Bummer. I was going to get this card for the $15k spend free night.
Too late for you.
It was too good to be true, maybe that's why it didn't last that long.
Good news for existing cardholders: you have until 7/1 to reach $15K and still get an FNC.
Source: my interaction with Amex customer service:
https://www.americanexpress.com/us/...45094-9-0?key=tncBody&rwdFlag=rwd#offer-terms
Eligible purchases made through June 30, 2024 will count toward the Hilton Honors Free Night Rewards benefit. After June 30, 2024 the Hilton Honors Free Night Rewards benefit will no longer be available on your Hilton Honors American Express Business Card, and you will no longer be able to earn Free Night Reward(s) as a benefit of your card.
The effective cashback rate of old Hilton Business card was fantastic when accounted for the value of HH (in my case: $0.0086), the FNC (in my case: $621.68), and negative value of the annual fee.
(15000 × 3× .0086 + 621.68 − 95) ÷ 15000 =
6%
Without the FNC, the increased earning rate is a must. However, +2x is not enough to cover it. 2x on $15K = extra 30K HH = $258 value, down from $621.68 FNC. But they added Hilton quarterly credit of $60, total $240. Total value $498. Still lower than the FNC value. But the AF increases!
(15000 × 5× .0086 + 240 − 195) ÷ 15000 =
4.6%
Meh. I'll close this card before renewal (which is in December).
The silver lining of this happening is:
- I have 1.5M HH points that only keep growing even though I stayed 30 free nights at Hiltons in the last 12 months. And I have 4 FNCs right now, expiring in 7-12 months.
- This will free up space for a different Amex Business card for me. I reached the maximum cards number limit on both personal (SSN) and business (EIN) cards, so it's finally time to get a new SUB.
I'll try getting BBP (Blue Business Plus) with 50K MR SUB = $750 value in Delta point, or if I'm in popup jail (never happened to me on business cards but who knows), get a Lowe's card. Amex Lowes card is better than Synchrony Lowes because not only does it do the 5% off on Lowes end, but it also gives you 2% cashback on Amex side. So 7% total. I don't see any other good business card, since I already have a Delta card, Amex Gold card (got 150K MR SUB from it = $2250 value in Delta points), and Amex Marriott card (got 150,000 Marriott points).