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Ongoing offers for Hilton cards issued by Amex or Citi

Old Jun 12, 2013, 11:05 am
FlyerTalk Forums Expert How-Tos and Guides
Last edit by: vah4883
Limited-time offers
Hilton HHonors American Express card. 80,000 points for spending $2,000 in 3 months; no annual fee. Ends May 31, 2017
Hilton HHonors American Express Ascend card. 100,000 points for spending $3,000 ; $95 annual fee.
Hilton HHonors American Express card application page. 75,000 points for spending $1,000 in 3 months; no annual fee.
Public offer expired Feb 1, 2017 (this link brings up a page: "This campaign has expired. Thank you for your interest."), but Refer a Friend links still active. This one has the referral ID stripped out.

Citi HH Visa 40K application page (spend $1K/4 mos.)
  • This offer does not contain an explicit 24-month restriction.
    If you apply using this link & are not instantly approved, DO NOT CALL CITI.
    Calling in risks alerting Citi to the offer and having it withdrawn.

Ongoing offers
Amex HH Surpass Card
  • Annual fee: $75, no first-year waiver.
  • Signup bonus: 75K points for spending $3K in the first 3 months.
  • Earning: 12 HHonors points per dollar on Hilton spend; 6 points/$ at U.S. restaurants, supermarkets & gas stations; and 3 points/$ on everything else.
  • Elite status: Hilton Gold status for as long as you have the card and Diamond status after $40,000 in annual spend.
  • Booking bonus: 500 bonus points for every stay (including award stays) booked directly with Hilton & guaranteed with the card
  • Important limitation on this offer: "Welcome bonus offer not available to applicants who have or have had this product."

FlyerTalk discussion thread: The Hilton HHonors Surpass(SM) Card from American Express
Citi Hilton HHonors Reserve Card
  • Annual fee: $95, no first-year waiver.
  • Signup bonus: 2 free weekend nights after $2500 in spend within four months. These free nights are valid at all Hilton redemption categories, including Waldorf Astoria properties.
  • Anniversary bonus: 1 free weekend night each year after $10,000 in spend.
  • Earning: 10 HHonors points per dollar on Hilton spend, 5 points per dollar on air and car rental, and 3 on everything else.
  • Elite status: Hilton Gold status for as long as you have the card and Diamond status after $40,000 in annual spend.
  • No foreign currency transaction fees.
  • Important limitation on this offer: "Weekend Night Certificates offer is not available if you have had a Citi Hilton HHonors Card account that was opened or closed in the past 24 months.."

Flyertalk discussion thread: Citi Hilton HHonors Reserve Card
Citi HH Visa 60K application page. You can also apply by calling 1-866-615-2274.
  • No annual fee.
  • Signup bonus: 60K points for spending $1K in the first 4 months
  • Earning: 6 HHonors points per dollar on Hilton spend; 3 points/$ at U.S. supermarkets, drugstores & gas stations; and 2 points/$ on everything else.
  • Elite status: Hilton Silver status for as long as you have the card.
  • Fast track To Gold status: After four qualifying stays within your first 91 days of cardmembership, receive Gold status through the end of the following calendar year.
  • Important limitation on this offer: "Hilton HHonors Bonus Points offer not available if you have had a Citi Hilton HHonors Visa Signature Card account that was opened or closed in the past 24 months."

Flyertalk discussion thread: Citi Hilton HHonors VISA [60k-75k, read Wiki to choose]
Basic Amex HH Card
Offer for 50K points (spend $750/3mos.) + $50 credit for first purchase: Make a dummy reservation on Hilton site. Offer will appear on page before final booking. (Cannot be linked to directly.)
Offer for 50K points (spend $750/3mos.)
  • No annual fee.
  • Earning: 7 HHonors points per dollar on Hilton spend; 5 points/$ at U.S. restaurants, supermarkets & gas stations; and 3 on everything else.
  • Elite status: Hilton Silver status for as long as you have the card and Gold status after $20,000 in annual spend.
  • Booking bonus: 500 bonus points for every stay (including award stays) booked directly with Hilton & guaranteed with the card
FAQ
1. Are these cards churnable?
As of May 1, 2014, Amex will not give a signup bonus to card applicants who have held the card in the past ~7 years, even if the applicant has never earned a previous signup bonus for it. However, it is still possible to upgrade an existing Hilton Amex to the Surpass card to earn a bonus (and reportedly to do this more than once by later downgrading & then upgrading again). The best strategy is to earn a Surpass signup bonus first, and only afterward pursue the upgrade bonus(es).

In August 2016, Citi began inserting language into applications and landing pages requiring a 24-month wait from the date of the opening or closure of any Citi Hilton card. Previously, the Citi Hilton Signature Visa and Reserve cards were on separate clocks for each applicant. Now there is a single 24-month clock reset by open/close of either type of card. For more info, see the wiki at Citi Hilton HHonors VISA [60k-75k, read Wiki to choose].

2. I have met the spending. When will my bonus post?
For Amex cards, the bonus will post a few days after meeting the spend. The points from the actual spend will post after statement is generated. For Citi products, bonus points post only at statement close.

3. What happened to the Amex drugstore category spending bonus?
Changes to Hilton Amex cards as of May 2013 are explained here:
http://boardingarea.com/blogs/viewfr...at-we-thought/

4. What is the link to upgrade from no fee card to Surpass card for 50,000 after spending $3,000 in the first 3 months?
This link redirects to this landing page. Application page.
You need to be logged into your Amex account first, then click on the link above, then click Upgrade. (This does not work for all people. It is suspected that only people that have had the no-fee card for at least one year are able to upgrade to the Surpass card.) There is generally no hard pull on your credit report for upgrading.

5. Does having one of these Hilton cards preclude me from successfully earning the signup bonus on a different one?
No. All four cards are separate products. Having (or having previously had) one of them has no effect on your bonus eligibility for the others--but note, as discussed in FAQ #1, that opening or closing any Citi Hilton card will affect your eligibility for any new Citi Hilton card bonus.

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Ongoing offers for Hilton cards issued by Amex or Citi

Old Nov 10, 2013, 2:16 am
  #151  
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: PDX/ANC
Programs: UA 1K
Posts: 25
Am I correct in assuming that the TC referring to previous/current HHonors cards only applies to Amex cards and not the citi visas?
suocbull is offline  
Old Nov 10, 2013, 7:59 am
  #152  
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Join Date: May 2006
Location: Melbourne, Florida, USA
Posts: 2,978
Originally Posted by suocbull
Am I correct in assuming that the TC referring to previous/current HHonors cards only applies to Amex cards and not the citi visas?
yes.
michael_v is offline  
Old Nov 11, 2013, 1:40 pm
  #153  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Melbourne, Florida, USA
Posts: 2,978
Hilton Surpass American Express now gets hhonors gold status without spending requirement

http://boardingarea.com/viewfromthew...g-requirement/
michael_v is offline  
Old Nov 11, 2013, 9:30 pm
  #154  
 
Join Date: Jun 2013
Posts: 50
Gold without spending requirement

I just talked to AMEX, and they said they don't know anything about the change.
gggg707 is offline  
Old Nov 12, 2013, 12:32 pm
  #155  
 
Join Date: May 2013
Programs: Hyatt Platinum, IHG Platinum, Aadvantage Platinum
Posts: 180
Does anyone know the answer as to whether Amex Surpass is waiving the fee for the first year? I asked a customer service person at Amex and they are unaware of this but said your ymmv especially if it's an internet offer.

Question is whether we can count on that wording in the terms saying it's $0 for the first year.


Originally Posted by x712xdamx
Quoting my own post. The application page on the left just says "Annual Membership Fee: $75" with no mention of 1st year being free.

Right above the terms and conditions it says "I understand that the annual Card fee is $75."......

But then IN the terms it says:
Annual Membership Fee $0 for the first year, then $75"




Soooooo..... Which one of those will hold up? Anybody straight up applied using the wiki link above, NOT upgraded, and been charged the annual fee right away?
wholelottamiles is offline  
Old Nov 12, 2013, 5:49 pm
  #156  
 
Join Date: Apr 2013
Posts: 120
got a letter

Originally Posted by gggg707
I just talked to AMEX, and they said they don't know anything about the change.
i got a letter today notifying me that i now how have gold status with the card. it was excellent timing too b/c i was just looking to see how i could keep it past the first year as i really enjoyed it on a recently trip to tokyo.
phantasmic is offline  
Old Nov 12, 2013, 5:53 pm
  #157  
 
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: PHL, maybe EWR
Programs: Plat IHG, Marriott Rewards Silver, CSP, Ink Bold, USDM, *Wood Gold, AA, Club Carl
Posts: 285
It looks like the T and C in the Surpass linked in the Wiki has updated to reflect the new gold status (comped).
vodkashine is offline  
Old Nov 12, 2013, 6:12 pm
  #158  
 
Join Date: May 2013
Programs: Hyatt Platinum, IHG Platinum, Aadvantage Platinum
Posts: 180
Good to know. Now I have to decide whether it's smarter to get the regular Amex Hilton card or the Surpass. Seems like getting the lower card with 40,000 points is a good idea IF one can upgrade a year later and get 50,000 points without even a hard pull.

I could survive a year w/o Gold I suppose for the extra points.


Originally Posted by vodkashine
It looks like the T and C in the Surpass linked in the Wiki has updated to reflect the new gold status (comped).
wholelottamiles is offline  
Old Nov 22, 2013, 8:16 am
  #159  
 
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: BOS .. but soon SFO
Programs: UA PLAT, TK GLD, Hilton Diamond, IC PLAT, SPG GLD, Marriott GLD
Posts: 1,528
Originally Posted by wholelottamiles
Good to know. Now I have to decide whether it's smarter to get the regular Amex Hilton card or the Surpass. Seems like getting the lower card with 40,000 points is a good idea IF one can upgrade a year later and get 50,000 points without even a hard pull.

I could survive a year w/o Gold I suppose for the extra points.
I got the 60k HH no-fee card back in Jan 2012

Tried to do the surpass thing w/o upgrade and failed Sept 2012

Received a targeted promo to upgrade. Didn't do it. Tried it today, it told me the promo was over.

Clicked the link I posted months earlier in this thread, instant approval.
stupidzbu is offline  
Old Nov 23, 2013, 11:16 am
  #160  
 
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: NY Metro
Programs: SPG Titanium, United Premier 1K
Posts: 1,600
I applied 6 days ago using the link for my account (40K bonus). What are the odds that I can call AMEX and get the 50K offer posted on this site? Is there a bonus ID?
PrivatePilot is offline  
Old Dec 3, 2013, 2:09 pm
  #161  
 
Join Date: Nov 2013
Location: DCA/IAD
Programs: HH Gold-IHG Plat
Posts: 390
just got approved for Citi Hhonors, debating on if I should go for the Amex as well, or just churn the Citi. any suggestions?
ac921ol is offline  
Old Dec 3, 2013, 10:14 pm
  #162  
 
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: VA
Programs: AA EXP, A3 Gold, Marriott Silver, Choice Privileges Gold, National Exec
Posts: 192
Originally Posted by ac921ol
just got approved for Citi Hhonors, debating on if I should go for the Amex as well, or just churn the Citi. any suggestions?
Do both!!
Nevafazeme is offline  
Old Dec 5, 2013, 8:28 am
  #163  
 
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: USA
Programs: All of em...
Posts: 1,265
Originally Posted by Nevafazeme
Do both!!
^
x712xdamx is offline  
Old Dec 12, 2013, 5:07 am
  #164  
 
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: RDU
Programs: A few
Posts: 5,499
I got a sign up offer for 75k after $3k spend in 3 months. Wrote it up here:

http://milesabound.com/american-expr...sign-up-offer/

I've added the raw link to the wiki

As I describe in my post, the terms appear very churner friendly
ma91pmh is offline  
Old Dec 12, 2013, 10:09 am
  #165  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Melbourne, Florida, USA
Posts: 2,978
Originally Posted by ma91pmh
I got a sign up offer for 75k after $3k spend in 3 months. Wrote it up here:

http://milesabound.com/american-expr...sign-up-offer/

I've added the raw link to the wiki

As I describe in my post, the terms appear very churner friendly
Thanks for the link, too bad the 75k does not have the annual fee waived the first year.
michael_v is offline  

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