Link: Apply now for the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card
I’ve had the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card for several years. This card has a $450 annual fee, and is easily one of the all around most compelling hotel credit cards out there.
This card has many huge benefits, and almost seems too good to be true. Among other things, the card offers the following five benefits, which I consider to be the most valuable:
- Hilton Honors Diamond status for as long as you have the card
- A $250 airline fee credit every calendar year
- A $250 Hilton resort credit every cardmember year
- An annual weekend night reward
- A Priority Pass membership
I recently wrote about the basic benefits of this card that make it worthwhile, but in this post wanted to take a closer at how each of these work, since aspects of the perks can be confusing.
In this post:
Hilton Aspire Honors Diamond status
Just for having the Hilton Honors Aspire Card you receive Honors Diamond status, which is Hilton’s top tier status. There’s nothing you need to do to activate this — it’s automatic. This benefit only applies for the primary cardmember, and not for any authorized users.
Typically once you’re approved for the card you should see your Honors account updated within a day or so to reflect your new status. It’s amazing how fast that happens.
One thing I learned the hard way is that any existing reservations won’t update with your new status without manual intervention. If you’ve made any reservations before your status is upgraded, make sure you call Hilton Honors and have an agent remove your loyalty number and then put it back in your reservation, so the Diamond status shows correctly.
Hilton Aspire $250 airline fee credit
Just for having the Hilton Honors Aspire Card you receive a $250 airline fee credit every calendar year. This follows a strict calendar year definition, meaning you get one credit through December 31, and then another credit as of January 1 of the following year.
You have to specifically designate an airline on which you want this credit to apply (if you’re an existing cardmember you need to do this in January of each year), with the choice between Alaska, American, Delta, Hawaiian, JetBlue, Southwest, Spirit, and United.
Per the terms, the annual airline credit can be used for purchases made directly with airlines, excluding the following:
Airline tickets, upgrades, mileage points purchases, mileage points transfer fees, gift cards, duty free purchases, and award tickets are not deemed to be incidental fees.
Admittedly this does exclude many kinds of purchases, though personally I consistently am able to max this out.
Hilton Aspire $250 resort credit
Just for having the Hilton Aspire Card you receive a $250 statement credit for eligible purchases made directly with participating Hilton resorts using your card. This is based on your cardmember year (which is calculated as the 12 month period following when you open the card, and so on). See this link to find all participating resorts.
There’s no registration required to activate this perk, and virtually any spending at a participating resort will be eligible. This includes the room rate, incidentals, dining, spa services, etc. As long as you spend just $250 per year on the card at Hilton resorts, you should be able to make full use of this benefit.
While the terms state that it can take 8-12 weeks for the credits to post, in my experience the credit posts much faster than that. For example, when I used my Hilton resort credit at the incredible Waldorf Astoria Los Cabos Pedregal, it posted three days after the purchase hit my statement.
Hilton Aspire annual free night reward
Just for having the Hilton Honors Aspire Card you receive an annual free night reward your first year and every subsequent cardmember year. This can be redeemed at virtually any Hilton Honors property in the world any day of the week, as long as there’s a standard room available (here’s the small list of excluded properties).
Hilton properties retail for up to 150,000 points per night, so you could obviously get a ton of value out of this.
While you do get a certificate the first year, you don’t get it right away. In my experience the first certificate arrives a bit over two months after you open the card.
Certificates are valid for a year, and you’re given a code to redeem it over the phone (you can’t redeem it online). To see if you’ve received it, check your email for the subject line “Your Free Reward has arrived!”
For some context, I was approved for the Hilton Aspire Card in early November 2018, and I received:
- My first free night reward on January 9, 2019
- My second free night reward on January 2, 2020
- My third free night reward on January 1, 2021
- My fourth free night reward on January 4, 2022
- My fifth free night reward on January 4, 2023
That lag after opening the card and after the anniversary seems to be pretty consistent.
Hilton Aspire Priority Pass membership
Just for having the Hilton Honors Aspire Card you receive a Priority Pass Select membership, where you can take up to two guests to the 1,300+ Priority Pass lounges around the world as often as you’d like (though Priority Pass restaurants are excluded). This is a hugely valuable perk.
You receive it as long as you have the card, though you do need to enroll. You can do this by logging into your Amex account and going to the “Benefits” tab, or by following this link. Just click the “Enroll Now” button, and the membership card should be sent to your address on file within about a week. This is one of the all-around best cards for a Priority Pass membership.
Hilton Aspire welcome bonus
The Hilton Honors Aspire Card is offering a welcome bonus of 150,000 Honors points after spending $4,000 within three months. One common point of confusion is how the airline fee credits, Hilton statement credits, and annual fee play into that minimum spending requirement.
The $450 annual fee doesn’t apply toward the minimum spending requirement, while any spending that is reimbursed through airline fee credits or Hilton resort credits does count toward the minimum spending.
In other words, if you spend $3,500 on “normal” purchases, and then $250 on items that are reimbursed as part of the airline fee credits, and another $250 on a Hilton resort purchase that is reimbursed, you’ll have reached the minimum spending requirement. But don’t forget that the annual fee doesn’t count toward the minimum spending requirement.
Bottom line
The Hilton Honors Aspire Card is phenomenally valuable. I’ve gotten huge value out of this card for years, and look forward to continuing to get value out of this card for years to come.
Personally the free night certificate alone more than justifies the annual fee for me, and then the Diamond status, airline fee and hotel credits, and Priority Pass membership, are the icing on the cake.
See this post for a detailed review of the Hilton Aspire Card.
Do you need to book a stay at the hotel for the $250 resort credit to work? For example; my wife and I both have the card, but she booked a stay for us at the Conrad Maldives. Does this mean we have $500 to spend at the resort? Or because she's booking primary, we can only use her $250 credit?
I believe that only the member whose HH account is associated with the booking gets the resort credit. For both of you to get the credit you would need to have separate bookings, one booking per account...
You don't have to make separate bookings, in my experience. On one stay at a Hilton resort, on one room under my name, I used 2 Aspire cards, mine and my daughter's. I had the front desk spit the bill between the two cards at check-out. Both cards received the $250 credit about a week later.
Nice to know. Thanks!
Parting Shot 2 (and final as I must shorly catch my flight out of Siem Reap for BKK)
What I do realize is that I am addressing an increasingly desperate troll who is resorting to the good old ad populum fallacy to try to support a hopeless crusade.
...Parting Shot 2 (and final as I must shorly catch my flight out of Siem Reap for BKK)
What I do realize is that I am addressing an increasingly desperate troll who is resorting to the good old ad populum fallacy to try to support a hopeless crusade.
Well, this is going to make you feel even worse because no one is going to laugh about this. I am going to have the last laugh because it ridiculous that statement about my laughingstock of this site every time you come here to tout Hilton and experiences literally no one else has....
I just checked the status of my upcoming stay at Conrad Hong Kong, fully 3 days before check-in, and guess what? I have been automagically upgraded to a King Executive Harbour Suite!. Folks who know the hotel know that "harbour"-side rooms offer an incredible view of Victoria Harbour.
Unlike your fact-free claims, what makes mine credible is that I almost invariably back them up. At the following link you will find:
1. A screen capture of the HH App on my phone supporting my upgrade to a King Executive Harbour Suite! fully 3 days before check-in,
2. A breathtaking photo of Victoria Harbour from Conrad HK
http://bit.ly/3DoN7Ji
Feeling better now?
My Air Asia flight is now boarding!
On the plane! Now I will fix a badly garbled paragraph above in my rush...
"Well, this is going to make you feel even worse because no one is going to laugh about this. I am going to have the last laugh because it shows how ridiculous is that statement about my being the laughingstock of this site every time [I] come here to tout Hilton and experiences literally no one else has....
I...
On the plane! Now I will fix a badly garbled paragraph above in my rush...
"Well, this is going to make you feel even worse because no one is going to laugh about this. I am going to have the last laugh because it shows how ridiculous is that statement about my being the laughingstock of this site every time [I] come here to tout Hilton and experiences literally no one else has....
I guess you are still laughing about that automatic harbour-side suite upgrade. I right there with you but laughing even louder !
Parting Shot
Oops! I just tried accessing the provided link [ https://help.hilton.com/s/article/What-are-the-Hilton-Honors-membership-tiers ] this is what I got:
Parting Shot
Oops! I just tried accessing the provided link [ https://help.hilton.com/s/article/What-are-the-Hilton-Honors-membership-tiers ] this is what I got:
On the other hand, here are links that work for sure:
1. Welcome email to LT Diamond status that says: "We'd like to show you the same commitment you've shown us by welcoming you to our most elite status, Lifetime Diamond": http://bit.ly/3kQFwwX
2. Clear differences in how the online accounts of HH Diamonds and LT Diamonds look. If they were they same, one would think that they would look alike, just like the largely "honorary" LT statuses of the other programs do, right? http://bit.ly/3XNLM7a
To repeat the obvious:
"The Nile" is a river and will always be there. "Denial", on the other hand, is a state of mind that goes away when one accepts the facts, which, in this case, are that the requirements to reach Hilton's top tier status -- Lifetime Diamond -- are now so steep that the status is highly exclusive.
I understand that unhinges some folks greatly, but I suggest they deal with it because their denial won't alter reality...
You know there’s an issue when the Hilton Sociopath(tm) resorts to posting broken links trying to defend his indefensible ramblings.
As Rick Perry once said, “Oops”.
Keep shooting those parting shots right in your tiny vanity mirror.
You are pathetic. Really. After the info I provided at my links that worked I would've thought that EVEN you would've seen the light and just canned it !
Have you not noticed that you're now on a crusade of just ONE?! Why is that?
You DO realize you are the laughingstock of this site every time you come here to tout Hilton and experiences literally no one else has, right?
Also - I won’t bother to link to it, but it is also hilarious that you seemed to have abandoned your “quantitative” travel blog after five (5) whole posts. Tens of readers are disappointed!
Not to worry. Quantitative Travel Blogging is coming back in such a big way it will unhinge you even more.
That is a solemn promise.
I find this card is perfect for someone like myself, a retired road warrior who can no longer earn any elite status from traveling for work. The free hotel night covers most of the annual fee. I also earned 80,000 Hilton points last year just from my charges, which is worth $500 at least. Add in the airline credit, Priority Pass, food and beverage credits, lounge access, and upgrades, add it is a worthwhile card for me
I find the Aspire completely useless. Unless you want to travel off peak when no one else wants to be there, there is never any availability to use points at a useable rate or a free night certificate.
Huh?! Can someone please decipher that complaint 'cause I can't wrap my head around it?!
I just used the card benefits at the Conrad and Waldorf in Bangkok.... I have used it in Osaka, Tokyo, Mexico, Guam, taiwan, Qatar and throughout the US... You can get great value from this card, It's almost always gotten good upgrades, sometime great ones, and free breakfast and/or lounge access. IMHO: The perk value far exceeds the fee
Mistake: 1 free Weekend night award! (OLD)
NEW ————> Annual free Night award, valid any night of the week, as long as a standard award night is available.
That's the trouble with copy/paste from older texts.
Please correct!
I agree that the post needs to be "refreshed" with current information because this is no longer true either:
"The Nile" is a river and will always be there. "Denial", on the other hand, is a state of mind that goes away when one accepts the facts, which, in this case, are that the requirements to...
I agree that the post needs to be "refreshed" with current information because this is no longer true either:
"The Nile" is a river and will always be there. "Denial", on the other hand, is a state of mind that goes away when one accepts the facts, which, in this case, are that the requirements to reach Hilton's top tier status -- Lifetime Diamond -- are now so steep that the status is highly exclusive. How can one tell the difference? Simple:
The accounts of those who now hold this exclusive status does not ask:
Interested in earning
Lifetime Diamond?
Lean how [link]
:-)
Also, in the online accounts, the color of Hilton's top tier elite status is no longer the ugly maroon/purple. It is jet black, as is the highly stylish LT Diamond membership card - the "Black Card".
In short, there is no subtlety about this at all. Anyone who wants to keep pretending that the Aspire card gives them Hilton's top tier status is certainly free to do so, but they would be in denial...
Per the Hilton Corporation, Diamond (aka what you get for free here) is the top status level.
Just because you repeatedly post misinformation and claim it is true doesn’t make it so.
https://help.hilton.com/s/article/What-are-the-Hilton-Honors-membership-tiers
@DCS
Is this the best hotel credit card on the market
@Steve -- The question is rhetorical...
@Steve - sure is as it gives you top tier status for free - no need to be a sucker and spend far too many nights and dollars to get a not-materially-different LT version of same status
As long as card spend count as base points towards the 2 million lifetime spend
I will continue to use the Hilton Amex Aspire Card
That the idea!
Is the 150,000 points the highest sign up bonus? Has it ever been higher? Thinking about getting the card but want to make sure I’m getting the best sign up bonus. Thanks!
There is actually another $100 resort credit. I'm not sure why they always separate the $100 and the $250 credits because I always use them at the same hotel.
The $100 credit is only when booking certain rates at Conrad/Waldorf (I'd expect LXR to eventually be added) which are often somewhat more than the usual Honors discount rates... That's basically the Aspire equivalent of the FHR rates.
It's a niche benefit of the card that's difficult to value and probably wouldn't affect most decisions whether to get/keep the card.
The $250 airline fee seems to be a pain to use. I don’t remember last time I spent any money on Delta (my preferred airline) other than the airfare. As a Delta Diamond I have no other fee to pay while flying them.
I am a Diamond with Delta
I used up my Amex credits by January
Every new calendar year
I have had zero luck using the airline credits for the last two years on any kind of plane tickets including $50 tickets, seat upgrades including weeks after buying plane tickets etc. So I'm in the same boat where if I fly first class I can't use it. I'll use it on united clubs since a lot of their routes don't include lounge access.
Delta processes ticket changes (including fare difference) in a way that triggers the Aspire and Amex Platinum fee credits as long as the amount of the change is less than $250. There's some complications when there are multiple passengers on the reservation and it's a good idea to wait at least 48 hours from buying the initial ticket before changing, but it's pretty straightforward.
So for instance, if you buy a ticket for $150 and...
Delta processes ticket changes (including fare difference) in a way that triggers the Aspire and Amex Platinum fee credits as long as the amount of the change is less than $250. There's some complications when there are multiple passengers on the reservation and it's a good idea to wait at least 48 hours from buying the initial ticket before changing, but it's pretty straightforward.
So for instance, if you buy a ticket for $150 and change to a flight costing between $150 and $400, that has reliably triggered the credit. Note that if for whatever reason this behavior changes (most likely on Delta's end, and almost certainly not because this open secret is out), you're probably not going to have any luck arguing for the credit to apply, but if you're buying tickets you actually intend to fly you're only out the few minutes of changing the flights.
Pick a different airline, and fly them.
Change your airline to United and purchase Travelbank funds. Those are basically like gift certificates for travel and will stay good for 5 years.
Other than that - and I may be in the minority on this - I don't seem to get very much value out of this card. Now that breakfast is gone, diamond is often of minimal value. I only stay at Hilton properties 2-3 X a year, but consider myself lucky...
Change your airline to United and purchase Travelbank funds. Those are basically like gift certificates for travel and will stay good for 5 years.
Other than that - and I may be in the minority on this - I don't seem to get very much value out of this card. Now that breakfast is gone, diamond is often of minimal value. I only stay at Hilton properties 2-3 X a year, but consider myself lucky as a diamond to be upgraded to the room away from the HVAC unit on the roof. And the top tier, 150,000 point properties that Ben mentions redeeming the free night on are usually the same ones that you would choose for a vacation - not ones to spend just one night at - and when you stay five nights at those places, the fifth night is free anyway. In other words, the free annual night is best maximized only on trips of six nights or more. Most of my one-night stays end up being 60-70K properties, so the free night award is worth maybe $200-$250 to me.
I think the card is at best just worth the annual fee - and not much more
Ben - I have the Surpass card (Diamond in 2023 based on $40,000 in non-bonused spend run through that card last year) and am thinking about upgrading to Aspire later this year (after I spend $15,000 to get the free night certificate on the Surpass card).
Couple of questions:
1. Are you aware of any upgrade promotions from Surpass to Aspire (worth it to me without it but will always take whatever I can).
Ben - I have the Surpass card (Diamond in 2023 based on $40,000 in non-bonused spend run through that card last year) and am thinking about upgrading to Aspire later this year (after I spend $15,000 to get the free night certificate on the Surpass card).
Couple of questions:
1. Are you aware of any upgrade promotions from Surpass to Aspire (worth it to me without it but will always take whatever I can).
2. If you upgrade from Surpass do you still get the free night certificate the first year?
3. I have the Amex Platinum and designated AA as my airline. Can I designate a different airline (UA would likely be my preference) for the Aspire card or will Amex only allow you to designate one airline across all cards?
Thanks!
I have the same question. Drinks and baggage fees are all covered your AA status. What are you using this credit for?
My first year having the cards and already had great value with them card. It's almost a no brainer card for the airline fee and also the free night certificate. Diamond status is hit or miss for sure in terms of upgrades. b this part fall when checking in Montreal I got offered a support cheap upgrade option and the person specifically said there price was due to diamond status. I think it was $30...
My first year having the cards and already had great value with them card. It's almost a no brainer card for the airline fee and also the free night certificate. Diamond status is hit or miss for sure in terms of upgrades. b this part fall when checking in Montreal I got offered a support cheap upgrade option and the person specifically said there price was due to diamond status. I think it was $30 a night to be upgraded to a corner room suite that was at least$300 more a night.
Airline credit is fairly easy to user to, lots of loop holes if you do a online search.
Ben...I'm curious as to what AA charges are you able to make to get those counted given you are AA Exec Platinum? Are you just making some payments (like $120) towards an airline ticket purchase?
Also I received a promotion for the $95-a-year Hilton Amex Surpass card and its offering Diamond status extension and 130K bonus points after $2K spend. Are you see any other "one off specials" like this for the Aspire card?
Flyertalk, gentlemen
Airline credit you can’t use for airline tickets? Explain why this is a benefit
For the airline fee credit, what does that include? Baggage fees, onboard food/drink purchases, lounge access?
Because on paid first tix there are no luggage fees or food/drink costs, so how does one use that perk?
I have the same question. I am an elite member so get free bags, free seat selection, free drink if in economy etc. What is the value here?
Check flyertalk. There are fora dedicated to maximizing the benefit for each airline. You might have luck there.
If you only fly your preferred airline with status it has no value. I’ve used mine to pay baggage fees for a family member flying Delta and for myself but I have come close to maxing out the benefit.
Pick a different airline, and fly them.
Amex sucks, plain and simple. They make the credits difficult to use on purpose. And everything else they have feels like coupon clipping. Another thing that nobody mentions is that the Hilton hotel credit is ONLY valid at a resort. That excludes many Hilton hotels. In fact, when I searched, there are very few properties that fit that bill in CA, so I have to go to Hawaii to use it and even there, Hilton footprint is pretty small.
@tj
Hate to break it to you, but if you actually read, the credits have always been called "resort" credits.
Your lack of reading comprehension skill doesn't surprise me. If you're getting a credit card where you couldn't get the benefit out of it and have to go to HI, which likely cost more than credits you get just to get $250. That's not smart. This card isn't for you.
You can't blame anyone else...
@tj
Hate to break it to you, but if you actually read, the credits have always been called "resort" credits.
Your lack of reading comprehension skill doesn't surprise me. If you're getting a credit card where you couldn't get the benefit out of it and have to go to HI, which likely cost more than credits you get just to get $250. That's not smart. This card isn't for you.
You can't blame anyone else for your bad decisions.
You do fit the bill of entitled SOCAL millennial, don't make the stereotype look worse.
Eskimo sounds like a pretty unhappy guy.