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By: Frank – @dugup46 – As of this morning DoctorOfCredit is reporting the American Express Hilton Surpass sign-up bonus has increased to 85,000 points. This sets a new all time high for the card. The Surpass typically offers a sign-up bonus of 60,000 points, so the extra 25k is quite high! Just remember, Amex card bonuses are once a lifetime. Continue reading below to see why or why not you should investigate this card further.
Hilton HHonors (similar to IHGs point system) has always been a bit complicated to understand. Since there can be no de facto value assigned to points, some hotels feel “the more points, the better!” and that’s the case here. 85,000 is the highest bonus ever offered on the Surpass card. While 85,000 may only get you one night in a super high end property, it can also net you three nights in a fantastic location if you go off-season! There are a few other perks as well with the card though that could potentially make it worthwhile, if you like Hilton properties.
What all do I get?
- 85,000 after spending $3,000 in the first 3 months
- $75 annual fee, not waived the first year
- 12x points at Hilton properties
- 6x points at restaurants, supermarkets, and gas stations
- 3x points on all other purchases
- Hilton Gold status (Diamond after $40,000 in spend annually)
What does 85,000 HHonors points get me?
That is the question. What exactly does 85k Hilton points get you? Let’s assume you are able to meet your minimal spend in the 6x points categories. $3,000 equates to 18,000 additional points – giving you a total of 103,000 HHonnors points. Now, let’s take a closer look at the award chart to see where you can go with those points:
| Hilton HHonors Award Redemption Categories | |
|---|---|
| Hotel Category | Points per Night |
| One | 5,000 |
| Two | 10,000 |
| Three | 20,000 |
| Four | 20,000-30,000 |
| Five | 30,000-40,000 |
| Six | 30,000-50,000 |
| Seven | 30,000-60,000 |
| Eight | 40,000-70,000 |
| Nine | 50,000-80,000 |
| Ten | 70,000-95,000 |
So, 100k points won’t get you very far if you want to stay at the Conrad in the Maldives; however, you can get a couple nights at some pretty nice properties. Looking at hotels I found in this post by TravelisFree, we are able to at least get a few ideas of places to stay.
If you book off season you would be able to stay three nights at the Hilton Queenstown, Conrad Bali, Hilton Singapore, Hilton Tokyo, Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach, and a few others in London. You also need to remember that your 5th night is free! So you could stay 6 nights in a category 4 if you book off-season.
Closing Remarks
Will I be signing up for this card? Yes. The 85,000 offer doesn’t come around often, and I am running low on hotel awards. While I may not bite on the off-season rates (which can be a steal), I’m sure I will get $500+ value from the card even after paying the annual fee up front. Plus, you’ll need some hotels from all of those American Airline miles you have been gathering from the ongoing Citi AAdvantage card loophole we report on regularly.
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Editorial Disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are author's alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airlines or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.
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