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Amex Hilton Changes

HuskerATL

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It is not much money and most of it is breakage since we only fly United 1 - 2x per year.
just checked and it is only for United. That is probably why I have not used it. I don't fly United unless forced to....which is rarely...been years.

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CalGalTraveler

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That's right. It is worse than I thought. Only $25 at a time. We may cancel this card at some point. We use it for the free night. When that devalues we will close. The $25 per six months is practically worthless.
 

HuskerATL

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I rarely use the card unless overseas in a IHG hotel but I just noticed this....and didn't realize it. I just put my son up, via points, in Bologna for 3 nights so he could have had a 4th night free...but it was only 16k/night at the Holiday Inn so not much.

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artringwald

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HVC: The Point at Poipu, 3 deeded weeks, 1 of which is in The Club.
... and the $50 credit has arrived in my transaction history.
I got my $50 credit to my Surpass card less than a week after I paid my HVC maintenance fees. :D
 

brp

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It is not much money and most of it is breakage since we only fly United 1 - 2x per year.
And we fly United less than that. We only use them for one route (SFO-MFR) as there are no other good options. So the Travel Bank option, while great for many, just does nothing for us, unfortunately.

Cheers.
 

CalGalTraveler

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@brp We like United to NYC from SFO in addition to International. Southwest doesn't have a non-stop. My DH is only 10k away from million miler so we stick him on United metal for long haul whenever we can.
 

brp

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@brp We like United to NYC from SFO in addition to International. Southwest doesn't have a non-stop. My DH is only 10k away from million miler so we stick him on United metal for long haul whenever we can.

We fly AA from SFO to JFK (just got back yesterday, in fact) as they have lie-flat seats and great lounges at JFK. Also international as we typically go through LHR for anything in Europe.

Cheers.
 

jp10558

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Yeah...the 6x HHonors points on Gas and Groceries is part of why I chose to stay with my Surpass card for the past couple of years. That it now has a $200 ($50 * 4) Hilton Credit that covers all Hiltons and not just resorts ensured that I kept it and got a new Aspire rather than upgrading.
The only problem with having both is now 2 annual fees, and both give benefits by minimum spend, so trying to track spend per card is more work than I would keep up with. I prefer "put all spend on one card" unless Amex isn't accepted.
 

buzglyd

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@brp We like United to NYC from SFO in addition to International. Southwest doesn't have a non-stop. My DH is only 10k away from million miler so we stick him on United metal for long haul whenever we can.
I hit one million on United about 5 years ago. Gold for life for me and another family member. Funny thing is I fly Alaska and Southwest mostly now because Alaska has many non-stops out of San Diego and Southwest because of the companion fare.
 

brp

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The only problem with having both is now 2 annual fees, and both give benefits by minimum spend, so trying to track spend per card is more work than I would keep up with. I prefer "put all spend on one card" unless Amex isn't accepted.
The only spend-based-perk card we work to satisfy is Hyatt. Free night at $15K and two stay credits per $5K. All spending there for mrs. brp until the end of the year when we try to time earning status. I split between that and CSR (depending upon spend categories) with the goal to get to $15K.

We use Amex only for perks and relevant spend - Amex card for Amex, Marriott for Marriott and Bonvoy dining credit. Otherwise, Amex never makes an appearance. All Chase.

Cheers.
 

CalGalTraveler

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We have CSRs and transfer the points from that to Hyatt Hawaii and sometimes to get paid airfare credit on United when fares a low. Saving up for another trip. :) . My understanding was the Hyatt card is only for lower category hotels?

Considering adding a Surpass card to our two Aspires for the 15k free night with spend.
 

buzglyd

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We have CSRs and transfer the points from that to Hyatt Hawaii and sometimes to get paid airfare credit on United when fares a low. I am saving up for another trip. :) . My understanding was the Hyatt card is only for lower category hotels?
Yes cat 1-4. I've still gotten some good value out of them.
 

dsakfong

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If you never held Aspire, you should not convert to Aspire. You should get a fresh Aspire and utilize a huge signup bonus on Aspire!
I just tried to upgrade a post-$15k calendar year spend Surpass to an Aspire and was told by the last popup before finishing the application that I do not qualify because I have had a Hilton Amex bonus before. . Looks like Amex applied the card-family bonus limit to my Hilton Vanilla and Surpass both when trying to upgrade either.
 

Zenichiro

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Yes cat 1-4. I've still gotten some good value out of them.
Yes Hyatt FNC are not very valuable. Will be nice to see what comes of their new premium card, hopefully this year. Supposedly they may allow combining 2 1 -4 cat FNC into 1 (1-7 cat) FNC.
We generally use ours as a quick weekend getaway or something near the airport.

Just made Globalist and booked GH Kauai so I’m eager to see if Hyatt can beat Hilton enough to be worth keeping Globalist.
 

buzglyd

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Yes Hyatt FNC are not very valuable. Will be nice to see what comes of their new premium card, hopefully this year. Supposedly they may allow combining 2 1 -4 cat FNC into 1 (1-7 cat) FNC.
We generally use ours as a quick weekend getaway or something near the airport.

Just made Globalist and booked GH Kauai so I’m eager to see if Hyatt can beat Hilton enough to be worth keeping Globalist.
I”ve been Globalist the last two years with all the promos. We’ve enjoyed dates nights in high end Hyatt properties using points where we normally wouldn’t pay the going rate. I have it until the end of Feb and barring another Hyatt promo, I’ll never stay 60 nights so I’m likely done.
 

Zenichiro

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I”ve been Globalist the last two years with all the promos. We’ve enjoyed dates nights in high end Hyatt properties using points where we normally wouldn’t pay the going rate. I have it until the end of Feb and barring another Hyatt promo, I’ll never stay 60 nights so I’m likely done.
Yes, so far not seeing the head over heals value but we will see. I only have it from a corporate challenge through work. Still 20 nights is a lot, let alone 60. Need to see some outstanding value or I’m out as well.
 

Sandy VDH

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The Hilton FNC really varies depending on where you travel. 2022 I had 3 FNC from the 3 previous years that got extended due to covid, that I used in Maldives. There is even a standard room at Conrad Rangali that is an OW bungalow that you can use the cert with, but it wasn't available for my dates. So instead I booked at Saii Lagoon Curio Collection, which is still $700 a night min. I did get comped an upgrade to an OWB for some of my 8 nights I stayed there. I was pairing the stay up with a tradewinds trips and since covid regulations where still in place when I traveled, it was easier to just not change islands. I coupled the 3 FNC with a pay for 4 get 5 nights points booking. Well worth the use of FNCs and points. My previous trip to Maldives was Conrad Rangali when I stayed for 15 nights.

Precovid in 2019, I used a bunch of points in Fiji and even managed to get comped a Studio to a 2 BR as an upgrade.

This year I went to French Poly and used the room in Tahiti upon arrival. Still a $700 a night room.

Later this summer, I tried looking to getting a few nights in Seychelles, but they only had upgraded suites and not entry level rooms, so I went the AirBNB route for the first time. I booked at last minute trip to Seychelles on a tradewinds that I managed to pick up.

So there is much better value at many Hilton overseas and at some high end resorts or locations in the US (NYC etc). Unlike the Marriott. which I find their free night cert ALWAYS have to be topped up with more points. The card that I have and the FNC I get with Marriott is not very generous. Hilton one has been much more valuable to me over the past few years.
 

buzglyd

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Amex Platinum.
Or Chase Sapphire Reserve. Amex doesn’t allow restaurant credits. Chase version does. I get more value out of that than the cruddy lounges. It just depends on your flying patterns and what airports offer.
 

brp

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Yes Hyatt FNC are not very valuable. Will be nice to see what comes of their new premium card, hopefully this year. Supposedly they may allow combining 2 1 -4 cat FNC into 1 (1-7 cat) FNC.
We generally use ours as a quick weekend getaway or something near the airport.

Just made Globalist and booked GH Kauai so I’m eager to see if Hyatt can beat Hilton enough to be worth keeping Globalist.

Yes, so far not seeing the head over heals value but we will see. I only have it from a corporate challenge through work. Still 20 nights is a lot, let alone 60. Need to see some outstanding value or I’m out as well.

We have gotten very good value from Cat 1-4 awards. There are places where the rates are high for various reasons, and we have used these for quite a bit more than the reported 1.4 cents each.

We have been Globalist for something like 3 years now and it is great. Definitely the best and most consistent perks of all the majors, IMO. Real breakfast - we've had breakfast bills near $80. Early check-in (not guaranteed, but never denied), late check-out. And no haggling about upgrades. They just give them.

We do 30+ actual nights a year and the rest is done on spend, which generated more Hyatt points. And, since award stays count for status, that makes it easy.

Cheers.
 

GT75

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Hopefully you referred her?


Well, thanks to all of the TUG advice there, I decided to get a second Aspire card for DW thereby working the two-card system. Thanks to @Zenichiro comment, I did refer her also to pickup the 15K additional HH points. It is the right time for me to do this since it will be easy to get the $6K spend requirement for the 180K HH bonus points signup.
 
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Great3

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Well, thanks to all of the TUG advice there, I decided to get a second Aspire card for DW thereby working the two-card system. Thanks to @Zenichiro comment, I did refer her also to pickup the 15K additional HH points. It is the right time for me to do this since it will be easy to get the $6K spend requirement for the 180K HH bonus points signup.
Nice!!! I will say, 2 FNC awards is definitely a whole lot more useful than just 1 FNC. I hate staying at any hotel for just one night only unless it's just driving on a road trip on the way to somewhere else. What I love is that since Hilton Honors allows HGVC owners only, to have both spouses be on the same HH membership number, this making booking much easier and seamless, no asking hotel to merge two different night reservations unlike Marriott.

Great3
 

Nowaker

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Early check-in (not guaranteed, but never denied)
While this is listed as a perk for many hotel chains, the reality is they always check you in if a room of your type is currently available (that is, there's a room of your type with housekeeping done, that isn't yet checked into by anyone whether in person or online). Occupancy rates in hotels are lower than in timeshares, which is why it's almost guaranteed you'll be checked in early, regardless of your status. I arrived early at multiple hotels of different affiliation, and was always checked in.

I just tried to upgrade a post-$15k calendar year spend Surpass to an Aspire and was told by the last popup before finishing the application that I do not qualify because I have had a Hilton Amex bonus before
You're confusing terms. Are you applying for a new card, or are you product changing (upgrading)? These are two totally different things, and shouldn't be confused with each other.
 

linsj

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Used my $250 airline credit back in January for United Travel Bank. Did another $50 after the announced changes; reimbursement posted six days later. Even with the increased MF next year, which won't come until next September, I'll still come out ahead with the Surpass card.
 
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