AwardWallet may receive compensation from advertising partners when you visit our site, click on a link, when you are approved for a credit card, or when an account is opened. Terms Apply to the offers listed on this page. Enrollment is required for select Amex benefits. The opinions expressed here are our own and have not been reviewed, provided, or approved by any bank advertiser. Here’s our complete list of Advertisers.
The Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card is one of the best premium credit cards on the market. While the card's annual fee is a steep $550(Rates & Fees), it packs several benefits that more than justify the cost of keeping it in your wallet every year. One of these benefits is a flight credit of up to $200 that you can use each calendar year, broken down into $50 per quarter.
Here's what you need to know about the Hilton Aspire‘s $200 flight credit and some tips on maximizing it for its full value.
(Terms apply)
- Earn 175,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points after you spend $6,000 on eligible purchases on the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card within your first 6 months of Card Membership. Offer Ends 4/15/2026.
- Enhance your hotel stay with complimentary Hilton Honors™ Diamond Status and enjoy a world of hotel privileges and benefits. Get exclusive perks at any of Hilton's 25 hotel brands, like a 100% Bonus on Base Points earned on every stay, Premium Wi-Fi and space-available room upgrades at select properties, and more.
- Enjoy an Annual Free Night Reward from Hilton Honors in your first year of Card Membership and every year upon Card renewal.
- Card Members can earn 14X Points on purchases made directly with hotels and resorts within the Hilton portfolio.
- Card Members can earn 7X Points on purchases of Flights booked directly with airlines or flights booked through American Express Travel, Car rentals purchased directly from select car rental companies, and purchases at U.S. Restaurants.
- Card Members can earn 3X Points on all other eligible purchases.
- $400 Hilton Resort Credit: Get up to $200 in statement credits semi-annually for eligible purchases made directly with participating Hilton Resorts on your Hilton Honors Aspire Card. That's up to $400 back annually.
- $200 Flight Credit: Get up to $50 in statement credits each quarter, for a total of up to $200 back each year, on flight purchases made directly with airlines or via AmexTravel.com or the Amex Travel App™ using your Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card.
- $209 CLEAR+ Credit: You can receive up to $209 in statement credits per calendar year after you sign up and pay for a CLEAR+ Membership (subject to auto-renewal) with your eligible Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card.
- Earn a Free Night Reward from Hilton after you spend $30,000 in purchases on your Card in a calendar year. Plus, you can earn an additional Free Night Reward from Hilton after you spend an additional $30,000 (for a total of $60,000) in purchases on your Card in the same calendar year.
- $100 Property Credit: Receive up to a $100 credit for qualifying charges at Waldorf Astoria® Hotels & Resorts and Conrad® Hotels & Resorts properties when you book a 2 night minimum stay with your Card at HiltonHonorsAspireCard.com and select the Aspire Card Benefit rate option on the booking page, or call Hilton Honors at 855-292-5757 with the proper booking reference.
- Hilton Honors Aspire Card Members can enjoy complimentary National Car Rental® Emerald Club Executive® status, including perks like Executive Area Access (for full-size reservations and above) in the USA and Canada. Card Members must enroll in the National Car Rental Emerald Club Executive status through their American Express online account using their Card. Terms apply.
- Pay It Plan It®: Pay It® lets you tap in the American Express® App to quickly pay for small purchase amounts throughout the month and still earn rewards the way you usually do. Plan It® gives you the option to split up big purchases into equal monthly payments with a fixed fee. You'll know upfront exactly how much you'll pay.
- Whenever you travel more than 100 miles from home, Global Assist® Hotline is available for 24/7 emergency assistance and coordination services, including medical and legal referrals, emergency cash wires, and missing luggage assistance. Card Members are responsible for the costs charged by third-party service providers. Other terms and conditions apply.
- Points don't expire while your Hilton Honors American Express Card is active and in good standing.
- $550 annual fee.
- Apply with confidence. Know if you're approved for a Card with no impact to your credit score. If you're approved and you choose to accept this Card, your credit score may be impacted.
- Terms Apply.
- 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
How Does the Hilton Aspire’s $200 Flight Credit Work?
Those with the Hilton Aspire can receive up to $50 in quarterly statement credits (up to $200 annually) on flight purchases made directly with an airline or through amextravel.com.
That means you can receive a quarterly reimbursement of up to $50 for:
- Airfare purchases made directly with an airline
- Airfare purchases made through the Amex Travel portal
You can also use your credit to purchase airline miles, as long as the airline is the merchant of record for that sale. If the airline uses a third party like Points.com, the purchase likely won't trigger the credit. However, this could be a good option if you don't have enough miles to book a fantastic award redemption.
Better yet, there's no need to enroll to take advantage of the benefit or select an airline at the beginning of the year. All you have to do is charge the purchase directly to your Hilton Aspire and allow 8-12 weeks for the statement credit to post to your account. But in our experience, the credit appears much faster than that.
The Hilton Aspire flight credit is pretty versatile, and you might find it more useful than the airline fee credit offered to cardholders of the American Express Platinum Card®. Mainly, the latter is valid only for up to $200 in incidental purchases with your selected airline. Enrollment is required for select Amex benefits.
Related: Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card Full Review
Things the Hilton Aspire flight credit doesn’t cover
The language in the terms and conditions is clear. The Hilton Aspire‘s flight credit won't provide you with statement credits for the following purchases:
- Charter flights
- Private jet flights
- Flights that are part of tours
- Cruises
- Travel packages
- Ticketing or similar service fees
- Ticket cancellation or change fees
- Interest charges or purchases of cash equivalents
- Flight purchases made through third-party agencies
That said, some readers have reported success with having the following items trigger their quarterly credits — even though they're not explicitly stated as being eligible:
- Baggage fees
- In-flight Wi-Fi purchases charged directly by the airline, not a third-party provider
- In-flight food and beverage purchases
- Airline gift cards
- United Travel Bank deposits
Purchase the above with caution; your specific results may vary.
How I Use the Hilton Aspire Flight Credit
One of the main limitations of the Hilton Aspire flight credit is that you're only allotted $50 per quarter. It's a use-it-or-lose-it benefit. And if you don't book flights every quarter, rest assured, there are still plenty of ways to get top value from your credit.
For example, I like to purchase a cheap Southwest flight several months out using my Hilton Aspire card — around $50 or so. After my $50 statement credit posts to my account, I'll cancel the flight and receive a Southwest flight credit.
Then, when the next quarter rolls around, I'll make another booking using my Southwest flight credit and then charge at least $50 to my Hilton Aspire. After the statement credit posts, I'll repeat the process.
Over time, the Southwest flight credits add up, and I can book a flight I'll actually take. With just a little effort, I can turn my quarterly credits into a free flight.
Related: Which Hilton Honors Credit Card Is Right for You?
How to Use the Hilton Aspire Flight Credit to Buy Miles
At the time of writing, you could buy Avianca LifeMiles with up to a 160% bonus. As with most miles purchase promos, the exact bonus depends on the number of miles you purchase. However, you could purchase 21,000 miles at a 150% bonus, effectively costing 1.32¢ apiece. After the bonus, you'd receive a total of 52,500 LifeMiles for $693.
You could then use your miles to book a one-way flight in SWISS business class for just 49,500 LifeMiles (if you have a LifeMiles+ membership), plus $29 in taxes and fees.
On average, this round-trip flight would cost around $3,700, or $1,850 each way (when booking a round-trip ticket). However, you could pay $693 to purchase enough miles for that one-way flight. After your $50 Hilton Aspire flight credit, you'd pay just $643 for a flight that retails for at least $1,850. You'd even have 3,000 LifeMiles leftover to put toward another redemption. That's a fantastic way to squeeze some extra value from your flight credit.
Before using this strategy, make sure to triple-check that the miles you are purchasing are sold directly by the airline and not a third party.
Final Thoughts
The Hilton Aspire is an excellent premium card to have in your wallet. Up to $200 worth of annual flight credits is just the icing on top of other headline benefits like complimentary Hilton Honors™ Diamond Status, an annual free night certificate, a $400 resort credit, and much more. Enrollment is required for select Amex benefits.
And if you already have the card, let this serve as a reminder to use your flight credit. There are plenty of ways to extract a full $50 worth of value out of it every quarter — even if you don't book a flight you'll actually take.
(Terms apply)
- Earn 175,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points after you spend $6,000 on eligible purchases on the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card within your first 6 months of Card Membership. Offer Ends 4/15/2026.
- Enhance your hotel stay with complimentary Hilton Honors™ Diamond Status and enjoy a world of hotel privileges and benefits. Get exclusive perks at any of Hilton's 25 hotel brands, like a 100% Bonus on Base Points earned on every stay, Premium Wi-Fi and space-available room upgrades at select properties, and more.
- Enjoy an Annual Free Night Reward from Hilton Honors in your first year of Card Membership and every year upon Card renewal.
- Card Members can earn 14X Points on purchases made directly with hotels and resorts within the Hilton portfolio.
- Card Members can earn 7X Points on purchases of Flights booked directly with airlines or flights booked through American Express Travel, Car rentals purchased directly from select car rental companies, and purchases at U.S. Restaurants.
- Card Members can earn 3X Points on all other eligible purchases.
- $400 Hilton Resort Credit: Get up to $200 in statement credits semi-annually for eligible purchases made directly with participating Hilton Resorts on your Hilton Honors Aspire Card. That's up to $400 back annually.
- $200 Flight Credit: Get up to $50 in statement credits each quarter, for a total of up to $200 back each year, on flight purchases made directly with airlines or via AmexTravel.com or the Amex Travel App™ using your Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card.
- $209 CLEAR+ Credit: You can receive up to $209 in statement credits per calendar year after you sign up and pay for a CLEAR+ Membership (subject to auto-renewal) with your eligible Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card.
- Earn a Free Night Reward from Hilton after you spend $30,000 in purchases on your Card in a calendar year. Plus, you can earn an additional Free Night Reward from Hilton after you spend an additional $30,000 (for a total of $60,000) in purchases on your Card in the same calendar year.
- $100 Property Credit: Receive up to a $100 credit for qualifying charges at Waldorf Astoria® Hotels & Resorts and Conrad® Hotels & Resorts properties when you book a 2 night minimum stay with your Card at HiltonHonorsAspireCard.com and select the Aspire Card Benefit rate option on the booking page, or call Hilton Honors at 855-292-5757 with the proper booking reference.
- Hilton Honors Aspire Card Members can enjoy complimentary National Car Rental® Emerald Club Executive® status, including perks like Executive Area Access (for full-size reservations and above) in the USA and Canada. Card Members must enroll in the National Car Rental Emerald Club Executive status through their American Express online account using their Card. Terms apply.
- Pay It Plan It®: Pay It® lets you tap in the American Express® App to quickly pay for small purchase amounts throughout the month and still earn rewards the way you usually do. Plan It® gives you the option to split up big purchases into equal monthly payments with a fixed fee. You'll know upfront exactly how much you'll pay.
- Whenever you travel more than 100 miles from home, Global Assist® Hotline is available for 24/7 emergency assistance and coordination services, including medical and legal referrals, emergency cash wires, and missing luggage assistance. Card Members are responsible for the costs charged by third-party service providers. Other terms and conditions apply.
- Points don't expire while your Hilton Honors American Express Card is active and in good standing.
- $550 annual fee.
- Apply with confidence. Know if you're approved for a Card with no impact to your credit score. If you're approved and you choose to accept this Card, your credit score may be impacted.
- Terms Apply.
- 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 Aspire Card (Rates & Fees)
