notquiteaff

Extra night credit for CC spend doesn't exist anymore in the wonderful world of hyatt.

You get Discoverist status for having the card, and get bumped to Explorist if you spend $50k.

Beckles

OMG, the lounges are going to be flooded with people who never stay in the hotels paying $450/year for this card!

It's so hard to have intelligent discourse on this topic when so many people resort to complete hyperbole ...
Really? There's no measurable benefit to earning 50% more Honors points on each stay? I don't disagree that Honors points have been devalued over time, but I'm pretty sure they're not literally completely worthless despite some of the hyperbole here on FT.

Hilton should see some lesson from hypothetical products that have never existed and their hypothetical impacts that have never occurred?

BearX220

I am pretty certain they can't do that unilaterally.

That's if those Diamonds (A) accept the status quo "offer" (really a force), and (B) get proactive about assessing their options -- or not.

I would wager that hardly any Citi Reserve cardholder knows this is happening, even now. I bet most won't get it until DM hits in a few weeks, or the new Amex card itself in January, and then some are bound to blow their top.

Eujeanie

How can people not know? Besides the e-mails from Hilton, right on your Citi statement is something like "news about what will be happening with your card". If you don't read anything, sure, you might not know.

BearX220

Although this has been in the wind for months (and discussed on FT throughout), my first and only email from Citi on this subject arrived in my inbox late Wednesday night -- about 36 hours ago. My last Citi Reserve statement, issued 25 October, bore absolutely no bulletin / notification. Nor did the prior two. Nor did any of this fall's robo-emails (statement-ready notices, survey invites, etc.). I just checked my deleted file.

So the sum of official communication from Citi so far is one email easily mistaken for junk. No DM, no outreach from Amex as I write. The only clue on the account-review portal is a small clickable box at the foot of a long, long page bearing the opaque subhead: "Questions About Hilton's Recent Announcement?" That could mean they're opening a new Hampton Inn in Oxnard. It could mean anything. It's practically designed to be overlooked.

Neither Citi nor Amex is exactly shouting this from the rooftops. (I am surprised Citi isn't trying to retain some of this book of business by suggesting we swap for an AAdvantage or Prestige card, but I expect they've agreed with Amex not to try to discourage the migration.)

While the FT subculture is hyperaware of things like this, it's a relatively small cohort. I would wager the vast majority of Reserve Visa members remain unapprised, and will regard this as a sort of coup in the dark when they finally find out.

eefor jfp

interesting discussion mixed with a fair bit of hyperbole. While the $450 card seems like it might work for some, for me it's definitely not a no-brainer. In the last five years of travel I've paid less than $100 total in incidental fees to airlines (one change fee IIRC and one baggage fee on easyjet) and I can't recall spending much on resort fees since we prefer city hotels. So I would be paying $355 extra to move from Gold (which is perfectly adequate for my half-dozen stays at Hilton properties every year) to Diamond less the value of the free weekend night.

Now if you were planning a week at a resort and you didn't have any airline status for your travel to get there, I can see how it might work. But since I have Priority Pass through CSR and status with all three alliances, this card doesn't do much for me except help me earn more HH points which are valued at 0.5 cents or less. Which is not something I really want to do.

Anyway I still think the odds of real Diamonds being shut out of upgrades by those of us who would buy our status for $450 (but who don't travel that much) isn't as great as some fear it might be.

Points Scrounger

Just an FYI that with some airlines, it's more difficult than others to use the $200 benefit, not at all standardized.

Eujeanie

Of course we'll all need to scour the fine print to see if it works - I'd want to know exactly what is covered on the airline benefit (are the eligible charges defined by Amex or by the individual airlines?).

I'd also want to know if on the resort benefit previously booked stays, or stays merely booked through the Hilton website are eligible (the language on the Waldorf Astoria and Conrad benefit regarding the Aspire portal - or whatever they called it - had me concerned).

Also want to know the parameters on the Free Weekend Night - is there a dollar amount limit?

If these check out I can't see why the Aspire wouldn't work for us (if we're approved).

One thing that I do find interesting comparing all the cards is that while they vary greatly in the bonus categories, they are all the exact same 3x for the "anything else" category. I thought that might have been bumped up a little for the Aspire.

mia

American Express. However, it is essential to understand that American Express practice frequently deviates from their published policy, in the customers' favor. For example, the terms of the existing airline fee reimbursement benefits explictly exclude gift card purchases, but AA, DL and WN giftcards are routinely reimbursed since 2010. Reading the terms is a starting point, but will not tell you how it really works.

Points Scrounger

AS is one of the trickier reimbursements. Works on ticket purchases under $100 only, requiring some creative strategy. I believe one can apply the $200 directly towards a lounge membership?

Hilton Honors Ambassador

Any idea when these will be mailed out?
Citi Hilton Honors Card members can expect their new Hilton Honors American Express Cards to be mailed in mid-January.


Is the Aspire card metal like the Amex Plat?
We are still working through the final production specifications of our new Cards.


I have a CitiCard that will be transferred to the new Ascend. Is it possible to request an upgrade to an Aspire card once I get the Ascend card in 2018?
Yes, cardmembers will be able to upgrade to the Aspire Card in 2018.


If I upgrade to aspire, will I get the aspire free night plus the free night I already earned with Citi spending?
Yes, your weekend night reward tied to your Citi Hilton Honors Reserve Card will be fulfilled, assuming meet the $10,000 spend requirement regardless if you apply for the Aspire Card or not.


Thanks all,
Lauren

Eujeanie

I thought ticket purchases were excluded? We could easily do a one-way under $100 - what's the trick?

I don't think we'd want lounge membership, even for the $250 off. Almost bought it recently (before this came up) and we decided for the amount of time we really actually lay over on all our upcoming flights not worth it, especially for the limited food choices.

rny321

With the Citibank Hilton Reserve, the free weekend night for spending $10,000 was based on cardmember years and the $40,000 in spending to obtain diamond status was based on a calendar year. So, by spending at least $10,000 in one membership year and the remainder of the $40,000 in the next membership year but same calendar year, the cardholder would have diamond membership for the current and the following calendar year plus two free weekend nights for two $95 annual fees and the opportunity cost of spending the money on the Hilton credit card.

Since many people have better options for spending $40,000 than with the Hilton card, I assumed a 1% loss on Hilton Reserve charges which would make the cost for almost two years of diamond status and two free nights 2*$95 + .01*$40,000 = $580. With the Aspire card, the cardholder would pay 2*$450 = $900 minus the amount of credits utilized and still receive two free nights and diamond status. While the Aspire will make the process simpler and more rewarding for those who take advantage of the $250 credits each year and other benefits, it’s not as if there wasn’t a relatively inexpensive option of obtaining diamond status previously.

pinniped

I think I'm Discoverist now. Is Explorist the old Hyatt Diamond?

Their new names are stupid and confusing.

Points Scrounger

A ticket over $100 requires using certs or credit to bring down the price. An actual ticket under $100 should be reimbursed (as it stands now); basically, the system assumed you bought $99 worth of "incidentals".