Citi Hilton Cards Will Become American Express Cards [New Cards Shipping]

Update January 16th, 2018: New cards are starting to ship. From now until January 30th you need to continue to use your Citi card. On January 30th you can begin to use your American Express card. You also can’t confirm receipt of the new American Express card until January 30th. Don’t forget to consider the possibility of double dipping the free night certificates on the Hilton Surpass/Reserve changeover. Hat tip to reader PT. Update 2: Lots of cardholders that cancelled their Citi Hilton no annual fee cards are reporting receiving a new American Express card as well. This is addressed in the F.A.Q. here.

Hot off the heels of the announcement of two new American Express Hilton cards is the announcement that American Express has purchased the Hilton back book from Citi. This means that existing Citi Hilton cardholders will be converted to American Express Hilton cards. Update: Citi now has a full F.A.Q found here regarding the change. The change will officially happen on January 30th, 2018. If you’re a Reserve cardholder then American Express will give you the full 12 months to meet the $10,000 spending requirement for the free night certificate. The product changes will be as follows:

  • Citi No Annual Fee Hilton becomes American Express No Annual Fee Hilton
  • Citi Hilton Reserve becomes American Express Hilton Ascend (replacing the Surpass)

It might make sense to cancel your Citi Hilton cards if you don’t want the product changes to go through. I suspect we will see new bonuses on both cards when they are released in 2018. According to this you will need to keep your Reserve/Ascend card open until you receive the free night certificate (for spending $10,000).

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Larry
Larry (@guest_569954)
March 14, 2018 10:52

My citi Hilton just converted to a world master card

Phillip Taylor
Phillip Taylor (@guest_559914)
February 12, 2018 10:57

I have no issue with the swap from Citi Visa to Amex but what really is the rub is that if you don’t currently have an Amex card you can apply online for the card you get 50,000 Hilton points for your trouble. If you had waited for the swap to happen you do not get those extra sign on points. So now I have 2 Amex cards for Hilton, no problem there as there have been times where one has been skimmed and I need a second one while waiting for a replacement. It is a little annoying that Amex is the world’s most “not accepted” card.

jon
jon (@guest_554529)
January 26, 2018 01:26

tried to cancel hilton hhonors account, they wouldnt let me. spoke to 2 reps, said it is in middle of conversion and call amex to cancel after 30th. used secure message, same thing. anyone know if this is true?

Sr
Sr (@guest_554961)
January 27, 2018 21:00

same issue here… what can we do?
Citi is forcing me to keep an account open for 3 more days.. & i dont want to. is that legal?

Mike B
Mike B (@guest_551744)
January 17, 2018 23:02

This past weekend I closed my Citi Hilton Honors No-Fee card in order to avoid it being converted over to AMEX so I could be eligible for a possible sign-up bonus down the road. However, right after I closed that account, I realized I had totally forgotten that I once held an AMEX Hilton No-Fee card in the past. That card was closed back in 2015. Am I now totally out-of-luck on getting a possible future sign-up bonus on the AMEX No-Fee card because of my past AMEX no-fee card or will this AMEX card be considered a new/different product than their previous product?

Lantean
Lantean (@guest_551459)
January 17, 2018 08:44

I don’t understand people who think these new cards will not count against 5/24… you’re being assigned a new card number by a new issuer… it will be on your credit report.
Good luck arguing that with Chase.

Adam
Adam (@guest_551390)
January 17, 2018 01:07

Yup I got screwed too. Cancelled my Citi Card about two weeks ago and I just got the AMEX Card in the mail today. I am super annoyed about missing out on the potential ascend bonus but am more concerned that having this unwanted card might affect my ability to get the new Hilton Aspire Card. It will be my fourth Amex credit card, ugh. I am going to call AMEX tomorrow to discuss my options but I am not expecting much. Very unhappy with the situation.

Adam
Adam (@guest_551392)
January 17, 2018 01:17

Update: Looks like we might be ok for the bonus.

From
https://www.americanexpress.com/us/credit-cards/features-benefits/hilton/hilton-transfer/faqs/

If you cancelled your Citi Hilton Honors Card between November 17, 2017 and January 30, 2018, you may still receive a Hilton Honors American Express Card in the mail. However, the Card will not be activated or available to use at the point of sale as your account will not be transferred to American Express. If you are unsure about the status of your account, you may call American Express starting on January 30, 2018 using the number on the back of the Card to confirm your account status.

Howard
Howard (@guest_551485)
January 17, 2018 10:51

Thanks for pointing that out Adam! Saved me and probably many others wasted calls and worries. I cancelled the day before that window so should not even receive a card; but, as I already received a mailer from AMEX a month ago saying that I would be getting an AMEX Hilton card, I was worried. I’m saving a pdf of that Q&A in case I need to argue my case with AMEX down the road.

calwatch
calwatch (@guest_551378)
January 17, 2018 00:26

Got it in the mail as well (no annual fee version). I guess I’ll keep the card due to its free status and ability to get Silver (which is pretty worthless unless I happen to stay somewhere for five nights which is worthwhile on points), but wonder how it affects the count for 5/24.

tassojunior
tassojunior (@guest_551377)
January 17, 2018 00:24

I called a week ago and cancelled my Citi Hilton but still got the AmEx Hilton today.

Under the wire
Under the wire (@guest_551376)
January 17, 2018 00:23

Just got my Amex Hilton in the mail today. Wasn’t sure it would happen since I’m on amex’s black list (they won’t approve me for any card. They don’t even pull a credit report if I apply.

Azn Prm
Azn Prm (@guest_551363)
January 16, 2018 23:49

Had the Citi Reserve, didn’t want to have the Amex one since i have 4/5. Called and cancelled, got a prorated refund of my membership fees.