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American Express - HHonors Points

JSparling

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For the last couple of years we've had the HHonors Citibank Reserve card which gives us 10x points on Hilton/HGVC purchases and 3x points for everything else. We also get a free night certificate at a Hilton brand hotel and if we spend $40,000 in a year we get Diamond status. Annual fee is $95.

Last night I found the American Express HHonors Surpass card and it appears to be better for us point whores - especially if you can pay your HGVC MF with it.

https://www.americanexpress.com/us/credit-cards/hilton-hhonors-surpass

You get 12x the points for any Hilton/HGVC purchase (including your MF's!), 6x points for gas/grocery/dining purchases, and 3x for anything else. That's a 20% increase on points for Hilton/HGVC purchases and a 100% increase on gas/dining/grocery purchases. :whoopie: You get 60,000 points for signing up and spending $3K and the annual fee is only $75. It has the same perk that if you spend $40K in a year you get Diamond status with HHonors. I don't believe it has the automatic free night like Citibank does but I believe the higher earning rates will off-set that.

I signed up and got the card and they give you your account number instantly upon approval so I then logged in and paid my HGVC MF's to grab the 12x points back into my HHonors account. Bam! :banana:
 

Wgk101

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Flamingo
Plus the card gives you Hilton honors gold status which gives you extra privileges while staying in the hotels
 

1Kflyerguy

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HGVC Kings Land, Elara, and Marriott Destination Club Points
I have had the Amex Surpass for quite a few years and really like it... Its got a great payback when used with Hilton, and the Gas /Grocery/Dinning payback is pretty good. The points can really add up...
 

MikeinSoCal

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I also have the Amex Surpass card and it works out great for me. If you going to close the Citi Hilton HHonors Reserve card, pick up the Citi Hilton HHonors Visa Signature card. There's no annual fee. When I picked it up there was a 75k point bonus for signing up. Also, if you spend $1k annually on stays within the Hilton portfolio, you get 10k bonus points.
 

elleny76

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Hi just curious ..How many points exactly you got paying maintenance:clap:?


I got the Hilton honor Amex and got 40k free points and for every dollar expend in HH is 7 points. No annual fee:)


For the last couple of years we've had the HHonors Citibank Reserve card which gives us 10x points on Hilton/HGVC purchases and 3x points for everything else. We also get a free night certificate at a Hilton brand hotel and if we spend $40,000 in a year we get Diamond status. Annual fee is $95.

Last night I found the American Express HHonors Surpass card and it appears to be better for us point whores - especially if you can pay your HGVC MF with it.

https://www.americanexpress.com/us/credit-cards/hilton-hhonors-surpass

You get 12x the points for any Hilton/HGVC purchase (including your MF's!), 6x points for gas/grocery/dining purchases, and 3x for anything else. That's a 20% increase on points for Hilton/HGVC purchases and a 100% increase on gas/dining/grocery purchases. :whoopie: You get 60,000 points for signing up and spending $3K and the annual fee is only $75. It has the same perk that if you spend $40K in a year you get Diamond status with HHonors. I don't believe it has the automatic free night like Citibank does but I believe the higher earning rates will off-set that.

I signed up and got the card and they give you your account number instantly upon approval so I then logged in and paid my HGVC MF's to grab the 12x points back into my HHonors account. Bam! :banana:
 

Helios

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mav

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For the last couple of years we've had the HHonors Citibank Reserve card which gives us 10x points on Hilton/HGVC purchases and 3x points for everything else. We also get a free night certificate at a Hilton brand hotel and if we spend $40,000 in a year we get Diamond status. Annual fee is $95.

Last night I found the American Express HHonors Surpass card and it appears to be better for us point whores - especially if you can pay your HGVC MF with it.

https://www.americanexpress.com/us/credit-cards/hilton-hhonors-surpass

You get 12x the points for any Hilton/HGVC purchase (including your MF's!), 6x points for gas/grocery/dining purchases, and 3x for anything else. That's a 20% increase on points for Hilton/HGVC purchases and a 100% increase on gas/dining/grocery purchases. :whoopie: You get 60,000 points for signing up and spending $3K and the annual fee is only $75. It has the same perk that if you spend $40K in a year you get Diamond status with HHonors. I don't believe it has the automatic free night like Citibank does but I believe the higher earning rates will off-set that.

I signed up and got the card and they give you your account number instantly upon approval so I then logged in and paid my HGVC MF's to grab the 12x points back into my HHonors account. Bam! :banana:

Not sure but I think is's Gold status with both cards, not Diamond. Otherwise, the card sounds great
 

1Kflyerguy

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Not sure but I think is's Gold status with both cards, not Diamond. Otherwise, the card sounds great

You get automatic Gold status with both cards. The AMEX Surpass card allows you to earn Diamond Status if you spend $40K in a calendar year. That is easy for some, harder for others....

The Amex card does charge a foreign transaction fee while the Visa does not, so that might be a consideration if you travel internationally a lot...

There is probably not a "single best Card", instead you need to evaluate your own travel and spending patterns to see which card will earn you rewards you can use.

For me, I like the Amex Surpass. But I could see one of the other cards being a better choice in a different situation.
 

newportbeach

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TIME to reconsider one card vs. another. I have always like that Hilton Citi came with the free night and it had no category limit, so I could use it even at the Waldorf for example, unlike Marriott that limits the "gift" to category 5, and of course, no such category exists say in Hawaii. I may even call Citi and ask if they
are going to step up their game.
 

jlm77

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I have both the Citi and the Amex HHonors cards. We primarily use the Amex. They offer better points per dollar spent ratios. However, many smaller stores do not take Amex because of the higher fee they charge per transaction. Then I use the Visa. As long as you pay your balance in full each month its a huge perk. Plus I like the tracking ability of purchases, so we use the cards for everything possible.
 

venom550pm

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We have the surpass card and earn about 25,000-40,000 points a month. I'd put my mortgage on there if they'd let me :) Told the wife in 5 years we will go to Tahiti and Bora Bora and stay for free :) :banana::banana:
 

Jodi0415

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We have the surpass card and earn about 25,000-40,000 points a month. I'd put my mortgage on there if they'd let me :) Told the wife in 5 years we will go to Tahiti and Bora Bora and stay for free :) :banana::banana:

Thanks again Tug!!

I was shopping for rewards cards good for travel and I was about to apply for the regular Hhonors card when I saw this thread! Used the card today! Can't wait to pay our maintenance fees! Lol!!

I hope to join you in Bora Bora!!
 

Jason245

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We have the surpass card and earn about 25,000-40,000 points a month. I'd put my mortgage on there if they'd let me :) Told the wife in 5 years we will go to Tahiti and Bora Bora and stay for free :) :banana::banana:
At that earnings rate, I would imagine it would only take a year or 2 to accumulate 500k points. .more than enough. ..why wait 5 years. .unless you are planning on 2 to 3 weeks.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using Tapatalk
 

venom550pm

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At that earnings rate, I would imagine it would only take a year or 2 to accumulate 500k points. .more than enough. ..why wait 5 years. .unless you are planning on 2 to 3 weeks.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using Tapatalk


We are in the Northeast, when we go it will be for at least 2 weeks if not 3. Also will probably get a second room for the kids. Plus I think we have the next 5 years vacations already planned out :whoopie:
 

brp

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DVC: Boardwalk Villas, Beach Club villas
You get automatic Gold status with both cards. The AMEX Surpass card allows you to earn Diamond Status if you spend $40K in a calendar year. That is easy for some, harder for others....

The Amex card does charge a foreign transaction fee while the Visa does not, so that might be a consideration if you travel internationally a lot...

There is probably not a "single best Card", instead you need to evaluate your own travel and spending patterns to see which card will earn you rewards you can use.

For me, I like the Amex Surpass. But I could see one of the other cards being a better choice in a different situation.

We put property tax on the one mrs. brp has, so we hit the $40K without much problem, and it's worth the extra fees. We've also been using it at CostCo, and that adds up.

Next year she'll move to the Visa since CostCo is switching and a Visa is more useful than Amex since I have an Amex Platinum (for Centurion Lounge access and a few other things). For the additional $20, ForEx fees are waived, as mentioned.

Cheers.
 
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