Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Review: Get Top-Tier Elite Status and Luxury Perks at Hilton Hotels

Amex Hilton Aspire Card Benefits

Welcome Offer and Ongoing Rewards

The Hilton Aspire’s welcome offer of 150,000 points after spending $6,000 on purchases within the first six months from account opening is an excellent deal. And frequent travelers can earn lots of points on many aspects of travel when they use their card. The Amex Hilton Aspire offers:

• 14x points on hotels and resorts in the Hilton portfolio
• 7x points on flights booked directly with airlines or through AmexTravel.com, and car rentals booked directly with select rental companies
• 7x points on dining and delivery at U.S. restaurants
• 3x on other eligible purchases

Annual Free Night Reward

The Amex Hilton Aspire comes with a free night reward upon account opening and an additional free night reward after each account anniversary.

This credit is automatic; you’ll receive it each year just for keeping your account open. But you’ll also have an opportunity to earn additional free night rewards:

• One free night reward after spending a total of $30,000 on eligible purchases in a calendar year
• One free night reward after spending a total of $60,000 on eligible purchases in a calendar year

You can use a Hilton free night reward for a standard room at any Hilton Hotel in the world (excluding this small list of properties). Even properties that cost 240,000 points per night, like Calala Island, an SLH Hotel, can be booked with a Hilton free night award.

I recently used my free night reward to book a $1,700+ night at the Waldorf Astoria New York. Standard rooms cost 150,000 Hilton points per night.

Hundreds of Dollars in Annual Statement Credits

You’ll get an eye-popping $800+ in yearly statement credits from the Amex Hilton Aspire, including:

• Up to $200 in annual flight credits: Each quarter, you’ll receive up to $50 in credit toward airfare booked directly with an airline or through Amex Travel®.
• Up to $400 in annual Hilton Resort credits: Receive up to $200 in statement credits from January to June and another $200 in statement credits from July to December at participating Hilton resorts.
• Up to $209 in annual CLEAR® Plus credit: CLEAR Plus lets you cut the security line at many US airports. With CLEAR, you won’t have to take out your ID; it’ll verify your identity via facial recognition.

Cardholders also receive up to $100 in property credit on stays of two or more nights at participating Waldorf Astoria and Conrad Hotels and Resorts on an eligible rate booked through hiltonhonorsaspirecard.com or by calling Hilton at 855-292-5757.

Automatic Top-Tier Elite Status

The Amex Hilton Aspire gives you automatic Diamond elite status upon account opening. That’s Hilton’s top-tier status, which comes with benefits like 100% bonus points on paid Hilton stays, suite upgrades (when available), food and beverage credits and more.

Depending on the hotel, this perk could save you hundreds of dollars during a single stay. My husband and I spent five nights at the Waldorf Astoria Maldives and received free breakfast thanks to Diamond status. We would have otherwise paid more than $700.

Travel Insurance

Simply paying for your travel with the Amex Hilton Aspire will automatically confer several different protections for your trip. These include:

• Rental car insurance: When you waive the rental agency’s car insurance, you’ll receive secondary protection that covers you for things that your primary insurance (like your personal insurance) won’t.
• Trip delay insurance: On a round-trip itinerary, when your flight is delayed by six hours or more, you can be reimbursed up to $500 for reasonable expenses like meals and accommodation (maximum two claims per 12-month period).
• Trip cancellation and interruption insurance: If you need to cancel or cut short your trip due to an eligible reason, you can be reimbursed up to $10,000 for nonrefundable prepaid travel (maximum $20,000 per 12-month period).
• Baggage insurance plan: If your luggage is lost, stolen or damaged, you could be reimbursed up to a $3,000 per covered trip (exclusions and restrictions apply). Premium Global Assist Hotline: When you travel more than 100 miles from home, this 24/7 service can help arrange things like medical and legal referrals and even emergency medical transportation.

If you don’t normally pay for third-party travel insurance, you might not consider these to be “money-saving” perks; but when you find yourself in a sticky situation during your travels, you’ll be grateful to have them.

Rental Car Elite Status

Hilton Aspire cardholders can activate complimentary National Car Rental Emerald Club Executive status, which comes with perks such as Executive Area Access, faster earning toward free rental days, and guaranteed upgrades on full-size or higher rentals in the US and Canada. Normally, you’d need to book 12 rentals or 40 rental days in a calendar year to achieve this status tier.

Amex Hilton Aspire Card Drawbacks

Annual Fee

A $550 annual fee may sound steep — but don’t get spooked. The Amex Hilton Aspire demands a higher annual fee because it’s not difficult to get considerably more value from its annual benefits.

In short, do the math to see if the card’s hundreds in annual statement credits will save you more than you’re spending to hold the card.

Some Benefits Can Be Difficult To Use

Some of the Hilton Aspire Card’s benefits are doled out incrementally throughout the year. That makes them more unwieldy than if you were able to redeem the credits all at once.

For example, the card’s up to $200 in annual flight credit is distributed as up to $50 in credit each quarter. That means if you don’t book airfare at least once every three months, you may not be able to maximize the full $200 benefit.

It’s Hard To Peg the Value of Hilton Points

When your credit card earns cash back — or even many other travel rewards currencies — it’s easy to at least anticipate the minimum value you’ll get for your rewards. With Hilton points, it’s not that simple.

The value you’ll get for your rewards depends on which Hilton hotel you use them for, which dates you select and which room category you book. You may get 0.5 cents in value at one hotel and 1.5 cents in value from another. This can make it harder to plan travel, especially if your dates aren’t flexible.

Who Is the Amex Hilton Aspire Best For?

The Amex Hilton Aspire is best for those who visit Hilton hotels often — but not often enough to earn elite status. The card’s automatic top-tier Diamond status and up to $400 in annual resort credits can add serious value to every Hilton stay, but it’s obviously no good for stays at other hotels.

The card can even be worth it for someone who wants just one night at a top-tier luxury Hilton hotel each year. Because its annual free night can net you a $1,000+ room, a $550 annual fee amounts to a nice discount.

Is It the Right Card for You?

The Amex Hilton Aspire could be right for you if you:

• Book paid Hilton stays regularly
• Book airfare at least once every quarter
• Stay at a Hilton resort once or twice a year
• Value credit card travel insurance

Be sure to compare the card to others in the Amex Hilton lineup with lower annual fees. For example, the Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card comes with automatic Hilton Gold elite status, up to $200 per year in statement credits toward Hilton stays, and a free night reward after spending $15,000 or more on purchases in a calendar year. Its annual fee is $150.

If you prefer a no-annual-fee travel credit card, the Hilton Honors American Express Card is another option. While much lighter on benefits, it does come with automatic Hilton Silver status and a handful of other perks.

Alternatives to the Amex Hilton Aspire

The Amex Hilton Aspire isn’t the only premium hotel credit card in town. Consider these alternatives when choosing a hotel credit card:

• Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card: With this $650-annual-fee card, you’ll get Marriott Platinum elite status, an annual free night award (worth up to 85,000 points, some hotels have resort fees), travel insurance and more. It’s very similar to the Amex Hilton Aspire — but for Marriott lovers.
• The Platinum Card® from American Express (an advertising partner): While not hotel-specific, the Amex Platinum earns Membership Rewards® points you can transfer to Hilton Honors and over a dozen other hotel and airline partners. Cardholders receive complimentary Hilton Gold status (enrollment required), along with access to American Express’ airport lounges and slew of travel and merchant statement credits that can help justify the $695 annual fee.