The Hilton HHonors® Surpass(SM) Card from American Express - Page 3

Sabre1 · Feb 4, 09, 8:28 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by seoulmanjr

I don't see the option to "upgrade" under ways to earn in my account -- maybe it's targeted or as the poster above says, not rolled out yet.

This is going to be my ticket to Diamond -- our annual spend is $60k+ per year and everything possible goes through this card. I just never have enough stays to make it over the hump to the next level. (Don't travel at all for business -- just int'l Hilton leisure stays during the year.)

I know current Diamonds will be pissed, but assuming I get a chance to upgrade to this, it is

for me.

peace,
~Ben~

Ditto. I'll definitly pay to upgrade to this card once it's available.

toomanybooks · Feb 4, 09, 8:29 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by seoulmanjr

I could be wrong, but I really don't think there are a ton of people putting $40k+ on the HHonors AmEx a year who don't already have Diamond status the hard way.

I put $20K on the Hilton card and $30K on the Starwood card in 2008 and am thus Gold in both programs, with no hope of traveling enough to get to the top levels until my kid is in college in about 7 years.

Since we are planning a trip to Europe, if this comes through as advertised, I would DEFINITELY put all that spending on the Hilton Amex Surpass for 2009. And Hilton would get some business that currently goes to Choice.

Sabre1 · Feb 4, 09, 8:44 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by seoulmanjr

I can't say that I agree... This is like when someone complains that the person who flies twice a year who was comped Platinum status is going to steal all of their hard earned upgrades -- if they're only flying twice a year, how does that really affect upgrade percentages overall? It doesn't. Someone gets some wallet candy and uses the benefits hardly ever. It's only a problem if there are a lot of tin elites en masse.

I could be wrong, but I really don't think there are a ton of people putting $40k+ on the HHonors AmEx a year who don't already have Diamond status the hard way. I thought I was exceptional in this regard just because I like the Hilton program so much and don't like other annual fee credit cards in particular.

Que sera, sera. I just hope I'm offered the Cubic Zirconia card.

peace,
~Ben~

FWIW, I put 40k+ on my Hhonors AMEX card last year, but I'm just a lowly Gold member! LOL

I'll definitely bite the $75 bullet for the Diamond upgrade though!

I wonder if they'll come out with a similar card for Starwood with SPG Platinum status...

christianj · Feb 4, 09, 9:13 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sabre1

I wonder if they'll come out with a similar card for Starwood with SPG Platinum status...

If they do I am sure there will be a mad rush for the card and also a lot of very unhappy SPG Plat. members out there. The difference with SPG vs. HH is that they upgrade to suites and that would make the option to reach Plat. with CC charges worth much more. (As a past SPG Plat. I wasn't happy with the upgrades I received during my Plat. years but I know others are very happy and I always wondered if I was the only one rarely getting a suite upgrade. I decided like others had posted here that HH Gold and SPG Gold worked for me and it kept me from getting upset if I didn't get an upgrade at a *W property.) I think in times of lower occupancy rates hotel operators will look for ways to make more money and changes to credit cards seem to be an quick easy way to do it. I personally wouldn't doubt seeing a Hyatt card in the near future either for this reason. I know most FT Hyatt GP members would freak!

blase · Feb 4, 09, 9:39 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by toomanybooks

I put $20K on the Hilton card and $30K on the Starwood card in 2008 and am thus Gold in both programs, with no hope of traveling enough to get to the top levels until my kid is in college in about 7 years.

Since we are planning a trip to Europe, if this comes through as advertised, I would DEFINITELY put all that spending on the Hilton Amex Surpass for 2009. And Hilton would get some business that currently goes to Choice.

I did the same last year - about $23k on the Hilton and $35k on the Starwood. So it won't take much more spend to reach this 60k threshhold.

Gosh, we put almost $60k on credit cards last year. Wow.

If I could only figure out how to charge my mortgage now...

Thunderroad · Feb 4, 09, 10:52 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sabre1

FWIW, I put 40k+ on my Hhonors AMEX card last year, but I'm just a lowly Gold member! LOL

I'll definitely bite the $75 bullet for the Diamond upgrade though!

I wonder if they'll come out with a similar card for Starwood with SPG Platinum status...

I'd love it but would be shocked if Starwood matched this. The difference in treatment between SPG Gold and Plat is far greater than between HH Gold and Diamond.

The one interesting twist in what HH is doing is that it does create a bit of pressure on Starwood to match this offer, since some folks (like me) will switch some of our spending from SPG Amex to HH Amex due to the HH Surpass card. Right know I qualify for Gold with both by virtue of my spending, but the excess goes to SPG Amex. Surpass will change that. Still, I doubt such pressure will be sufficient for Starwood to make a similar change.

seoulmanjr · Feb 4, 09, 12:21 pm

It sounds like we can all agree that the card is at least aptly named.

Is anyone besides the OP seeing this "Upgrade" option on their account or been able to request it yet? Or is it just a targeted offer? I plan on giving a call today to try my luck, but was wondering what others' experiences have been thus far, if any.

peace,
~Ben~

pjoalfa · Feb 4, 09, 12:40 pm

I see a link to a new brochure that speaks of the 6 points per $, but nothing for an upgrade for the "diamond" card.

wilp888 · Feb 4, 09, 1:05 pm

I emailed Customer Service from the secure message center on the Amex site asking about the Surpass card and received a reply this morning: "Please be advised that currently, Diamond status is not offered on American Express Hilton Cards."

christianj · Feb 4, 09, 1:07 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by pjoalfa

I see a link to a new brochure that speaks of the 6 points per $, but nothing for an upgrade for the "diamond" card.

That's to the updated "old" card and NOT the Surpass card. There currently is no link to the new Surpass card.

seoulmanjr · Feb 4, 09, 1:10 pm

Then what is this?

http://www201.americanexpress.com/ap.../20/n&from=102

Google can pull up the link for the "additional cardmember", but not for the application/upgrade application. Go figure.

peace,
~Ben~

gj83 · Feb 4, 09, 1:36 pm

I'll have to crunch the numbers to see if this is worth it to me to get the 3 extra points per $ to offset the $75 annual fee.

I'm already diamond on my own through stays and right now mainly just use my HH AMEX for Hilton stays and grocery stores.

I like not having an annual fee so I will probably stay with the normal HH AMEX and not switch to the Surpass.

seoulmanjr · Feb 4, 09, 1:47 pm

Just got off the phone with American Express -- the CSRs have received all information about the Surpass card, but had to call around because they weren't sure it had been released/launched yet. They said I was the first person to call and get one ever.

I was able to upgrade my card over the phone. On 2/18/09 (which I think is the launch date), they will mail me replacement cards for me and my wife (add'l cardmember). Our card numbers won't change and we can keep using our current cards in the meantime. I will see the $75 fee reflected on my next bill and I won't get Diamond status until I've charged over $40k on the new card (not retroactive).

peace,
~Ben~ <-- $40k in charges from HHonors Cubic Zirconia

sdcarver · Feb 4, 09, 3:25 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by seoulmanjr

Just got off the phone with American Express -- the CSRs have received all information about the Surpass card, but had to call around because they weren't sure it had been released/launched yet. They said I was the first person to call and get one ever.

I was able to upgrade my card over the phone. On 2/18/09 (which I think is the launch date), they will mail me replacement cards for me and my wife (add'l cardmember). Our card numbers won't change and we can keep using our current cards in the meantime. I will see the $75 fee reflected on my next bill and I won't get Diamond status until I've charged over $40k on the new card (not retroactive).

peace,
~Ben~ <-- $40k in charges from HHonors Cubic Zirconia

1. Did you get confirmation on the following?

1. "Only first-time Hilton HHonors Cardmembers will earn up to 40,000 Hilton HHonors bonus points. Cardmembers who have previously earned a first-purchase bonus from any Hilton HHonors Card from American Express earn the incremental difference of up to 40,000 Hilton HHonors bonus points." - how does this work exactly?

2. 18 months of Cardmembership, earn 2,500 HHonors bonus points for each of your first eight stays at Hilton Family hotels when you charge $100 or more to your Hilton HHonors Surpass Card for each of those eight stays.---do these count for new card members only or for those who upgrade to Surpass?

3. You will receive 500 Hilton HHonors bonus points for each qualifying stay at a participating Hilton Family hotel when the stay is booked online at any Hilton Family hotel website and paid for with the Card.---is this in addition or replacing the old AMEX online booking bonus?--I think I know the answer, but hey its worth a try

Thank You,
sdcarver

seoulmanjr · Feb 4, 09, 3:38 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by sdcarver

1. Did you get confirmation on the following?

1. "Only first-time Hilton HHonors Cardmembers will earn up to 40,000 Hilton HHonors bonus points. Cardmembers who have previously earned a first-purchase bonus from any Hilton HHonors Card from American Express earn the incremental difference of up to 40,000 Hilton HHonors bonus points." - how does this work exactly?

2. 18 months of Cardmembership, earn 2,500 HHonors bonus points for each of your first eight stays at Hilton Family hotels when you charge $100 or more to your Hilton HHonors Surpass Card for each of those eight stays.---do these count for new card members only or for those who upgrade to Surpass?

3. You will receive 500 Hilton HHonors bonus points for each qualifying stay at a participating Hilton Family hotel when the stay is booked online at any Hilton Family hotel website and paid for with the Card.---is this in addition or replacing the old AMEX online booking bonus?--I think I know the answer, but hey its worth a try

Thank You,
sdcarver

No, I didn't. The only one that I sort of care about is #1, but even that would only net me 10k points, which isn't a huge deal either way to me. I mostly just care about getting Cubic Zirconia status after $40k in annual spending and the 6 points per dollar spent.

You can give AmEx a call, or just wait until this gets fully launched in a couple weeks for details on the rest.

I imagine the answer to #1 is if you got 30k points for signing up for the Hilton HHonors AmEx Platinum and you are now upgrading to the Surpass card, you will get the 10k difference. If you initially got a bonus of 20k, then you will now get 20k. Etc, etc. If you are a first time card member (not upgrading) you will get the full 40k. Seems pretty straightforward to me.

peace,
~Ben~