Hilton Honors American Express Card vs Hilton Honors American Express Surpass Card

Network

Key Benefits

Pros

• +No annual fee ever
• +Automatic Hilton Silver status with 20% bonus points and late checkout
• +Path to Gold status after $20,000 annual spend
• +Solid 7X earning at Hilton properties, 5X at restaurants/supermarkets/gas
• +No foreign transaction fees

• +Automatic Hilton Gold status with room upgrades and breakfast at select properties
• +Earn Diamond status through $40,000 annual spend (extends through end of next year)
• +$200 annual Hilton credit ($50 per quarter) covers most of the annual fee
• +Free Night Reward earned after $15,000 annual spend
• +Strong earning at 12X at Hilton, 6X at restaurants/supermarkets/gas

Cons

• −Only Silver status (lower than Surpass/Aspire Gold grants)
• −Lower earn rates than premium Hilton cards (7X vs 12X at Hilton)
• −No annual credits or free night rewards
• −Points locked to Hilton with no transfer flexibility
• −Amex network less accepted internationally than Visa/Mastercard

• −$150 annual fee with no first-year waiver
• −Quarterly credits require spending at Hilton properties (use-it-or-lose-it each quarter)
• −Points locked to Hilton program with no transfer flexibility
• −Amex network less accepted than Visa/Mastercard internationally
• −Diamond status requires significant $40,000 spend threshold