Frequent Miler's latest team challenge, Million Mile Madness, is almost done! The last two weeks Greg, Nick, and Stephen competed to earn 1 Million SAS miles by flying 15 airlines. But who completed the challenge with the most Speed, Affordability, and Style?
| Sorry, this deal is no longer available. Do you want to be alerted about new deals as they’re published? Click here to subscribe to Frequent Miler's Instant Posts by email. |
If you have the no-fee Amex Hilton card you may be eligible to upgrade to either the Hilton Ascend (soon to be called Surpass) or Hilton Aspire card with a 150K upgrade offer. If you have the Hilton Ascend, you may be eligible for a 150K upgrade offer to the Aspire.
From no-fee Amex Hilton to $95 card
Link to offer
Click here and then click “request an upgrade” to find out if you are eligible
Offer details
- Upgrade and earn 150,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points after you spend $3,000 in purchases on the Card within your first 3 months of Card Membership
- Offer Ends 07/16/2019
- I do not see any terms in the offer that exclude those who have had the Ascend or Surpass card before
From no-fee or $95 Amex Hilton to $450 Hilton Aspire
Link to offer
Click here and then click “request an upgrade” to find out if you are eligible
Offer details
- Upgrade and earn 150,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points after you spend $4,000 in purchases on the Card within your first 3 months of Card Membership
- Offer Ends 07/16/2019
- I do not see any terms in the offer that exclude those who have had the Aspire card before
My take on these offers
These are great offers. If you’re eligible, go for it.
More thoughts:
- Upgrade offers are awesome because: No new account on your credit report; No issue with exceeding the Amex 5 credit card limit; No credit inquiry.
- I personally think that both the $95 and $450 Hilton cards offer perks that exceed the annual fee. The $95 card, for example, gives you Hilton Gold status which offers free breakfast at Hilton hotels worldwide. The $450 Aspire, meanwhile, is loaded with high end perks. See: A new ultra-premium card, in-depth review: Amex Hilton Aspire.
- If you don’t think the card’s perks exceed the annual fee, then you can always downgrade the card later. Please wait until it has been at least 12 months from the date you upgrade before downgrading or else Amex may try to claw back the upgrade points.
Summary info about the $95 and $450 Hilton cards (click to drill down for more info)
| Card Name w Details & Review (no offer) |
|---|
FM Mini Review: This card is loaded with valuable perks that are more than worth the card's annual fee if you stay in Hilton resorts at least twice per year. $550 Annual Fee Earning rate: ✦ 14X Hilton spend ✦ 7X US restaurants, flights booked directly with airlines or amextravel.com, select car rental companies ✦ 3X on all other eligible purchases ✦ Terms & Limitations Apply. Card Info: Amex Credit Card issued by Amex. This card has no foreign currency conversion fees. Big spend bonus: Additional free night awards after $30K and $60K spend in calendar year Noteworthy perks: ✦Annual Free Night Reward every year upon renewal ✦ Free Diamond Status ✦ Up to $400 Hilton Resort Credit per calendar year ($200 semi-annually) ✦ $200 Flight Credit ($50 per quarter for purchases directly with airlines or via Amex Travel) ✦ $199 CLEAR (R) Plus fee credit per calendar year ✦ $100 on-property credit w/ Aspire Card package ✦ Terms Apply. See Rates & Fees See also: Amex Hilton Aspire In-Depth Review |
FM Mini Review: Easy way to secure Hilton Gold status (which offers free breakfast among other perks). Those who want Diamond status may be better off with the Aspire card. $150 Annual Fee Earning rate: ✦ 12X Hilton spend ✦ 6X U.S. restaurants, US Supermarkets, and US gas stations ✦ 4X U.S. Online Retail Purchases ✦ 3X on all other eligible purchases Base: 3X (1.44%) Dine: 6X (2.88%) Gas: 6X (2.88%) Grocery: 6X (2.88%) Shop: 4X (1.92%) Brand: 12X (5.76%) Card Info: Amex Credit Card issued by Amex. This card has no foreign currency conversion fees. Big spend bonus: ✦ Free night award after $15K spend in calendar year ✦ Diamond elite status with $40K calendar year spend ✦ Terms apply Noteworthy perks: Free Gold status. Diamond status w/ $40K spend. ✦ Up to $200 in Hilton credits ($50 per quarter) ✦ Terms Apply. (Rates & Fees) |
Hat Tip: Doctor of Credit
Want to learn more about miles and points? Subscribe to email updates or check out our podcast on your favorite podcast platform.
Hi Greg, I have been an Amex Hilton Honors member for over 10 years. I recently saw articles that said Amex was offering upgrades to the Hilton Honors Ascend card Aspire card on multiple sites but I never saw the offer come through on my account. I contacted Amex and they said to keep checking in. Any suggestions on how I can upgrade with a bonus and the soft credit pull?
Thanks!
Josh
Just check your account and/or try the link in this post. Unfortunately, there’s no other magic formula for it.
Thanks Nick. I actually did check the link and all that came up was a blank page. Has anyone else had that issue?
The offer expired a couple days ago. I stupidly lost track, meaning to do this when I got back from Europe and only realizing today my mistake. However, with a quick phone call, I was still able to get the offer!
[…] it’s a 5% category with Chase Freedom next quarter. I’m working on minimum spend for my recently upgraded Hilton Ascend Amex card, so I’m happy earning 6x (albeit Hilton Honors points) on dining to help meet that spend. […]
Tried to apply for a new Hilton Honors Ascend prior to upgrading current Hilton Honors card and was warned I wouldn’t qualify due to having Surpass in the past (even though it’s cancelled). Just a heads up. Upgrade of Hilton Honors to Ascend went through successfully though.
2 days after requesting upgrade to the Aspire for which I’m eligible for 150k pts, Amex via chat didn’t see or note a bonus attached to the acct upgrade! the Rep. asked to see the public link, but asked me to check back later for certain as they didin’t see the attached bonus at the time…
did anyone confirm with Amex after the upgrade to the Ascend or Aspire that the bonus is attached or eligible to the account? TIA for DPs
FINALLY! Thank you for posting. I’ve been trying every few weeks to see if there was an upgrade offer on my fee-free. Now I can. FYI the only browser mine actually loaded on was Edge.
Thanks just upgraded my Honors card to Ascend. I already had an Ascend card that was not eligible for the Aspire upgrade apparently. Which is the one I thought would be upgraded. Might as well see if I can downgrade the other Ascend or close it out.
I’d like your opinion on which upgrade offer to take.
My wife and I both have the No-AF Hilton card and both have the Aspire Card. We are both eligible for all upgrades. Neither of us have ever had a Surpass or Ascend card. I value the Aspire benefits as a net positive after the annual fee, even with four accounts. I personally don’t see the value of the Ascend card for us, but I could be missing something.
– If we did take the Ascend card offer would we be eligible for a future public offer for an Ascend down the road? (Upgrade offer counts as a once-per-lifetime offer?)
– If we did take the Ascend card offer could we perhaps take a future upgrade offer for Aspire down the road?
– Am I missing something in the value of the Ascend card, given that we have an Aspire card?
– What other factors should I consider and what would you recommend?
Thank you for your input.
Answers to your questions follow the questions:
– If we did take the Ascend card offer would we be eligible for a future public offer for an Ascend down the road? (Upgrade offer counts as a once-per-lifetime offer?)
A: No, once you have the Ascend you won’t be eligible for a public Ascend welcome bonus offer
– If we did take the Ascend card offer could we perhaps take a future upgrade offer for Aspire down the road?
A: Yes
– Am I missing something in the value of the Ascend card, given that we have an Aspire card?
A: No. If you have the Aspire, the only benefit I can think of to having the Ascend is the ability to earn 6X at US supermarkets.
– What other factors should I consider and what would you recommend?
A: Since the upgrade won’t be treated as a new account, it is a super easy and cheap way to get the 150K bonus. You can downgrade back to the free cards after a year.
Greg, I think for first question he’s asking if upgrade offers are once per lifetime. Meaning, if he upgrades to Ascend now, will be be able to downgrade and then upgrade to Ascend again in the future. I know people did this with Surpass years ago, I don’t know if it works with Ascend.
Greg, thank you for your answers and insight. Yes, you answered my first question that an upgrade offer to a card will disqualify a future public welcome offer. I appreciate your forum and advice.
[…] Hilton Honors Amex card, there’s a potentially more rewarding option. It might be possible to upgrade to the Hilton Ascend Amex card, earning 150,000 bonus points when spending $3,000 within 3 months. Earning 150,000 bonus points […]
[…] with a referral offer), so that’ll keep me occupied in ultra-premium card land. Thanks to Frequent Miler for spelling out the upgrade deets (no hard pull, same account information, and won’t affect […]
I upgraded one Hilton no-AF to the Surpass, then used the link and logged in again, trying to trigger my 2nd no-AF, but instead it said I was eligible for the Aspire upgrade. I went for that. No idea how to get that 2nd no-AF to trigger an upgrade, sadly. Logging into Amex, the card has been moved to Aspire. I selected my Airline and it says I already received the credit this year (which is true, I downgraded the Aspire at 1-year). So while I may get the bonus, it doesn’t look like I can “double-dip” the yearly credits. Prob gonna downgrade to the Surpass then as $450 is a bit steep without any credits until next year. Wish I could upgrade no-AF#2. Also wonder if I had “lost” my card and gotten a new card number would they not have reopened my old Aspire account that shows the current year credits.
Just so I’m 100% certain, upgrading an existing card results in no new hit on your credit report, right? I’m sooo close to getting under 5/24 and don’t want to ruin it.
That’s correct.
Greg mentions that the upgrade links don’t mention that prior Surpass cardholders are excluded. How confident should we be in this? My dad’s free Hilton card was downgraded from a Surpass 1-2 years ago. Worth upgrading to Ascend?
Lot’s of people have reported success with similar upgrade offers with Amex.
any folks got 150k pts clawed back after downgrading the aspire less than 1 yr?
I have a question about “at least 12 months before downgrading”, I upgraded from a free version to $95 version May 2018, and then upgrade again to $450 version in Dec 2018, this May I have been charged $450 annual fee for a new year, which I originally thought it will be in Dec, the rep said that’s not the case, so I downgraded to the free version recently, do you think they will “claw back” my rewards?
hope not; either way, it’ll be a useful DP once you have it
How can they claw back points since they are not membership rewards?
You should be fine. The key is to wait until the annual fee posts.
Is it my breath?