BGR has partnered with The Points Guy for our coverage of credit card products. BGR and The Points Guy may receive a commission from card issuers.Please note: the offers mentioned below are subject to change at any time and some may no longer be available.People seek out and ultimately sign up for credit cards based on a whole host of factors. Perhaps affinity to a brand or perks that will especially reward a frequent traveler. One of the most attention-getting determinants is often the up-front reward, the welcome offer of bonus points that can range into the six digits — a number like 100,000 welcome points (and more) that makes a card offer easily stand out. Those certainly get my attention, something that I’m sure is true for many people. We’re hard-wired to be attracted to the prospect of big rewards and incentives — something that Hilton and American Express have just brought back in the form of a limited-time offer on one of their co-branded cards, the Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card.
The offer: Through December 31, this card will earn you 150,000 Hilton Honors points after you make just $3,000 in purchases with the card within your first three months of card ownership.
The highlights
In addition to those points, you’ll also get a $100 statement credit by simply making a purchase of any kind in the first three months. Add both of those up, according to the latest valuations from The Points Guy, and this is welcome offer is worth $1,000.
The perks don’t end there, of course. This bonus is enough to get you some amazing redemptions, including luxury stays like a night at the Conrad Bora Bora Nui Resort & Spa (for which you’d need 80,000 Hilton Honors points for a night’s stay). If you wanted to escape the winter temperatures by booking a stay at the Grand Naniloa Hotel Hilo Doubletree on the Big Island in Hawaii, that one would only cost you a third of your welcome bonus (with stays starting at 50,000 points per night). Or if the cold is something you prefer, maybe you feel like the slopes of Colorado are calling your name right about now. If so, the points needed for a night’s stay here would be the same as at the Conrad Bora Bora resort — 80,000 points each night during peak season.
This bonus points offer is definitely on the higher side of the range we’ve seen in the Hilton Amex credit card lineup. Since Amex updated this family of cards back in January 2018, the welcome bonuses have generally fallen somewhere between 50,000 and 150,000 Hilton Honors points.
The card also comes with perks including:
10 Priority Pass lounge access passes, a weekend night reward once you spend $15,000 each year, complimentary Hilton Gold elite status and a pathway to earning Diamond status. All of that, for an annual fee of only $95. And we’re still not done. You can also earn 12x points at participating Hilton properties, 6x points at US supermarkets, US restaurants, and US gas stations, and 3x points on everything else.
The final word
The welcome offer alone makes this a fantastic time to apply for the card. Hilton has also been expanding its luxury portfolio, which means you’ll have more opportunities than ever to redeem your points for a great stay. While this offer does match the current Hilton Honors Aspire Card from American Express, which offers the same 150,000-point welcome bonus, the spending requirement on that one is a little higher ($4,000 in the first three months). Plus, the Hilton Honors Surpass offer also comes with the $100 statement credit.If you do decide to apply for the card, keep in mind: Amex has a “one-per-card-per-lifetime” policy for earning welcome bonuses, so it’s probably worth it to double-check to make sure you’re eligible to earn this elevated bonus before you apply.
