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For a while Hilton has offered all of the following co-branded credit cards:

  • Hilton Honors Card from American Express with no annual fee
  • Citi Hilton Honors Card with no annual fee
  • Hilton Honors Surpass Card from American Express with a $75 annual fee
  • Citi Hilton Honors Reserve Card with a $95 annual fee

But that’s changing tomorrow. We’ve known for a while that Hilton dropped its partnership with Citi in favor of an exclusive co-branding partnership with Amex. Tomorrow the following Amex Hilton cards hit the market:

  • Hilton Honors American Express Card with no annual fee (this isn’t be advertised as a new product, yet a change in benefit structure from the prior version–this one has no foreign transaction fees)
  • Hilton Honors American Express Ascend Card with a $95 annual fee

What’s Replacing What

If you already have a Hilton co-branded credit card, your card will be converted to one of these two new products either tomorrow, January 18, or next Tuesday, January 30.

The Hilton Honors American Express Card will replace both the old Citi and Amex Hilton no annual fee cards. The Hilton Honors American Express Ascend Card will replace the Hilton Honors Surpass Card from American Express and the Citi Hilton Honors Reserve Card.

  • Hilton Honors Card from American Express is expected to convert January 18.
  • Citi Hilton Honors is expected to convert January 30.
  • Hilton Honors Surpass Card from American Express is expected to convert January 18.
  • Citi Hilton Honors Reserve Card is expected to convert January 30.

So, what should existing cardholders do if they want to maximize potential benefit from these new products? Cancel? Downgrade? Hold?

There are different circumstances you each will find yourselves in depending on which card you already have, how long ago you opened it, how close you are to meeting the spend requirement for the Citi Hilton Reserve annual free night, etc. that influence how you should handle the conversion.

For example, if you have a Citi Hilton Reserve Card, there is a chance you might still be eligible for the sign up bonus (whatever it may be, we won’t know until tomorrow) on the new Ascend card if you’ve never held an Amex Hilton Surpass card before. You’d just want to cancel your Citi Hilton Reserve card before January 30 to give yourself a better shot, as that is the day cardholders are converted to the Hilton Honors American Express Ascend Card.

Frequent Miler wrote a thorough round-up with links for further reading that vary depending on which circumstance you may find yourself in. There’s no need to reinvent the wheel–and the clock is ticking–so check out Frequent Miler ASAP to see if you should make a move tonight.

Tomorrow will be too late for Hilton Honors Card from American Express and Hilton Honors Surpass Card from American Express cardholders–if you have one of those cards, make a decision tonight. The rest of you who have a Citi Hilton Honors Card or a Citi Hilton Honors Reserve Card, make a decision before January 30.

The feature image is a picture of the Boca Beach Club, A Waldorf Astoria Resort, a member of the Hilton chain.

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