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The Hawaiian Hilton on Waikiki beach.
The Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card tends to be overshadowed by the $450-a-year Aspire, but the Surpass stands alone as a solid, under-appreciated hotel credit card.
For one thing, the Hilton Honors Surpass (formerly named the Ascend) has a $95 annual fee, offset by typical bonuses and benefits for a co-branded hotel card. To get the current welcome bonus of 125,000 bonus points after making $2,000 worth of purchases in the first three months.
Note that these numbers may vary depending on when you apply. Bonuses are as low as 125,000 and as high as 150,000. Either way, with Hilton Honors points being valued at anywhere between .04 and .06 cents per point, it's not hard to get $600 or more in value out of the welcome bonus alone.
The bonus categories are fruitful as well. The Surpass offers 12x points on Hilton-related charges,6x points on restaurant, supermarket, and gas station purchases in the US, and 3x points on everything else. These are some of the more useful categories for the average family. There is also the opportunity to earn a free weekend night award after spending $15,000 each calendar year on the card.
These are all solid, useful features. But there are two aspects of the Surpass that make it one of the more compelling sub-$100 credit cards in the market: automatic Gold status and Priority Pass Select membership.
Automatic Hilton Honors Gold status comes with a host of perks
After successfully applying for the Hilton Honors Surpass credit card, cardholders are granted Hilton Honors Gold Status. Elevated tier status may not mean much to casual travelers, but Gold status has a ton of potential beyond the Hilton Honors program. Specifically, for you gamblers out there, Hilton Honors Gold, through a roundabout strategy, can also get you Diamond status at Caesars Entertainment properties. This can be quite valuable for gamblers and non-gamblers alike.
Caesars Diamond member benefits include waived resort and parking fees, a complimentary four-night stay at the Atlantis, Paradise Island in the Bahamas, two free nights at Caesars Bluewaters Dubai, and a $100 celebration dinner certificate, usable at Caesars-owned restaurants. Even if gambling is not your forte, a trip to Vegas can be much more budget-friendly through some thoughtful tier-matching.
To get Caesars Diamond status, you can do a status match through Wyndham hotels. Hilton Gold matches to Wyndham's Diamond status. Once that match goes through, you can then match your new Wyndham Diamond status directly to Caesars' Diamond. The process is easy, as they are all done online. You may have to wait a couple weeks for each match to process.
Even if you don't status-match, you'll be treated well at Hilton properties with Gold status. Guests with Gold status can enjoy, among other things, free breakfast, two bottles of water, space-available upgrades, and late check-out. Anecdotally, Hilton does a great job of treating elite status members well. It's rare to have to remind front desk attendants of status receivables at check-in.
The Surpass is one of the least-expensive ways to get Priority Pass Select membership
The other fun feature of the Surpass credit card is the granting of Priority Pass Select membership. This perk allows for 10 visits to Priority Pass lounges per year. Lounge access is a popular perk for savvy flyers, allowing the travel-weary a comfortable place to rest and prepare for their journey with some free snacks, drinks, and plenty of places to sit and charge devices.
Most high-end credit cards don't put a limit on cardholder lounge visits per year. But the $95 annual fee means the Surpass card is one of the least expensive gateways to this coveted benefit. Ten lounge visits a year is usually enough for casual travelers.
There are a number of good hotel credit cards - most offer a smattering of similar benefits.The Hilton Honors Surpass card from American Express separates itself from the pack with some fun features at an inexpensive price point. Getting premium perks and elevated experiences doesn't have to come at a high price. If you're looking to add a hotel card to your wallet, you can do far worse than the Surpass.
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Please note: While the offers mentioned above are accurate at the time of publication, they're subject to change at any time and may have changed, or may no longer be available.
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