Is Hilton Gold dead to us? | Ask Us Anything | EP 33

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Greg is feeling sour about the Hilton breakfast change, as he’s reminded at 9:36 when a listener asks “is Gold status at Hilton finished?” There were plenty of other questions to distract him from Hilton like…questions about Hilton credit cards… But don’t worry, a few other topics came up as well. Watch the full “Ask Us Anything” episode below, or click the timestamps to navigate to a specific question in YouTube.

4:03 – Hi Greg, Nick and Stephen. What is your current favorite hotel credit card and favorite benefit from hotel elite status? Thank you.

7:08 – Hi guys! Is it worth applying for the aviator biz card for SUB? Opened one 2+ years ago (now closed). Given recent T&Cs implying only one lifetime bonus, and potential for AA shutdowns. Thanks! And do you think it would make a difference if I opened it using biz EIN rather than SSN (I’m a sole prop)?

9:36 – ​Hey Greg and Nick hope you’re well. Am I crazy making Hilton a 3rd option now that the future of breakfast at their properties seems to be a thing in the past. Is Gold status at Hilton finished?

12:53 – ​For Hyatt/SLH stays- I understand that thought you dont get status benefits you are eligible for a room upgrade. Do you know anything about how often they actually upgrade you in practice? Thanks

15:48 – ​Greg and Nick due to the recent devaluation, Ive added my Hilton Surpass to my no longer useful pile with my IHG recently. The hotel devals stink the most. Will hotel cards be useless in a few years?

18:40 – I have a vendor that codes as grocery that we spend 5-10k a week with. I have the Spark Miles card already, sounds like the Savor would be a great card with the 3% uncapped. Is there anything better?

20:51 – Either of you know the trick of getting all 3 Hilton cards, hit all the sign up bonuses & also getting a 2nd one of each card with upgrade offers. I have the honors & want to do this but not mess up

22:50 – ​What are the Greg & Nick recommended tips/tools for putting together a ANA RTW trip?

27:07 – P2 has a Hilton Surpass which we’re considering cancelling when the AF hits in Sept. We’re staying at a Hilton in October. Will she lose Gold immediately or will it last until the end of the year?

28:35 – ​If you do an award booking with jetblue and pay the taxes and fees with a jetblue credit card, do you get a free checked bag? Or do you have to pay for the entire ticket with your jetblue card?

30:47 – What’s your feel on any summer promos from Hyatt?

32:55 – ​If a lap infant for a flight over seas is 10% of the cost of the ticket and the ticket price fluctuates regularly, when does the airline calculate the 10%.

35:05 – I have a TK FCO-IST-EWR 9/26 2 in biz. I know things with Italy are fluid and new rules nascent. Can I arrive to Italy from another EU country (Greece or Croatia, with lesser restrictions) to pick up my flight home? I heard Nic talk about how hard it was to cancel a TK award ticket and wanted to try and avoid that. For context the entire trip is EK EWR-ATH on 8/31 in biz, 10 days in JMK, on to Croatia via A3 flights for a week on a boat then a third week TBD based on if Italy is really open if I arrive through another EU country.

37:49 – Can you give a little detail on any tangible benefits from the Founder’s Card, specifically the elite status benefits and how that can be leveraged (Cathay, Virgin in particular)

42:31 – ​How often do you cycle (cancel and signup) the 3 chase business cards? Do you have any strategies for this?

43:10 – Considering signing up for the altitude reserve card. Do you think they’ll ever increase the SUB over 50k?

43:49 – How many credit cards do you each own ?

45:40 – Greg and Nick which do you like more the Marriott Ritz card or Marriott Brilliant??

49:37 – ​Can I get the Amex Marriott Brilliant SUB if I got the bonus before only from an upgrade offer over 2 years ago?

50:20 – Have the Ritz Card, want the Brilliant card. Probably no bonus. But can I still apply and get the card or does Amex not allow that?

52:16 – Do you think Miraval will have a reduced point discount for summer like Hyatt normally does during the summer?

54:52 – ​Are you aware of any way to use points or miles towards a stat at a Secrets resort?

56:16 -I have a sapphire card i want to cancel or downgrade before AF hits. If downgrade, which card do you recommend? Original Freedom?

57:53 – Is samsung pay sunsetting?

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rich

Regarding the Hilton Surpass, I called and was going to cancel it but they offered 10,000 points to keep it open. So with those points and the $10 monthly food credit I figured I wasn’t losing anything no the $95 AF.

I’ll probably cancel it next year since I don’t see any reason to keep it long term and am trying to reduce my card count.