Lauren thank you very much for sharing this. As I'm sure you know, we tend put a lot of thought into our spending strategies as to when and where we use our cards during the year for specific travel goals. This is very helpful to me.

Feedback - I prefer Amex and they get the majority of my spend overall. However with respect to Hilton's card offerings, I find the Citi Reserve to be a better product than the Amex Surpass because of the weekend night certificates and lack of fx fees. Citi gets my Hilton spending now, but I imagine this partnership will cause the Amex card products and offerings to be revisited. I'm willing to pay a higher fee for a card with more benefits, and hopefully the Amex exclusive relationship will create additional card offerings such as this rumor:

http://www.doctorofcredit.com/americ...iamond-status/

Question - I earned my next weekend certificate that and will be issued to me in November of 2017 and will be valid for one year. Should I anticipate this certificate will still be valid for the full year, or will it expire now on 12/31/17?