Amex Makes Big Changes to Hilton Card Portfolio

I’m pushing this out late in the day because, oddly enough, I was at the Co-Brand Card Conference in Wilmington, DE all day – where card co-brand execs were all around me…

Amex Makes Big Changes to Hilton Card Portfolio

If you have, or are thinking about getting, one of the Hilton Honors Credit Cards from American Express.

Hilton Honors American Express Card

American Express announced one minor change to the base level Hilton Honors American Express Card, removal of its baggage insurance, but also changed the card art and announced a new, higher welcome bonus. 

New Welcome Bonus: Earn 100,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points after you spend $2,000 in purchases on the Card within your first 6 months of Card Membership. Offer ends 1/17/2024. Terms apply. (Rates and Fees) (Learn How to Apply)

American Express is a MilesTalk advertising partner.

Changes were much bigger on the Hilton Honors Surpass® Credit Card and the Hilton Honors Aspire® Credit Card.

(The Hilton Business Card does not have any changes at this time.)

Hilton Honors Surpass® Credit Card

On the Hilton Honors Surpass® Credit Card we see the following additions and subtractions:

Added:

• New annual fee: $150 (was $95)
• $50 per quarter credit at Hilton family properties
• National Car Rental Executive Status (mid-tier)
• New bonus multiplier: 4X on U.S. Online Retail purchases

Removed:

• 10 Priority Pass visits per year will end as a benefit effective Feb 1, 2024.Through January 31, 2024, you may still enroll in the benefit by calling the American Express customer service number on the back of your card. If you enrolled in the Priority Pass Select program on or before January 31, 2023, your Priority Pass membership will continue through January 31, 2024 and will be cancelled as of February 1, 2024. If you enrolled in the Priority Pass Select program between February 1, 2023 and January 31, 2024, your membership will continue through October 31, 2024 and will be cancelled as of November 1, 2024. Any unused lounge visits will be forfeited at the time of cancellation.

New Welcome Bonus Offer: Earn 170,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points after you spend $3,000 in purchases on the Card within your first 6 months of Card Membership.Earn 170,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points after you spend $3,000 in purchases on the Card within your first 6 months of Card Membership. Offer ends 1/17/2024. Terms apply. (Rates and Fees) (How to Apply) 

All information about the Hilton Honors Surpass® Credit Card has been collected independently by MilesTalk.

Hilton Honors Aspire® Credit Card

The biggest changes were saved for the top of the line Hilton Honors Aspire® Credit Card. I’ve long said the card was “too good to be true” – the value was just too outsized – and would likely be updated soon. Here we go.

Added:

• New annual fee: $550 (was $450)
• Up to a $400 annual credit each year of Card Membership for eligible purchases at participating Hilton Resorts. Get a statement credit of up to $200 January – June and $200 from July-December each year.
• Up to $200 in airline credits each calendar year. Get a statement credit of up to $50 each calendar quarter. (Enrollment required).
• Annual Free Night Award: Earn an additional Free Night Reward when you spend $30,000 on eligible purchases in a calendar year (in addition to at renewal and at $60,000 in spend as before).
• $189 CLEAR® Plus Credit: You can cover the cost of a CLEAR Plus Membership, excluding any applicable taxes, with up to $189 in statement credits per calendar year after you enroll and pay for CLEAR Plus which is subject to auto-renewal with your Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card.
• Cell Phone Protection: With Cell Phone Protection, you can be reimbursed, the lesser of, your cost to repair or replace your damaged cell phone, including a cracked screen, for a maximum of $800 per claim with a limit of 2 approved claims per 12-month period when your cell phone line is listed on a wireless bill and the prior month’s wireless bill was paid by an Eligible Card Account. A $50 deductible will apply to each approved claim. Additional terms and conditions apply.
• National Car Rental Executive Status (mid-tier)

Removed: 

• $250 annual incidental airline credit (replaced with the $50/quarter benefit above)
• $250 annual resort credit (replaced with the $200 bi-annual credit above)
• Priority Pass will end as a benefit effective Feb 1, 2024.
  Through January 31, 2024, you may still enroll in the benefit by calling the American Express customer service number on the back of your card. If you enrolled in the Priority Pass Select program on or before January 31, 2023, your Priority Pass membership will continue through January 31, 2024 and will be cancelled as of February 1, 2024. If you enrolled in the Priority Pass Select program between February 1, 2023 and January 31, 2024, your membership will continue through October 31, 2024 and will be cancelled as of November 1, 2024. Any unused lounge visits will be forfeited at the time of cancellation.

There are no bonus category changes.

New Welcome Bonus Offer: Earn 180,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points with the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card after you spend $6,000 in purchases on the Card within your first 6 months of Card Membership. Offer ends 1/17/2024. Terms apply. (How to apply) 

All information about the Hilton Honors Aspire® Credit Card has been collected independently by MilesTalk.

Bottom Line(s)

Hey, we knew the changes to the Aspire would come someday…

Overall, the changes are either good or bad (of course the annual fee increase is bad!) depending on you.

I preferred the $250 annual airline incidental credit on the Aspire over the $200 credit – mostly because I don’t like having it split into four $50 credits. I also preferred the $250 resort credit over two $200 credits – simply because it’s hard enough for me to get to a property classified as a resort even once a year (in fact, my 2023 credit expired unused). And of course, I do not prefer a higher annual fee 😉 The CLEAR+ is useless to me as it’s a benefit of the Platinum Card, Business Platinum Card (and Green Card!). Likewise, I have Cell Phone Protection on several cards already and charge that to my Business Platinum Card anyway for the $10 / month cell phone bill credit. And I certainly don’t (personally) mind using the Priority Pass benefits, since I have that on at least 3 cards with no visit limit. 

Overall, with the Diamond status and free “uncapped” Free Night Reward, the credits are sort of icing on the cake anyway. It remains an excellent value.

For the Surpass, I think some will be sad to see Priority Pass go as it as the only way (along with the Hilton Honors Business Card) to get Priority Pass for under a $100 annual fee. However, up to $200 in annual Hilton credits (not even limited to resorts!) covers the annual fee plus $50 if you stay once a quarter. Keeping in mind that it will be triggered even on a Reward Night if you have $50 in incidentals, it’s pretty easy to use if you stay once per quarter at a Hilton. And as a loyalty guy, I love seeing them offer something that so directly keeps you invested in the brand. 

Lastly, the 180k Welcome Bonus on the Aspire is the first time we’ve seen it go higher than 150,000 points since, I don’t know actually, launch?

Now, that’s just me – so I’m curious how you feel about these changes…

Thoughts?

Let me know below in the comments, on Twitter, or in the private MilesTalk Facebook group. And don't forget to follow me on Instagram for all sorts of tips on miles, points, credit cards, and travel.

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You can find credit cards that best match your spending habits and bonus categories at Your Best Credit Cards. 

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