Originally Posted by
GUWonder
With regard to paying for a bank card to chase status, the Amex Platinum card in at least some non-US markets includes Hilton Gold status. And Hilton Gold may be golden enough that Diamond status doesn’t matter all that much. Even with that option, I would say it’s generally a bad time to chase status whenever the person has not crunched the numbers to determine if the actual value to be gotten from the status being chased exceeds the cost — inclusive of opportunity costs — of chasing the status and its benefits that follow from the status use.
I agree. With Hilton, there are actually 3 credit cards that offer status. There is a no fee Hilton card from Amex that offers complimentary silver status. Then the Amex Surpass offers gold status with a $95 annual fee. Then the Amex Aspire offers diamond status with a $450 fee.
So if a person is doing a return on investment for getting Hilton status with a credit card, there are 3 options depending on the status you want. I personally keep the no fee card in case I ever need a way to keep my points from expiring at Hilton. I am sure that can be upgraded to Surpass or Aspire if I decide to do so.