Hilton Credit Card (Minor) Changes Coming This Summer

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INSIDER SECRET: If you have any level of Hilton status, you’ll get your fifth night free on award stays. You get free Hilton status just by having any Hilton credit card.

This summer there will be a couple of minor changes to some of the Amex Hilton credit cards.

First, on July 18 the Hilton Honors American Express Ascend Card will revert back its old name, the Hilton Honors American Express Surpass Card. This doesn’t change much, but it will be less confusing. When the name change was made from the Hilton Surpass to the Hilton Ascend, it left a lot of us who had had the Surpass card wondering if we’d be eligible for the Ascend’s intro bonus again since you can only earn an Amex welcome bonus once per card per lifetime. But Amex considers the Surpass and the Ascend the same product.

Also, the Hilton Honors Aspire Card from American Express will be getting a slight change to the terms of its $250 annual resort credit. As of August 1, 2019, the resort credit won’t apply to advance purchase rates at participating properties. This is a minor change since the credit already didn’t apply to advance purchase rates at US properties.

The information for the Hilton Aspire card has been collected independently by Million Mile Secrets. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

Hilton Credit Card Offers

When you apply for the Hilton Honors American Express Ascend Card, you’ll earn 125,000 Hilton points after spending $2,000 on purchases with your new card within the first three months of account opening. You can learn more about how to meet credit card minimum spending here.

This card also comes with:

• 12 Hilton points per $1 spent at participating Hilton hotels or resorts
• 6 Hilton points per $1 of eligible purchases at US restaurants, US supermarkets and US gas stations
• 3 Hilton points for all other eligible purchases on your card
• Complimentary Hilton Gold status
• Free weekend night after spending $15,000+ on purchases in a calendar year
• 10 free Priority Pass airport lounge visits per year (enrollment required)

The card’s $95 annual fee is not waived the first year (See Rates & Fees). For more information, read our full Hilton Ascend card review.

The Amex Hilton Aspire comes with 150,000 Hilton points after spending $4,000 on purchases in your first three months from account opening.

You’ll also get:

• A weekend night award (at participating Hilton hotels) when you open your card, then every year on your account anniversary
• Automatic Diamond Elite status (100% bonus points on paid stays, upgrades to a suite when available, executive hotel lounge access, etc.)
• Priority Pass Select airport lounge access (bring two guests for free)
• Up to $250 annual airline fee credit
• Up to $250 annual Hilton resort credit at participating resorts
• Up to $100 property credit at Conrad and Waldorf Astoria hotels per stay of 2+ nights
• Terms apply

This card has a $450 annual fee (See rates & fees). To learn more about the card read our complete Hilton Aspire review.

For more information on the Hilton Honors program, check out these guides:

• How to set up a Hilton account
• Hilton points value
• Hilton Honors review
• Best use of Hilton points
• How to earn Hilton Honors points
• Current Hilton promotions

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For rates and fees of the Hilton Ascend Card, please click here.

For rates and fees of the Hilton Honors Aspire Card from American Express, click here.

Featured image by Jeff Whyte/Shutterstock.