Gold status? Free breakfast for two + room upgrades up to suites + executive lounge access.

I haven’t yet experienced a stay with Diamond status, but if it gives a more certain and higher-level room upgrade than Gold, plus breakfast and executive lounge access that are available 100% of the time, you’ll feel convenience beyond imagination.

For example, my wife and I often use the executive lounge very well—having coffee in the morning or evening when we feel like it, having beer, having snacks... It’s incredibly useful. (If I tried to put a price on that... well, I didn’t even bother; ;)

And if you actually want to get Diamond status through eligible stays or resort ownership... it’s really difficult. (To be exact, it’s difficult for Koreans..)

3. Companion access to airport lounges

It’s the same as the card analyzed above, but you get more uses per year: 4 times. (If used together, it’s 2 people x 2 times per year) If you’re getting a hotel-affiliated card with a 500,000 won annual fee, you’ll probably be interested in a companion airport lounge card. The Marriott Bonvoy card is a bit better since it’s for 2 people (even if only one person uses it) x 4 times per year...

There are also cards like BeV 5 (3 times per year) or Hana Jade Classic (1 time per year), but those cards also have fairly high annual fees.

4. Conclusion

For an annual fee of 500,000 won, I think one who travels 3–4 times a year or truly enjoys hotel stays would find two free weekend night certificates + Diamond status (the only one in Korea) + airport lounge companion access very useful.

However, to maintain all of these benefits, you need to spend 24 million won per year. Using the same calculation as above and considering the typical 1–2% credit card earning rate, the opportunity cost is 240,000–480,000 won, and if you spend 24 million won, you can think of it as roughly 200,000 won worth of Hilton points.

If you spend only 24 million won each year, within the 5-year validity period of the card, you’ll accumulate about 160,000 Hilton points.

(This calculation is without special earning.) With 160,000 Hilton points, if you buy Hilton points once, it’s enough for about 5 nights at most decent 5-star hotels. Even in the long run, it is absolutely a gain.

The key point of the January event

I’m not sure if the link is working properly. If you go into the Lotte Card mobile app and search for “event,” you should be able to find it right away.

To summarize the key points briefly:

1. They said that if you pay the annual fee, they will give you a free night certificate “the following year,” but if you apply during the event period, they also give you the free night certificate “this year.”

This is the most controversial topic. If they gave the free night certificate immediately after paying the annual fee, there would be too many cherry pickers, so I think it means it’s only for people who will keep using it steadily. In any case, since there is some yearly spending, if you like travel including hotel stays, you should definitely apply for the card within January.

2. It reduces by half the spending requirement needed to get the free night certificate and Hilton Honors tier.

This is also worth noting. Given the current situation where you have to spend a fairly large amount (12 million won or 24 million won per year), they are saying they will cut that hurdle in half for the first year. I think this is also a sufficient benefit.

3. If you are newly moving to Lotte Card (if you had no spending for 6 months), they give one additional free night certificate.

Wow, I’m only jealous. Since I was a true Lotte Card fan, this is a benefit I can’t receive... Just using a free night certificate would easily be worth at least 200,000 won no matter how you look at it....... I’ll leave it there.

Let’s compare it with the Shinhan Card Marriott Bonvoy.

I think this is the card it will be compared against the most. (I don’t use the Woori Card Accor card, so I don’t know it very well.)

This is the Shinhan Card Marriott Bonvoy “The Best” with an annual fee of 267,000 won.

Probably, we should compare it with the higher-end Lotte Card Hilton Honors “Premium,” right?

I recently wrote a post saying this Shinhan card pairs best with JW Marriott Jeju,

and I think the two cards have clear strengths and weaknesses.

1. Free night certificate

I think the core of both cards is this free night certificate. For the Marriott card, the free night certificate = 35,000 points, which is roughly worth 400,000–500,000 won. For the Hilton card, the free night certificate = no restrictions. Depending on the situation, it can be worth over 1 million won.

Just because you have a free night certificate does not mean you can always book whenever you want. That’s something you need to pay quite a bit of attention to... I heard that Hilton free night certificates have to be booked by phone.

Probably... if you travel mostly during peak season, there’s a high chance that you won’t be able to use the free night certificates as naturally as you’d like. Then the appeal of the above cards is reduced.

2. Points accumulation

For the Marriott card, the basic earning rate is 1 point per 1,000 won, and special earning is 3 or 5 points. Considering that 1 point is worth 13–14 won, its point earning clearly has the advantage. Still, in reality, it’s very difficult to accumulate enough to actually use points... I think that when it comes to using points, purchasing points is absolutely necessary.

Still, the Marriott card is better than the Hilton card that gives 2 points per 1,500 won.

Also, the range of special earning categories is wider for the Marriott card (it gives 3 points for taxis and various airline purchases), and the earning rate itself is higher, so the Marriott card is definitely better in that respect.

However, since both are more or less the same in the end, I think the meaning is less about earning points and using them, and more about buying hotel membership status with the annual fee.

3. Membership status

If you want to get Platinum status using the Marriott Bonvoy The Best card, you need to spend 60 million won per year.

That’s extremely tough, but on the plus side, there are fewer excluded categories. So for sole proprietors, a lot of spending is covered by items like social insurance premiums, national taxes, and local taxes. However, those amounts are not eligible for Marriott Bonvoy point earning, so you give up earning. In other words, you are giving up the points you could have earned by spending 60 million won on other cards. (Of course, only for a very small number of cards.)

If you want to get Diamond status using the Lotte Card Hilton Amex Premium, you need to spend 24 million won per year.

Lotte Card has made the excluded earning categories so complete that it almost feels like they’re angry. Really... everything that is easy to spend on, or that comes up regularly (or that isn’t usually eligible for earning on most credit cards), is excluded. Haha. I used to think Lotte Card was generous with earning/discounts, but this time I thought they came out determined to squeeze it.

Still, because the absolute amount is smaller, relatively speaking it is easier to achieve.

4. Previous month spending requirement

When using the Shinhan Card Marriott Bonvoy The Best, the thing that is always on my mind is the previous month spending requirement.

To receive special earning,

To use the 50,000 won breakfast discount coupon,

To enter The Lounge airport lounge,

You need to satisfy the 300,000 won previous month spending condition for all of these.

So usually... you end up setting up automatic payments with this card. (Because it’s annoying ㅠㅠ) And taxis even can’t be set to auto-payment—you have to carry the card and tap it yourself......

In the case of the Lotte Card Hilton Honors Amex Premium, there is no previous month spending requirement in order to receive special earning. In other words, if something comes up, you can pay for overseas, airline, or Hilton expenses and receive special earning at any time... This also requires caution in use.

5. Hotel valet parking & Be My Guest (BMG)

With the Shinhan Card Marriott Bonvoy The Best, valet parking is easily available at quite a lot of 5-star hotels.

With the Lotte Card Hilton Honors Amex Premium, it is only available at Hilton hotels..!!!!!! That’s a bit shocking. So it only works at Conrad Seoul, Hilton Garden Inn Seoul Gangnam, and Hilton Gyeongju... Even Be My Guest can only be used at Conrad Seoul and DoubleTree by Hilton Pangyo locations..

Instead, they kept airport rail/limousine service and one monthly airport coffee benefit.

Who would be a good fit for the Lotte Card Hilton Honors Amex Premium?

1. You should not mind spending 24 million won per year.

In general, spending 2 million won per month on one card may be a bit much, but since family card spending also counts toward the requirement, I think quite a few people will be able to do it.

Because the earning rate is low, you should use it in line with the 24 million won target. The good thing is that you can receive special earning even without previous month spending. (Airport lounge companion access requires 500,000 won in previous month spending.)

What you get from that is two free night certificates, Hilton Honors Diamond status, and a bit of points.

2. You should be able to use the two free night certificates well.

If you can’t use the free night certificates and they go to waste, you’re wasting the annual fee. Only when you use the free night certificates (even if you attach paid nights) does Hilton Honors Diamond status have meaning, right?

The U.S. version of the Hilton Amex can be used on weekdays too, but anyway, if you can make an itinerary that uses two nights from Friday/Saturday/Sunday! then you can definitely say you got your money’s worth from the annual fee.

3. You should like Hilton. (Maybe even more than Marriott...)

There are so many Hilton hotels,

but you need to use the certificates at hotels of this level, and you should dream of hotel stays at places like this! If it doesn’t suit me well... then the meaning will also fade.

In my personal opinion, in Korea there doesn’t seem to be a place where it’s especially worthwhile to earn Hilton points, use them, or use free night certificates... It’s much more advantageous to use them overseas. So, I think this card is best for people who travel overseas regularly and enjoy hotel stays at good hotels abroad.

4. Shinhan Card Marriott Bonvoy The Best vs. Lotte Card Honors Amex Premium

This is quite a difficult topic. Personally, when I consider hotel membership tiers...

Hilton Honors Gold < Marriott Bonvoy Platinum < Hilton Honors Diamond

That’s my view... so if you can easily meet the 60 million won annual spending requirement through various payment methods (especially as a sole proprietor), I strongly recommend getting the Shinhan Card Marriott Bonvoy The Best.

As a private individual rather than a business owner, realistically, making 60 million won in annual spending is difficult... and even if it were possible, it wouldn’t be efficient. In that case, I would of course recommend the Lotte Card Honors Amex.

Especially since Hilton Honors can still let you enjoy surprisingly premium benefits with Gold alone—breakfast and room upgrades—if you think of it as having bought your tier with a credit card and received a free night certificate as well... for people who like overseas travel, I think the Lotte Card Hilton Honors Amex credit card is definitely a good option.

When you have more than 10 credit cards and are carefully deciding one by one, there’s nothing more welcome than a card with premium-card-level benefits.

For me, who used to travel via third-party sites (like Naver Hotel, etc.), hotel membership was just something far away. But after going on my honeymoon to Hawaii in 2023, I started to think that the appearance and facilities of the hotel I stay in can also become part of the trip.

That said, third-party hotels are not necessarily cheap either. Major overseas hotel brands (Marriott, Hyatt, Hilton, IHG, Accor, etc.) are clearly trying to reward loyal members through various channels, and I’m certain that with just a little more thought, you can get a much richer travel experience at the same price or with just a small additional cost.

Even during my long working years, I traveled overseas a lot, and overseas travel takes up a big part of my hobby. After becoming a sole proprietor, the wonderful credit cards I discovered even made me think that I might need an introduction to credit card theory. Haha. I’ll keep looking for content that can help and continue posting it ^^

That’s all for Dr. Baek’s introduction to credit card theory!!