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The Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card and IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card feature valuable welcome offers and provide a practical mix of brand-specific perks, mid-range hotel status, tangible travel benefits, a decent return on hotel spending, and competitive annual fees.
Today, we’ll take a look at both of these offers and see how they stack up. We’ll compare the current welcome bonuses, cardmember perks and benefits, the return on spending, and the eligibility rules and restrictions for each card.
IHG One Rewards Premier Card and Hilton Surpass at a Glance
IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card
- Annual fee of $99.
- Anniversary free night certificate worth up to 40,000 points.
- Automatic Platinum Elite status.
- TSA PreCheck, Global Entry, or NEXUS statement credit.
- No foreign transaction fees.
- Our Best Offer of 2025! Earn 5 Free Nights
- Enjoy an Anniversary Free Night at IHG Hotels & Resorts. Plus, enjoy a fourth reward night free when you redeem points for a consecutive four-night IHG® hotel stay.
- Earn up to 26 total points per $1 spent when you stay at IHG Hotels & Resorts
- Earn 5 points per $1 spent on purchases on travel, at gas stations, and restaurants. Earn 3 points per $1 spent on all other purchases
- Automatic Platinum Elite status as long as you remain a Premier cardmember
- Global Entry, TSA PreCheck® or NEXUS Statement Credit of up to $120 every 4 years as reimbursement for the application fee charged to your card
- IHG One Rewards Bonus points are redeemable at Hotels & Resorts such as InterContinental®, Crowne Plaza®, Kimpton®, EVEN® Hotels, Indigo® Hotels & Holiday Inn®
- Member FDIC
- Rates & Fees
- Earn 26 points total per $1 spent when you stay at an IHG hotel
- 5X points per $1 spent on purchases on travel, gas stations, and restaurants
- 3X points per $1 spent on all other purchases
The earning for spending at IHG hotels breaks down as follows:
- Earn 10X points for being a IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card member
- Earn 6X points from IHG® with Platinum Elite Status, a benefit of having this card
- Earn 10X points from IHG® for being an IHG® One Rewards member (Being a cardholder is not required to earn this bonus for participating in the IHG® loyalty program)
Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card
- Annual fee of $0 intro annual fee for the first year, then $150 (Rates & Fees).
- Free night after spending $15,000 in a calendar year.
- Automatic Hilton Honors™ Gold status.
- Up to $200 in annual Hilton credits.
- National Car Rental Emerald Club Executive status.
- No foreign transaction fees (Rates & Fees).
- Enrollment is required for select Amex benefits.
- 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. Offer Ends 8/13/2025.
- 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.
- $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $150.
- 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
IHG One Rewards Premier Card and Hilton Surpass: Welcome Offers
Taking into account that IHG and Hilton points carry roughly the same value in AwardWallet user redemptions, the IHG One Rewards Premier Card has a slight edge, thanks to its higher welcome offer. This is especially true when you consider that the higher offer also comes with a lower annual fee.
To be fair, bonuses on these cards change semi-regularly. However, the offer on IHG's card is often higher than Hilton's card, providing further value.
IHG One Rewards Premier Card and Hilton Surpass Cardholder Benefits
IHG One Rewards Premier Card
- Anniversary free night certificate. This is added to the cardholder's account following the account anniversary. The certificate is valid at any IHG property and is worth up to 40,000 points. It can be topped off with additional IHG points.
- Fourth night free on award bookings. Cardholders can book three nights and receive the fourth night free of charge.
- Automatic IHG One Rewards Platinum Elite status. This status offers benefits such as priority check-in, free Wi-Fi, 60% bonus points on paid stays, guaranteed room availability, a welcome amenity at check-in, complimentary upgrades, early check-in, and late check-out (all subject to availability).
- Global Entry, TSA PreCheck, or NEXUS credit. Receive a statement credit when you use your card to apply for one of these security screening programs. This credit can be used once every four years and is worth up to $120.
- $100 statement credit and 10,000 bonus points. These are applied to your account for each calendar year during which you spend at least $20,000 on the card.
- No foreign transaction fees. This helps ensure you're not spending unnecessary money when traveling overseas.
- Travel and purchase benefits. These include baggage delay insurance, lost luggage reimbursement, trip cancellation/interruption insurance, and purchase protection.
Related: IHG One Rewards Premier Card full review
Hilton Surpass
- Complimentary Hilton Honors™ Gold status. At this status level, you'll receive an 80% points earning bonus on Hilton stays, room upgrades (depending on availability), daily food and beverage credits, and more.
- $200 Hilton credits annually. You'll receive up to $50 in statement credits each quarter for purchases at one of the many properties in the Hilton Honors program.
- National Car Rental Emerald Club Executive status. 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. To take advantage of this perk, you will need to enroll via your Amex online account.
- Free Night Award after spending $15,000 in a calendar year. This is a significant amount of spending to earn a free night; however, it may be worth it since Hilton's free night certificates can be used at nearly any Hilton property.
- No foreign transaction fees.
- Travel and purchase benefits. These include secondary car rental insurance, baggage insurance, the Global Assist hotline, purchase protection, extended warranty, and a complimentary ShopRunner membership for two-day shipping with numerous merchants after enrollment.
Related: Hilton Surpass full review
Benefit Comparison
There are some overlapping benefits that each card offers, like complimentary mid-tier status, no foreign transaction fees, and travel and purchase benefits. But there are also many ways that they differ.
Choosing which card has the best benefits depends on several factors, including the other cards in your wallet. For example, if you currently hold The Platinum Card® from American Express, you won’t get much value from the Hilton Surpass‘ complimentary Hilton Gold status since the Amex Platinum also offers this benefit, available after enrollment.
Similarly, if you have any of the plethora of other cards that offer a Global Entry or TSA PreCheck credit, this IHG One Rewards Premier Card benefit isn't particularly valuable. However, using it for NEXUS might be worthwhile if you visit Canada semi-regularly.
However, the hero benefit of the IHG One Rewards Premier Card is the anniversary free night, which is typically valuable enough to cover the cost of the card’s annual fee. Plus, you'll receive the fourth night free on award stays, which makes these benefits quite valuable. It's important to note that the anniversary free night and the fourth-night-free benefit cannot be combined into one reservation.
When it comes to benefits that make up for the annual fee, the annual $200 Hilton credit on the Hilton Surpass fits this bill, assuming you're planning to spend at least $50 quarterly at Hilton properties.
IHG One Rewards Premier Card and Hilton Surpass Return on Spending
IHG One Rewards Premier Card
The earning potential on the IHG One Rewards Premier Card looks like this:
- Earn 26 points total per $1 spent when you stay at an IHG hotel
- 5X points per $1 spent on purchases on travel, gas stations, and restaurants
- 3X points per $1 spent on all other purchases
The earning for spending at IHG hotels breaks down as follows:
- Earn 10X points for being a IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card member
- Earn 6X points from IHG® with Platinum Elite Status, a benefit of having this card
- Earn 10X points from IHG® for being an IHG® One Rewards member (Being a cardholder is not required to earn this bonus for participating in the IHG® loyalty program)
Hilton Surpass
The earning potential on the Hilton Surpass breaks down as follows:
- 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
You'll also earn 10 base points per $1 spent with Hilton, as well as 8 points per $1 spent with your Gold status. That yields a total of 30x on spending with Hilton.
Both of these cards offer an exceptional return on spending with their respective hotel brands. The Hilton Surpass has a slight edge with bonus categories that aren't restricted to the U.S.
IHG One Rewards Premier Card and Hilton Surpass Application Eligibility
Hilton Surpass
The primary restriction on American Express cards is that they have a “once per lifetime” rule for welcome bonuses. However, this 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 (via a pop-up window) before you submit your application, allowing you to withdraw your application or continue anyway, Additional rules include a limit of five American Express credit cards at a time and unlikely approval for more than two cards in a 90-day period.
Related: Understanding Rewards Credit Card Application Rules and Restrictions
IHG One Rewards Premier Card
Like all Chase cards, the IHG One Rewards Premier Card is subject to Chase’s 5/24 policy. If you’ve opened five or more personal credit cards in the last 24 months, you won’t be approved for this card. Furthermore, you'll see these terms on the application page:
“This product is not available to either (i) current cardmembers of any IHG® Rewards credit card, or (ii) previous cardmembers of any IHG® Rewards credit card who received a new cardmember bonus for this credit card within the last 24 months.”
Thus, if you currently have this or another personal IHG card or received a welcome bonus on one in the past 24 months, you won't be eligible. If you are sitting at 4/24 and you’ve had your eye on a new hotel card, we’d recommend thinking about the sequencing of your applications. If you apply for the Hilton Surpass first, you then won’t qualify for the IHG One Rewards Premier Card as you’ll be at 5/24.
However, if you apply for the IHG One Rewards Premier Card first, you are still eligible for the Hilton Surpass — provided you meet the other qualification criteria.
Final Thoughts
The reality is that both cards feature top welcome offers and provide perks and benefits that justify holding the cards over the long term. For folks who are under 5/24, we’d recommend rounding out your Chase portfolio with the IHG One Rewards Premier Card before moving on to Amex and other issuers.
If you’re over 5/24 and looking to add some big value to your rewards portfolio, it’s hard to pass on the Hilton Surpass.
Whichever choice you make, you're getting a solid card with a moderate annual fee and some great benefits.
For rates and fees of the cards mentioned in this post, please visit the following links: IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card (Rates & Fees), and Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card (Rates & Fees)
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