16

Jan

There’s been a rumor, which I first came across at TravelBloggerBuzz, that the Hilton HHonors American Express would no longer earn 6 points per dollar at drugstores and on telecommunications spend.

This would be a big deal for folks who buy Vanilla Reload cards at CVS (most often to be liquidated via Bluebird). The drugstore bonus for buying money on a credit card has been a go-to ever since Office Depot stopped carrying the Vanilla Reloads and so 5 Chase Ultimate Rewards points via Ink Bold/Plus was no longer possible.

The source of the rumor seems to be a discrepancy between the Hilton HHonors website which still lists the bonus:

Earn 6 HHonors Bonus Points for every U.S. dollar charged in the following everyday spend categories: grocery stores, drugstores, gas stations, home and wireless phone, cable and satellite TV, and Internet service providers (less returns).

And the American Express application page which no longer does (mentioning 6 points per dollar only at Hilton HHonors portfolio of properties).

Frequent Miler called American Express customer service and they confirmed the changes, saying they would go into effect February 1.

So I reached out to management at American Express to find out what’s happening. And they’ve told me pretty clearly that the 6 points per dollar still applies to drugstores and telecommunications spend for both the Hilton HHonors American Express and Surpass American Express. It hasn’t been removed.

I have a subsequent question out to make sure that they weren’t just describing the status quo (that the benefit hasn’t been removed yet) but for now my presumption is that they aren’t eliminating the bonus.

Filed under: To be confirmed. But not something I’m getting worked up about at this point.

Update: American Express promises me an update tomorrow.

31 Comments

  1. DWT said,

    I suspect a change will be coming. After all, someone had to go in and rewrite the T&C for the cards for new applicants.

    Also, if you go to the HHonors overview page for all their credit cards, the text has been revised so it no longer references the bonus categories that are rumored to be eliminated:

    http://hhonors3.hilton.com/en/earn-use-points/credit-cards/index.html

  2. Changes to Hilton Amex earning structure - FlyerTalk Forums said,

    [...] the Wing has another technically-true-but-doesn't-mean-anything response from American Express http://boardingarea.com/blogs/viewfr…rican-express/ "Still applies" is another way of saying "hasn't ended [...]

  3. Mike said,

    Thx for bloggers killing another deal.

  4. jay said,

    “Filed under: To be confirmed.”

    then why the title of no changes to the bonus? the story is that the bonus is changing on 2/1… and it sounds like its still unconfirmed. so why does the title sound like it has been confirmed that no changes are coming?

  5. Gary said,

    Actually I wrote the headline before I got suspicious, and it was unintentional. I was told very clearly nothing has changed. I pushed back and it was re-confirmed. I then asked the question a third way and was told I would have an answer in the morning after additional checking. For now i have no reason to doubt the word I was given. But the title is stronger than I intended it to be and will update.

  6. Gary said,

    @Mike – Have I been hammering on about using Hilton cards at drugstores with Bluebird?

  7. Paul W said,

    @ Mike: Are you the same troll named Mike who just posted a troll comment on Lucky’s site?

  8. jay said,

    ahhh, that makes sense, thanks for clearing it up!

  9. FrequentMiler said,

    The plot thickens! It will be fun to see how this plays out

  10. AdamH said,

    Hmm. I have an offer to upgrade from the free to the paid version that I just got to receive an additional 50k points. Might have to do that sooner than later

  11. Yi said,

    Hi Gary,

    same situation as @AdamH

    should I apply for upgrade tonight? are the changes effective to new applicants?

    Thanks,

    Yi

  12. JakePB said,

    I received a 50k mile Hhonors Surpasss just 3 days ago (Monday) and the Supplement to the Cardmember Agreement still includes drugstores in its 6pt list. Of course, that can change but it’s hard to imagine that happening in 2 weeks time.

  13. Dave M said,

    More and more it is looking like AMEX may be losing it’s spots in my wallet….Chase Sapphire has given my AMEX PRG a run for it’s money and if that change occurs to the Hilton AMEX cards…may be taking a hard look at the Citi Hilton Signature visa….

  14. Jack said,

    With those responses from AMEX I get the impression it will indeed end Feb 1st or soon thereafter.

  15. Rob said,

    My annual fee is going to be charged in February so I called Amex… and I was told “there will be some changes going into effect on February 1.” The rep wouldn’t elaborate on the changes or confirm what is now being published on the application pages, but I will say that it doesn’t look good. Will probably downgrade and keep the free card just to keep the credit line and access to the AXON and GLON awards.

    I never thought I would be doing more spend on Chase and Citi cards than my trusty HHonors and SPG Amex cards, but that is the way things seem to be going. At least I will have less reason to be concerned about a FR!

  16. TravelBloggerBuzz said,

    Thanks Gary for following up. We all just need to wait a little longer to confirm this. My gut feeling is…well, where is smoke there is fire! I think they are working things out and the cost cuts have not been finalized yet!

    I hope the 6x drugstores gets spared in the end, I love it!

    But, from the big layoff news release, I remember this:

    “A $342 million expense ($212 million after-tax) reflecting enhancements to the process that estimates future redemptions of Membership Rewards points by U.S. cardmembers.”

    Someway, somehow they need to cut…in a lot of areas…

    We’ll know in a few weeks for sure.

    I received my no fee HH Amex monthly statement, there was nothing about any change mentioned!

  17. MileageUpdate said,

    holding breath, holding breath holding my breath.

  18. Chris B. said,

    If they would add HHonors Gold status to the Surpass, they could raise the annual fee and likely lower the category spend on both cards, driving no fee users to the Surpass (and they could dump Priority Pass lounge access too).

  19. Randall said,

    When I called the CSR said all the bonus categories are going away on February 1. I asked her if there are any pending changes to the Surpass card, she spent a minute researching it and said all those bonus categories are ending February 1 as well. I’m going to spend $20K at CVS in the next two weeks.

  20. redcat255 said,

    Just upgraded to Surpass ~2 months ago, paid the pro-rated annual fee, and received a 50,000-point bonus. Any thoughts on whether I’d trigger an FR by downgrading again in response to this adverse change to card benefits?

    I guess we also can’t eliminate the possibility they will add some other benefits to replace the lost bonus categories…

  21. PatMike said,

    PLEASE don’t eliminate Diamond after $40K spend !!!

  22. Mike said,

    @Mike: Stop sullying my good name.

  23. Dean said,

    6xX bonus was one of the big reasons for keeping the Surpass card. If this goes away I will probably just downgrade to the no fee card.

  24. Mike H said,

    A) I’m not “troll” Mike, just be clear. B) I messed my spreadsheet up. I thought this was a no fee AMEX, not the Surpass, the non-Surpass rather. No way I’m keeping this without drug and grocery. And I don’t use it for VRs. That’s all Chase plastic.

  25. Heels05 said,

    @Dean The no fee card also give 6X at drugstores

  26. Dan said,

    @Gary – Any idea whether the 45 day rule applies to this kind of change? I tried to look into it and most references are that a 45 day notice is required for any significant changes which I think this would qualify as. However, the new CC law deals with things like fees and APR as opposed to points and miles so maybe the rule doesnt apply. I think it would leave a bad taste in people’s mouth if they sprang a change like that with virtually no notice. Thoughts?

  27. Dan said,

    I agree with TravelBloggerBuzz. I find it hard to believe that a change is not coming given the change in wording in the T&C. Maybe a decision has not been finalized yet since the T&C states a 6-6-3 structure but actually only lists Hilton spend as a 6x category. Maybe 2/1 is the date of announcement of change to be put into actual effect sometime later?

    As to the issue of whether bloggers “killed” the deal I just want to point out that the while BB thing is all over the net just not on blogs but on forums as well. Plus part of the rumor is that telecom will be killed off as well. Doesnt anyone find that a bit strange? This just cant be about closing a loophole if that is the case.

    If this is true, I have to say AMEX is making itself less and less attractive. Loss of MR partners, killing the Bonus mall, killing the Delta Companion ticket and now this. Have they offered any positive changes lately?

  28. Scott S said,

    I find it strange that we’re in a game where due diligence is key, and not always taking the first answer by a company as gospel when we’re told no for something we want. But, when the tables are turned and it’s something we want that is going away, the first utterance of it gets blogged about without multiple contacts for confirmation. It just adds fuel to the fire when rumors (and that’s truly what this is until confirmed by multiple sources) are spread.

  29. Dave said,

    For the Amex Blue Cash Product they put a notice in the statements that the terms were changing and the changes will be effective upon the next card anniversery during 2013, and changed new apps in November. In my case, starting in August my 6% rebate will be capped at $6K of spend per calendar year.

    This could be a blueprint, as November to January is more than 45 days. If you read FW, there were some folks kicking reward issues (AARP card) to the CFPB, I doubt Amex is likely to poke the bear on that.

    I think that the changes have more to do with the Citi Reserve card (e.g. cut smaller categories to bump the reward on hilton stays) than bloggers or reloads.

    I speculate that Amex has somewhat mixed feelings on reloads, since their growth helps foster Amex’s prepaid empire, and even if miles junkies are a cost center, establishing heft around their offerings is part of their long term ambitions. If Vanilla was a problem, their prepaid cards would no longer accept loads.

  30. David said,

    @Gary,

    Any updates from Amex on this?

  31. There Are Changes Coming to the Hilton American Express Cards — But They Aren’t What We Thought - View from the Wing said,

    [...] I reported on the speculation that American Express was no longer offering bonuses on drugstore and … for their Hilton co-branded credit card [...]

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