Japanese Hilton Visa Card , big ripoff...
May 9, 2005, 7:39 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2004
Programs: Darth Vader of AMEX, A ladys best friend of Hilton, Pt78 of SPG, *G ,*S, ANA VIP
Posts: 3,933
Japanese Hilton Visa Card , big ripoff...
Hi,
i dont get the point why in japan, banks are billing customers huge annual fees?
In every country i know, normally you get the loyalty cards for free. or at least first year, get bonus miles upon sign up etc.
IN japan you pay 30-200 USD per year for a creditcard and get loosy 1000-7000 miles for signup.
i Just found the hilton honors card which is a joke in my eyes.
https://www.smbc-card.com/mem/nyukai..._tk/hilton.jsp
Standard card : 30USD/Year
Gold card : 180USD/Year
It was so hard to find the page to apply for that card, there is not link on it on the japanese hilton homepage.
You will earn 1000 Hilton extra points and 2000 extra points if you pay with that card in an asian hilton. (s 1000/ g 2000)
but this seems to me a total ripoff, i mean 180USD for a GOLD card?
getting a Amex green card gives me 2 MR points for 1USD which convert with +25% to Hilton Honors in Japan.
So i would get a better deal with another creditcard, and i think there are nearly 0 people who signed up for that Hiltoncard.
On the other hand, if Starwood would offer a card with the same details , i would go for it
dp
i dont get the point why in japan, banks are billing customers huge annual fees?
In every country i know, normally you get the loyalty cards for free. or at least first year, get bonus miles upon sign up etc.
IN japan you pay 30-200 USD per year for a creditcard and get loosy 1000-7000 miles for signup.
i Just found the hilton honors card which is a joke in my eyes.
https://www.smbc-card.com/mem/nyukai..._tk/hilton.jsp
Standard card : 30USD/Year
Gold card : 180USD/Year
It was so hard to find the page to apply for that card, there is not link on it on the japanese hilton homepage.
You will earn 1000 Hilton extra points and 2000 extra points if you pay with that card in an asian hilton. (s 1000/ g 2000)
but this seems to me a total ripoff, i mean 180USD for a GOLD card?
getting a Amex green card gives me 2 MR points for 1USD which convert with +25% to Hilton Honors in Japan.
So i would get a better deal with another creditcard, and i think there are nearly 0 people who signed up for that Hiltoncard.
On the other hand, if Starwood would offer a card with the same details , i would go for it
dp
May 9, 2005, 8:27 pm
#2
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Japan
Posts: 180
HHonors Visa
A benefit of the gold card is that you get gold HHonors status automatically for as long as you have the account...nothing to do with stays/points/nights. The regular card gives you lifetime silver....not a big deal nor hard to get on your own.
I don't have this card, but have looked at it. If I weren't gold year after year anyway, I would certainly consider this card, as in Japanese Hiltons, at least, the gold benefits are excellent...
* free pool/fitness center (for no status, non-exec rooom stays average is 3000 yen per person to use these facilities)
* upgrade to exec floor...in 2 years, I'm 11 out of 12 upgraded. Exec floor has free breakfast (a good one too), free drinks all day (includes coffee, tea, juice, etc...and alcohol), afternoon sweets, evening hors d'oevres, excellent service, private check-in/check-out, priority reservations in hotel restaurants
* a nice welcome gift in your room...we usually get a nice personal letter and a nice fresh fruit assortment and cookies
* if no exec floor space, free breakfast in the restaurant
* late check-out...we've checked out as late as 4:00 with no extra charge
In Japan, if you are a party of 2 with no status, you'd spend 6000 yen for the pool, 6000 yen for 2 breakfasts, if you each had one coffee and one glass of wine at the hotel during your stay, you'd pay about 3000 yen for that. That's 15,000 yen for one stay...all stuff you'd get free with gold HHonors status. The price difference between exec and non-exec rooms varies between 6000 and 15,000 yen per room per night.
Would take just 2 stays to make that gold card fee pay off.
I don't have this card, but have looked at it. If I weren't gold year after year anyway, I would certainly consider this card, as in Japanese Hiltons, at least, the gold benefits are excellent...
* free pool/fitness center (for no status, non-exec rooom stays average is 3000 yen per person to use these facilities)
* upgrade to exec floor...in 2 years, I'm 11 out of 12 upgraded. Exec floor has free breakfast (a good one too), free drinks all day (includes coffee, tea, juice, etc...and alcohol), afternoon sweets, evening hors d'oevres, excellent service, private check-in/check-out, priority reservations in hotel restaurants
* a nice welcome gift in your room...we usually get a nice personal letter and a nice fresh fruit assortment and cookies
* if no exec floor space, free breakfast in the restaurant
* late check-out...we've checked out as late as 4:00 with no extra charge
In Japan, if you are a party of 2 with no status, you'd spend 6000 yen for the pool, 6000 yen for 2 breakfasts, if you each had one coffee and one glass of wine at the hotel during your stay, you'd pay about 3000 yen for that. That's 15,000 yen for one stay...all stuff you'd get free with gold HHonors status. The price difference between exec and non-exec rooms varies between 6000 and 15,000 yen per room per night.
Would take just 2 stays to make that gold card fee pay off.
May 9, 2005, 9:28 pm
#3
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2004
Programs: Darth Vader of AMEX, A ladys best friend of Hilton, Pt78 of SPG, *G ,*S, ANA VIP
Posts: 3,933
come on
who would use the pool if not for free.
getting gold status on that card is nice, but i have it anyway with my centurion.
OK, if you dont have status, it might be a good deal if you stay more than 5 times a year in a hotel, because you can save money.
but for people who already have status this is really just a rip-off.
they should offer something like Hilton Diamond and Hilton Gold get this card for free or cheaper.
Getting 1000 or 2000 bonus points per stay with that card would be a good deal, if there was not the signifancy high annual fee.
If i spent that 18000 Yen , i will get 2 Stays at hilton phuket which will give me at least 2000 Base points and with promos etc. i will get around 3500 Award points per stay for that money.
so 18000Yen would give me 7000 Award points + 360 Amex MR points which convert to HiltonH at 125% =450 HH points.
So if i spent 18000 i get around 7500 Points (of course only with promo and gold bonus etc. )
So there is signifancy better use of my money thinking that i will do some more holidays this year.
of course this is only a example, but if you have status, it is totally non-interesting to get the hilton card.
dp
getting gold status on that card is nice, but i have it anyway with my centurion.
OK, if you dont have status, it might be a good deal if you stay more than 5 times a year in a hotel, because you can save money.
but for people who already have status this is really just a rip-off.
they should offer something like Hilton Diamond and Hilton Gold get this card for free or cheaper.
Getting 1000 or 2000 bonus points per stay with that card would be a good deal, if there was not the signifancy high annual fee.
If i spent that 18000 Yen , i will get 2 Stays at hilton phuket which will give me at least 2000 Base points and with promos etc. i will get around 3500 Award points per stay for that money.
so 18000Yen would give me 7000 Award points + 360 Amex MR points which convert to HiltonH at 125% =450 HH points.
So if i spent 18000 i get around 7500 Points (of course only with promo and gold bonus etc. )
So there is signifancy better use of my money thinking that i will do some more holidays this year.
of course this is only a example, but if you have status, it is totally non-interesting to get the hilton card.
dp
May 9, 2005, 10:29 pm
#4
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: Bangkok
Programs: NH-SFC, SPG-LTP, MR-P, HH-G
Posts: 85
The Hilton Japan is showing the page mentioned in Japanese.
http://www.hiltonhhonors.co.jp/hhono...s/VisaCard.asp
And the annual fee for the Hilton HHonors VISA Gold Card can be JPY7,350.
You can read well to find out how to get the annual fee of JPY7,350 for Hilton HHonors VISA Gold Card in the web page you indicated.
When I applied it, the Card company was offering a special promotion for discount-off JPY5,000 from the certain annual fee (JPY13,650) as the initial year application, and more JPY1,000 was discounted if I accepted no-paper monthly statement.
Then my first annual fee was JPY7,350. I renewed it in 2004 and again it was JPY7,350 with something special way! This annual fee can be forever with HHonors Gold VIP status unless they terminate the promotion.
I think that Hilton HHonors VISA Silver card should be different story with my case.
Oh! I got from the company about JPY1,000 free coupon, which was able to be used in Hilton Japan hotels, at the time of application.
Sorry for many peoples in here because the web site is written in Japanese only and my poor English.
http://www.hiltonhhonors.co.jp/hhono...s/VisaCard.asp
And the annual fee for the Hilton HHonors VISA Gold Card can be JPY7,350.
You can read well to find out how to get the annual fee of JPY7,350 for Hilton HHonors VISA Gold Card in the web page you indicated.
When I applied it, the Card company was offering a special promotion for discount-off JPY5,000 from the certain annual fee (JPY13,650) as the initial year application, and more JPY1,000 was discounted if I accepted no-paper monthly statement.
Then my first annual fee was JPY7,350. I renewed it in 2004 and again it was JPY7,350 with something special way!
This annual fee can be forever with HHonors Gold VIP status unless they terminate the promotion.I think that Hilton HHonors VISA Silver card should be different story with my case.
Oh! I got from the company about JPY1,000 free coupon, which was able to be used in Hilton Japan hotels, at the time of application.
Sorry for many peoples in here because the web site is written in Japanese only and my poor English.
May 9, 2005, 11:45 pm
#6
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2004
Programs: Darth Vader of AMEX, A ladys best friend of Hilton, Pt78 of SPG, *G ,*S, ANA VIP
Posts: 3,933
do you mean get a partner card?
hi if you mean that to get a partner card means i only pay 7350 Yen, that would be not a discount for me as i have to pay +1050 yen.
i can not find a 5000 yen discount promo on both homepages?
btw. if the standard card was around 1000Yen and the gold card around 6000yen, it would be ok. but everything above is not acceptable for me
dp
i can not find a 5000 yen discount promo on both homepages?
btw. if the standard card was around 1000Yen and the gold card around 6000yen, it would be ok. but everything above is not acceptable for me
dp
Last edited by derpelikan; May 9, 2005 at 11:49 pm
May 10, 2005, 5:27 am
#7
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Japan
Posts: 180
Originally Posted by derpelikan
who would use the pool if not for free.
getting gold status on that card is nice, but i have it anyway with my centurion.
OK, if you dont have status, it might be a good deal if you stay more than 5 times a year in a hotel, because you can save money.
but for people who already have status this is really just a rip-off.
dp
getting gold status on that card is nice, but i have it anyway with my centurion.
OK, if you dont have status, it might be a good deal if you stay more than 5 times a year in a hotel, because you can save money.
but for people who already have status this is really just a rip-off.
dp
http://www.hilton.co.uk/AboutHHonors...?tcid=11000390 is some information in English, though not as detailed as the Japanese.
The Centurion Amex, which I think you are referring to when you say you get your gold status through Centurion, boasts a very high annual fee. Granted it offers more benefits, but if you are going to gripe about annual fees... The only credit card Japan residents are eligible for that gives status is the Sumitomo Mitsui card...and they do offer promotions from time to time. It is possible to phone them to find out if there is a promotion currently running.
If you already have status and intend to keep it through stays or other creative ways (promotions for example) then you don't need this card. But, for the person who doesn't have status, doesn't intend to stay more than a few times a year, isn't promotion savvy...this card is a great way to make sure you get the benefits of gold and you really don't end up out any money after a couple of stays. If the card isn't useful for you, you don't have to get one, and you don't have to pay the fee.
May 10, 2005, 8:07 am
#8
Guest
Posts: n/a
a very high annual fee. Granted it offers more benefits, but if you are going to gripe about annual fees... The only credit card Japan residents are eligible for that gives status is the Sumitomo Mitsui card
http://www.visaplatinum.com/ap/platclub/hilton.shtml
Enter 'ZN' (plan-code) at HP,You'll find out
May 10, 2005, 9:56 am
#9
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: NRT/PDX
Programs: Willamette Valley Cropdusters Silver Elite, National Tent Frequent Stay program, Ed's Rent-a-tractor
Posts: 3,357
In Japan, premium or "gold" cards, especially those cards that earn points/miles, tend to have high annual fees. Want a Mileage Plus JCB Gold card? 18,900 Yen. NW/Citi WP Visa? 18,900 Yen. Mileage Plus UC Gold? You guessed it, 18,900 Yen. Even the standard versions of these cards have an annual fee of 10,500 Yen. At least the Sumitomi Mitsui HHonors Visa Gold gives you complimentary Gold elite status. Oh, and another item--most of these gold cards will also give you lounge access at most of the major domestic airports here in Japan. (Though I consider the quality of most of these lounges to be below that of the airlines' club lounges.)
derpelikan (and anyone else considering applying for the Sumitomo Mitsui HHonors cards), there's a little item posted on the US Hilton info site of this card that you need to take notice of. It states that the card is "for Japan residents only."
http://hhonors.hilton.com/en/hhonors...sumitomo.jhtml
On the UK site, it states, "In order to apply for the Hilton HHonors VISA Card, you have to be a resident of Japan and have a valid bank account in Japan."
http://www.hilton.co.uk/AboutHHonors...?tcid=11000390
I checked the application form, and only Japanese addresses are "inputtable."
[Must select a prefecture from a dropdown list, and write your address in Japanese (Kanji/Hiragana/Katakana) characters.] The same applies to your Japanese bank account information (Japanese credit cards must be linked to a Japanese bank account, from which they automatically withdraw funds in Yen at a predetermined time each month.)
derpelikan (and anyone else considering applying for the Sumitomo Mitsui HHonors cards), there's a little item posted on the US Hilton info site of this card that you need to take notice of. It states that the card is "for Japan residents only."
http://hhonors.hilton.com/en/hhonors...sumitomo.jhtml
On the UK site, it states, "In order to apply for the Hilton HHonors VISA Card, you have to be a resident of Japan and have a valid bank account in Japan."
http://www.hilton.co.uk/AboutHHonors...?tcid=11000390
I checked the application form, and only Japanese addresses are "inputtable."
[Must select a prefecture from a dropdown list, and write your address in Japanese (Kanji/Hiragana/Katakana) characters.] The same applies to your Japanese bank account information (Japanese credit cards must be linked to a Japanese bank account, from which they automatically withdraw funds in Yen at a predetermined time each month.)
Last edited by DoubleJ; May 10, 2005 at 9:58 am
May 10, 2005, 6:43 pm
#10
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2004
Programs: Darth Vader of AMEX, A ladys best friend of Hilton, Pt78 of SPG, *G ,*S, ANA VIP
Posts: 3,933
thx
Originally Posted by DoubleJ
In Japan, premium or "gold" cards, especially those cards that earn points/miles, tend to have high annual fees. Want a Mileage Plus JCB Gold card? 18,900 Yen. NW/Citi WP Visa? 18,900 Yen. Mileage Plus UC Gold? You guessed it, 18,900 Yen. Even the standard versions of these cards have an annual fee of 10,500 Yen. At least the Sumitomi Mitsui HHonors Visa Gold gives you complimentary Gold elite status. Oh, and another item--most of these gold cards will also give you lounge access at most of the major domestic airports here in Japan. (Though I consider the quality of most of these lounges to be below that of the airlines' club lounges.)
derpelikan (and anyone else considering applying for the Sumitomo Mitsui HHonors cards), there's a little item posted on the US Hilton info site of this card that you need to take notice of. It states that the card is "for Japan residents only."
http://hhonors.hilton.com/en/hhonors...sumitomo.jhtml
On the UK site, it states, "In order to apply for the Hilton HHonors VISA Card, you have to be a resident of Japan and have a valid bank account in Japan."
http://www.hilton.co.uk/AboutHHonors...?tcid=11000390
I checked the application form, and only Japanese addresses are "inputtable."
[Must select a prefecture from a dropdown list, and write your address in Japanese (Kanji/Hiragana/Katakana) characters.] The same applies to your Japanese bank account information (Japanese credit cards must be linked to a Japanese bank account, from which they automatically withdraw funds in Yen at a predetermined time each month.)
derpelikan (and anyone else considering applying for the Sumitomo Mitsui HHonors cards), there's a little item posted on the US Hilton info site of this card that you need to take notice of. It states that the card is "for Japan residents only."
http://hhonors.hilton.com/en/hhonors...sumitomo.jhtml
On the UK site, it states, "In order to apply for the Hilton HHonors VISA Card, you have to be a resident of Japan and have a valid bank account in Japan."
http://www.hilton.co.uk/AboutHHonors...?tcid=11000390
I checked the application form, and only Japanese addresses are "inputtable."
[Must select a prefecture from a dropdown list, and write your address in Japanese (Kanji/Hiragana/Katakana) characters.] The same applies to your Japanese bank account information (Japanese credit cards must be linked to a Japanese bank account, from which they automatically withdraw funds in Yen at a predetermined time each month.)
but i have a japanese adress here. and japanese bank. same in china , germany , uk
so no problem for me at all.but the card is not so nice for me. i will keep earning double miles with my amex and move than the points to hilton.
it is than 2.25 HH points i get per 1usd spent. thats better than using the hilton japan card.
dp
Jul 8, 2005, 10:06 pm
#11
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2004
Programs: Darth Vader of AMEX, A ladys best friend of Hilton, Pt78 of SPG, *G ,*S, ANA VIP
Posts: 3,933
award nights
does anybody knows if this applies to award nights too?
if i get extra 2K for paying with the card, it would be worth it i than would just bill my internet connection to my room and voila get 2k extra.
if yes i would go for it as i have 8 award stays coming.
dp
if i get extra 2K for paying with the card, it would be worth it i than would just bill my internet connection to my room and voila get 2k extra.
if yes i would go for it as i have 8 award stays coming.
dp
Sep 6, 2006, 12:44 am
#12
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2004
Programs: Darth Vader of AMEX, A ladys best friend of Hilton, Pt78 of SPG, *G ,*S, ANA VIP
Posts: 3,933
new offer
just received this from hilton japan
https://www.smbc-card.com/nyukai/aff...lton/index.jsp
get the hilton card for half the price.
dp
https://www.smbc-card.com/nyukai/aff...lton/index.jsp
get the hilton card for half the price.
dp
Sep 6, 2006, 6:30 am
#13
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: NRT/PDX
Programs: Willamette Valley Cropdusters Silver Elite, National Tent Frequent Stay program, Ed's Rent-a-tractor
Posts: 3,357
Originally Posted by derpelikan
just received this from hilton japan
get the hilton card for half the price.
get the hilton card for half the price.
Mar 9, 2021, 6:18 pm
#14
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2011
Programs: Hyatt Discoverist, SEIBU PRINCE CLUB Silver, Marriott Gold
Posts: 20,437
Two new Hilton American Express cards available in Japan. The "premium" version offers a path to Diamond status with 2,000,000 yen yearly spend.
https://www.americanexpress.com/jp/c...-premium-card/
https://www.americanexpress.com/jp/c...-premium-card/
Mar 11, 2021, 8:13 pm
#15
Join Date: Jan 2017
Location: NGS
Programs: UA Silver, ANA MC, HH Diamond, Hyatt Discoverist, Bonvoy Plat, IHG Plat, Shangri-La GC, Hertz PC
Posts: 1,234
Fortunately, I have the Aspire Card, but I've recently seen the ad for the premium Japanese card on my Hilton Hotel app. I feel sorry for Hilton's Japanese clients having to spend 2 million yen to get Diamond status when I get it for only $450/year. They must be livid, but then Amex is only playing by Japanese rules when they make this kind of offer. Amex would never be allowed to offer Diamond status for 50,000 yen/year along with 150,000 bonus points in Japan, and they know it.