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From complimentary Hilton Honors Gold elite status to annual credits, there are lots of ways the Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card is a valuable addition to the wallets of those who consider themselves Hilton loyalists but prefer a card with a modest annual fee.
- Earn 130,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points after you spend $3,000 in purchases on the Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card in your 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 Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card.
- Spend $40,000 on eligible purchases on your Card in a calendar year and you can earn Hilton Honors™ Diamond Status through the end of the next calendar year.
- 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.
- $150 annual fee.
- 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
That's perfect, since the Hilton Surpass sits in the middle of Hilton's lineup, between its entry-level and top-tier cards. But there are also drawbacks to the Hilton Surpass, such as only earning a free night award after a fair amount of spending and quarterly credits that you have to remember to use.
Let's dive into the details of the Hilton Surpass and see what it has to offer.
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Hilton Surpass Welcome Offer
Welcome offers on the Hilton Surpass can fluctuate — see our American Express card offer history post to see by how much — but you'll generally receive a hefty sum of Hilton Honors points after meeting the minimum spending requirement.
If you apply for the Hilton Surpass now, you'll earn 130,000 Hilton Honors points after you spend $3,000 in purchases in the first 6 months of Card Membership.
A welcome bonus of this size is nothing to overlook, even though Hilton employs dynamic pricing on its award nights. For context, AwardWallet users typically redeem their Hilton points at 0.59¢ apiece. This value makes 130,000 Hilton Honors points worth $767.
Hilton Surpass Pros
- Complimentary Hilton Honors Gold elite status.
- 12X points per dollar at hotels or resorts within the Hilton portfolio.
- Earn up to $50 in statement credits quarterly ($200 annually) for eligible Hilton purchases.
- Complimentary National Car Rental Emerald Club Executive elite status.
Enrollment is required for select Amex benefits.
Hilton Surpass Cons
- $150 annual fee (Rates & Fees).
- Hilton's dynamic pricing model means redeeming points for substantial value is tricky.
- Free night award only available after spending $15,000 on eligible purchases within a calendar year.
Hilton Surpass Benefits
For a mid-tier credit card, the Hilton Surpass carries a lot of benefits that make it worth the $150 annual fee. If you're a cardholder or considering becoming one, here are all the benefits available to you:
Complimentary Hilton Honors Gold status
After approval for the Hilton Surpass, you can enroll to receive Hilton Honors Gold status free of charge. Hilton Gold is one of the best mid-tier hotel statuses out there, and your future Hilton stays will be more rewarding because of it.
At this status level, you'll receive an 80% points earning bonus on stays, space-available room upgrades, daily food and beverage credits, and more. And because you have elite status, you can get a fifth night free on award stays.
With this card, you can also spend your way up to Hilton's top-tier Diamond status. This is a $40,000 annual endeavor, but it's a nice perk if you're spending on the Hilton Surpass at a high velocity.
$200 annual Hilton credit
The Hilton Surpass offers a $200 annual Hilton credit, broken up into $50 quarterly. You'll receive up to $50 in statement credits each quarter for purchases at one of the many properties in the Hilton Honors program.
If you maximize just this one perk each year, you'll make up for the cost of the card's $150 annual fee — and then some.
National Car Rental elite status
If you thought the Hilton Surpass only came with one complimentary elite status, think again. You're also entitled to National Car Rental Emerald Club Executive status by holding the card. To take advantage of this perk, you will need to enroll via your Amex online account.
Executive Club status provides faster earnings toward free rentals, a wider selection of cars at pickup, and guaranteed upgrades, as well as skipping the line when picking up and returning your vehicle.
Free night reward via spending
Although it's less of a perk, the Hilton Surpass offers a Free Night Reward after you spend $15,000 on eligible purchases in a calendar year using the card. It's a lot of money to pay for a free night, but it could be worth it if you use the award on a night at one of Hilton's most luxurious properties, such as the Waldorf Astoria Maldives Ithaafushi.
With only a small list of properties where you can't use this free night award, it offers great value.
Related: Why I Spend $15,000 Each Year on My Hilton Surpass Card
Purchase benefits and protections
Aside from a quality list of benefits tailored to the Hilton Honors experience, the Hilton Surpass tacks on a list of shopping and purchase protection-related benefits, such as:
- Purchase protection on new purchases for up to 90 days.
- Extended warranty coverage.
- Complimentary ShopRunner membership.
- Access to targeted Amex Offers that can provide extra points or cash back.
- Earn 10% back when you use your card to make qualifying food and beverage concessions purchases at stadiums and arenas in the American Express Venue Collection™ through December 31, 2026.
Enrollment is required for select Amex benefits.
Travel protections
You can also leverage a short list of travel-related protections that'll keep you covered when you're on the road:
- No foreign transaction fees (Rates & Fees).
- Secondary coverage via car rental loss and damage insurance.
- Baggage insurance plan to cover lost, stolen, or damaged luggage.
- Access to American Express' Global Assist Hotline.
Hilton Surpass Earning Rates
There's more than meets the eye when it comes to the Hilton Surpass and its bonus categories. A diverse list of ways to earn points on purchases means you might pull the card out of your wallet more than you initially thought, which isn't always the case for a co-branded credit card.
Let's take a look at each of the bonus categories:
- 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
If you're new to the Hilton ecosystem, the 12X, 6X, 4X, and 3X multipliers per $1 spent seem pretty lucrative. They're high numbers, after all — but what do they mean in real-world terms?
As a point of comparison, it might help to think about the returns on spending in terms of percentages. AwardWallet users redeem Hilton Honors points for 0.59¢ per point on average. If we use 0.5¢ to 0.6¢ as a range for what points are worth, here's your return on spending with the Hilton Surpass card:
- 12X points on Hilton purchases (6% to 7.2% return on spending)
- 6X points on purchases at U.S. supermarkets, U.S. restaurants, and U.S. gas stations (3% to 3.6%)
- 4X Hilton Honors Bonus Points on U.S online retail purchases (2% to 2.4%)
- 3X points on all other purchases (1.5% to 1.8%)
If you routinely spend on Hilton purchases and within the 6X categories, you'll receive a generally high return on your spending, which means the card is a worthy use of your swipes if you value Hilton Honors points.
Related: All the Credit Cards That Earn Hilton Honors Points
Redeeming Points With the Hilton Surpass
No matter where you are in the world or where you want to go, there's likely a Hilton property within reach. Free nights start around 10,000 points at several select properties around the globe, but most require substantially more than this.
After ditching its award chart, Hilton started pricing its award nights dynamically. Dynamic pricing means that when the cash rate is higher, so are award rates.
The best uses of Hilton Honors points depend on what kind of property you want to stay at. Standard room rates for non-luxury properties generally cost between 10,000 and 95,000 points per night, while premium rooms at luxury properties can reach seven digits. No matter what kind of budget you're working with, Hilton has a lot of options thanks to its massive global portfolio of hotels and resorts.
Use Hilton's award calendar to find cheaper award nights
If you're considering putting your newly earned welcome bonus to good use, you could spend dozens of nights with a budget-oriented Hilton redemption or a few nights with a luxury Hilton redemption.
The Hilton award calendar tool can be helpful in the process of figuring out where to go, where to stay, and when to visit. For example, here's a look at one of Hilton's most popular redemptions, the Hilton Molino Stucky Venice.
With the holidays approaching and being an off-peak part of the season, December is a great time to visit Venice, Italy, but which days should you spend at the Hilton Molino Stucky Venice? Here's what the Point Explorer tool shows as the days you'll get the cheapest award rates:
Playing your cards right means snagging a room for 53,000 points per night. After receiving the welcome bonus, you could spend a few nights at this fantastic property at that lower rate.
If one thing's for sure, your Hilton Honors points can go pretty far, but you might have to do some digging and be flexible on your dates to make it happen. And redeeming points in five-night increments will further stretch their value, thanks to the Hilton fifth-night free benefit on points stays for anyone with any level of elite status — which you'll have with this card.
Related: Things We Love About the Hilton Honors Rewards Program
Application Restrictions
American Express has a “once per lifetime” rule for welcome bonuses on its cards, but that doesn't mean you can't apply for the Hilton Surpass if you have another Hilton credit card. As per the application page:
“You may not be eligible to receive a welcome offer if you have or have had this Card or the Hilton Honors Amex Ascend Card or previous versions of these Cards. You also may not be eligible to receive a welcome offer based on various factors, such as your history with credit card balance transfers, your history as an American Express Card Member, the number of credit cards that you have opened and closed and other factors.”
American Express will let you know if you're ineligible to receive the welcome bonus before you submit your application. If you see a popup stating ineligibility, you can withdraw your application or continue anyway — a nice feature of the revamped Amex application process.
Moreover, you can only have five American Express credit cards at a time, and you're unlikely to be approved for more than two cards in a 90-day period.
Related: Understanding Rewards Credit Card Application Rules and Restrictions
Cards That Compete With the Hilton Surpass
Part of any credit card strategy is weighing your options when it's time to add a new card to your arsenal. If you're intrigued by the Hilton Surpass but can't see it helping you meet your financial and travel goals, here are a few other cards to consider:
- If you routinely stay at Hilton properties and want more perks, you might get more mileage from the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card and its top-tier benefits. Complimentary Diamond elite status, 14X points per $1 spent on Hilton purchases, hundreds of dollars in spending credits, and an annual Free Night Reward only scratch the surface of what this card offers. For true Hilton loyalists, the $550 annual fee can be well worth the cost. Check out our Hilton Aspire review to learn more.
- If you want to earn Hilton points without an annual fee, look into the Hilton Honors American Express Card. Despite seeing $0 in the annual fee column (Rates & Fees), the card isn't devoid of perks. You'll receive automatic Silver status, a fifth night free on points stays, and earn 7X on Hilton spending. Our Hilton Amex review has more information.
- If you spend a lot on travel but want to earn points you can use with more than just Hilton, the American Express® Green Card is an excellent wallet companion. For a modest $150 annual fee, you'll earn 3X Membership Rewards on travel, transit, and dining purchases, which is an excellent return. With the Membership Rewards points earned from this card, you can redeem points in the travel portal or transfer points to 21 airline and hotel partners, including transfers to Hilton Honors at a 1:2 ratio. Read our full Amex Green Card review to learn more.
- 14X Hilton Honors Bonus Points for each dollar of eligible purchases charged on your Card directly with a hotel or resort within the Hilton Portfolio
- 7X Hilton Honors Bonus Points on flights booked directly with airlines or amextravel.com, car rentals booked directly through select rental companies, and at U.S. restaurants
- 3X Hilton Honors Bonus Points for all other eligible purchases on your Card
(Terms apply)
- Earn 7X Points per dollar on eligible purchases charged directly with a hotel or resort within the Hilton Honors portfolio of brands
- Earn 5X Points per dollar on eligible purchases at U.S. restaurants, at U.S. supermarkets, and at U.S. gas stations
- Earn 3X Points for all other eligible purchases on your Card.
- 3x Membership Rewards® on travel
- 3x Membership Rewards® at restaurants worldwide, including takeout and delivery in the U.S.
- 3x Membership Rewards® on transit including trains, buses, ferries, subways, and more
- 1x Membership Rewards® on other purchases
Related: Which Hilton Honors Credit Card Is Right for You?
Final Thoughts
Of all the hotel cards out there, the Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card remains one of the best mid-tier co-branded hotel credit cards you can have. Packed with some quality bonus categories that reward a wide range of spending, a healthy list of Hilton benefits, and perks that outweigh the annual fee, the Hilton Surpass might be hard to pass up if you stay at Hilton properties at least once per quarter.
- Earn 130,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points after you spend $3,000 in purchases on the Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card in your 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 Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card.
- Spend $40,000 on eligible purchases on your Card in a calendar year and you can earn Hilton Honors™ Diamond Status through the end of the next calendar year.
- 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.
- $150 annual fee.
- 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
For rates and fees of the cards mentioned in this post, please visit the following links: Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card (Rates & Fees), and Hilton Honors American Express Card (Rates & Fees)
The comments on this page are not provided, reviewed, or otherwise approved by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.
