Originally Posted by
darthbimmer
It's a mistake to compare hotel cards on the basis of earning 1 point/dollar. Hilton points certainly are worth less apiece than SPG and Hyatt points, but Hilton makes its credit cards competitive by always paying MORE than 1 point/dollar. HH Surpass (Amex) pays 6 points/dollar on restaurants, gas, and grocery stores-- which together are a significant portion of my non-travel expenditure. I've made it my primary card for these categories.
If you like Hilton hotels, you absolutely are correct that the HHilton Surpass Amex is a nice deal as long as you aren't trying to redeem for their top tier properties costing 60-80K points--which largely mitigates the better earning for gas, restaurants, and groceries for most people. Fair point, indeed!
Unfortunately, Hilton has so few upscale or luxury hotels that I enjoy that it's just not of much interest to me, personally. The Conrads and few Waldorfs just can't get me excited about Hilton...as if the ridiculous redemption rates don't make it less worthwhile for me compared to the top tier properties in Starwood, Hyatt, etc.