Jun 12, 2013, 11:05 am
Last edit by: vah4883
Limited-time offers
Hilton HHonors American Express card. 80,000 points for spending $2,000 in 3 months; no annual fee. Ends May 31, 2017
Hilton HHonors American Express Ascend card. 100,000 points for spending $3,000 ; $95 annual fee.
Hilton HHonors American Express card application page. 75,000 points for spending $1,000 in 3 months; no annual fee.
Public offer expired Feb 1, 2017 (this link brings up a page: "This campaign has expired. Thank you for your interest."), but Refer a Friend links still active. This one has the referral ID stripped out.
Citi HH Visa 40K application page (spend $1K/4 mos.)
Ongoing offersPublic offer expired Feb 1, 2017 (this link brings up a page: "This campaign has expired. Thank you for your interest."), but Refer a Friend links still active. This one has the referral ID stripped out.
Citi HH Visa 40K application page (spend $1K/4 mos.)
- This offer does not contain an explicit 24-month restriction.
If you apply using this link & are not instantly approved, DO NOT CALL CITI.
Calling in risks alerting Citi to the offer and having it withdrawn.
Amex HH Surpass Card
FlyerTalk discussion thread: The Hilton HHonors Surpass(SM) Card from American Express Citi Hilton HHonors Reserve Card
Flyertalk discussion thread: Citi Hilton HHonors Reserve Card Citi HH Visa 60K application page. You can also apply by calling 1-866-615-2274.
Flyertalk discussion thread: Citi Hilton HHonors VISA [60k-75k, read Wiki to choose] Basic Amex HH Card
FAQ- Annual fee: $75, no first-year waiver.
- Signup bonus: 75K points for spending $3K in the first 3 months.
- Earning: 12 HHonors points per dollar on Hilton spend; 6 points/$ at U.S. restaurants, supermarkets & gas stations; and 3 points/$ on everything else.
- Elite status: Hilton Gold status for as long as you have the card and Diamond status after $40,000 in annual spend.
- Booking bonus: 500 bonus points for every stay (including award stays) booked directly with Hilton & guaranteed with the card
- Important limitation on this offer: "Welcome bonus offer not available to applicants who have or have had this product."
FlyerTalk discussion thread: The Hilton HHonors Surpass(SM) Card from American Express
- Annual fee: $95, no first-year waiver.
- Signup bonus: 2 free weekend nights after $2500 in spend within four months. These free nights are valid at all Hilton redemption categories, including Waldorf Astoria properties.
- Anniversary bonus: 1 free weekend night each year after $10,000 in spend.
- Earning: 10 HHonors points per dollar on Hilton spend, 5 points per dollar on air and car rental, and 3 on everything else.
- Elite status: Hilton Gold status for as long as you have the card and Diamond status after $40,000 in annual spend.
- No foreign currency transaction fees.
- Important limitation on this offer: "Weekend Night Certificates offer is not available if you have had a Citi Hilton HHonors Card account that was opened or closed in the past 24 months.."
Flyertalk discussion thread: Citi Hilton HHonors Reserve Card
- No annual fee.
- Signup bonus: 60K points for spending $1K in the first 4 months
- Earning: 6 HHonors points per dollar on Hilton spend; 3 points/$ at U.S. supermarkets, drugstores & gas stations; and 2 points/$ on everything else.
- Elite status: Hilton Silver status for as long as you have the card.
- Fast track To Gold status: After four qualifying stays within your first 91 days of cardmembership, receive Gold status through the end of the following calendar year.
- Important limitation on this offer: "Hilton HHonors Bonus Points offer not available if you have had a Citi Hilton HHonors Visa Signature Card account that was opened or closed in the past 24 months."
Flyertalk discussion thread: Citi Hilton HHonors VISA [60k-75k, read Wiki to choose]
Offer for 50K points (spend $750/3mos.) + $50 credit for first purchase: Make a dummy reservation on Hilton site. Offer will appear on page before final booking. (Cannot be linked to directly.)
Offer for 50K points (spend $750/3mos.)
Offer for 50K points (spend $750/3mos.)
- No annual fee.
- Earning: 7 HHonors points per dollar on Hilton spend; 5 points/$ at U.S. restaurants, supermarkets & gas stations; and 3 on everything else.
- Elite status: Hilton Silver status for as long as you have the card and Gold status after $20,000 in annual spend.
- Booking bonus: 500 bonus points for every stay (including award stays) booked directly with Hilton & guaranteed with the card
1. Are these cards churnable?
As of May 1, 2014, Amex will not give a signup bonus to card applicants who have held the card in the past ~7 years, even if the applicant has never earned a previous signup bonus for it. However, it is still possible to upgrade an existing Hilton Amex to the Surpass card to earn a bonus (and reportedly to do this more than once by later downgrading & then upgrading again). The best strategy is to earn a Surpass signup bonus first, and only afterward pursue the upgrade bonus(es).
In August 2016, Citi began inserting language into applications and landing pages requiring a 24-month wait from the date of the opening or closure of any Citi Hilton card. Previously, the Citi Hilton Signature Visa and Reserve cards were on separate clocks for each applicant. Now there is a single 24-month clock reset by open/close of either type of card. For more info, see the wiki at Citi Hilton HHonors VISA [60k-75k, read Wiki to choose].
2. I have met the spending. When will my bonus post?
For Amex cards, the bonus will post a few days after meeting the spend. The points from the actual spend will post after statement is generated. For Citi products, bonus points post only at statement close.
3. What happened to the Amex drugstore category spending bonus?
Changes to Hilton Amex cards as of May 2013 are explained here:
http://boardingarea.com/blogs/viewfr...at-we-thought/
4. What is the link to upgrade from no fee card to Surpass card for 50,000 after spending $3,000 in the first 3 months?
This link redirects to this landing page. Application page.
You need to be logged into your Amex account first, then click on the link above, then click Upgrade. (This does not work for all people. It is suspected that only people that have had the no-fee card for at least one year are able to upgrade to the Surpass card.) There is generally no hard pull on your credit report for upgrading.
5. Does having one of these Hilton cards preclude me from successfully earning the signup bonus on a different one?
No. All four cards are separate products. Having (or having previously had) one of them has no effect on your bonus eligibility for the others--but note, as discussed in FAQ #1, that opening or closing any Citi Hilton card will affect your eligibility for any new Citi Hilton card bonus.
As of May 1, 2014, Amex will not give a signup bonus to card applicants who have held the card in the past ~7 years, even if the applicant has never earned a previous signup bonus for it. However, it is still possible to upgrade an existing Hilton Amex to the Surpass card to earn a bonus (and reportedly to do this more than once by later downgrading & then upgrading again). The best strategy is to earn a Surpass signup bonus first, and only afterward pursue the upgrade bonus(es).
In August 2016, Citi began inserting language into applications and landing pages requiring a 24-month wait from the date of the opening or closure of any Citi Hilton card. Previously, the Citi Hilton Signature Visa and Reserve cards were on separate clocks for each applicant. Now there is a single 24-month clock reset by open/close of either type of card. For more info, see the wiki at Citi Hilton HHonors VISA [60k-75k, read Wiki to choose].
2. I have met the spending. When will my bonus post?
For Amex cards, the bonus will post a few days after meeting the spend. The points from the actual spend will post after statement is generated. For Citi products, bonus points post only at statement close.
3. What happened to the Amex drugstore category spending bonus?
Changes to Hilton Amex cards as of May 2013 are explained here:
http://boardingarea.com/blogs/viewfr...at-we-thought/
4. What is the link to upgrade from no fee card to Surpass card for 50,000 after spending $3,000 in the first 3 months?
This link redirects to this landing page. Application page.
You need to be logged into your Amex account first, then click on the link above, then click Upgrade. (This does not work for all people. It is suspected that only people that have had the no-fee card for at least one year are able to upgrade to the Surpass card.) There is generally no hard pull on your credit report for upgrading.
5. Does having one of these Hilton cards preclude me from successfully earning the signup bonus on a different one?
No. All four cards are separate products. Having (or having previously had) one of them has no effect on your bonus eligibility for the others--but note, as discussed in FAQ #1, that opening or closing any Citi Hilton card will affect your eligibility for any new Citi Hilton card bonus.
Ongoing offers for Hilton cards issued by Amex or Citi
Dec 26, 2014 | 8:37 am
#511
Join Date: Dec 2014
Posts: 3
Where do you want to stay and is it midweek or the weekend
The Citi Visa is still churnable and has no annual fee. I have had 16 of these cards so far
The Surpass has a $75 AF and will give you at least 89K points.
The Reserve is a $95 AF and you get 2 nights at any Hilton but they are only good Fri - Sun
If you made Gold without credit cards you probably have a lot of points so I would hit the Citi 50K point Visa while you can
The Citi Visa is still churnable and has no annual fee. I have had 16 of these cards so far
The Surpass has a $75 AF and will give you at least 89K points.
The Reserve is a $95 AF and you get 2 nights at any Hilton but they are only good Fri - Sun
If you made Gold without credit cards you probably have a lot of points so I would hit the Citi 50K point Visa while you can
Also, when people say they received an "invitation" to upgrade to the for- fee card(s) does that menthe fee has been waived via the email invite?
Last edited by jah ranking; Dec 26, 2014 at 8:56 am
Dec 26, 2014 | 8:59 am
#512
Suspended
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: On strike
Programs: FT badges are idiotic
Posts: 7,950
I've overhauled the wiki to
Two overall comments:
Comments welcome.
- standardize entries
- add formatting for improved readability
- remove dead links (although I did leave a tombstone for the Citi 60K offers)
- prune excess verbiage
- reorganize & streamline the FAQ
Two overall comments:
- I'm not really a fan of the separate "time-limited offers" section. All offers are time-limited in a certain sense, and it's hard to tell with many how long they'll be around. Also, having separate sections means that people will inevitably make insertions/edits in the wrong section as has happened repeatedly in the past). My preference would be to consolidate all the offers for each card, including special/short-term offers, under that card's heading. All that said, I'm not ready to buck tradition just yet, so I've left the overall structure alone.
- I tried to double-check all links/offer terms etc., but likely muffed things in places. I also didn't bother trying to track down the FT thread(s) for discussion of the basic HH Amex card, so feel free to add that one in.
Comments welcome.
Dec 26, 2014 | 12:07 pm
#513
Join Date: Feb 2009
Posts: 7,061
The 50K Visa Signature card doesn't have any annual fee and neither does the 50K Amex , the Amex also allows you to book Axon awards which give you discounted 4 night reward stays
Dec 26, 2014 | 12:28 pm
#514
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: Rochester, MN
Programs: UA Silver, Hilton HHonors Diamond, IHG Plat
Posts: 2,481
Where and when you want to stay does matter as most people get the reserve card for the Gold status and 2 free nights but those 2 free nights alone could be worth as much as 190K points or as little as 10K points
The 50K Visa Signature card doesn't have any annual fee and neither does the 50K Amex , the Amex also allows you to book Axon awards which give you discounted 4 night reward stays
The 50K Visa Signature card doesn't have any annual fee and neither does the 50K Amex , the Amex also allows you to book Axon awards which give you discounted 4 night reward stays
Dec 26, 2014 | 12:33 pm
#515
Join Date: Dec 2014
Posts: 3
Where and when you want to stay does matter as most people get the reserve card for the Gold status and 2 free nights but those 2 free nights alone could be worth as much as 190K points or as little as 10K points
The 50K Visa Signature card doesn't have any annual fee and neither does the 50K Amex , the Amex also allows you to book Axon awards which give you discounted 4 night reward stays
The 50K Visa Signature card doesn't have any annual fee and neither does the 50K Amex , the Amex also allows you to book Axon awards which give you discounted 4 night reward stays
Dec 26, 2014 | 5:14 pm
#516
Join Date: Feb 2009
Posts: 7,061
AXON # is 1-800-920-5649 and you have to have a Hilton NAF Amex or Surpass.
Cat 8 is 220K/4 nights
Cat 9 is 260
Cat 10 is 300K
Note, off season rates can be cheaper than AXON.
For example I stay at this same Cat 7 hotel in Florida for 5 nights around Thanksgiving and it's 160K points so it's always best to check all options
EDITED to put correct point totals using 5th night free
Last edited by flyer4512; Dec 26, 2014 at 7:20 pm
Dec 26, 2014 | 5:26 pm
#517
Suspended
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: On strike
Programs: FT badges are idiotic
Posts: 7,950
For any rate under 60K, AXON is a worse deal for an 8-night cat 7 stay.
Last edited by beltway; Dec 26, 2014 at 5:38 pm
Dec 26, 2014 | 5:29 pm
#518
Join Date: Feb 2009
Posts: 7,061
The question is whether to get a fee-based card or a free one. I travel frequently for work so earning the required nights for silver, gold and almost diamond is not an issue. I am just trying to justify paying to to spend money i.e. a fee-based credit card or just using a free one that has less benefits.
I wouldn't lose to much sleep over it. Both cards that have annual fees give plenty of benefits besides gold ( 80k points, 2 free nights at any Hilton, extra points when you use the card to pay at Hilton, etc) that you will easily recover the AF if you pay for enough stays on the card to get to Gold or Diamond.
A lot of people here don't pay for stays ever so we need the Gold Status, free nights and points these cards provide.
Last edited by flyer4512; Dec 26, 2014 at 5:39 pm
Dec 26, 2014 | 7:24 pm
#519
Join Date: Feb 2009
Posts: 7,061
For comprehensive information on AXON awards, see http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hilto...l#post16555294
Nope. The most it could cost you (at 60K/night, the top rate for cat 7) would be 420K, since Fifth Night Free produces a 60K discount..
Nope. The most it could cost you (at 60K/night, the top rate for cat 7) would be 420K, since Fifth Night Free produces a 60K discount..
Sorry I missed that, AXON saves you 40K points for 8 consecutive nights, I knew it was cheaper and I don't book 5th night free for our 8 nights so I forgot to subtract 60K........5th night plus 3 night = 420K......2 Axon 7's = 380K
That's why I said to always check out 5th night free and said off season rates can be cheaper than Axon as I use 5th night free when rates are 40K..........5 nights = 160K vs AXON 7 = 190K
Dec 26, 2014 | 9:36 pm
#520
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Florida
Posts: 30,336
The question is whether to get a fee-based card or a free one. I travel frequently for work so earning the required nights for silver, gold and almost diamond is not an issue. I am just trying to justify paying to to spend money i.e. a fee-based credit card or just using a free one that has less benefits.
Most people look at the fee this way - is the card offering enough benefits that one can completely recoup the fee and a lot more? Is that simple enough to justify paying a fee or not paying a fee?
Say, paying a fee of $95, but the 2 weekend nights are used in a Cat 8 property that cost 80K a night, would you think the fee is a waste?
Or you would pay 160K out of your Body in Bed hard-earned points for the 2 nights, even you are Gold or Diamond from work-related travels?
Any business people would have this very basic sense - cost and benefit, when the benefit far outweigh the cost, would one incur that cost?
That is EXACTLY WHY flyer4512 pointed out where you use the free weekend nights make a world's difference, yet you kept harping on how you can earn your status thru work travel, blah blah blah and you could not justify paying a fee for a card... That it is not really where and when you want to stay... while where and when to stay is the most important factor to decide whether paying the $95 for the Citi Reserve is justified or not - that is the benefit which value can vary drastically based on where and when one would stay! The cost is fixed, $95 annual fee, the benefit can range from 150 euro to 900 euro, depends on where and when one would use it.
You really should just do a very basic simple math of cost/benefit analysis based on where and when you want to stay, and then decide whether the fee card is for you.
It is such a simple and basic concept, just sayin.
Last edited by Happy; Dec 29, 2014 at 7:20 pm
Dec 29, 2014 | 12:57 pm
#521
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Orlando, Florida, USA
Posts: 3,019
I've overhauled the wiki to
Two overall comments:
Comments welcome.
- standardize entries
- add formatting for improved readability
- remove dead links (although I did leave a tombstone for the Citi 60K offers)
- prune excess verbiage
- reorganize & streamline the FAQ
Two overall comments:
- I'm not really a fan of the separate "time-limited offers" section. All offers are time-limited in a certain sense, and it's hard to tell with many how long they'll be around. Also, having separate sections means that people will inevitably make insertions/edits in the wrong section as has happened repeatedly in the past). My preference would be to consolidate all the offers for each card, including special/short-term offers, under that card's heading. All that said, I'm not ready to buck tradition just yet, so I've left the overall structure alone.
- I tried to double-check all links/offer terms etc., but likely muffed things in places. I also didn't bother trying to track down the FT thread(s) for discussion of the basic HH Amex card, so feel free to add that one in.
Comments welcome.
I don't think the basic HH Amex card has a thread.
Dec 31, 2014 | 2:42 pm
#522
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: Rochester, MN
Programs: UA Silver, Hilton HHonors Diamond, IHG Plat
Posts: 2,481
Let me answer my own question. From time of receipt of card to bonus points posting was one week! Met spend day after card was received.
Dec 31, 2014 | 4:26 pm
#523
Join Date: Feb 2009
Posts: 7,061
The first Closing date can vary greatly. Usually for me it's a couple of weeks but my newest HH Visa card which I applied for ~12/11/2014 has it's first closing date on 1/20/15.
Points post to Hilton the day the statement cuts unless there is an issue.
Dec 31, 2014 | 4:41 pm
#524
Join Date: Mar 2011
Posts: 249
Where is the link for the citi HH 50 K visa please? I only see the link for the flyer talk discussion and that links you back to here with no sign up link.
Dec 31, 2014 | 5:26 pm
#525
Join Date: Feb 2009
Posts: 7,061