I just called the Diamond line to check on my tier expiration date, last year I qualified via spend on Surpass and I ended up qualifying with stays anyway as well. According to the Diamond line my current expiration date is March 31, 2018, so I guess I'm good until at least 2017 before I worry about it (or I may wait until 2018 and just spend a bunch starting 1/1/18 to get it via spend as quickly as possible).

Would a secondary cardholder (staying under thier Honors #) be eligible for Gold status or does it only apply to the primary and their Honors account?

Yes you can do this as it is a separate product. So you can have both the no fee and fee card open and get the bonus on both. Since your no fee card is less than a year old it is ineligible for the upgrade due to the CARD act.

You can also wait until your card is over a year old and upgrade it, but risk the bonus being lower, although it could go higher at some point as this has been the trend.

There is no doubt that you will get the bonus after meeting the spend in time unless you have had the Surpass before.

Gold status is tied strictly to the HH account # of the primary card holder.

Downgrading
 

Annual fee coming due end of month, already have diamond thru 3/2017 and few paid Hilton stays planned. Would Amex have issue with me downgrading to no fee now and upgrading back to Surpass in March of 2017?

Thanks for the reply! I already applied and was approved for the surpass card.

Now the question is, when the no fee card reaches the 1st year anniversary, and assuming that I get the upgrade offer. Will I still be able to upgrade and receive the points? Or do I have to close the surpass card before that?

Nobody knows.

In the past you could do what you are asking.

The one constant in this hobby/game is the banks change/tweak the rules constantly. What the conventional wisdom was in the past does not apply to the big three issuers (AMEX being one) in many cases today. What holds true today will most likely be ancient history in March of 2017.

Apparently we were typing at the same time. What I wrote in my last post is applicable to your question. Since we are not fortune tellers no way to now if you can upgrade and receive the bonus points in the future, recommend when you surpass a year with the no-fee account keep checking to see if you have a bonus offer to upgrade and read the T & C carefully. I "think" your best shot would be if the Surpass was closed first as the T & C will likely state that not eligible if you have this card open (perhaps/likely ever as it is now with most of their offers). But that is just my best guess and the fact that I do not recall reading about anyone with multiple Surpass cards open in the past even before AMEX went to the once per lifetime bonus per card.

I received the new Surpass card with a note that they would also be cancelling my Amex Optima Plat card due to no activity in 12 months. (It's probably more like no activity in 150 months or something like that :D ) I'll miss it for nostalgia's sake - any reason why I should hold onto it? I currently have Amex Plat, Surpass Hilton, and no-fee Hilton (spend on no-fee will go to 0).

Well, I spent 3k on the new surpass card as soon as I received the card, the 100k points posted already.

The 1st statement is still two weeks away, and the annual fee has not yet posted.

Can I cancel the card at this point to save $75? I am a diamond member, so this card does not offer any added benefit to me anyway.

I think you have already agreed to pay the $75 fee and most likely it will still show up on the first bill. Why not be happy with the 100k points you just got. Maybe even consider using the card for some charges and giving AMEX some business in exchange for the value you have received.

I have read some comments questioning claw back of points, but I would support AMEX taking your points back if you proceed with that strategy. I realize you have met the minimum spend but put yourself in their shoes.

Just my 3 pennies.

I applied for this card on 4/10 for the 100K point offer. Due to website issues, I ended up submitting 2 apps. I called on 4/11 and had them cancel one. Still sitting in In Process status. I called again on Friday and spoke with a rep. He said he would try to get it approved within 24 hours. Still sitting in In Process. I have a 5 nights booked at a Hampton in a couple of weeks.

Has anyone else had delays like this? I have an excellent CR and wondering what it takes to get them to approve someone.

If I do get the card can I update the existing reservations to be guarantee with it?

Perhaps you could? On the other hand, perhaps the miles get clawed back and or you are stuck with the fee regardless and you wind up on AMEX **** list. Is it really worth the risk of the later to potentially save $75 that just banked you 100K HH points?

I think of this hobby as a marathon, not a sprint. I think it best to keep cards open for at least 8 months to not make it so blatantly clear to banks that I am in it solely for the sign up bonus and some how get on their radar in a bad way. This is my recommendation to you as well.

Should you decide to keep it for some all all of the remainder of its fist year, you may want to consider actually using it for future HH spend at 12X or Gas Stations, Restaurants and grocery stores at 6X.

While I still await approval for my new HH Surpass card, I received an offer in the mail today from AMEX for a Platinum card for my very small business with a possible 250,000 point bonus????