This deal has now expired, click here for current American Express deals or here for current Hilton deals.
The Offer
- American Express is offering an 100,000 point Hilton Honors bonus on the Ascend card after $3,000 in spend within the first three months. You also earn a free weekend night certificate after your first anniversary of card membership. This is in addition to the free night award certificate you can earn for spending $15,000 in a calendar year
The Fine Print
- Welcome bonus offer not available to applicants who have or have had this product or the Hilton Honors Surpass Card
- Not a new card vs the Surpass
- Annual fee of $95
- Card earns at the following rates:
- 12X Hilton Honors Bonus Points at hotels and resorts in the Hilton portfolio worldwide
- 6X Hilton Honors Bonus Points at U.S. supermarkets, U.S. restaurants, and U.S. gas stations
- 3X Hilton Honors Bonus Points on all other eligible purchases
- 10 free priority pass lounge passes
- Complimentary Hilton Honors gold status. Earn Diamond status after spending $40,000 in purchases within a calendar year
- One Weekend Night Reward at a hotel or resort in the Hilton portfolio after spending $15,000 in purchases on the card in a calendar year
- No foreign transaction fees
Our Verdict
The best bonus we’ve seen on this card (or the old Surpass) is 125,000 points after $4,000 in total spend. This offer is 25,000 points less but you get a free night certificate, although keep in mind you’d need to pay the second year annual fee to get that certificate. That makes it basically 25,000 points vs free night certificate -$95 (although you also get the card benefits for an additional year). I try to stay at low cost properties rather than high end ones, so I probably prefer the 125,000 point offer although I recognize that I might be in the minority there and it can be nice/fun to stay at top tier properties using the free night certificates. You can view a list of the best free night certificate redemptions here. If you like staying at top end properties this is a good offer, especially if you can also spend $15,000 to get another free night certificate (that way you can do a nice weekend away).
If you’ve recently signed up for this card then there is basically no chance American Express will match you to this offer. They aren’t known for matching and this has a complicated free night after anniversary component. They might offer you some ‘courtesy points’, to get those you’d need to call in rather than message and also escalate to a manager. For more tips on American Express I’d recommend reading this post. I’ve added this to the best credit card sign up bonuses post.
There are also increased bonuses on the no annual fee Hilton card and business Hilton.
