Card benefits change often, and this page may be out of date by the time you read it. Always check the bank’s page and your card’s guide to benefits for the current terms before you rely on a benefit.
The Hilton Honors Surpass is Amex’s mid-tier Hilton card: a $150 annual fee, automatic Hilton Gold status (with its food and beverage credit or breakfast), a $200 Hilton credit paid out at $50 a quarter, a Free Night Reward after $15,000 in spending, and 12x at Hilton.
It’s a good card for anyone who’s at a Hilton a few times a year, and the current offer includes a free night on top of the points. Below is how it earns, what the quarterly credit actually takes, the insurance in Amex’s own numbers, the application rules, and my verdict.
Hilton Surpass at a glance
- Annual fee: $150; Not waived the first year (Amex’s page shows $150 with no intro offer as of October 14, 2026)
- Current public offer: 130,000 Hilton points plus a Free Night Reward after $3,000 in purchases in the first 6 months (offer ends January 13, 2027) (as of October 14, 2026, per Frequent Miler)
- Is it the best ever?: Close. The high was 155,000 points in 2025 without a free night, and the free night in today’s offer is usually worth more than the 25,000-point difference, so I’d call it about as good.
- Foreign transaction fee: None
- Best for: People who stay at Hiltons a few times a year, want Gold status for the breakfast or food and beverage credit, and will be at a Hilton at least once a quarter to use the credit.
- Skip it if: You’re at a Hilton once a year or less; the no-fee Hilton Honors card earns the same kind of points without a fee, and the Aspire does far more for Hilton regulars.
- Bank’s page: Hilton Honors Surpass on americanexpress.com
Jump to: Highlights · Earning · Credits · Status and perks · Insurance · Application rules · My take · The catch · Keep it? · Offer history · Quick Answers
The highlights
- 12x at Hilton; 6x at U.S. restaurants, U.S. supermarkets and U.S. gas stations; 4x on U.S. online retail; 3x elsewhere
- $200 Hilton credit: up to $50 per quarter on purchases made directly with a Hilton property (incidentals count only when charged to your room)
- Automatic Hilton Gold status: 80% bonus on base points and a daily food and beverage credit or continental breakfast (by brand and region); Diamond after $40,000 in a calendar year
- Free Night Reward after $15,000 in purchases in a calendar year
- National Car Rental Emerald Club Executive status; no airport lounge access
- Baggage insurance, secondary rental car coverage and purchase protection; no trip delay or cell phone protection; $150 annual fee; no foreign transaction fees
How it earns
| Category | Rate | Caps and fine print |
|---|---|---|
| Hotels and resorts in the Hilton portfolio | 12x | Purchases made directly with Hilton hotels and resorts. No cap. |
| U.S. restaurants, U.S. supermarkets and U.S. gas stations | 6x | U.S. only; restaurants include takeout and delivery. No cap. |
| U.S. online retail | 4x | U.S. only. |
| Everything else | 3x | No cap. |
Hilton points are worth about half a cent each in my eyes, so 6x is roughly 3% back and 3x is about 1.5%. Gold status adds an 80% bonus on base points for your stays on top of what the card earns.
Credits and how to use them
There’s really one credit here, and it resets every quarter.
| Credit | Amount | How often | Where / how | The catch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hilton credit | Up to $50 a quarter ($200 a year) | Quarterly | Purchases made directly with a hotel in the Hilton portfolio, booked through a Hilton-run channel (hilton.com, the app, the hotel), or incidentals charged to your room and paid with the card at checkout | Third-party bookings don’t count, a restaurant or shop inside a Hilton may not code as Hilton unless it’s on your room bill, and event-contract bookings may not count. Easy only if you’re at a Hilton every quarter. |
| Free Night Reward | 1 night | Calendar year | Spend $15,000 on the card in a calendar year | Not automatic. $15,000 at 3x on most things is a lot of spending for one night. |
| Venue Collection | 10% back, up to $250 | Calendar year | Concessions at participating stadiums and arenas; enroll one card | Only if you go to those venues. |
Hilton status and other perks
- Hilton Gold status: an 80% bonus on base points, a daily food and beverage credit or complimentary continental breakfast (it varies by brand and region), and space-available room upgrades at select hotels. Gold also gets the fifth night free on standard award stays of five nights or more booked with points.
- Hilton Diamond status through the end of the next calendar year after $40,000 in purchases in a calendar year: a 100% points bonus, executive lounge access at select hotels and better upgrades.
- No airport lounge access: Priority Pass ended on the Hilton Amex cards in 2024.
- National Car Rental Emerald Club Executive status (enroll through your Amex account), which lets you pick any car from the Executive Area on full-size reservations in the U.S. and Canada.
- Global Assist Hotline (24/7 referrals and emergency help when you’re 100+ miles from home), Amex presale tickets and Send & Split.
Insurance and protections
| Benefit | What the bank says |
|---|---|
| Trip delay | None listed |
| Trip cancellation / interruption | None listed |
| Lost luggage (Baggage Insurance Plan) | Up to $1,250 for carry-on and $500 for checked bags that are lost, damaged or stolen, above what the airline pays One-way and award tickets: One-ways are fine: the plan needs the Entire Fare of the ticket on the card, with no round-trip rule. Award tickets probably don’t count, because paying only the taxes isn’t the entire fare (The Points Guy reads Amex’s “Entire Fare” wording the same way). |
| Car rental loss and damage | Secondary coverage for damage or theft when you decline the rental company’s CDW; not available in Australia, Italy or New Zealand, and no liability coverage |
| Purchase protection | Theft or accidental damage within 90 days, up to $1,000 per purchase and $50,000 per calendar year |
| Extended warranty | Up to one extra year on U.S. warranties of 5 years or less, up to $10,000 per item and $50,000 per year |
| Cell phone protection | None listed |
Amounts are from Amex’s card page, checked October 14, 2026. If you want trip delay, trip cancellation and cell phone protection on a Hilton card, the Aspire has all three.
For how this compares with other cards, see my card travel benefits comparison.
Application rules for this card
- The bonus is generally once per lifetime: Amex’s terms say you may not be eligible if you have or have had this card or the Hilton Honors Amex Ascend card (the Surpass’s old name) (the Amex lifetime rule). Amex shows a pop-up before any hard pull if you’re not eligible, so you can withdraw without a credit inquiry.
- No Hilton family rule: the terms don’t mention the Aspire or the no-fee Hilton card, so having either one doesn’t block the Surpass bonus (Frequent Miler also notes that Amex’s family language hasn’t reached the Hilton cards).
- Amex generally limits you to 5 Amex credit cards at once and approves about 1 credit card every 5 days and 2 every 90 days (Amex rules).
The full rules for every bank are in my credit card application rules guide.
My take
In my eyes the Surpass is worth it for one group: people who are at a Hilton every quarter. For them, the $200 in quarterly credits is more than the $150 fee, and Gold status adds breakfast or a food and beverage credit on every stay. If you’re at a Hilton only once or twice a year, count only the quarters you’d actually use, so the real fee is somewhere between $50 and $150, and Gold status has to cover the rest.
The earning is decent for a hotel card (6x at U.S. restaurants, supermarkets and gas stations), but at about half a cent per Hilton point that’s roughly 3% back in hotel stays, and the free night needs $15,000 of spending, which I wouldn’t plan around.
The current 130,000 points plus a free night for only $3,000 of spending is a good deal in my eyes, and since there’s no Hilton family rule, it doesn’t stop you from getting the Aspire’s or the no-fee card’s bonus later.
The catch
The annual fee is $150 from day one now (Amex’s page no longer shows a first-year waiver), there’s no trip delay, trip cancellation or cell phone protection, and the rental car coverage is secondary.
The $50 quarterly credit doesn’t roll over, needs a purchase made directly with a Hilton property, and incidentals only count when they’re charged to your room, so a quarter without a Hilton stay is $50 lost. The free night is spend-gated at $15,000.
That credit only helps if you already stay at Hiltons. Amex, like other banks with similar hard-to-use credits, is counting on people forgetting to use it.
Keep it after year one?
The fee to me is $150 minus whatever quarterly Hilton credits you’d use without changing your habits: at a Hilton every quarter, that’s $200 and the card pays you to keep it; at a Hilton twice a year, it’s $50 for Gold status. If you’re not at a Hilton at least a couple of times a year, ask Amex to move you to the no-fee Hilton Honors card (Frequent Miler lists it as the Surpass’s downgrade path), but if you’ve never had that card, consider applying for it first so you can still earn its bonus.
Offer history
| Offer | Ended |
|---|---|
| 130K + free night (current) | Current |
| 155K after $3K in 6 months (best ever) | 2025 |
Quick Answers
$150 a year as of October 14, 2026. Amex’s page doesn’t show a first-year waiver.
As of October 14, 2026 the offer is 130,000 Hilton points plus a Free Night Reward after $3,000 in purchases in the first 6 months, through January 13, 2027.
You get up to $50 back each quarter on purchases made directly with a Hilton property, such as a room booked on hilton.com or incidentals charged to your room and paid with the card. Third-party bookings don’t count, and unused credit doesn’t roll over.
No. You earn a Free Night Reward only after spending $15,000 on the card in a calendar year. The current welcome offer includes one free night.
Yes. The Surpass terms only block the bonus if you have or have had the Surpass (or its old Ascend version), so holding the Aspire or the no-fee Hilton card doesn’t matter.
Last checked: October 14, 2026. Card terms change often, so confirm on the bank’s page before you apply. There are no affiliate or referral links on this site, ever; links go to the bank’s own page.