Amex Hilton (Aspire and Surpass Only) CC Changes

[Zenichiro]

I’m sure it’s in this 47 page thread somewhere, but if I buy Hawaiian miles will that trigger the $50.00 quarterly credit?

It probably won’t work since HawaiianMiles purchases are processed by points.com, not the airline. The only one commonly reported to work is Avianca, as their miles are sold directly. Your results may vary.

 

[Jace]

It probably won’t work since HawaiianMiles purchases are processed by points.com, not the airline. The only one commonly reported to work is Avianca, as their miles are sold directly. Your results may vary.

Agree on this, and it looks like they don't offer travel bank purchases like United or B6 that come across as purchases directly from the airline.

 

[Monkeyboy]

It probably won’t work since HawaiianMiles purchases are processed by points.com, not the airline. The only one commonly reported to work is Avianca, as their miles are sold directly. Your results may vary.

That’s too bad, I guess I will find out. Says Hawaiian BG USD on the Amex statement. So your probably right.

 

[Zenichiro]

That’s too bad, I guess I will find out. Says Hawaiian BG USD on the Amex statement. So your probably right.

Hope it does. GL. Please report back

 

[CalGalTraveler]

United Travel Bank has worked for me in the past. I haven't tested recently though. Are you saying that doesn't work anymore?

I have also booked a non-basic fare for around the credit price and cancelled, however that only provides a year. Good tactic to extend expiring IHG Premier United credits.

 

[Eric B]

United Travel Bank has worked for me in the past. I haven't tested recently though. Are you saying that doesn't work anymore?

I have also booked a non-basic fare for around the credit price and cancelled, however that only provides a year. Good tactic to extend expiring IHG Premier United credits.

It worked for me last month.

 

[Zenichiro]

United Travel Bank has worked for me in the past. I haven't tested recently though. Are you saying that doesn't work anymore?

I have also booked a non-basic fare for around the credit price and cancelled, however that only provides a year. Good tactic to extend expiring IHG Premier United credits.

UTB works, the question was if buying Alaska points triggered the airline credit and I don’t think that it would. UTB is basically purchasing a ticket without a date, so should never be an issue.

 

[mountainboy]

I’m sure it’s in this 47 page thread somewhere, but if I buy Hawaiian miles will that trigger the $50.00 quarterly credit?

Aspire $50 credit is very liberal for airline purchases, including fare (unlike AmEx Platinum which is for 'incidentals' (but works for many low price ticket purchases as loophole or UTB etc).

 

[JohnnyO]

DW Aspire just met the $30k threshold and we got another FNC. So that's four FNC's total this year.

Hampton Inn 7 Mile Beach in Cayman DW got $200 ($400 total this year) Aspire resort credit for incidentals since we used points for the stay with 5th night Free. One note ... at check out HI tried to charge us the resort fee of $30 per day/night (5 x $30 = $150). We objected to this charge as when we made the reservation on the Hilton App there was no mention of this resort fee. So they reversed it. Sneaky devils.

We are both on track for our $50 per quarter flight credit.

We are going to ease our spending on both these cards as we don't anticipate making the next level $60k for more FNC's. We will switch to our other cards except for direct Hilton purchases and for quarterly flight credits.

 

[Zenichiro]

just a data point for Aspire. I pay my T-Mobile bill with Aspire and the 4 of us have iPhone 16.
My son cracked the screen on his phone, so we took it to the Apple Store and had it repaired. The screen replacement cost about $320. I kept the receipt and photos of the damage, then filed a claim with Amex. They reimbursed me for the repair, minus the $50 deductible.

If you pay your wireless bill with the Hilton Honors Amex Aspire, it automatically includes free cell phone coverage for every line on that bill. It covers theft and damage, up to $800 per claim with a $50 deductible, and you can file up to two claims in a 12-month period. Loss isn’t covered, and you need to have paid the prior month’s bill with the Aspire card.

 

[letsgobobby]

just a data point for Aspire. I pay my T-Mobile bill with Aspire and the 4 of us have iPhone 16.
My son cracked the screen on his phone, so we took it to the Apple Store and had it repaired. The screen replacement cost about $320. I kept the receipt and photos of the damage, then filed a claim with Amex. They reimbursed me for the repair, minus the $50 deductible.

If you pay your wireless bill with the Hilton Honors Amex Aspire, it automatically includes free cell phone coverage for every line on that bill. It covers theft and damage, up to $800 per claim with a $50 deductible, and you can file up to two claims in a 12-month period. Loss isn’t covered, and you need to have paid the prior month’s bill with the Aspire card.

not familiar, is this purchase protection or specifically some wireless benefit?

 

[Zenichiro]

not familiar, is this purchase protection or specifically some wireless benefit?

Cell phone protection.

Purchase protection:
If you buy something with your Hilton Amex Aspire, it’s covered for theft, accidental damage, or loss for 90 days after purchase, up to $10,000 per item and $50,000 per year. It also extends the manufacturer’s warranty by one extra year on eligible items, up to $10,000 per claim and $50,000 per year.

 

[letsgobobby]

Kinda blew it and put no Hilton charges this quarter on Mrs. Letsgobobby's Surpass despite having five different Hilton stays: three were on points with no incidentals. one was W57th but we paid short stay fee with Aspire (that was our missed opportunity). One went on my Surpass. Put save points fee on my Surpass (opps again). No more Hilton stays planned through Sep 30.

I already prepaid MFs for 2026 for Q2.

Other than a meal coded as a Hilton expense what are my options?

 

[Eric B]

Kinda blew it and put no Hilton charges this quarter on Mrs. Letsgobobby's Surpass despite having five different Hilton stays: three were on points with no incidentals. one was W57th but we paid short stay fee with Aspire (that was our missed opportunity). One went on my Surpass. Put save points fee on my Surpass (opps again). No more Hilton stays planned through Sep 30.

I already prepaid MFs for 2026 for Q2.

Other than a meal coded as a Hilton expense what are my options?

Prepay my mfs….

 

[HuskerATL]

Kinda blew it and put no Hilton charges this quarter on Mrs. Letsgobobby's Surpass despite having five different Hilton stays: three were on points with no incidentals. one was W57th but we paid short stay fee with Aspire (that was our missed opportunity). One went on my Surpass. Put save points fee on my Surpass (opps again). No more Hilton stays planned through Sep 30.

I already prepaid MFs for 2026 for Q2.

Other than a meal coded as a Hilton expense what are my options?

call CS and ask to put $50 toward MFs...

 

[mountainboy]

short stay fee with Aspire (that was our missed opportunity). One went on my Surpass. Put save points fee on my Surpass (opps again).

If all you Gurus, with your fancy apps/spreadsheets tracking all these benefits, also miss these things, then I don't feel bad....

PS: (TY for your donation to the Executives at Amex/Chase who got-ya in Q2; I am sure you will get right at it in Q3....) !

 

[mountainboy]

Happy Labor Day/September Everyone!
Saw @GT75 's sticky re 2026 MFs, so presume coming soon...

1. What is the ETA for when we know the MFs for 2026 for HGVC properties & Craig Lodge?

2a. Many confusing posts re getting Aspire credit for paying just the CL MFs (not initial purchase). What is the latest on this? (? do we get Aspire 200 semi-annual credit for paying CL MFs? I presume no but curious, re others DPs).

2b. Do we get Aspire $200 Hilton credit for paying HGVC Elara MFs? (not bHC Elara just regular HGVC Elara)?

3. What is the best strategy to maximize getting HGVC Aspire Hilton $200 semi-annual credits for paying MFs? (for those with 2 Aspire cards)? (? pay some in Q4 2025 & some on Jan 1st, 2026 or shortly thereafter, ??)

Mahalo!

 

[brp]

3. What is the best strategy to maximize getting HGVC Aspire Hilton $200 semi-annual credits for paying MFs? (for those with 2 Aspire cards)? (? pay some in Q4 2025 & some on Jan 1st, 2026 or shortly thereafter, ??)

Yes, exactly this. We each pay $200 toward our Blvd. timeshares in Q4 and then the balance at the end of January each year (I wait until my statement closes on about th3 25th so I can push the payment into the next billing cycle and earn a few more shekels in interest.

Cheers.

 

[GT75]

1. What is the ETA for when we know the MFs for 2026 for HGVC properties & Craig Lodge?

Look at when lasts years MF were posted for an idea.

 

[mountainboy]

Look at when lasts years MF were posted for an idea.

Excellent idea!
Looks like early October folks started posting, so coming soon...
TY!

 

[brp]

Excellent idea!
Looks like early October folks started posting, so coming soon...
TY!

We're never in a hurry to pay things that can be paid later so we can keep the money around longer. Usually late December for the first payment and late January (since the real due date is Feb. 15 for our contracts) for the second.

We do our quarterly airline purchase on the first day of the quarter, but we're never out the money since it gets reimbursed before we ever need to make a payment.

Cheers.

 

[GT75]

Looks like early October folks started posting, so coming soon...

Looks like our moderator started a little early. I have heard that he will be busy this month traveling.

 

[Reddart]

2b. Do we get Aspire $200 Hilton credit for paying HGVC Elara MFs? (not bHC Elara just regular HGVC Elara)?

As of last years dues it did. Always subject to change of course.

 

[HuskerATL]

Looks like our moderator started a little early. I have heard that he will be busy this month traveling.

that moderator is always slacking...

 

[HuskerATL]

As of last years dues it did. Always subject to change of course.

You should. I have heard that people do. We use all of our credits at Blvd and get the 14x for it and CL.