Big Changes for Hilton Credit Cards
All information about Hilton Honors Aspire Card, Hilton Honors Surpass® Card and Hilton Honors Card has been collected independently by DannyDealGuru. Terms apply to the offers listed below.
? Update: These offers expire today, and we should see new offers tomorrow. Hilton cards are the only family of cards left without restrictions, so it’s only a matter of when those family rules will be introduced. It’s better to apply sooner than later, especially if you see an offer that you like. Also check out these NLL links which work for those with pop-up problems.
American Express and Hilton Hotels revealed today major changes to their credit card portfolio. These changes include increased annual fees for the Hilton Honors Surpass® Card and Hilton Honors Aspire Card. The two premium cards are getting new perks but also losing some benefits, while other benefits have changed. New limited time welcome offers are available as well.
The Hilton Honors American Express Cards will also feature new designs. The Hilton Honors American Express Card and the Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card will be made of 70% reclaimed plastic and the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card will be made of metal. Let’s go over all the changes and the terms of the new offers.
Hilton Honors Aspire Card
The annual fee on the Hilton Honors Aspire Card is going up by $100 and there’s a new design. The new welcome bonus is for 180,000 Hilton Honors points with $6,000 spending in the first six months. As for benefits, the card now gets a quarterly $50 Airline Fee Credit instead of $250 annually and a semi-annual $200 Hilton Resort Credit which is an improvement. The card loses Priority Pass but now gets Cell Phone Protection, National Emerald status and $189 Clear Plus credit.
Welcome Bonus
- Earn 180,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points after you spend $6,000 in eligible purchases on the Card in the first 6 months of Card Membership.
- Offer ends 1/17/2024.
- Annual Fee: $550
- APPLICATION LINK
Card Details
- Earn:
- 14X Bonus Points on purchases made directly with hotels and resorts within the Hilton portfolio.
- 7X Bonus Points on flights booked directly with airlines or Amex Travel, on car rentals booked directly from select companies, and at U.S. restaurants
- 3X Bonus Points on all other eligible purchases
- Complimentary Diamond Status
- Earn up to 3 Free Night Rewards each year
- Enjoy one Free Night Reward each year of Card Membership.
- (NEW) Beginning with any purchases made on your Card on or after 10/19/23, you can earn an additional Free Night Reward from Hilton after you spend $30,000 or more in purchases on your Card in a calendar year.
- Earn an additional Free Night Reward from Hilton after you spend $60,000 in purchases in a calendar year.
- (ENHANCED) Earn up to $200 in statement credits semi-annually for eligible purchases made directly with participating Hilton Resorts on your Card. That’s up to $400 back annually.
- Get up to $50 in statement credits each quarter, for a total of $200 back each year, on flight purchases made directly with an airline or through AmexTravel.com using your Hilton Honors Aspire Card. To be eligible for this benefit, an airfare purchase must be for a scheduled flight on a passenger carrier and purchased directly from the airline or through amextravel.com.
- (NEW) Receive up to $189 per calendar year in statement credits, when you pay for a CLEAR Plus Membership (subject to auto-renewal) with your Card.
- (NEW) Enjoy complimentary National Car Rental® Emerald Club Executive® status, including perks like Executive Area Access (for full-size reservations and above) in the USA and Canada. Card Members must enroll in the National Car Rental Emerald Club Executive status through their American Express online account using their Card. Terms apply.
- With your Card, book a 2-night minimum stay at HiltonHonorsAspireCard.com and get up to $100 in credits for qualifying charges at participating Waldorf Astoria® Hotels & Resorts and Conrad® Hotels & Resorts.
- No foreign transaction fees from American Express.
- APPLICATION LINK
Hilton Honors Surpass® Card
The Hilton Honors Surpass® Card also gets a new design, which is still similar to the Aspire Card, and the annual fee is going up by $55. The welcome bonus is for 170,000 Hilton Honors points with $3,000 spending in the first six months. The card gets quarterly $50 Hilton Credits, National Emerald status and 4X on U.S. online retail purchases, but loses Priority Pass.
Welcome Bonus
- Earn 170,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points after you spend $3,000 in eligible purchases on the Card in the first 6 months of Card Membership.
- Offer ends 1/17/2024.
- Annual Fee: $150
- APPLICATION LINK
Card Details
- Earn:
- 12X Bonus Points on purchases made directly with hotels or resorts within the Hilton portfolio.
- 6X Bonus Points at U.S. restaurants, U.S. gas stations, and U.S. supermarkets.
- (NEW) 4X Bonus Points on U.S. online retail purchases.
- 3X Bonus Points all other eligible purchases
- Complimentary Gold Status
- Earn an upgrade to Diamond Status through the end of the next calendar year after spending $40,000 on purchases in a calendar year
- Free Night Reward after $15,000 in purchases in a calendar year
- (NEW) Get up to $50 in statement credits each quarter for purchases made directly with a property in the Hilton portfolio on your Hilton Honors Surpass® Card. That’s up to $200 in statement credits annually.
- (NEW) Enjoy complimentary National Car Rental® Emerald Club Executive® status, including perks like Executive Area Access (for full-size reservations and above) in the USA and Canada. Card Members must enroll in the National Car Rental Emerald Club Executive status through their American Express online account using their Card. Terms apply.
- No foreign transaction fees from American Express
- APPLICATION LINK
Hilton Honors Card
There are no changes to the no-fee Hilton Honors Card besides the design and the limited time welcome bonus of 100,000 Hilton Honors points.
Welcome Bonus
- Earn 100,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points after you spend $2,000 in eligible purchases on the Card in the first 6 months of Card Membership.
- Offer ends 1/17/2024.
- No Annual Fee
- APPLICATION LINK
Card Details
- Earn:
- 7X Bonus Points on purchases made directly with hotels and resorts within the Hilton portfolio
- 5X Bonus Points at U.S. restaurants, U.S. gas stations, and U.S. supermarkets
- 3X Bonus Points on all other eligible purchases
- Complimentary Silver Status‡
- No foreign transaction fees from American Express
- Earn an upgrade to Gold Status through the end of the next calendar year after spending $20,000 on purchases in a calendar year
- APPLICATION LINK
Guru’s Wrap-up
This is a mixed bag with good and bad news. The annual fees going up are obviously bad news. The Aspire Card fee is going by $100 and the Surpass Card by $55. The are some new benefits such as the CLEAR credit on the Aspire, National Emerald status on both Aspire and Surpass and Hilton credit for Surpass.
Some of the benefits on the Aspire Card are changing. You now get up to $200 in statement credits semi-annually for eligible purchases made directly with participating Hilton Resorts on your Card. That’s a total of $400 annually, up from $250 per membership year. That means that you can probably get another $250 credit if your anniversary year is up before the end of 2023, and then take advantage of the $200 credit in 2024.
The airline credit is also changing to $50 in statement credits each quarter, for a total of $200 back each year. That’s down from $250. The new credit applies to flight purchases made directly with an airline or through AmexTravel.com using your Hilton Honors Aspire Card. To be eligible for this benefit, an airfare purchase must be for a scheduled flight on a passenger carrier and purchased directly from the airline or through amextravel.com. You no longer need to choose airlines, but seems like you have to use it for flights only, and only $50 every quarter.
It’s also worth noting that all three limited time bonuses that launched today, are available through referrals. That means that if you are in two-player mode, you can also get a juicy referral bonus.
Leave a comment below and let me know what you think about these changes!
