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The author, Carly Helfand.
Courtesy of Carly Helfand
I love my Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card, but the Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card offers some different — and complementary — benefits.
I’ll now have a quicker path to earning free night certificates, as well as more bonus categories for spending.
The Surpass is also offering a welcome bonus large enough to cover two nights at nearly any Hilton worldwide.
Since its debut, the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card has easily been my favorite credit card. Between the 14x points it offers at Hilton properties and the top-tier Diamond elite status it confers, I rake in loads of Hilton Honors points and perks on every paid stay — and that’s to say nothing of its other benefits, such as the annual $250 resort credit I routinely max out each year.
And yet, despite my loyalty to the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card, this winter I found myself considering taking out another Hilton credit card. Here’s what prompted me to pull the trigger on the Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card — and why I expect both cards to hold a place in my wallet for years to come.
Hilton Surpass card welcome bonus
The bonuses on American Express’ Hilton credit card lineup have been impressive as of late, and the current offer on the Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card is no exception.
For a limited time, the Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card is offering an elevated bonus of Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card.
To put that in perspective, the vast majority of Hilton properties max out at 95,000 points per night, with just a couple hitting 120,000 to 150,000 points per night. Because the certificate is good at nearly any Hilton property worldwide, between the points haul and the certificate, the bonus is enough for a two-night stay at virtually any Hilton hotel —including the ultra-luxe Conrad Maldives Rangali Island — and then some.
While I strongly believe in only opening credit cards you’ll keep and continue to use, I’d be lying if I said the welcome bonus wasn’t a factor in my decision. At the time, I was planning a group trip to the brand-new, all-inclusive Hilton Cancun, and while my bonus offer wasn’t as high as this one was, it still helped me land a room plus all food and drinks for four people for a weekend, all for the price of the card’s Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card annual fee Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card – Rates & Fees.
Free night potential
I plan to keep the Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card around — and its potential to earn a free weekend night certificate after spending $15,000 on the card in a calendar year is the main reason why.
Once again, Hilton does not cap the value of its free night certificates, giving holders direct access to some of its most aspirational properties. In the past, I’ve redeemed certificates for stays at resorts including the Conrad Maldives Rangali Island, the Waldorf Astoria Los Cabos Pedregal, the Waldorf Astoria Grand Wailea, and Oceana Santa Monica, which is part of the LXR collection. Some of these stays would have cost upward of $2,000 per night in cash, so I value these certificates very highly.
And while the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card does offer the option to spend your way to a second free night each year, it does so with a steep $60,000 requirement, which is a) out of my budget and b) not how I’d choose to spend so much money, particularly since it would mean sacrificing opportunities to rack up transferable points, such as those earned through the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card or The Platinum Card® from American Express. The Surpass’ $15,000 threshold is achievable and doesn’t redirect too much spending from other cards.
Bonus spending categories
While I tend to reserve my Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card for Hilton spending, I do like to use the card on purchases in its other bonus categories when I’m working toward a specific redemption. Those categories would be flights booked directly with airlines or amextravel.com, car rentals booked directly with select car rental companies, and US restaurants, all of which net 7x points per dollar.
By adding the Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card to my rotation, I’ll gain some key new categories: The card earns 6x points per dollar on US supermarkets and US gas stations (as well as US restaurants), which will help me get to my points-earning goals faster.
