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2024.9 Update: The 175k offer returns. Offer ends on 2025/01/08.
2024.6 Update: The higher offer has expired. Currently, there’s only a 130k offer.
2024.3 Update: The new welcome offer is 175k, expiring on 06/05/2024. Additionally, there are significant changes to the card benefits:
- Annual fee increased from $95 to $195.
- New benefit: $240 Hilton credit, with $60 back each quarter on eligible Hilton purchases, applicable to all Hilton properties.
- Free night certificates discontinued.
- 10 free Priority Pass Lounge passes removed.
- Earning structure changed to 5x on other purchases (previously 3x). The 6x categories are removed.
- New card design.
Application Link
Benefits
- 175k offer: Earn 175,000 Honors Points after spending $8,000 in the first 6 months. The recent best offer was 150k + 1FN.
- We value Hilton Honors Points at 0.4 cents/point (Hotel Points Value), click here to see the points required for a free night. So the 175k welcome offer is worth approximately $700.
- Earn 12 Hilton Honors points per $1 spent on hotel stays within the Hilton Portfolio; 5 points on other purchases. There’s a 5x cap on the first $100K in purchases per calendar year, followed by 3x points thereafter.
- [New] $240 Hilton credit: $60 back each quarter on eligible Hilton purchases, applicable to all Hilton properties.
- Complimentary Hilton Gold status for cardholders. Upgrade to Hilton Diamond status when spending $40,000 or more each calendar year.
- Access to Amex Offers, which often provide excellent discounts at various stores. Past offers include: Spend $15 or more, get $5 back at Walmart; Spend $75 or more, get $25 back on Amazon.com.
- Refer a friend: Earn 20,000 bonus Hilton Points for every approved referral, up to 80,000 Hilton Points per calendar year.
- No foreign transaction fee.
Disadvantages
- $95 annual fee, NOT waived for the first year.
Recommended Application Time
- The welcome bonus can only be received once in a lifetime, so apply when the highest historical offer appears.
- AmEx doesn’t consider the number of hard pulls.
- Consider applying when you have at least 6 months of credit history.
Only one AmEx credit card can be approved in a day. This rule doesn’t apply to charge cards; you can be approved for one credit card and multiple charge cards in a day.Multiple cards approved on the same day will count as one hard pull.- Only 2 AmEx credit cards can be approved within 90 days. However, this rule doesn’t apply to charge cards.
- You can hold a maximum of 5 AmEx credit cards, excluding charge cards.
Summary
After the benefit changes, this card is only valuable if you can fully use the Hilton credit. Even with this benefit, it can be tedious to remember each quarter. The welcome offer might still be compelling for some.
Related Credit Cards
Recommended Downgrade Options
After Applying
- Check AmEx application status here.
- AmEx reconsideration backdoor number: 877-399-3083. Note that while this number can submit requests, representatives have limited powers compared to Chase’s reconsideration line.
Historical Offers Chart
Note: In 2019, there was a 130k + FN welcome offer. The FN part is not shown in the chart.
Application Link
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