Hilton Honors American Express Surpass Card review: Quality perks for a reasonable fee
Editor's Note
Hilton Honors American Express Surpass Card overview
The Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card provides solid earnings at Hilton properties and automatic Hilton Gold elite status, which offers complimentary breakfast, increased earnings and space-available upgrades when you stay at Hilton properties. The status perk alone may make it easy to justify the card's $150 annual fee (see rates and fees). Card Rating*: ⭐⭐⭐½
*Card rating is based on the opinion of TPG's editors and is not influenced by the card issuer.
The Hilton Surpass is an ideal choice for those who stay at Hilton properties often and want a cobranded credit card with a modest annual fee and valuable perks — but who aren't willing to shell out for the top-tier Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card.
Applicants should have a credit score of 670 or higher to be eligible for this card.
You might wonder whether the Hilton Surpass card is a good addition to your wallet. Here are the details and other cards to consider as you decide.
The information for the Hilton Aspire Amex Card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Hilton Surpass pros and cons
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Hilton Surpass welcome offer
New applicants for the Hilton Surpass can earn a welcome offer of 165,000 bonus points after spending $3,000 in purchases on the card in the first six months of cardmembership. This offer ends on Jan. 8, 2025.
This welcome offer isn't too far from the best offer ever seen and meets our criteria for a good offer to take advantage of.
Having another Hilton credit card doesn't make you ineligible for the welcome bonus, but remember that Amex has a "once per lifetime" rule on card bonuses. Amex also has these terms for the welcome offer:
You may not be eligible to receive a welcome offer if you have or have had this Card, the Hilton Honors Amex Ascend Card or previous versions of these Cards. You also may not be eligible to receive a welcome offer based on various factors, such as your history with credit card balance transfers, your history as an American Express Card Member, the number of credit cards that you have opened and closed and other factors.
Luckily, Amex will inform you before submitting your application if you're not eligible for the bonus. If you get this message, you can proceed without the welcome offer or withdraw your application before Amex performs a hard pull on your credit report.
Related: A complete guide to Amex's one-bonus-per-lifetime restrictions
Hilton Surpass benefits
The Hilton Surpass card's welcome offer is attractive, but the card's ongoing perks provide long-term value for semi-regular Hilton guests. Enrollment is required for select benefits; terms apply.
The following are some of the perks the Hilton Surpass has to offer:
- Hilton Honors Gold status: Complimentary Gold Elite status, including the following perks: an 80% points bonus on paid stays, space-available room upgrades, elite rollover nights, a fifth night free when you book a stay with points and daily breakfast or food and beverage credit. Spending $40,000 on the card in a calendar year will earn you top-tier Diamond status through the end of the next calendar year.
- Up to $200 in Hilton statement credits: Earn up to $200 back every calendar year on eligible Hilton purchases (up to $50 in statement credits each quarter)
- Rental car elite status: Receive complimentary National Car Rental Emerald Club Executive status after enrollment in the Emerald Club program (terms apply)
The Hilton Surpass offers various other benefits. For example, you will pay no foreign transaction fees when traveling outside the U.S.
You'll also enjoy free two-day shipping with Shop Runner, Send & Split to divide bills with friends — such as a group dinner — and secondary rental car insurance of up to $50,000 for theft or damage.*
* Eligibility and benefit level varies by card. Not all vehicle types or rentals are covered, and geographic restrictions apply. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for details. Policies are underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company. Coverage is offered through American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc.
Related: 5 reasons to get the Hilton Honors Amex Surpass card
Earning points with the Hilton Surpass
The Hilton Surpass card is a great way to earn Hilton points. You'll earn 12 points per dollar at Hilton Hotels and Resorts — a 7.2% return on spending, based on TPG's September 2024 valuations. This is better than you'd get with most of the best credit cards for booking hotels, including the Chase Sapphire Reserve®.
You'll earn 6 Hilton points per dollar spent at U.S. restaurants (including takeout and delivery), U.S. supermarkets and U.S. gas stations, giving you a return of 3.6% on these purchases.
The Hilton Surpass also earns 4 points per dollar on U.S. online retail purchases, which can be maximized when clicking through shopping portals. That's a return of 2.4%.
For one TPG reader, the Hilton points earned across these categories play a prominent role in how much they value the card:
"Best overall benefits and points bonus for dining, grocery, gas." – Bob H via a TPG newsletter survey
Note: Reader-submitted responses have not been edited, reviewed or approved by the issuers nor reflect TPG's opinions of these cards.
Finally, you'll get 3 points per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases — a return of 1.8%.
These returns on non-Hilton spending aren't spectacular. But, if you want to boost your Hilton points balance, the Hilton Surpass card provides a decent return even for purchases outside the Hilton Honors program.
Related: Booking direct: How much value does Hilton status provide?
Redeeming points with the Hilton Surpass
Regarding the Hilton Honors program, your best bet is to redeem your Hilton points for free nights. Unfortunately, Hilton doesn't publish an award chart; instead, it uses dynamic pricing, where the number of points needed for a redemption fluctuates based on factors such as the cash cost of the hotel, holidays and peak travel periods.
One of my favorite options is to focus on properties that cost relatively few points but provide great value. Thanks to Hilton's dynamic award charts, these can be hard to find, but with a little patience and effort, you can score some fantastic deals.
Hilton's Points & Money option allows you to pay more cash (and fewer points) when making a reservation. This can be useful when you don't have enough points for a full booking but don't want to pay the full cost of the hotel room.
Finally, remember that Hilton allows you to pool your points with up to 10 other members. If you want to combine balances with a friend or family member to put an even more luxurious award stay within reach, you can.
Which cards compete with the Hilton Surpass?
For those looking to earn and redeem points with Hilton, natural competitors of the Hilton Surpass card will be other Hilton credit cards. It's also worth considering cards whose points you can use at Hilton in addition to other redemption options.
- If you don't want to pay an annual fee: The Hilton Honors American Express Card also earns points you can redeem with Hilton for complimentary hotel stays. As a card with no annual fee (see rates and fees), you'll naturally earn at lower rates and receive fewer perks. With the Amex Hilton Honors card, you'll earn 7 points per dollar at Hilton hotels and resorts, 5 points per dollar at U.S. restaurants (including takeout and delivery), U.S. supermarkets and U.S. gas stations and 3 points per dollar on other eligible purchases. To learn more, see our full review of the Amex Hilton Honors card.
- If you want more perks: The Amex Hilton Aspire card is Hilton's premium card, offering top-tier Diamond status as an automatic benefit. The card's annual fee is $550. You'll receive a free night reward on each account anniversary, and you can earn another two by spending $30,000 and $60,000 on purchases with your card during a calendar year. Additionally, you can receive statement credits each year for up to $200 in airline fees per calendar year (up to $50 each quarter), up to $400 in Hilton resort credits each calendar year (up to $200 semi-annually) and up to $100 in Hilton on-property credits. Enrollment is required; terms apply. To learn more, see our full review of the Amex Hilton Aspire card.
- If you aren't partial to Hilton: The Amex EveryDay Preferred card earns 3 points per dollar on up to $6,000 of annual purchases at U.S. supermarkets (then 1 point per dollar), 2 points per dollar at U.S. gas stations and 1 point per dollar on other purchases. You'll also earn a 50% points bonus each billing period if you have 30 or more transactions during that period. The Amex EveryDay Preferred card doesn't earn Hilton points. Instead, it earns American Express Membership Rewards points, which you can transfer to Hilton for hotel redemptions but can also use with 20 other airline and hotel partners. To learn more, see our full review of the Amex EveryDay Preferred card.
For additional options, check out our picks for the best travel cards and best hotel cards.
Read more: Which credit card should you use for Hilton stays?
The information for the Amex EveryDay Preferred card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Bottom line
While the Hilton Surpass doesn't offer the flexibility of a card like the Amex EveryDay Preferred card or the elite perks of the Amex Hilton Aspire card, it could still be just what you need to make your next stay with the Hilton Honors program even more rewarding. You'll get the benefits of Gold Elite status and up to $200 statement credits toward Hilton purchases every calendar year (up to $50 each quarter).
Apply here: Hilton Honors American Express Surpass Card
Related: World of Hyatt card vs. Hilton Surpass card
For rates and fees of the Hilton Surpass Card, click here.
For rates and fees of the Hilton Amex Card, click here.