Best Point Earning Credit Cards

Why You Should Consider Upgrading to the Hilton Surpass Card

a close-up of a credit card
Written by Charlie

With the Hilton Surpass card at its all time high, why should you consider an upgrade to the Hilton Surpass card? Here are some reasons!

The Hilton Surpass card is back to its best ever offer of 100,000 Hilton points. That is a tremendous offer and one to definitely consider getting. But, there are also some nice offers for upgrading to the Hilton Surpass card. Here are some reasons to consider upgrading instead of applying.

Some Reasons to Upgrade to the Hilton Surpass Card

First things first – if you have ever had the Hilton Surpass card, you are not eligible to get the bonus again no matter what way you get it. That means that you need to choose now how you want to get this card and the bonus because you will not be able to get the bonus again!

Ok, so why should you consider upgrading to the Hilton Surpass instead of applying outright?

The Upgrade Offers Are Pretty Good!

While I wrote yesterday about one upgrade offer for 100,000 Hilton points, it does not appear that any readers were able to take advantage of that. However, they did mention that they had received offers of 75,000 Hilton points.

Getting the Offers

To get those offers, sign in to your American Express account and check the Offers for You part (where you find the Amex Offers) on your regular no-fee Hilton card or a Delta card. If you are eligible for the 75,000 point upgrade (which I have heard from several people that they were), you can upgrade right from there.

You could also try this 100,000 Hilton point offer to see if it comes up for you.

So, you could upgrade for only 25,000 fewer points than an outright new application. Why is that ok? Next point!

Upgrades Do Not Count as New Applications

If you are trying to keep your new card applications on the lower side, upgrading will preserve your application count instead of putting a new account on your credit report. So, if you are not wanting to stay over the 5/24 Chase number for long, this is a good way to do that.

For example, my wife is at 4 new accounts in the last 24 months. If she were eligible for this upgrade (she already has the Surpass card), she would be able to upgrade and stay at 4 new accounts. That could be worth passing up on those extra 25,000 points.

Upgrades Do Not Add a New Card to Your Amex Total

Even though it seems some people have been able to exceed the 4 credit card rule with Amex (meaning you can, normally, only have 4 credit cards from Amex at one time), many may still be limited to 4. By upgrading, you keep that card position and do not take away one of those valuable Amex slots with a new card. Again, a good reason if you are interested in getting another Amex card at some point and you do not want to sacrifice your current cards.

Upgrades Do Not Count for a Hard Pull on Your Report

Again, this could be worth getting an offer for 25,000 fewer points. Not having a hard pull on your credit report can be a good thing (and is similar to the reason above about the Chase 5/24 rule). It is up to you how you value your hard pulls but this is a plus.

What Should You Do?

I certainly do not know your situation but hopefully this gives you some reasons why you may want to consider upgrading to the Hilton Surpass. Yes, 25,000 Hilton points is still worth quite a bit – it could get you a decent hotel for a night. But, it is nice to have options!

However, I will say this – I would not upgrade for the 50,000 point offer! That is too low when the Surpass card is currently at 100,000 Hilton points. That is a big difference and could mean a savings of hundreds of dollars on a hotel room. I would only settle for a 75,000 point (or, of course, the 100K offer).

Will you upgrade to the Hilton Surpass card? What offer do you have?

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About the author

Charlie

Charlie has been an avid traveler and runner for many years. He has run in marathons around the world for less than it would cost to travel to the next town - all as a result of collecting and using miles and points. Over the years, he has flown hundreds of thousands of miles and collected millions of miles and points.
Now he uses this experience and knowledge to help others through Running with Miles.

1 Comment

  • Thanks for the post! I’d definitely go for the 75k offer with no hard pull. I’m not able to find where that offer shows up on the site though. Would it just be mixed in with the list of AmEx offers?