Eujeanie

Oh thank you, that's great. Will make it an easy decision just to buy food on board rather than the terminal. And while we probably will never hit $250, it's still a nice perk.

Hilton Honors Ambassador

For those of us who already have the Surpass Card do we get 10 free Priority Pass™Lounge passes to ease the airport experience? If so, when can we start using this perk?
Yes, those will begin on January 18, 2018.

Any word on when we would receive the free night certs for $10,000 spend if we have already completed that spend? Are we still going to be waiting for our cardholder anniversary date?
Citi Reserve cardmembers who have already spent the $10,000 should receive the email with the reward code in it on the anniversary date.

What happens if I have a Citi Reserve and AMEX Surpass? Am I really going to have two AMEX Hilton cards?
Yes, you will end up with two Amex Ascend cards - recommend calling Amex to discuss your options.

Will the statement credit apply to points/certificate bookings that have the Aspire card tied to the booking, or only certain paid rates?
The resort statement credit is used on a hotel charge made at one of the resorts using the Aspire card. If you book a resort and use only Points, there would be no expense to credit on your Aspire. Any paid rate for a resort listed on Hilton.com/resorts made through a Hilton booking channel will see the credit

What happens if you have an open Citi NAF Signature Visa and also have an open NAF Hilton Amex? What card will you be given?
As mentioned above, you will end up with two NAF Hilton Amex cards. Best advice is to call Amex to discuss your options


Thank you,
Lauren

mia

Not all Citi card accounts will be purchased by American Express. You will receive a letter telling you if your accounts are to be purchased. Hilton addresses the duplicate account possibility is this FAQ:

stanj

Still not clear whether you need to let the Reserve card morph into an Ascend card in order to get the weekend cert.

I have both a Reserve and Surpass, so don't really need two Ascend cards, but may have to keep it open to get the weekend cert.

They're handling this very poorly given that many of us will end up with two identical cards at Amex.

mnredfox

^ to no Forex fees.

to ability to have more fake diamond members who simply shell out $450.

I guess short cuts to status for $$ is the new name of the game.

TTT103

I have two Surpass Cards--one for personal and one for business expenses. I also have a back-up Citi Reserve card that I use for international travel and locations that don't accept AmEx. With the foreign transaction fees being eliminated by AmEx once the new cards are released in February, I really would be in no need of the third card so I will cancel it; however, if I continue with my two Surpass/Ascend cards (one for business and one for personal), will I be entitled to an annual free night on each card if I meet the spending requirements, or will there be some sort of limit?

Bicoastal Local

In Lauren's thread, she mentioned that the credit can be used to pay for the room rate.

tgboger

Never have researched Priority Pass much but once I receive my Ascend card I'll have to give it a try. It appears the 10 free passes are for me and guests would have to pay $27 each. However, what about Authorized Users on my Ascend? Will they also get 10 passes?

stanj

Hilton must believe they can get more out of this Diamond give-away than they can tying status to stays.

I saw something to the effect that you can bring in 2 guests for free.

farnorthtrader

I think the two guests for free was tied to the unlimited visits for Aspire cardholders, not to the 10 free visits for Ascend cardholders. I don't think we have seen anything about how the 10 free visits will work (whether they will be only for the cardholder or if the cardholder could go once with 9 of her closest friends)

fozziedoggie

Mixed bag:

https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/sear...=priority-pass

jamesteroh

Will food and beverage purchases in an airline lounge count towards the credit?

stanj

You're right. Guess we'll have to wait and see on the Ascend card.

Since I rarely go in to a lounge alone, that would be another reason for me to go for the Aspire.

Cathay Dragon 666

This is a great move by Hilton. Yes purist will be disappointed by the $450/Diamond, but for someone like me it is a great incentive. I usually split my hotel stays 80/20 SPG/Hyatt. Simply because Hyatt Explorist is better than Hilton Gold. Now, I will likely abandon Hyatt and jump to Hilton. For those that claims Hilton Gold and Diamond are treated the same in USA, that's completely true, but not elsewhere in the world. I had a Diamond challenge year and spend nights in China's Hilton properties, and I was treated like royalty with 100% upgrade rate to Suites.

Hilton will be winning at least 15-20 nights from me annually, with spending at hotel properties. That might seem small, but if massive number of us jump ship, it's a big gain for Hilton.

Will enough purist be upset by this and move to SPG/Hyat/IHG? Some will, but I really think the gains will outweight the loss, which is what Hilton's banking on.

As soon as this is launch count me in as a "Fake" Hilton Diamond. $450 is a very small price to pay for this.

Eujeanie

I don't think I've ever been in a lounge that charged for F&B?