American Express Hilton Honors Aspire Credit Card Review (2023)

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In 2017, Hilton ended its longstanding relationship with Citibank, moving the entire portfolio of Hilton credit cards over to American Express. At the same time, it released its first-ever, ultra-premium card: the Hilton Aspire. Even though the card’s annual fee was expensive at $450, the card offered an impressive array of perks, credits and lounge access that made it one of the most popular hotel credit cards amongst the points and miles crowd. Recently, Amex made some dramatic changes to the Aspire, raising the annual fee, axing the Priority Pass membership and re-jiggering the credit structure. Now that card costs $550 a year, is the Hilton Honors juice still worth the squeeze?

a close up of a blue and red cardAmex Hilton Honors Aspire Current Welcome Offer

Card Offer
Limited Time Offer - 175K Points + free night certificate ⓘ Friend-Referral
175K after $6K spend in first 6 months. Free night certificate every year - first certificate is awarded 8-12 weeks after approval. Terms apply.
(Offer Expires 4/17/2024)
$550 Annual Fee
Information about this card has been collected independently by Frequent Miler. The issuer did not provide the details, nor is it responsible for their accuracy.

Amex Hilton Honors Aspire Review

The perks of the Hilton Aspire card make it probably the best value of any major hotel credit card. The card comes with Hilton Diamond status, an annual free night certificate that can be used almost anywhere and $600 in total airline and Hilton credits, a pretty generous haul that more than offsets the hefty $550 annual fee. Provided you can maximize all those bennies, it’s just shy of a no-brainer. That said, the poor return on regular spend means that it should stay in the sock drawer, unless you’re using it at a Hilton or to get an airfare credit.

  • Annual Fee: $550
    • Authorized User Annual Fee: None
  • What points are worth: The Amex Hilton Aspire card earns Hilton Honors points. Our current list of Reasonable Redemption Values pegs them at 0.48 cents each.
  • Best Use for Points: Hilton eliminated award charts several years ago and pricing is now extremely variable, with redemption values ranging from well over 1 cent per point to as low as 0.25. A good way to get additional value is by taking advantage of the 5th night free on standard room awards that Hilton offers those with Silver elite status or higher. However, the way that Hilton calculates the price on these 5th night free stays can be confusing. Essentially, it prices each night at 4/5ths of the cost of an award night, though the average nightly cost of a 5-night stay may not be the same as the price of booking 5 nights separately.
  • Earning Categories: 
    • 14X Hilton
    • 7X US restaurants
    • 7X Flights booked directly with airlines or amextravel.com, select car rental companies
    • 3X Everywhere else
  • Credits:
    • Annual $400 Resort Credit ($200 semi-annually): Valid towards room rate or any room charges made at a Hilton resort property (full list here) as long as you pay with your Amex Hilton Aspire card upon checking out of a participating hotel.
    • Annual $200 Airline Credit ($50 quarterly): Good for any airlines charges, including airfare when booked through an airline or amextravel.com.
    • CLEAR Credit: $189 credit towards a CLEAR membership each year.
  • Additional Perks:
    • Annual Free Night Certificate (cardmember year): Good for one night in a standard room at almost any Hilton property in the world (see list of exclusions here).
    • Priority Pass Select Lounge Membership (ends 2/1/24): Cardholder and two guests.
    • National Car Rental Executive Status: Lets you pick a nicer car from the Executive Aisle instead of the usual Emerald Aisle.
    • $100 Luxury Property Credit: Book a 2 night minimum stay at hiltonhonorsaspirecard.com and get up to a $100 property credit at Waldorf Astoria and Conrad hotels.
    • Cell Phone Insurance: $50 deductible/$800 max per claim.
  • Travel Protections:
    • Auto Rental Coverage: Secondary auto rental CDW (collision damage waiver). Provides reimbursement for theft and collision damage for rental cars in the U.S. and abroad.
    • Trip Delay Insurance: Must pay for round-trip airfare with your Aspire Card. Provides up to $500 in reimbursements if your travel is delayed by six or more hours. Maximum 2 claims per rolling 12 months.
    • Trip Cancellation and Interruption Insurance: Must purchase a round trip entirely with your Aspire Card. Up to $10,000 per trip/$20,000 per 12 consecutive month period.
  • Purchase Protections:
    • Return Protection: 90 days from date of purchase. Max $300/item, $1000/year.
    • Purchase Protection: 90 days date of purchase. Provides reimbursement for accidental damage, theft, or loss.
    • Extended Warranty: One extra year added on to warranties of 5 years or less. Maximum of $10,000 per item and $50,000 per cardmember account/calendar year.
  • Who’s this card for? Anyone who stays at Hiltons enough to maximize the resort credits, annual free night certificate and Hilton Honors Diamond elite status.
  • Is the Hilton Honors Aspire card a keeper? If you stay in Hilton Resorts even one time each year, then the card’s benefits probably outweigh the $550 annual fee, once you factor in the annual free night award and diamond status. That said, it’s probably not a good idea to use it for spend anywhere except at Hilton properties or for airfare (in order to trigger the $200 in airline credits each year).

Amex Hilton Honors Aspire Pros and Cons

Pros

  • Only credit card to give top-tier elite status in a major hotel program
  • Credits alone can more than make up for the annual fee of the card
  • Annual free night certificate is probably the most powerful of any hotel brand, as it can be used at almost any Hilton property worldwide
  • Airline credits are easier to use than other Amex cards, since they can be applied directly to airfare.

Cons

  • High annual fee ($550)
  • Not a good card for regular spend
  • Breaking up credits semi-annually and quarterly will make them harder to use for some
  • Travel protections lag behind many other premium cards
  • No lounge access after 2/1/24
  • Hilton Honors points are among the least-valuable of any hotel program currency

Related Cards

Card Offer and Details
Limited Time Offer - 175K Points + free night certificate ⓘ Friend-Referral
175K after $6K spend in first 6 months. Free night certificate every year - first certificate is awarded 8-12 weeks after approval. Terms apply.
(Offer Expires 4/17/2024)
$550 Annual Fee
Information about this card has been collected independently by Frequent Miler. The issuer did not provide the details, nor is it responsible for their accuracy.
FM Mini Review: This card is loaded with valuable perks that are more than worth the card's annual fee if you stay in Hilton resorts at least twice per year.
Earning rate: ✦ 14X Hilton spend ✦ 7X US restaurants, flights booked directly with airlines or amextravel.com, select car rental companies ✦ 3X on all other eligible purchases ✦ Terms & Limitations Apply.
Base: 3X (1.44%)
Travel: 7X (3.36%)
Dine: 7X (3.36%)
Brand: 14X (6.72%)
Card Info: Amex Credit Card issued by Amex. This card has no foreign currency conversion fees.
Big spend bonus: Additional free night awards after $30K and $60K spend in calendar year
Noteworthy perks: ✦Annual Free Night Reward every year upon renewal ✦ Free Diamond Status ✦ Up to $400 Hilton Resort Credit per membership year ($200 semi-annually) ✦ $200 Flight Credit ($50 per quarter for purchases directly with airlines or via Amex Travel) ✦ $100 on-property credit w/ Aspire Card package ✦ Terms Apply. See Rates & Fees
Limited Time Offer - 155K points ⓘ Affiliate
155K after $3K spend in 6 months. Terms apply.
(Offer Expires 4/17/2024)
$150 Annual Fee
Recent better offer: 130K + free night certificate after $2K spend in 3 months [Expired 7/19/23]
FM Mini Review: Easy way to secure Hilton Gold status (which offers free breakfast among other perks). Those who want Diamond status may be better off with the Aspire card.
Earning rate: ✦ 12X Hilton spend ✦ 6X U.S. restaurants, US Supermarkets, and US gas stations ✦ 4X U.S. Online Retail Purchases ✦ 3X on all other eligible purchases
Base: 3X (1.44%)
Dine: 6X (2.88%)
Gas: 6X (2.88%)
Grocery: 6X (2.88%)
Shop: 4X (1.92%)
Brand: 12X (5.76%)
Card Info: Amex Credit Card issued by Amex. This card has no foreign currency conversion fees.
Big spend bonus:
✦ Free night award after $15K spend in calendar year ✦ Diamond elite status with $40K calendar year spend ✦ Terms apply
Noteworthy perks: Free Gold status. Diamond status w/ $40K spend. ✦ Up to $200 in Hilton credits ($50 per quarter) ✦ Terms Apply. (Rates & Fees)
130K Points ⓘ Affiliate
130K after $3K spend in 3 months. Terms apply.
$95 Annual Fee
FM Mini Review: Easy way to secure Hilton Gold status (which offers free breakfast among other perks). Amex business cards do not count towards 5/24 status so will not hurt chances of applying for Chase cards.
Earning rate: ✦ 12X Hilton spend ✦ 6X on Select Business & Travel Purchases (flights booked directly with airlines or Amex Travel; car rentals booked directly from select car rental companies; US restaurants; US gas stations; wireless telephone services purchased directly from US service provider; US shipping purchases) ✦ 3X on all other eligible purchases
Base: 3X (1.44%)
Travel: 6X (2.88%)
Dine: 6X (2.88%)
Gas: 6X (2.88%)
Phone: 6X (2.88%)
Biz: 6X (2.88%)
Brand: 12X (5.76%)
Other: 6X (2.88%)
Card Info: Amex Credit Card issued by Amex. This card has no foreign currency conversion fees.
Big spend bonus:
Free night award after $15K spend in calendar year and another after $60K spend

Diamond elite status with $40K calendar year spend
Noteworthy perks: ✦ Free Gold status. Diamond status w/ $40K spend. ✦ 10 free Priority Pass lounge visits per calendar year ✦ Terms Apply. (Rates & Fees)
Limited Time Offer - 100K points ⓘ Affiliate
100K after $2K spend in 6 months. Terms apply. (Rates & Fees)
(Offer Expires 4/17/2024)
No Annual Fee
Recent better offer: 70K + free night certificate after $2K spend in 3 months. [Expired 7/19/23]
FM Mini Review: This card isn't particularly rewarding, but it's good to keep primarily for targeted Amex upgrade offers to the Surpass card.
Earning rate: ✦ 7X Hilton spend ✦ 5X US restaurants, US Supermarkets, and US gas stations ✦ 3X on all other eligible purchases
Base: 3X (1.44%)
Dine: 5X (2.4%)
Gas: 5X (2.4%)
Grocery: 5X (2.4%)
Brand: 7X (3.36%)
Card Info: Amex Credit Card issued by Amex. This card has no foreign currency conversion fees.
Big spend bonus: Gold elite status with $20K calendar year spend
Noteworthy perks: ✦ Free Silver status; Gold status with $20K spend. ✦ Terms Apply. (Rates & Fees)
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