Originally Posted by radonc1

I think that it has been reasonably well established that if Hilton is awarding the bonus, then anything goes with Amex. So if you need to spend $X to achieve a status level at Hilton, Amex will allow any spend.
However, if it is Amex that is doing the awarding, such as spend bonuses, then GC purchases, especially from SM, will not be allowed in the count.

Sad.