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Most of the time, hotel cards are for travelers who want to stay with that hotel brand. It only makes sense to have the hotel card if you plan to have a large number of stays and/or spend a significant amount of money with the hotel. I'd argue that the Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card is an exception to that rule.
In fact, I believe that the Hilton Surpass is an excellent hotel card even for occasional travelers, especially those who don’t already hold elite status with any of the major hotel brands. It offers numerous perks, excellent elite status, and even the opportunity to earn a free night with card spending!
Here's how you can maximize the Hilton Surpass card's benefits.
Page Contents
Introduction to the Hilton Surpass Card
The Hilton Surpass is the mid-tier Hilton personal card available from American Express. It charges a $150 annual fee (Rates & Fees).
The current welcome offer on this card is 130,000 Hilton Honors points after you spend $3,000 in purchases in the first 6 months of Card Membership. At certain times, the welcome offer can include waiving the annual fee for the first year or providing a free night certificate after meeting the spending requirement. When these offers are active, this is the best time to apply for this card!
- Earn 130,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points after you spend $3,000 in purchases on the Card in the first 6 months of Card Membership.
- Get up to $50 in statement credits each quarter for purchases made directly with a property in the Hilton portfolio on your Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card. That's up to $200 in statement credits annually.
- Earn 12X Hilton Honors Bonus Points for each dollar of eligible purchases charged on your Card directly with a hotel or resort within the Hilton portfolio.
- Earn 6X Points for each dollar of purchases on your Card at U.S. restaurants, at U.S. supermarkets, and at U.S. gas stations.
- Earn 4X Points for each dollar on U.S. Online Retail Purchases.
- Earn 3X Points for all other eligible purchases on your Card.
- Earn a Free Night Reward from Hilton Honors after you spend $15,000 on eligible purchases on your Card in a calendar year.
- Enjoy complimentary Hilton Honors™ Gold status with your Card. Plus, spend $40,000 on eligible purchases on your Card in a calendar year and you can earn an upgrade to Hilton Honors Diamond status through the end of the next calendar year. Terms and Limitations apply.
- As a Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card Member, you can enroll to receive complimentary National Car Rental® Emerald Club Executive® status through the link on your American Express online account. After you're enrolled, you can reserve a rental car by calling National Car Rental directly, using your travel service, or by booking online or through the National Car Rental mobile app. Terms apply.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees. Enjoy international travel without additional fees on purchases made abroad.
- Apply with confidence. Know if you're approved for a Card with no impact to your credit score. If you're approved and you choose to accept this Card, your credit score may be impacted.
- Terms Apply.
- Rates & Fees
- 12X bonus points for each dollar of eligible purchases charged on your card directly with a hotel or resort within the Hilton portfolio
- 6X bonus points for each dollar of eligible purchases on your card at U.S. restaurants, U.S. supermarkets, and U.S. gas stations
- 4X bonus points on U.S online retail purchases
- 3X bonus points for all other eligible purchases on your card
Amex has been rolling out card “family” restrictions on other co-branded cards. But at least for now, you can get the welcome offer on this card even if you have one of the other Hilton personal cards, such as the Hilton Honors American Express Card or the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card.
The terms and conditions state that you can't earn a welcome bonus on the Hilton Surpass if you've had the card before. However, we've found that this restriction typically resets about seven years after you have received the welcome bonus.
Related: Your Comprehensive Guide to the Hilton Honors Program
Bonus Spending Categories
The Hilton Surpass has fantastic spending categories for everyday and travel purchases:
- 12X bonus points for each dollar of eligible purchases charged on your card directly with a hotel or resort within the Hilton portfolio
- 6X bonus points for each dollar of eligible purchases on your card at U.S. restaurants, U.S. supermarkets, and U.S. gas stations
- 4X bonus points on U.S online retail purchases
- 3X bonus points for all other eligible purchases on your card
While the Hilton Surpass is the mid-tier Hilton card, it has better overall spending categories than the other two available Hilton personal cards:
- The Hilton Aspire offers higher spending categories for Hilton purchases (14 points per dollar) and restaurants (7 points per dollar) compared to the Hilton Surpass. However, the Hilton Aspire does not provide the other bonus categories that the Hilton Surpass does, so it would only earn 3 points for gas, groceries, and online purchases.
- The Hilton Honors American Express Card card earns 7 points per dollar at Hilton properties and 5 points per dollar spent on U.S. grocery stores, U.S. restaurants, and U.S. gas stations, which are all lower rates than the Hilton Surpass. Also, the Hilton Amex does not offer online retailer purchase bonus categories, so purchases made through these channels would only earn 3 points per dollar.
Comparing the earning rates of the Hilton Surpass against those of the IHG, Marriott, and Hyatt mid-tier cards shows that the Hilton Surpass earns more points on everyday spending:
- IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card: up to 26 total points per $1 spent when you stay at an IHG hotel; 5X points on travel, at gas stations, and restaurants; and 3X points on all other purchases
- Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card: 6X Bonvoy points per $1 spent participating Marriott Bonvoy hotels, 3X points per $1 on the first $6,000 spent in combined purchases each year on grocery stores, gas stations, and dining, and 2X points per $1 on all other purchases
- The World of Hyatt Credit Card: 4x points at Hyatt properties and 2x points at restaurants, on airline tickets purchased directly from the airlines, on local transit and commuting, and on fitness club and gym memberships
Earning Free Night Certificates
You can earn a free night certificate on the Hilton Surpass by spending $15,000 during a calendar year. At a minimum, you would also earn at least 45,000 Hilton points (15,000 x 3 points per dollar). However, if you can allocate all your spending to the 6x categories, you will earn 90,000 points, in addition to a free night certificate, from this $15k in spending.
Hilton free night certificates are uncapped, meaning they can be used for any Hilton room, provided the hotel has standard room availability for the specified night. These free night certificates can be used for rooms that would typically cost thousands of dollars per night or as much as 250,000 Hilton points per night. And with the addition of SLH properties to the Hilton portfolio, there are even more luxurious options to choose from to stay at!
Related: 14 Exciting Small Luxury Hotels (SLH) Properties Bookable With Hilton Honors Points
Quarterly Statement Credits
The Hilton Surpass provides a $200 statement credit for use at Hilton properties. It is broken down into $50 credits used quarterly. Unlike the resort credit that comes with the Hilton Aspire, these credits can be used at any Hilton location. You can use these credits towards the room rate, incidentals, or most activities at the property, including restaurants and spa treatments. It is best to ensure these charges are billed to the room to receive the credit.
Additionally, you can use these in conjunction with the biannual resort credit on the Hilton Aspire (provided the Hilton location is classified as a resort) or with the quarterly statement credits that come with The Hilton Honors American Express Business Card and The Business Platinum Card® from American Express. Recently, I was able to use four different credit cards that each offered quarterly Hilton credits to cover the cost of a hotel stay. Although the terms and conditions state that it can take several weeks to receive the credit, it typically appears on the statement within a week of the hotel charges being posted.
Hilton Gold Elite Status
An excellent benefit of the Hilton Surpass is complimentary Hilton Honors™ Gold Elite status for as long as you hold the card. Hilton Gold is our favorite mid-tier hotel status, especially if you are not a frequent traveler. A couple of stays can demonstrate the value of Hilton Gold, eclipsing the out-of-pocket expense of holding the card.
Hilton Gold status perks include:
- 80% bonus on points earned from stays.
- 5th night free on award stays.
- Daily food and beverage credit or continental breakfast (varies by brand and region).
- Space-available room upgrades.
- Earn 10,000 bonus points every 10 nights after you’ve stayed 40 nights in a calendar year.
You can also earn Hilton Diamond status with the Hilton Surpass when you spend $40,000 on the card in a calendar year — but we wouldn't recommend it. If you want top-tier status, the more efficient option is to apply for the Hilton Aspire — which provides complimentary Hilton Diamond status as one of its flagship perks.
Rental Car Elite Status
Cardholders of the Hilton Surpass can receive complimentary National Car Rental Executive Club Emerald Status after enrollment in the Emerald Club program. Benefits include increased access to cars for the same price as a midsize vehicle, guaranteed upgrades, and no second-driver fees.
You can also leverage the Emerald Club status to status match to other car rental companies. Look at our guide to car rental elite status. This is another valuable tool that can help if you can convert one elite status into multiple ones.
Final Thoughts
Featuring a superb welcome offer, high earning potential, complimentary Gold Elite status, and a host of other top perks for a card at a mid-range price point, the Hilton Surpass has cemented its place as one of our top hotel rewards cards. You would be hard-pressed to find a better choice than the Hilton Surpass, particularly if you don't travel enough to reach elite status the hard way. Using the spending categories and quarterly credits properly will allow you to maximize the card to its fullest potential!
For rates and fees of the cards mentioned in this post, please visit the following links: Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card (Rates & Fees)
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