Category: Hilton

February 2023 Update

2/12/2023

Not that many exciting new signup promotions recently, but we still keep making updates throughout the site. Here is a summary of some important updates.

BofA Alaska Airlines Visa received a revamp with a historical best offer of 70,000 miles + $99 companion pass.
Delta introduced a new perk for all its cobranded cards (Delta Gold Amex, Delta Platinum Amex, Delta Reserve Amex): 15% off miles for awards travel on Delta flights.
Amex elevated signup bonuses on all the Hilton cobranded cards: 100,000 points for Hilton Amex, 150,000 points for Hilton Surpass, and 165,000 points for Hilton Business Amex.
Capital One rebranded Spark Travel Elite as Venture X Business Card, which shares almost all the features as the personal Venture X Card.
Chase Aeroplan Visa saw another 100,000 miles offer, but with a high $20K spending requirement.

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A few 80,000 points/miles offers & Top 10 list updated

10/18/2022

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A few more recent good signup offers.
Chase Sapphire Reserve now offers 80,000 points at signup - the second best offer after the initial incredible 100,000 points when introduced in 2016.
Citi AA Executive WEMC offers 80,000 miles - the second best offer after 100,000 miles a few years ago.
Barclays AA Aviator Business MC offers 80,000 miles + $95 credit - the historical high.
Barclays Miles & More MC offers 80,000 miles - the historical high.
With some changes in signup bonuses (we look at the historical trend in the recent couple of years) and rewards program valuation, our Top 10 list received some slight updates. Below is the before and after comparison. As you can see, Sapphire Preferred and Aeroplan MC switch places, while Hilton Aspire Amex replaces Barclays JetBlue Plus as the No. 10 card on the list.

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Amex Hilton points + free night offers (three cards) & Chase Southwest points + Companion Pass offers (three cards)

2/13/2022

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Amex has introduced some amazing signup offers for its Hilton Honors cobranded credit cards, arguably the best we have seen:

Amex Hilton Honors Surpass Card ($95 annual fee): 130,000 points + one free night (our value $775)
Amex Hilton Honors Card (no annual fee): 70,000 points + one free night (our value $630)
Amex Hilton Honors BUSINESS card: ($95 annual fee): 130,000 points + one free night (our value $775)
Note that the high-end Amex Hilton Honors Aspire Card ($450 annual fee, effectively $175) continues to offer 150,000 points + one free weekend night (our value $775), even though the free weekend night upon signup is not advertised as usual.
These free night certificate expires after 12 months of issuance. Hilton's most expensive hotels require 95,000~120,000 points or $400 to over $1,000 in cash per night. Here are some examples of exceptional redemption for free nights: Waldorf Astoria Maldives, Waldorf Astoria Los Cabos Pedregal, Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills, Waldorf Astoria Monarch Beach, Waldorf Astoria Amsterdam, Grand Wailea - A Waldorf Astoria Resort, Waldorf Astoria Chicago, Waldorf Astoria Park City (in peak seasons), Conrad Bora Bora Nui, Conrad Maldives Rangali Island, Conrad Koh Samui, Conrad Punta de Mita, Conrad New York Midtown, Conrad Tokyo, Zemi Beach House - LXR Hotels & Resorts, Oceana Santa Monica - LXR Hotels & Resorts, The Biltmore Mayfair - LXR Hotels & Resorts, Cliffrose Springdale - Curio Collection, Hilton Seychelles Labriz, and Hilton Seychelles Northolme.

Chase has some amazing signup offers too. These offers give you Southwest Companion Pass status through 2/28/2023. Companion Pass is Southwest's potentially extremely lucrative top-tier elite status that allows you take a companion free of airline charges (not including taxes and government fees) on any Southwest operated flight as many times as you want and is normally achieved by flying 100 qualified one-way segments or earning 125,000 qualifying points in a calendar year.

Chase Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus Visa ($69 annual fee): 30,000 points + Companion Pass through 2/28/2023 after you spend $5,000 within the first 3 months (our value $920)
Chase Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Visa ($99 annual fee): 30,000 points + Companion Pass through 2/28/2023 after you spend $5,000 within the first 3 months (our value $890)
Chase Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority Visa ($149 annual fee): 30,000 points + Companion Pass through 2/28/2023 after you spend $5,000 within the first 3 months (our value $840)

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Best bonus ever for Hilton Amex, Hilton Surpass Amex, Hilton Business Amex ($100+100K points, $150+150K points)

1/31/2021

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Amex and Hilton have brought the best bonuses ever for the cobranded Hilton Amex, Hilton Surpass Amex, and Hilton Business Amex:

Amex Hilton ($0): $100 statement credit after your first purchase & 100,000 points after you spend $1,000 within the first 3 months of new account opening (our value $500)
Amex Hilton Surpass ($95): $150 statement credit after your first purchase & 150,000 points after you spend $2,000 within the first 3 months of new account opening (our value $655)
Amex Hilton Business Card ($95): $150 statement credit after your first purchase & 150,000 points after you spend $2,000 within the first 3 months of new account opening (our value $655)

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Amex, Chase, and Citi bring COVID-19 related adjustments to credit card products

5/2/2020

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COVID-19 pandemic has obviously changed consumer behavior big time, and it makes sense that credit card issuers are making adjustments accordingly. This post summarizes these adjustments from Amex, Chase, and Citi.

American Express

For those who open a credit card (personal or small business) between 12/1/2019 and 5/31/2020, the period to meet spending requirement to receive signup bonus will be extended for three months.
Platinum Card (personal): up to $320 in statement credits on select U.S. streaming services and U.S. wireless phone services (up to $20 per category per month, from May through December 2020); cardmembers that renew between April and December 2020 will receive $200 in statement credits for Amex Travel (Amex's travel booking portal, from August 2020 to December 2021).
Business Platinum Card: up to $320 in statement credits on wireless phone services and U.S. shipping (up to $20 per category per month, from May to December 2020); up to additional $200 in statement credits on Dell purchases in U.S. (up to $100 from 5/1/2020 to 6/30/2020; up to $100 from 7/1/2020 to 12/31/2020) - this is on top of the $200 Dell credits that are already part of this card's benefits; select cardmembers will also receive a $200 credit when they renew between May and November 2020.
Green Card: up to $80 in statement credits on U.S. wireless phone services (up to $10 per month, from May through December 2020).
Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card: earn 6x points on U.S. supermarkets, up to $7,500 in purchase, from May through July 2020); $300 Marriott statement credits can now be used towards U.S. restaurants, from June through August 2020).
Marriott Bonvoy Business Card: select cardmembers will receive a $59 credit when they renew between May and December 2020.
Hilton Aspire Card & Hilton Surpass Card: earn 12x points on U.S. supermarkets, up to $7,500 in purchase, from May through July 2020; bonus points earned through these credit cards from May to December 2020 will be considered base points for determining Hilton elite status; unexpired free weekend night certificates as of 5/1/2020 and newer certificates issued until 12/31/2020, will be valid for any night of the week, and those issued between 5/1/2020 and 12/31/2020 will be valid for 24 months (instead of 12 months); in addition, Hilton Aspire's $250 Hilton resort credits can now be used towards U.S. restaurants, from June through August 2020.
Hilton Business Card: select cardmembers will receive a $50 credit when they renew between May and December 2020.
Delta SkyMiles Reserve, SkyMiles Platinum, SkyMiles Gold, SkyMiles Blue cards: earn 4x miles on U.S. supermarkets, from May through July 2020; select Business SkyMiles Reserve cardmembers will receive a $125 credit when they renew between May and December 2020; select Business SkyMiles Platinum cardmembers will also receive a $75 credit when they renew between May and December 2020.

Chase

For those who open a new credit card (personal or small business) from January through March 2020, the period to meet spending requirements to receive signup bonus will be extended for three months.
Sapphire Reserve Card: annual fees will be reduced from $550 to $450 for those who renew the card from 4/1/2020 through 7/31/2020; earn 5x points on groceries, up to $1,500 in purchases per month, from 5/1/2020 through 6/30/2020.
United Club Infinite Card, United Club Card, United Presidential Plus Card: earn 5x miles on groceries, up to $1,500 in purchase per month, from 5/1/2020 through 6/30/2020.
Marriott Bonvoy Boundless, Bonvoy Bold, Marriott Rewards Premier: earn 6x points on groceries, up to $6,000 in purchase, from 5/1/2020 through 7/31/2020.
The following cards will earn 3 points or miles on groceries, up to $1,500 in purchase per month, from 5/1/2020 through 6/30/2020: Sapphire Preferred Card, United Explorer Card, United MileagePlus Select Card, Southwest RapidRewards (RR) Plus Visa, Southwest RR Premier Visa, Southwest RR Priority Visa, British Airways Visa, Iberia Visa, Aer Lingus Visa, World of Hyatt Visa, Hyatt Visa, IHG Rewards Club Premier WEMC, IHG Rewards Club Select MasterCard, and Disney Premier Visa.

Citi

For those who open a credit card (personal or small business) between 12/1/2019 and 5/31/2020, the period to meet spending requirement to receive signup bonus will be extended for three months.
Citi Prestige: the annual $250 travel credits can now be used towards groceries and dining, from May to December 2020.
Citi AA Executive: cardholders that renew after 3/31/2020 will receive a $225 statement credit, which equals to half of the annual fee.
Citi AA Platinum Select: the annual $125 flight discount certificates (after $20K annual spending) that are expiring between 3/31/2020 and 5/31/2020 will be extended for 6 months.
CitiBusiness AA Platinum Select: the annual $99 companion certificates (after $30K annual spending) that are expiring on 12/31/2020 will be extended for 6 months.

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Amex also has major changes in protection benefits effective January 1, 2020

11/17/2019

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After Citi's September overhaul and Barclay's November overhaul of their credit card protection benefits, Amex will also have some major changes coming on January 1, 2020. Here are the breakdowns of the upcoming changes.

Trip Cancellation & Interruption: added to Platinum Card (personal and business), Delta Reserve (personal and business), Hilton Aspire, and Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant. This covers trips cancelled or interrupted due to weather, terrorism, sudden illness or injury, jury duty, up to $10,000 per trip and $20,000 per year. In addition to tickets paid entirely with an Amex card, awards tickets and Pay with Points tickets are covered as well.
Trip Delay: added to Platinum Card (personal and business), Delta Reserve (personal and business), Hilton Aspire, and Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant, for flight delays more than 6 hours, up to $500 per ticket. Also added to Gold Card (personal and business), Green Card, and Delta Platinum (personal and business), for flight delays more than 12 hours, up to $300 per ticket. In addition to tickets paid entirely with an Amex card, awards tickets and Pay with Points tickets are covered as well.
Travel Accident Insurance: removed from all cards!
Roadside Assistance: removed from all cards! For most cards it is not big deal, as the benefit only dispatches a service provider and you still have to pay for the service. However, certain premium Amex cards such as Platinum Card (personal and business), Gold Card (personal and business), Delta Reserve (personal and business), Hilton Aspire, and Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant currently offer Premium Roadside Assistance which covers towing up to 10 miles and other incidentals for free, for up to 4 times per year, and this benefit will be gone as well! Many cardholders including myself, actually use the Premium Roadside Assistance in lieu of AAA's basic plan, and in 2020 they have to look into alternatives such as Chase Sapphire Reserve (which unfortunately only covers up to $50 per use) or start paying AAA once again.
Return Protection: removed from all cards except for Platinum Card (personal and business), Delta Reserve (personal and business), Hilton Aspire, Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant, Blue Cash Preferred, EveryDay Preferred, and Plum Card (business).
Extended Warranty: coverage will be reduced from two years of extended warranty down to one year. Remember Amex actually just increased the coverage from one year to two years back in August 2018, and in 2020 the only card issuer that continue to offer two years of extended warranty is Citi (and only for certain cards). What is more, this benefit will be removed entirely for EveryDay Card, Blue Card, Blue Cash Card, and Cash Magnet.
Purchase Protection: coverage will be reduced from 120 days back to 90 days. The same story here - Amex just increased the coverage from 90 days to 120 days in August 2018. The coverage usually covers only theft or damage, up to $1,000 per item and $50,000 per year, but Amex will add accidental loss and increase the per item limit to $10,000 for Platinum Card (personal and business), Gold Card (personal and business), Delta Reserve (personal and business), Hilton Aspire, and Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant.

Overall, the changes are mixed - some gain and some loss - but not as bad as Citi's drastic devaluation. The cards that benefit from the changes are probably limited to those with an annual fee at least $450 - Platinum Card (personal and business), Delta Reserve (personal and business), Hilton Aspire, and Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant; the rest of the cards are generally considered to receive reduced coverage. We think most cardholders will be unhappy about the changes. We will update our Protection page once these changes kick in.

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A few updates on the website...

8/24/2019

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There are quite a few updates on the website in the recent weeks, and here is a quick roundup.

Chase Southwest Performance Business Visa write-up is up - please see the Chase Southwest Visa Cards review for details. The impressive 80K points signup will get you really close to the 110K-point qualifying threshold to achieve the potentially extremely lucrative Southwest Companion Pass which allows you take a companion for free for a year.
Amex Blue Business Cash review is up - this card is no the new benchmark for general business spending with a strait 2% cashback on everything up to $50K spent per year and no annual fees. If you can leverage Membership Rewards' miles transfer feature to achieve a points value higher than 1 cent a piece (1.5 cents in our book), you'd better off with the old "King of Business Cards" Amex Blue Business Plus; however, for most business owners, Blue Business Cash is a much easier option to get $1,000 in rewards per year.
U.S. Bank Business Cash WEMC review is up. Its 3.75% & 1.25% cash rewards structure is nothing to write about, but the $500 signup bonus is worth looking into.
Chase Marriott Bonvoy Bold Visa review is up. If you can take advantage of the annual free night capped at 35K redemption level, the $95 Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Visa is actually a better card to apply and keep.
Chase United Explorer Business Visa is offering up to 100,000 miles at signup. Before get too excited, you have to know that this comes with a rather difficult spending requirement of $25K within 6 months of new account opening. Even with the devaluation of United miles in the coming November, due to the fact that partner redemption will be kept the same, this signup offer (worth $1,250 in our book) still tops our chart of best signup bonuses.
Chase IHG Premier MasterCard offers the historical high - 125K points & $50 statement credit & 15 extra points for IHG purchase for the first year & 2 extra points for other general spending for the first year. However, due to the relative low value of IHG points, this signup offer is worth about $460 in our book.
Amex Hilton Ascend has been rebranded back to Amex Hilton Surpass, and nothing else changed. It still comes with 130K Hilton points at signup (worth $425 in our book), complimentary Hilton Gold status, and an annual free weekend night after $15K spending.
Amex Platinum Card offers 75K Membership Rewards at signup now. It is very decent offer for those who are also interested in the iconic card's Fine Hotels & Resorts program, arguably the best airport lounge program offered by a credit card, Hilton Gold status, Uber & Saks credits, 5x points on airfare, etc.

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Amex Hilton Cards have increased welcome bonus

9/7/2018

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Amex has increased welcome bonuses on the Hilton co-branded credit cards, for a limited time. The landing page for all four cards is here.

Amex Hilton Aspire Card ($450) 150K + one free night @ signup
Amex Hilton Ascend Card ($95) 125K
Amex Hilton Business Card ($95) 125K
Amex Hilton Card ($0) 75K

Even with the highest annual fee, Amex Hilton Aspire Card, our #2 Credit Card for Perks, will be our recommendation as long as you stay at Hilton portfolio hotels a few times a year, because other than the signup bonus, it offers $250 annual airline credit, $250 annual Hilton resort credit, one annual free weekend night (Friday/Saturday/Sunday), complimentary Hilton Diamond status (their top-tier elite status), Priority Pass Select membership for airport lounge access, premium roadside assistance (better than your regular AAA membership), etc. The free night can be redeemed at any Hilton portfolio hotels worldwide, and Hilton's most expensive hotels require 70,000 to 95,000 points or $400 to over $1,000 in cash per night. Some examples of exceptional redemption for the weekend free nights: Conrad Maldives, Conrad Koh Samui, Conrad Bora Bora Nui, Conrad Tokyo, Hilton Seychelles Labriz, Hilton Seychelles Northolme, Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills, Grand Wailea A Waldorf Astoria Resort, and Waldorf Astoria Park City (in peak seasons).

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March 26, 2017 Update - Chase Marriott Visa 107.5K, Amex Hilton Surpass 100K, Amex Hilton 80K, etc.

3/26/2017

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We have been continuing to make updates throughout the site. Here are some highlights.

Chase has brought to us the best signup bonus on its Marriott Visa personal card. You will receive 107,500 Marriott Rewards points after you spend $5,000 and add an authorized user within 3 months of new account opening. As the Marriott Rewards and Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) programs are on the way to integrate and allow points transfer between linked accounts at a ratio of 3:1, our valuation of Marriott Rewards points is now 0.75 cent per point, exactly a third of that of SPG points. The $85 annual fee is not waived, so this signup bonus is worth ~$720 in our book. 107,500 Marriott points can be transferred to 35,833 SPG points, and this offer is similar in value to Amex SPG which offers 35,000 SPG points with an annual fee waiver.
Amex has upped signup bonus of its Amex Hilton Surpass (annual fee $75) and regular Amex Hilton (no annual fee): Surpass offers 100K points upon signup plus a free weekend night at select Hilton Worldwide hotels after you pay the second annual fee; the regular Hilton Amex offers 80K points on signup. As our valuation of Hilton points is 0.4 cent per point, the signup bonus is worth $325 for Surpass and $320 for regular Hilton Amex, respectively. For the second year after paying the $75 annual fee, Surpass also gives a free night, which can invaluable. Both signup offers are the best in history.

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Citi is enhancing travel and consumer protection across its credit card products effective May 15, 2016

4/23/2016

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When I was writing the featured review "All About Credit Card Travel and Consumer Protection", like millions Citicard members, I received emails from Citi informing me of changes of protection benefit provider coming May 15, 2016. After I went through the documents I was surprisingly pleased to learn that there are HUGE improvement across the board. First of all, please find links to the new benefit guides effective May 15, 2016:

Now let's look at the improvements that will kick in as of May 15, 2016.

Several travel protection benefits (Trip Cancelation & Interruption, Trip Delay, Lost Baggage, Baggage Delay) and consumer protection benefits (Citi Price Rewind, Purchase Protection, Return Protection, Extended Warranty, Event Ticket Protection) will be available as long as a portion of the purchase is paid by your Citi Card or ThankYou points. While we don't normally charge a purchase partially to a credit card when buying consumer products, many of us pay a relatively small amount of fees and taxes when booking an awards ticket using frequent flyer miles. The implication that an award ticket is eligible to receive travel protection is pretty huge. Currently, like most credit card issuers Citi requires you pay in full to receive this type of protection, and Chase is the only issuer we are aware of to allow award tickets.
Currently, Citi covers you (the card holder), your spouse/DP, and underaged children, for all travel protection. Citi is extending cover persons for most travel protection, except Travel Accident Insurance, to include the card holder, family members, and traveling companion(s). Family members are defined as your children, spouse, fiancée, Domestic Partner and their children, including adopted children or step-children; legal guardians or wards; siblings or siblings-in-law; son-in-law or daughter-in-law; parents or parents-in-law; grandparents or grandchildren; aunts or uncles; nieces or nephews. As you can see, just as with Chase Cards, the definition of family members is very wide. Also like with Chase Cards, your family members will be covered even when you are not traveling with them. In addition, Citi is providing coverage for traveling companions, which I believe is the first among credit card issuers.
For the first time ever, Extended Warranty provided by a credit card will be two years, one year more than the current offering. In addition, Citi will covers up to a total of 7 years, leading the current industry best by 2 years! The latter matters when you purchase a long warranty with the original manufacturer.
Citi Price Rewind's limit is increased from $300 to $500 per item, and from $1,200 to $2,500 per year.

As you can see, these improvements are very exciting, and we hope that other issuers follow suit. We will be re-evaluating our ranking of credit cards for protection in May once the new benefits kick in.

© 2016 DrCreditCard.net All rights reserved.

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February 2023 Update

A few 80,000 points/miles offers & Top 10 list updated

Amex Hilton points + free night offers (three cards) & Chase Southwest points + Companion Pass offers (three cards)

Best bonus ever for Hilton Amex, Hilton Surpass Amex, Hilton Business Amex ($100+100K points, $150+150K points)

Amex, Chase, and Citi bring COVID-19 related adjustments to credit card products

Amex also has major changes in protection benefits effective January 1, 2020

A few updates on the website...

Amex Hilton Cards have increased welcome bonus

March 26, 2017 Update - Chase Marriott Visa 107.5K, Amex Hilton Surpass 100K, Amex Hilton 80K, etc.

Citi is enhancing travel and consumer protection across its credit card products effective May 15, 2016

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