Amex SPG & Hilton Cards Add Waiting Clause For Rewards

American Express confronted us with a new language that was presented in the September Statements on these co-branded cards: The Starwood Preferred Guest, Hilton Honors^TM/Hilton Honors^TM Surpass Cards and Delta Cards. This new terminology infers that AMEX will be allowed to delay supplying earned rewards for up to 12 weeks and the change will go into effect by November 1, 2017.

I’m assuming this would only effect sign-up bonuses and authorized user bonuses, however, at this stage, we can’t really confirm just yet. As of current, however, your regular spending will typically show up in your SPG account within a few days after statement closing and other bonuses post within a few days that the requirement is met.

Alternative Credit Card Bonuses:

• Starwood Preferred Guest® Business Credit Card from American Express
• Gold Delta SkyMiles® Credit Card from American Express
• Hilton HHonors^TM Card from American Express

Amex SPG & Hilton Cards Add Waiting Clause For Rewards:

Bonus Starpoints received from your Card will be posted to your SPG account up to 12 weeks after the end of each month. Your account must not be cancelled or delinquent at the time of bonus fulfillment.

Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card Features:

• New: No Foreign Transaction Fees on international purchases.
• New: Receive free in-room, premium internet access. Booking requirements apply.
• New: Enjoy complimentary, unlimited Boingo Wi-Fi at more than 1,000,000 Boingo hotspots worldwide. Enrollment required.
• Earn free nights at over 1,200 hotels and resorts in nearly 100 countries with no blackout dates.
• Some hotels and resorts have mandatory service charges.
• $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $95.
• Terms and limitations apply.

Hilton Honors Surpass Card from American Express Features:

• Earn 3 Hilton Honors points per $1 spent on regular spending
• Earn 6 Hilton Honors points per $1 spent at U.S. restaurants, U.S. supermarkets, U.S. gas stations
• Earn 12 Hilton Honors points per $1 spent at Hilton Hotels
• Earn a free weekend night award after your first anniversary of Card Membership
• Fast Track to Diamond status if you spend $40,000 in a calendar year.
• Complimentary Priority Pass membership
• No Points Cap

Hilton Honors Card from American Express Features:

• Earn 50,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points after spending $1,000 in first 3 months of account opening
•  Earn an additional 25,000 Bonus Points after you make an additional $1,000 in purchases with your new Card within your first 6 months
• Earn  7 Hilton Honors Points for each dollar of eligible purchases charged on your Card directly with a participating hotel or resort within the Hilton Portfolio
• Earn 5 points for each dollar of eligible purchases on your Card at U.S. restaurants, at U.S. supermarkets, and at U.S. gas stations.
• Earn 3 points for each dollar of other eligible purchases
• Fast Track to Gold status if you spend $20,000 in a calendar year.
• No Points Cap

Gold Delta SkyMiles Credit Card Features:

• Earn 30,000 bonus miles and $50 statement credit after you make $1,000 in purchases on your new Card within your first 3 months.
• Earn 2 Miles per dollar spent on purchases made directly with Delta. Earn 1 mile for every dollar spent on all other eligible purchases.
• Check your first bag free on every Delta flight – that’s a savings of up to $200 per round trip for a family of four.
• Settle in sooner with Priority Boarding.
• Enjoy a $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $95.
• Terms and Restrictions Apply.

Platinum Delta Business SkyMiles Credit Card Features:

• 2x miles on all purchases made directly with Delta
• 1x miles on all other purchases
• Annual fee of $195 is not waived
• Receive another 10,000 MQM after you spend $25,000 or more within a calendar year and an additional 10,000 MQM when you spend $50,000 or more within a calendar year for a total of 20,000 MQM (plus the sign up bonus)
• No foreign transaction fees
• Receive a Domestic Main Cabin round-trip companion certificate each year upon renewal of your Card (Payment of the government imposed taxes and fees of no more than $75 for roundtrip domestic flights (for itineraries with up to four flight segments) is required)
• Priority Boarding on Delta Flights
• First checked bag free on every Delta Flight
• Receive a 20% savings in the form of a statement credit on eligible Delta in-flight purchases after using your Card

Final Analysis:

At this stage, we can’t really tell AMEX’s direction with this language, because let’s face it, a 12 week delay for rewards is preposterous and there could be many factors involved as to why this language is now implemented on just the SPG, Hilton, and Delta Co-Branded Cards. This could be to either prevent manufactured spending as a whole business model,  or some CFPB complaints. We won’t know until November 1, 2017, so this is quite the troubling news ahead of us. Don’t forget to check out our full list of Credit Card Bonuses for all of your credit card needs.

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