Many Folks Will NOT Be Eligible for This New Card’s Bonus. Are You One of Them?

January 12, 2018 By Million Mile Secrets

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Via One Mile at a Time comes some bad news regarding the upcoming Hilton Honors Ascend Card from American Express.

We had hoped this card would be considered a new “product”. But it looks like it will NOT. And I’ll tell you why that’s a big deal for lots of folks in the miles & points hobby!

Are You Eligible for the Hilton Honors Ascend Welcome Bonus?

Link: AMEX Is Issuing 2 New Hilton Cards and Refreshing 2 Old Ones

The Hilton Honors Ascend Card will be the refreshed version of the Hilton Honors™ Surpass® Card from American Express.

This new card will come with:

12 Hilton points per $1 at Hilton hotels and resorts
6 Hilton points per $1 at US supermarkets, restaurants, and gas stations
3 Hilton points per $1 on all other eligible purchases
10 Priority Pass lounge passes
Automatic Hilton Honors Gold status
Hilton Honors Diamond status after spending $40,000 in purchases within a calendar year
1 weekend night at any Hilton hotel or resort after spending $15,000 in purchases on the card in a calendar year
NO foreign transaction fees
Terms Apply
Rates & Fees

And the annual fee has been increased from $75 to $95.

We were hoping this card would be considered a new “product”, separate from the AMEX Hilton Surpass. Because if a card is considered a new product, you can earn the bonus on the card, even if you’ve already earned the bonus on its predecessor! Because AMEX limits folks to earning 1 bonus per product, per lifetime.

But from a live chat with an AMEX representative, it’s pretty clear that the AMEX Hilton Ascend will NOT be considered a new product.

So if you’ve had the AMEX Hilton Surpass before, you will NOT be eligible for the AMEX Hilton Ascend bonus.

And any AMEX Hilton Surpass cards will be automatically converted January 18, 2018.

Bottom Line

The AMEX Hilton Surpass is becoming the AMEX Hilton Ascend card on January 18, 2018! And unfortunately, the AMEX Hilton Ascend will NOT be considered a new product.

So if you’ve previously opened the AMEX Hilton Surpass, you will NOT be eligible for the new card’s bonus.