@althes wrote:Got another upgrade offer from Amex.How would you guys rate it.Upgrade to Surpass and I get Gold Status.After 40k spend I get Diamond.I also get 12x on hotels and resorts.6x on restaurants and supermarkets and gasI have never held surpass.Card was opened 1/24/20.Never had a Hilton before.Thinking about it.
Those just sound like the basic perks of the Surpass. I don't know what card you have that they are offering to upgrade if you don't have a Hilton card.
Either way, I'm in this same boat, but I'm waiting for an actual offer to come along with a SUB of points or a statement credit, instead of Amex upgrading my Base HH. Maybe when I hit 2 years in August something pop up.
@Anonymous wrote:I'm generally not crazy about the Surpass card. It doesn't offer much over the no annual fee card outside of the SUB unless you're running a lot of spend through it, and the Aspire is much better for travel.
I agree, believing it mostly comes down to the weekend night certificate: if you can get good return on the weekend night certificate and the $15k annual spend to get it wouldn't disrupt how you use your other cards, it can be great. If either of those don't apply, it usually doesn't work.
For me personally, I noticed that my average annual spend on non-category + Hilton + gas + utilities is right around $15k. As soon as I realized this, I applied. I get great return on certificates as I save them for trips to NYC (that I'd be making anyways) and would value each at at least $300. I've also seen great return on having Gold status - had a booking for king deluxe at $395, swapped to standard king at $320 hoping for an upgrade, then was upgraded to the king deluxe before I could ask, with the center room on the top floor, aka the best view in the building (our prior time there we faced the alley). Through other AmEx offers and perks I easily get the full annual fee back. That $300 certificate from $15k spend is like adding another 2% to whatever the card is earning me, so even at .5cpp HP value my gas spend would get me ~5%, up until the first $15k of course. After $15k I pretty much stop using Surpass outside of Hiltons.
Thing is, if my income was higher, or my travel habits were different (don't fly often), Aspire likely would be the best for me, as it is the best for many. The no AF card is the best for many as well. The Surpass is sort of a weird card that hits a sweet spot for some people, myself currently included.
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