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Hilton’s ultra-premium rewards card, the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card, is the star of Hilton’s co-branded lineup of credit cards from American Express.
In addition to the highest points-earning rate on any of Hilton's credit cards, the Hilton Aspire card provides top-tier Hilton Diamond elite status, airline and resort credits, an anniversary free night certificate each year, and the ability to earn another free night award through spending on your card. Enrollment is required for select Amex benefits.
The Hilton Aspire card carries a $550 annual fee , right on par with premium co-brand cards from the likes of Delta and United. But, the card provides ample benefits to justify the high annual fee.
- 14X Hilton Honors Bonus Points for each dollar of eligible purchases charged on your Card directly with a hotel or resort within the Hilton Portfolio
- 7X Hilton Honors Bonus Points on flights booked directly with airlines or amextravel.com, car rentals booked directly through select rental companies, and at U.S. restaurants
- 3X Hilton Honors Bonus Points for all other eligible purchases on your Card
Page Contents
- Hilton Aspire Pros
- Hilton Aspire Cons
- Hilton Aspire Welcome Offer
- Hilton Aspire Benefits
- Complimentary Hilton Honors Diamond elite status
- Free anniversary night reward each year
- Second and third anniversary night rewards
- $200 airline flight credit
- $400 Hilton resort statement credit
- $199 CLEAR® Plus credit
- $100 credit at Waldorf Astoria and Conrad properties
- Loss of Priority Pass Select lounge membership
- Access to 24/7 American Express Concierge
- Rental car elite status
- Travel and Shopping Protections
- No foreign transaction fees
- Hilton Aspire Earning Rates
- Redeeming Points With the Hilton Aspire
- Application Restrictions and Strategy
- Cards That Compete With the Hilton Aspire
- Final Thoughts
Hilton Aspire Pros
- Top-tier Diamond status as an automatic benefit.
- Hundreds of dollars in annual resort credits.
- Flight credit is now more flexible, covering nearly any airline purchase.
Hilton Aspire Cons
- $550 annual fee.
- No longer offers Priority Pass lounge membership.
- Recouping the card's annual fee requires effort and using multiple credits throughout the year.
Hilton Aspire Welcome Offer
As a new Hilton Aspire cardmember you will earn 150,000 bonus Hilton points after you make $6,000 in eligible purchases within the first 6 months .
Where can the 150,000-point welcome offer take you? Well, it's enough to cover the 150,000 to 120,000-point rate at either of the two most opulent and luxurious properties in the Hilton portfolio of hotels: the Waldorf Astoria Maldives Ithaafushi and Waldorf Astoria Los Cabos Pedregal. Coupling these welcome offer points with the free night benefit available to first-year cardmembers makes for a fantastic weekend stay.
Besides these two properties, standard redemptions at most other Hilton portfolio brand hotels are capped at 95,000 points. That means you'll have enough points for one night with plenty of points left toward your next stay. You'll also earn more points from your spending and can quickly be on your way toward additional free nights.
If you're looking to stretch your points further, this welcome offer provides enough points for two or three nights at a mid-range property, which typically cost 40,000 to 60,000 points per night. Alternatively, you can score a whole bunch of nights in one of Hilton's budget redemptions, which go for as few as 5,000 points per night.
Hilton Aspire Benefits
The Hilton Aspire is the first travel rewards card offering top-tier elite status just for holding the card. Before the release of the Hilton Aspire, the only way to achieve top-tier hotel elite status — besides staying in hotels — was through spending thresholds on select co-branded cards.
Moving beyond elite status, cardholders can earn multiple free nights and receive nearly $800 in travel credits. The extensive list of perks more than justifies the card's $550 annual fee.
Complimentary Hilton Honors Diamond elite status
The signature benefit of the Hilton Aspire is complimentary Hilton Honors Diamond status. Typically, Diamond status requires 30 stays, 60 nights, or 120,000 base points in a calendar year. Diamond benefits include:
- Diamond status extension
- Complimentary breakfast
- Room upgrades
- Executive lounge access
- Fifth night free on reward stays of at least five nights
- 48-hour room guarantee
- 100% point bonus
- Late check-out
- Complimentary premium Wi-Fi
- Two complimentary bottles of water
It can be difficult to put an exact dollar value on this benefit; the more you stay with Hilton, the more value you'll get. An upscale Sunday brunch for two at one of Hilton's higher-end properties might run $50+. After just a few stays, the value from this Diamond benefit alone can add up quickly.
Free anniversary night reward each year
Cardholders receive an anniversary free night reward certificate upon acquiring the card, plus another each year roughly 10–12 weeks following the account anniversary date. The free night is potentially worth 150,000 Hilton Honors points if redeemed at Hilton’s most opulent and luxurious properties. Even staying within the United States, you can easily save $500+ on a cash rate by redeeming this free night award at higher-end properties. A list of excluded properties can be found on Hilton’s website, but it’s a small list when considering how many hotels and resorts fall under the Hilton umbrella.
Hilton's free night awards must be used for stays within one year of issue and can be redeemed any night of the week.
Second and third anniversary night rewards
For Hilton Aspire cardholders with the resources to put significant spend on the card, you’ll receive a second free night certificate after spending $30,000 on the card each year.
You'll also be able to earn a third anniversary free night reward after spending a further $30,000 — a total of $60,000 — in spending during the calendar year. The additional free night certificates adhere to the same rules and restrictions. Any big spenders might consider this route to earn another free night reward, which can provide great value since there are very few restrictions for redemptions.
$200 airline flight credit
With the card's overhaul in October of 2023, this credit was cut into pieces but lost its former restrictions. Cardholders can receive up to $200 in annual flight credits, available as up to $50 per quarter. This includes any airfare booked directly with an airline as well as via Amex Travel.
$400 Hilton resort statement credit
Hilton’s $400 resort credit is now based on a calendar year, split into two $200 credits each year for up to $400 total. The credit includes almost any charge at a Hilton resort, including purchases at restaurants, spas, and other establishments within the hotel property if charged to your room. Just swipe your Hilton Aspire on departure to cover the costs, and the credit will be applied automatically to your account. For a full list of participating resorts, visit hilton.com/resorts. If you stay at Hilton properties with any regularity, it should be very easy to enjoy the full $400 benefit.
There's no minimum purchase required, and the credit doesn't have to be used all at once. It applies to qualifying spending throughout each half of the year (January to June and July to December).
$199 CLEAR® Plus credit
A CLEAR Plus membership allows travelers to skip the standard TSA line at participating airports and use their biometrics to provide their identity. With this credit, cardholders can wipe away the cost of a CLEAR membership entirely. Even better, CLEAR works with TSA PreCheck (if you have both), which means you'll get to jump to the front of the line AND keep your shoes on. Simply pay for your CLEAR Plus membership with your card to receive up to $199 as a statement credit each year.
$100 credit at Waldorf Astoria and Conrad properties
Paid stays of two or more nights at Waldorf Astoria or Conrad properties booked via a special link for Hilton Aspire cardholders are eligible for this perk. Bookings made by phone are eligible for this benefit as well if you use the code ZZAAP1. Note that property fees, taxes, gratuities, and the cost of the room do not qualify as eligible charges, but you can receive up to $100 in credit toward eligible spending on each stay.
Loss of Priority Pass Select lounge membership
The Hilton Aspire previously received an unlimited Priority Pass Select membership, which granted lounge access during travel. However, since updates to the card in October of 2023, that benefit is going away. If you enrolled prior to January 31, 2023, your membership has now ended. And if you didn't enroll by January 31, 2024, you no longer have that option. For those who enrolled between February 1, 2023 and January 31, 2024, your membership will be active until October 31, 2024.
Access to 24/7 American Express Concierge
An often overlooked benefit, the Amex Concierge can help secure a table at a busy restaurant, organize flowers or gifts for a loved one, procure hard-to-find tickets for concert or theatre productions, among a host of more unusual requests. There is no charge to use the Amex Concierge service, and any purchases organized by the concierge will be charged to the Amex card attached to your account — in this case, the Hilton Aspire.
Rental car elite status
Those who have a Hilton Aspire can enroll to receive National Emerald Club Executive status, which comes with perks like free rental upgrades. You also can use this status for a status match to other rental car programs.
Related: How To Get Rental Car Elite Status for Free
Travel and Shopping Protections
As a high-end credit card, you'd expect that the Hilton Aspire offers high-end benefits. This includes travel protections, which can reimburse you if things go awry during your journey. Cardholders are entitled to a suite of travel and shopping protections when they charge eligible purchases to their card:
- Secondary rental car insurance loss and damage insurance
- Lost luggage insurance plan
- Trip delay insurance
- Trip cancellation and interruption insurance
- Extended warranty
- Cellphone protection
- Purchase protection
- Return protection
No foreign transaction fees
The Hilton Aspire is intended for folks who spend plenty of time traveling. So, waiving foreign transaction fees is a must. Avoiding these fees helps ensure that the points you collect on overseas purchases aren’t wiped out by the 2%–3% charge levied on other credit cards when using your card abroad .
Hilton Aspire Earning Rates
The Hilton Aspire card offers the highest points-per-dollar of any co-branded Hilton card, earning 14x Hilton Honors points on Hilton purchases worldwide. The card earns as follows:
- 14X Hilton Honors Bonus Points for each dollar of eligible purchases charged on your Card directly with a hotel or resort within the Hilton Portfolio
- 7X Hilton Honors Bonus Points on flights booked directly with airlines or amextravel.com, car rentals booked directly through select rental companies, and at U.S. restaurants
- 3X Hilton Honors Bonus Points for all other eligible purchases on your Card
However, the earnings at Hilton properties get even better when you factor in the 100% point bonus that Diamond elites receive. General Hilton members earn 10X points per dollar spent. That's doubled to 20X points per dollar spent for Diamond elites. Thus, cardholders who pay for qualifying Hilton purchases with their Hilton Aspire card wind up earning 34x points per dollar. And that's before any applicable Hilton promotions are factored in.
Redeeming Points With the Hilton Aspire
Redeeming the points that you earn with the Hilton Aspire is simple. They're deposited automatically to your Hilton Honors account and can be used in a variety of ways, including hotel stays. Plus, points don't expire as long as you have activity in your Hilton account every 24 months.
Related: Things We Love About the Hilton Honors Program
Hotel stays
Booking a standard room reward is always your best option, as the most you'll ever pay is 150,000 points per night (and most hotels charge 95,000 points or less). This is true even at properties that run in the thousands of dollars per night, as you can see here at the Waldorf Astoria Maldives Ithaafushi.
You'll want to be wary of booking anything other than a standard room, however. Hilton is unique in that it'll allow you to redeem points for any room on its properties, but premium room rewards can quickly become ridiculous.
Such is the case at Hilton San Diego Bayfront, where a difference in view costs just $11 per night. However, you'll pay four times as many points for the premium room, despite it only being marginally better.
As we mentioned above, those who have elite status with Hilton are eligible for the fifth night free on any award bookings made with points. This means you'll always want to book in five-night chunks if possible; you'll only pay for four overall. In the example above, you'd be able to stay at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront for five nights for just 260,000 points instead of 325,000 points.
Related: The Best Hilton Points Redemptions for Luxury Stays
Other Hilton point redemptions
Hotel stays are the most valuable method of redeeming your Hilton points, but other redemptions are also available, including:
- Transferring points to friends and family
- VIP experiences
- Lyft rides
- Shopping, including Amazon purchases
- Rental cars
- Transfers to airlines
Application Restrictions and Strategy
American Express limits welcome offers to once per lifetime per card. That means if you have held this card in the past (or currently hold it), you are not eligible for the current welcome offer. However, holding other Hilton credit cards won't make you ineligible for this card's bonus.
Additionally, American Express only allows each individual to hold five credit cards at a time and typically approves each person for just two cards in a 90-day period.
Related: Understanding Rewards Credit Card Application Rules and Restrictions
Cards That Compete With the Hilton Aspire
There aren't many cards that match the benefits the Hilton Aspire has to offer. However, it's not the perfect card for everyone. Here are other options you might consider:
- If you want a luxury card with points you can use in multiple ways, The Platinum Card® from American Express charges a similarly high annual fee and comes with tons of statement credits each year. It also provides Hilton Gold elite status, plus the points that you earn with your card can be transferred to Hilton at a 1:2 ratio; they also can be transferred to over 20 airline and hotel programs for redemptions beyond Hilton stays, and cardholders get access to Priority Pass and American Express lounges. Enrollment is required for select Amex benefits. Learn more in our Amex Platinum review.
- If you prefer to stay at Marriott properties, the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card offers similar benefits to the Hilton Aspire but at Marriott properties. This includes Platinum Elite status, which grants you executive lounge access and complimentary breakfast. The Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card also provides an annual free night (worth up to 85,000 Marriott Bonvoy points), lounge access, dining credits, and more. Enrollment is required for select Amex benefits. Our full Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card review has additional details.
- If you want Hilton perks with a lower annual fee, the Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card offers Hilton Gold status (fifth night free on award stays), and free night awards available through spending, but the annual fee is just $150(Rates & Fees). Enrollment is required for select Amex benefits. Learn more in our Hilton Surpass full review.
(Terms apply)
- Earn 5X points for flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel® (up to $500,000 in purchases per calendar year).
- Earn 5X points on prepaid hotels booked with American Express Travel®.
(Terms Apply)
- 6X points on purchases at Marriott Properties
- 3X points at restaurants worldwide, including takeout and delivery
- 3X points on flights booked directly with airlines
- 2X points on all other eligible purchases
(Terms Apply)
- 12X bonus points for each dollar of eligible purchases charged on your card directly with a hotel or resort within the Hilton portfolio
- 6X bonus points for each dollar of eligible purchases on your card at U.S. restaurants, U.S. supermarkets, and U.S. gas stations
- 4X bonus points on U.S online retail purchases
- 3X bonus points for all other eligible purchases on your card
Final Thoughts
The Hilton Aspire is an excellent co-branded option from American Express and a top card for both Hilton loyalists and casual fans alike. For regular Hilton guests who won’t clock up the stays/nights required for top-tier status, the card essentially buys you Hilton Diamond elite status for $550. That alone could be reason enough to get the card, even before considering all of the other amazing benefits.
Add up to $200 in airline credits, up to $400 in resort credits, the free hotel night (which could be worth $500+ alone), and the CLEAR Plus credit to your top-tier Hilton Diamond status and the value of the Hilton Aspire becomes too big for any traveler to ignore. These are just the ongoing annual benefits, too. The 150,000-point welcome offer in the first year sets travelers well on their way to enjoying all of the perks the card has to offer.
- 14X Hilton Honors Bonus Points for each dollar of eligible purchases charged on your Card directly with a hotel or resort within the Hilton Portfolio
- 7X Hilton Honors Bonus Points on flights booked directly with airlines or amextravel.com, car rentals booked directly through select rental companies, and at U.S. restaurants
- 3X Hilton Honors Bonus Points for all other eligible purchases on your Card
For rates and fees of the cards mentioned in this post, please visit the following links: Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card (Rates & Fees), The Platinum Card® from American Express (Rates & Fees), and Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card (Rates & Fees)
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