When I wrote about whether or not the World of Hyatt Credit Card was still worth keeping, I mentioned that we’ve been focusing most of our credit card spending on the Hilton Surpass instead. A reader pointed out something interesting: the Surpass has a higher annual fee and doesn’t include an automatic free night, unlike the cards from Hyatt, IHG, or Marriott.
It’s a fair point. On paper, the Hyatt card gives you a free night at a lower cost. So why are we prioritizing the Hilton Surpass?
It’s a good question—and one that’s worth answering, especially if you’re deciding where to direct your own spending. Here’s why the Hilton Surpass makes sense for us right now.
1. We’re Staying at Hilton Hotels More Often
Hilton ended up being the hotel brand we stayed at the most in 2024, and that trend appears to be continuing into 2025. It’s become our go-to when we visit Texas during the summer, and we’ve found the Hilton hotels we’ve stayed in to offer a reliably consistent experience. Since we’re already staying there frequently, it just makes sense to focus our spending where we’re actually earning and redeeming points.
2. The Surpass Is a Strong Everyday Spending Card
Unlike many hotel cards that are best for co-branded hotel purchases only, the Hilton Surpass actually holds its own as an everyday spending card. I’ve made it my wife’s main card, and it’s working well for us—6X points at U.S. supermarkets, restaurants, and gas stations is pretty solid. It’s just a shame that warehouse clubs and Walmart don’t count toward those categories. Even so, we still earn 4X points on online purchases and 3X points on everything else, which adds up quickly as we work toward the $15,000 spend needed for a Free Night Certificate.
That ongoing spend means we’re also earning enough Hilton Honors points for at least one additional free night each year. When we pair that with the Free Night Certificate earned from the $15K spend, we can book two nights at a high-end property—even the soon-to-reopen Waldorf Astoria New York, at least during off-peak times. That’s a great way to maximize the value of our points while taking full advantage of a premium card benefit.
3. The $200 Hilton Credit Helps Offset the Annual Fee
To be honest, the $200 Hilton statement credit is a benefit I forgot about when it was first added to the card. It’s split into $50 per quarter, so it’s easiest to use if you have consistent Hilton stays. Since buying Hilton gift cards is no longer a viable workaround (a method that stopped working months ago), you really do need to use the credit as intended. Fortunately, we were able to use $50 this quarter, and we have an upcoming stay that will take care of the next $50—so we’ve already gotten $100 in value back, effectively cutting the $150 annual fee.
4. We’re Still Getting a Free Night—Just Later and More Flexible
Yes, the Hyatt card gives you a free night each year, but it’s capped at Category 4. With the Surpass, we can earn an uncapped Free Night Certificate after spending $15,000. That gives us more flexibility, especially if we want to splurge on a resort stay or a high-category city hotel where standard rates can top 80,000 points per night. We may be working harder for it, but the potential value is much greater.
Final Thought
For a moment, I did wonder whether the Hilton Surpass Card was really worth it. After all, it comes with a $150 annual fee, and the main advertised perk—Hilton Gold status—is something we already get from our AMEX Platinum Card. When you compare it to cards from IHG, Hyatt, or Marriott, which all offer automatic free night certificates just for holding the card, it feels like the Surpass starts at a disadvantage.
But once you factor in the up to $200 in annual Hilton statement credits, the ability to earn an uncapped Free Night Certificate after $15K spend, and the bonus categories that help us rack up Hilton points quickly, I’m actually OK with the value it provides. And that’s not even counting the 12X points you earn when paying for Hilton stays with the card, stacked with elite bonuses and seasonal promos, that can add up fast.
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