Comments on: New Hilton Credit Cards Include Super Premium Option with Complimentary Diamond Status

By: vcab

vcab — Sat, 04 Nov 2017 21:49:00 +0000

In reply to Scott Mackenzie. Thanks Scott. I meant to say Surpass. I downgraded today so I’ll see if I’ll be eligible for the new bonus when it gets released next year.

By: Scott Mackenzie

Scott Mackenzie — Sat, 04 Nov 2017 16:05:00 +0000

In reply to vcab. The Surpass card will convert to the Ascend card, and you can’t get the bonus more than once if you already have the Surpass card. I’m not aware that there is a Select card currently offered.

By: vcab

vcab — Sat, 04 Nov 2017 15:11:00 +0000

Would you advise downgrading current AmEx Hhonors Select card to the fee free version so so you can upgrade and get another bonus for the Ascend/Aspire since it’s a new product; or does AmEx See the current Select/Ascend as the same card this not qualify for a new bonus?

By: DCS

DCS — Fri, 03 Nov 2017 02:16:00 +0000

This assessment is spot on, especially with respect to the obvious criticism that too many Diamonds will be created by the new Aspire card. There is a lot of room under Hilton’s umbrella of nearly 5K properties worldwide to accommodate a lot of new Diamonds. The point is that the new card will generate significant repeat business for Hilton, which is the whole point. Give them status and they will come!

Can’t wait for the Aspire card, which, with my travel pattern of staying almost exclusively at Hilton hotels, will enable me to rake in loads of HH points, to maybe double my yearly haul, which currently averages around 1M points…

By: Scott Mackenzie

Scott Mackenzie — Thu, 02 Nov 2017 01:18:00 +0000

In reply to mojo. I don’t know what the terms are because th card hasn’t been launched yet. The description I got was a little vague. But I wouldn’t be surprised if the first $250 you spend at a Hilton hotel with your credit card gets a statement credit. I mean, how does Amex know what the charge is for? They just see $1,382.84. They don’t see the breakdown in the folio.

By: mojo

mojo — Thu, 02 Nov 2017 01:12:00 +0000

In reply to Scott Mackenzie. Your're thinking expenses/charges but not actual room-rate, yes?

By: Drew Bergman

Drew Bergman — Wed, 01 Nov 2017 23:08:00 +0000

I’ll take diamond and 500 bucks in credits. Beats my Ritz card

By: Scott Mackenzie

Scott Mackenzie — Wed, 01 Nov 2017 16:06:00 +0000

In reply to MeanMeosh. My assumption is that the $250 credit can be used for any expenses at a Hilton property that are charged to your Hilton credit card.

By: Scott Mackenzie

Scott Mackenzie — Wed, 01 Nov 2017 16:05:00 +0000

In reply to Cliff Maher. No. You can only access the Centurion Lounge with the American Express Platinum Card or the American Express Centurion Card.

By: Cliff Maher

Cliff Maher — Wed, 01 Nov 2017 16:03:00 +0000

Do any of these include access to the Centurion Clubs..?

By: MeanMeosh

MeanMeosh — Wed, 01 Nov 2017 14:16:00 +0000

I’d be a lot more excited if Amex would dump the stupid “incidental fee credit” for a straight-up airfare credit, without having to designate a single airline. One of the reasons I’ve stayed away from the Amex Plat is because I hate having to play games by buying airline gift cards and hoping Amex doesn’t notice. If they switched to a less restrictive credit, I’d be inclined to dump my Prestige for the Aspire, since you’re getting a lot of other useful benefits.

Anyway, that resort credit is what has me most intrigued. Assuming you can use it to cover “resort” fees, that potentially gives Hilton a nice competitive advantage in markets plagued by the fees (i.e. Hawai’i).

By: Danny

Danny — Wed, 01 Nov 2017 11:59:00 +0000

Mixed change for me. On the one hand, I’m a diamond already and I don’t fully buy into the argument that hotels have unlimited capacity to reward their most valuable guests. There are only so many nice rooms to upgrade people to, and during even somewhat busy times I’ve had trouble getting a category upgrade as it is. I also re-earned Diamond next year for putting $40k on my Citi card, when it turns out all I had to do was wait until January 18th to get a new AmEx, which is mildly annoying.

On the other hand, I never have to put $40k on a Hilton card again, which is great because that spending would be better off on any number of other cards but I value Diamond status that highly. On balance I find this annoying for much of 2018 and positive for me afterward. Great for everyone who doesn’t already have Diamond, though! And really, as everyone likes to point out, Gold is the big jump in value as a status. Diamond doesn’t get you all that much beyond it anyway.