by Daniel | Last Updated August 29th, 2021
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If you looking for a credit card that rewards you for staying at Hilton Hotels then this card might just interest you.
In this review, I’m going to look at the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card and see what benefits and user perks it offers and then decide if it’s worth the $450 annual fee.
Who’s This Card For?
This card is specifically designed for people who like to stay at Hilton Hotels, whether it is only a couple of times a year or multiple time a year, it offers some really great benefits that are associated with Hilton Hotels and thus make it the perfect for anyone looking to take advantage by staying at a Hilton property.
Even though this card has a relatively high annual fee, just the sign-up bonus alone covers it.
Annual Fee
So let’s start by looking at the annual fee of this card, which is currently $450 a year, and this is relatively expensive.
Luckily though the card has a very good sign-up bonus and quite a lot of benefits and user perks that quite easily offset the annual fee and actually leave you with a fair amount of extra perks.
So next up, let’s take a look at what the sign-up bonus actually is and how much you need to spend to receive it.
Sign Up Bonus
So at the time of writing this review, the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card is currently offering 150,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points after you spend $4,000 within the first 3 months of card ownership.
And these points are worth approximately .5 cents per point, so 150,000 points are worth approximately $750.
And these points can be used on quite a large range of different options.
You can use the points for free nights at Hilton hotels, shopping on Amazon.com, Lyft rides or you can transfer the points to different airline partners.
So seeing that the sign-up bonus is worth up to $750, it easily covers the $450 annual fee and leaves you with another $300 worth of benefits to use.
Earning Points
Next up let’s look at what options this card offers in terms of earning points.
So to begin with you will earn 14x points for eligible purchases that are made at Hilton properties, and this is a great way to build a large balance on your Hilton Honors account.
Next up you will receive 7x points on travel such as any flights that are booked directly with the airline or AmexTravel.com and any car rentals that are booked directly with select car rental companies.
You will also receive 7x points at US restaurants, and this includes services such as takeout and delivery.
And finally, you will receive 3x points for all other purchases.
So as you can see there are some really great points earning potential with this card, especially if you stay and spend at a Hilton Property.
Benefits and User Perks
So now let’s take a look at the benefits and user perks that come with this card.
To begin with, you will receive a $250 Hilton Resort statement credit each year, and this can be used for incidental charges at Hilton Hotels such as dining, activities, spa treatments, and room rates.
Next up, you will receive a $250 airline fee credit that can be used on a qualifying airline for incidental fees such as checked baggage, in-flight refreshments, flight change or cancellation fees, and lounge passes.
You will also receive a $100 property credit if you book a minimum of 2 nights at either the Waldorf Astoria or Conrad properties.
Next up you will get one weekend night reward (which is either Friday, Saturday, or Sunday) each year, and the ability to earn another free weekend night after you spend $60,000 in a given calendar year.
And similar to most high-end cards, you will receive a free membership to Priority Pass Select that is worth up to $429, and this gives you access to well over 1,000 airport lounges located all over the world.
And finally, you will get free Hilton Honors Diamond Status, and this is a very valuable benefit to have.
First of all, for every dollar you spend at a Hilton Property you will receive an extra 20 points, and with the current rate of 14x points per dollar spent at Hilton hotels and resorts, this equates to 34 points per dollar spent, which to be honest is pretty impresive, assuming you stay at Hilton Hotels a fair amount, you will be able to accrue a ton of points with this benefit.
Along with this, you will also receive benefits such as executive lounge access, room upgrade if available, premium WiFi, fifth night free, a daily food and beverage credit at US hotels, and a lot more.
So all of these benefits are worth well over $1,000 if you are able to utilize them all, and quite easily offset the annual fee without even taking the sign-up bonus into account.
Insurance-Related Benefits
And finally, let’s go over all of the insurance-related benefits that are available with this card.
So to begin with you will have a baggage insurance plan which will cover up to a total of $3,000 for both checked and carry-on luggage if it is damaged, lost, or stolen.
And for this to be valid the trip must have been paid for with your qualifying card and can be used for flights, train, ship, or bus trips.
Next up you have access to car rental loss and damage insurance which will cover up to a total of $75,000 for a car rental that is damaged or stolen.
And for this to be valid you must pay for the entire rental with your eligible card and then decline the collision damage waiver that is offered to you by the car rental company.
And finally, you will receive return protection.
This gives you 90 days on eligible purchases that a merchant won’t take back and covers up to $300 per item and a total of $1,000 per calendar year.
And for this to be valid you must have paid for the item in full with your eligible card and within the United States.
So in terms of insurance-related benefits, this card offers a decent amount of coverage that should give you a bit of reassurance.
Final thoughts
So what are my thoughts about this card?
I think it is a must-have if you already stay at Hilton properties, as it will give you a lot more value from the money you already spend there.
And even if you don’t currently stay at Hilton properties, I still think it offers some great perks and opens up some new travel ideas and places to stay.
With the welcome bonus and all of the benefits that come with this card, in the first year, it easily covers the annual fee, and even if you don’t include the sign-up bonus, it provides more than twice the cost of the annual fee.
So I think this is definitely a card to consider.
If you are interested in other hotel-related cards why not check out my review of the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant American Express Card here.