Recently, American Express has made several changes to their credit card offerings. They’ve updated the application rules for many of their cards, such as the Gold & Platinum and Everyday cards. They’ve also made changes to the Business Gold Card. Additionally, there have been various AMEX offers for travel. Most recently, they updated the Hilton AMEX co-brand Surpass and Aspire cards.
The one that interests us the most is the changes to the Hilton Surpass since that’s the card we have.
I logged into our AMEX account to look at the changes to the card and to see if the language of the card benefits was updated. I’m glad to see that AMEX has updated the card terms, giving a detailed explanation of the new benefits.
Quarterly $50 Hilton Credit
The first change is adding a $50 quarterly statement credit for Hilton charges. As expected for AMEX, there are plenty of rules and exclusions.
Basic Hilton Honors American Express Surpass Card Members can receive up to a total of $50 in statement credits each calendar quarter (January through March, April through June, July through September, and October through December), for up to $200 back annually, for eligible purchases charged directly with a property within the Hilton portfolio on their Card Account, including bookings and incidental charges. For a booking to be eligible for a statement credit, the booking must be made directly through a reservation channel operated by Hilton. Bookings or purchases made through a third party other than Hilton, such as an online travel website, will not be eligible for statement credit(s). At certain hotels, if your booking is part of a contract for an event, the purchase may not be eligible for a statement credit. For an incidental charge (including charges made at restaurants, spas, and other establishments within the hotel property) to be eligible for a statement credit, the incidental charge must be charged to your room and paid for with your Hilton Honors American Express Surpass Card at checkout.
I see several details that will trip people up when trying to claim this credit.
- Bookings must be made directly through Hilton to be eligible for the credit.
- Some group bookings (like blocked rooms for an event) may not be eligible.
- Incidental charges must be changed to the room to be eligible.
For example, you can’t visit a Hilton hotel only for a meal or drinks, as we did at the Palmer House in Chicago and get the credit by paying with your Hilton Surpass AMEX. You need to be staying at the hotel and put the charge on your room bill for it to count.
4x Points For Online Retail Purchases
Another new benefit for the Hilton Surpass AMEX is that you’ll earn 4X Hilton Honors points for online purchases. However, it’s not all online purchases and once again, there are plenty of exclusions.
You will receive 1 additional Hilton Honors Bonus Point, for a total of 4, for each dollar of eligible online retail purchases made on a website or a digital application (an app) from a U.S. retail merchant that sells physical goods or merchandise directly to consumers. To identify eligible online retail purchases, we rely on information provided to us by the merchant. The following are not considered retail purchases: purchases made at restaurants, supermarkets, gasoline stations, or automotive dealers, as well as purchases of travel, entertainment, or other services. Payment must be made online and categorized as an internet transaction by the merchant for the purchase to be eligible. You will not receive additional Hilton Honors Bonus Points for purchases made online but paid for in store. Payments made in store using a mobile or digital wallet or a contactless payment device are not considered online purchases. You will not receive additional Hilton Honors Bonus Points for purchases made by phone or mail, or by using a third party “buy now pay later” installment program.
Remember that all purchases with the Hilton Surpass AMEX earn 3X points, so you’re only getting 1 extra Hilton point per dollar for online purchases. The big takeaway here is that you need to purchase a physical product and pay for it online. The main exception is that supermarket online purchases do not count. You need to complete the transaction online, not in the store. Lastly, payments with a digital wallet are not included so if you’re paying with your phone with Apple Pay or Google Pay, you won’t get the bonus. Instead, you’ll have to enter your Surpass card number directly with the merchant website or app.
Final Thought
It’s gonna take a while for me to work through all of the changes to the AMEX Hilton Surpass card, including the higher $150 annual fee. While the two changes above are the most significant things added, some things were taken away including the Priority Pass benefit. My quick take is that this is still a good card for occasional Hilton guests but now you have to do some additional work to make the card worthwhile.
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1 comment
Not worth it to me, especially losing Priority Pass. I travel a lot in Latin America, and Priority Pass has proven quite valuable to me. I’m officially looking elsewhere now.