Hotel credit cards, like the Hilton Aspire Card, can be lucrative if you know how to leverage the credits and benefits offered on these cards. In addition, hotel credit cards can unlock elite status perks that can upgrade the quality of your hotel stay.
Where the Hilton Aspire Card shines are the card’s statement credits and perks. If you are loyal, hell even semi-loyal to the Hilton brand, this card opens the door to the elite status perks during stays that we’re all after. With that context, let’s jump into what this card has to offer.
Hilton Aspire Card Details
You can earn 150,000 Hilton Honors bonus points after you spend $4,000 on your Hilton Aspire Card in your first 3 months of card membership. Hilton Honors bonus points will be credited to your Hilton Honors account 8–12 weeks after spending $4,000.
The card has a $450 annual fee and no foreign transaction fees. Yes, that’s a monster annual fee. However, the statement credits plus card benefits are likely to outweigh the annual fee by utilizing these credits and benefits on an annual basis.
Hilton Aspire Card Credits
An Airline Fee Credit, Hilton Resort Credit, and Waldorf Astoria and/or Conrad Property Credit are the statement credits available on the Hilton Aspire Card. These credits have the potential to add up to $600 every year.
The $250 per calendar year airline fee credit covers incidental costs shown below on your qualifying airline. Airline tickets, upgrades, mileage points purchases, mileage points transfer fees, gift cards, duty-free purchases, and award tickets are not considered to be incidental fees.
- Airport lounge day passes and annual memberships
- Checked bag fees
- Flight change fees
- Inflight amenity fees (drinks, food, blankets/pillows)
- Inflight entertainment fees (excluding Wi-Fi)
- Overweight/oversize bag fees
- Pet flight fees
- Phone reservation fees
- Seat assignment fees
In addition to the $250 per calendar year airline incidental fee credit, cardmembers receive $250 in statement credits per cardmember year for purchases on their card at participating Hilton Resorts. Incidental charges (including charges made at restaurants, spas, and other establishments within the hotel property) qualify for the statement credit but advance purchase rates/non-refundable rates do not qualify. All other paid hotel rates qualify for the statement credit.
When you use your Hilton Aspire Card to book through HiltonHonorsAspireCard.com or by calling Hilton Honors at (855) 292-5757, for a two-night minimum stay at Waldorf Astoria or Conrad Hotels, you receive a property credit of up to $100 per booking. The card member receives a hotel credit equal to $1 for each dollar of qualifying charges made at the Hilton property under the card member’s booking, up to $100. The property credit will be applied as a hotel credit on your bill at checkout. Property fees, taxes, gratuities, and the cost of the room are excluded from this statement credit.
Hilton Aspire Card Benefits
Global Dining Access (GDA) by Resy, Hilton Honors Annual Free Weekend Night Reward, Hilton Honors Complimentary Diamond Status, a second Hilton Honors Free Weekend Night Reward with spending, Priority Pass Select, and a ShopRunner membership are the benefits that come with the Hilton Aspire Card.
GDA provides card members with access to exclusive reservations, priority reservation notifications, and access to exclusive events.
A Hilton Honors Annual Free Weekend Night Reward is issued in the form of a redeemable code 8-14 weeks after your annual fee renewal month. The Annual Free Weekend Night Reward can be redeemed for one standard room, subject to availability. Call 800-446-6677, give the Hilton Honors rep your code, and then the rep will finalize the reservation. Annual Free Weekend Night Rewards expire if not redeemed on or before the expiration date.
Hilton Honors Complimentary Diamond Status is complimentary on the Hilton Aspire Card. Some of the top Hilton Diamond perks include 100% points earning bonus on stays, space-available room upgrades, and executive lounge access.
A second Hilton Honors Free Weekend Night Reward can be earned by making at least $60,000 in purchases on your card in a calendar year. The Free Weekend Night Reward will be issued in the form of a redeemable code that is used to book over the phone.
Priority Pass Select is a membership that provides airport lounge access. All lounge visits are complimentary with the ability to bring up to 2 guests for free.
ShopRunner is a complimentary membership that provides free delivery in 2 days or less at 100+ participating online stores. Think of this complimentary membership as one similar to Amazon Prime.
How to Earn Points with the Hilton Aspire Card
Hilton Aspire Card earns points at the following rates:
- 14X points at Hilton
- 7X points at restaurants located in the U.S.
- 7X points on airfare charged directly with the airline or amextravel.com
- 7X points on car rentals
In comparison, the following cards earn points at the following rates:
- 3X points at hotels with Chase Sapphire Reserve
- 4X points at restaurants with American Express Gold Card
- 5X points on airfare with American Express Platinum Card
- 3X points on car rentals with Chase Sapphire Reserve
How to Redeem Points with the Hilton Aspire Card
Hilton does not utilize an award chart and instead loosely ties the number of points required to the cash cost of the hotel. As you might imagine, the lack of an award chart allows hotels to increase the number of points required on a whim. With that said, there can be value at the hotels below if you’re able to find award pricing at these rates.
Luxury hotels to consider checking out include Conrad Maldives Rangali Island (120k+), Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills (120k+), Grand Wailea (110k+), Conrad Algarve (85k+), Waldorf Astoria Maldives Ithaafushi (110k+), Waldorf Astoria Los Cabos Pedregal (110k+), Conrad Bora Bora Nui (76k+), Waldorf Astoria Amsterdam (92k+), Waldorf Astoria Park City (67k+), Roku Kyoto (110k+), Conrad Koh Samui (87k+), Conrad Osaka (92k+), Conrad Tokyo (91k+), and Hilton Whistler Resort & Spa (74k+).
What Cards Compete with the Hilton Aspire Card?
Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant is the primary competitor to the Hilton Aspire Card. Card perks include Annual Marriott Hotel Credit, a Marriott Property Credit, a Global Entry or TSA Precheck Credit, Elite Night Credits, Restaurant Credits, and a Luxury Property Credit on this $650 annual fee card.
Mid-range annual fee cards to look into include Amex Hilton Surpass Card, Marriott Bonvoy Boundless, IHG Rewards Premier Card, and World of Hyatt Credit Card. Each of these cards has a significantly lower annual fee in exchange for fewer card benefits.
Common Hilton Aspire Card Questions
Is it worth keeping the Hilton Aspire?
The Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card could realistically receive over $1,400 in annual benefits from it per this article.
How hard is it to get Hilton Aspire?
You’ll need a FICO score of at least 670 per this article.
What credit score do you need for Hilton aspire?
You’ll need between 670-850 for the best chances of approval for this card per this article.
How much is the Hilton aspire card?
The Hilton Honors Aspire Card from American Express* offers solid value for frequent Hilton travelers. The $450 annual fee can provide ongoing value through resort and airline credits, provided you use them per this article.
Conclusion on the Hilton AmEx Aspire Card
Hilton Aspire Card comes with An Airline Fee Credit, Hilton Resort Credit, and Waldorf Astoria and/or Conrad Property Credit. In addition, the benefits include Global Dining Access (GDA) by Resy, Hilton Honors Annual Free Weekend Night Reward, Hilton Honors Complimentary Diamond Status, a second Hilton Honors Free Weekend Night Reward with spending, Priority Pass Select, and a ShopRunner membership.
What do you think of this Amex Aspire Card Review? Please let me know in the comments below or by sending me an email on my contact page.
Disclaimer: If you click and/or sign up for a credit card through certain links on this site or any of my related social media platforms, I may make a commission from that click-through. The editorial content on this page and the user comments are not provided by any of the companies mentioned and have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities. The opinions expressed here are mine alone.
