Hilton HHonors - Hilton Surpass spending

If I upgrade my American Express to the Surpass does my spending follow it for the year? I have reached gold with spend limit and may be able to reach diamond.

If I upgrade my American Express to the Surpass does my spending follow it for the year? I have reached gold with spend limit and may be able to reach diamond.

It makes sense to me.

If I upgrade my American Express to the Surpass does my spending follow it for the year? I have reached gold with spend limit and may be able to reach diamond.

Did when I downgraded, they didn't change the card number.

Yes, definitely. I upgraded 3 years ago with no problem and got Diamond mid year.

Also, as we are moderate travelers (leisure - a few weeks a year) is it worth obtaining diamond for the benefits or would we better off switching spending elsewhere? We may do some additional travel next year.

Also, as we are moderate travelers (leisure - a few weeks a year) is it worth obtaining diamond for the benefits or would we better off switching spending elsewhere? We may do some additional travel next year.

FWIW, if you're not traveling much for business, Gold is best. Free wi-fi, breakfast, etc. Diamond just guarentees 72hr room guarantee(?).

Also, as we are moderate travelers (leisure - a few weeks a year) is it worth obtaining diamond for the benefits or would we better off switching spending elsewhere? We may do some additional travel next year.

Major benefits of Diamond over Gold (IMO) are guaranteed lounge access (even if you are not upgraded to Executive room) and suite upgrades. I am hitting about 50% on suite upgrades. Both these benefits apply at the higher-end Hilton brands. Diamonds also get more points for a given stay, but if you only have a small amount of travel, this likely won't amount to much.

Also, as we are moderate travelers (leisure - a few weeks a year) is it worth obtaining diamond for the benefits or would we better off switching spending elsewhere? We may do some additional travel next year.

I am in the same boat as you. I don't travel for business, just a few weeks per year on leisure travel with family. I had been Diamond ever since the Surpass card came out, and so far I have ZERO suite upgrade. I think the chance of upgrade has a lot to do with place, date, and length of stay. If you do business travel to non-resort type destination on a weekday for a single night, I think the chance of suite upgrade is pretty high. But all my stays are 4+ nights at a popular destination on holidays or weekends, it is lucky that I could even find standard reward nights now that Diamond force for reward stay is gone.

As for guarantee executive lounge access, it doesn't really matter to me. Most of the resorts I had been to don't even have a lounge. And when they do, I don't really want to hang out with my family in there. I would rather be by the pool or beach on my vacation.

I think Gold is probably just as good as Diamond.

I'm in a similar situation as fozziedoggie - a moderate user of Hilton. I've been Gold since 2000 through a hodgepodge of means - comps due to promos, comps due to airline statuses, comps that I can't explain at all, and finally the credit card.

This year, I finally decided to make a Diamond run. My rationale was as follows:

- Using the HH Amex for $40,000 in general spending netted slightly under four points per dollar.
- My baseline value for a general-spend credit card is 1 Starpoint per dollar.
- I value SPG at about 5x HH. A little under a nickel vs. a little under a penny for my typical uses of points.

Thus I figure I spent around $400 for Diamond status. (40,000 SPG = $2,000. 160,000 HH = $1,600.)

My planned uses for the Diamond status between now and early 2014 are likely to be 1 to 2 weeks in resort hotels (Europe, Asia) on award stays, maybe 7-10 total nights of regular city Hilton stays (EU, U.S./Canada) on awards or cheap rates, and maybe a scattered business stay here or there.

So I figure if one of the two resort weeks is a big hit (suite or other Diamond upgrade that a Gold typically wouldn't get), it's a win right there. If I start running into hotels that are stingy on Gold lounge access, then it's probably a win there as well.

And last but not least...because I wouldn't lay out $400 for just any hotel status...I'm likely to cycle out of at least Marriott Platinum and maybe also Starwood Platinum by 2014. So this becomes my only meaningful top-tier, something that will always be important on leisure/resort stays more than anything.

I don't anticipate using the Diamond guaranteed rooms, but obviously if that happens I'll be thrilled. I know Marriott has so many ways of "gaming" that guarantee that every time I call them for it, I'm denied. Even when I call them for a crappy college-town Fairfield Inn, they've got an excuse to not honor it.

After 2014, I'll decide if it's worth another $400. Kind of depends if I've ramped back up to another good top-tier status and what my stash of redeemable HH points looks like. (Right now, it's pretty deep and awaiting some big redemptions.)

- I value SPG at about 5x HH. A little under a nickel vs. a little under a penny for my typical uses of points.

Thus I figure I spent around $400 for Diamond status. (40,000 SPG = $2,000. 160,000 HH = $1,600.)


I think your SPG points to $ conversion value is really high. For 40000 SPG points, I figure I could stay about 2 nights in a CAT 6 hotel. That would be about $600 to $1000 for 2 nights depending on location and date. And if the SPG points are converted to airline tickets, it would be about 2 domestic economy tickets which would be about $500 to $1000 total. I really don't see how 40000 SPG points would worth anywhere close to $2000. How do you normally use SPG points to get $2000 worth?

With 160000 HH points, it would be enough for a 4 nights CAT 7 stay using AXON7 code with 15000 points left over. 4 nights at CAT 7 would be around $1000 to $2000. So your $1600 value is right in the middle and I agree.

Years ago I switched from Amex SPG to Amex HH because HH earn free nights way faster than SPG just using everyday (non-hotel) credit card spending.

My two typical uses of Starpoints are C&P nights and 5-night awards.

The highest value-per-point for me has been on C&P, but 5-nighters in the middle categories can do fairly well too. I rarely redeem Category 6 - maybe a special one-night stay once a year where I don't mind a lower value-per-point.

Countries with high hotel taxes can be good places to use points. Places where the USD is weak can also be good - at least outside of the big European cities where the hotels are all a category or two higher than where they should be.

I have four short Starwood stays reserved for later this fall that are all between 4 and 5 cpp - midcategory C&P mostly.

My favorite HH use is resort AXON/GLON type stays... Unlike with Starwood, where I seem to gravitate towards their Cat 3-4-5 range, I like the highest category Hiltons I can find.

Also, as we are moderate travelers (leisure - a few weeks a year) is it worth obtaining diamond for the benefits or would we better off switching spending elsewhere? We may do some additional travel next year.

There is at least one thread dedicated to that topic in this forum.

I think it depends on the properties you stay at. If you stay at mainly hamptons and HGI's and ES's that don't have lounges and standard breakfast for all and don't give suite upgrades, then it isn't worth going out of your way for if you don't use the diamond force.

If you stay mainly at properties that have lounges and/or have a good reputation for giving suite upgrades could be worth it. Some properties will also give you better breakfasts (DT times square gives diamond the hot buffet for free, SF union square allows diamonds the option of the contential buffet in the restaurant where golds only get the starbuck option and dhe DT in new orleans by Harrahs has always given me the full buffet for free for breakfast where golds usually only get continental).

Sometimes reward stays also have lower point redemption for diamonds. I like staying at the DT in times square every new years and the diamond desk has always helped me get a room on points (AXON this year), so that has been worth it for me right there.

I think the value of diamond status was greatly reduced by the elimination of the diamond force for standard award stays.