by Daniel | Last Updated September 9th, 2022
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There are quite a few decent hotel reward credit cards that are available right now, and some of them offer really good benefits and user perks.
Now in this article, I want to talk about the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card and go into greater detail about why this credit card is one of the better hotel rewards cards of 2022.
Why should you consider the Hilton Honors Aspire Card?
If you travel a fair bit each year and stay at quite a few hotels along the way, the Hilton Honors Aspire card is definitely worth considering.
Seeing that Hilton Honors spans over 122 different countries and territories and has 7,000 properties to choose from, there is a good chance that you will stay at one of their properties at some point in the future.
So you might as well take advantage of these stays by getting as much value as possible with this card.
And as you will see through this review, there is a ton of fantastic benefits and user perks that come with the card.
Annual Fee
Now when it comes to the annual fee of the Hilton Honors Aspire Card it’s not exactly cheap.
Currently, it costs $450 on annual basis, which works out to be $37.50 a month.
And although there are cheaper hotel credit cards out there, if you combine both the sign-up bonus and benefits that come with this card, it actually provides some fantastic value.
Sign up Bonus
So currently with the Hilton Honors Aspire card, it is possible to earn 150,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points after spending $4,000 on purchases within the first 3 months of opening the account.
Now generally speaking Hilton Honors points are worth 0.5 cents per point which values this sign-up bonus at $750, which quite easily covers the cost of the annual fee.
Now as an example let’s take a look at 3 different places that you could stay at by using the sign-up bonus points.
1. Hilton Maldives Amingiri Resort & Spa
First of all, there is the possibility of spending one night at the Hilton Maldives Amingiri Resort & Spa in this stunning one-bedroom overwater villa for just 110,000 points.
And considering this room usually costs upwards of $989 a night, makes this fantastic value.
Now just note that this room usually costs around 595,000 points, it just happens to be extremely cheap on this given date that I choose which was October 10th -11th, 2022.
2. Hilton Fiji Beach Resort and Spa
Next up, is the Hilton Fiji Beach Resort and Spa.
And as you can see, it’s quite a bit cheaper to stay here compared to the Maldives.
So for just 60,000 points per night, it is possible to stay in this lovely beachfront guest room.
And this is quite a saving considering the cash price is $397 per night!
3. Hilton Santa Monica Hotel & Suites
Finally, for 70,000 points it is possible to stay at the Hilton Santa Monica Hotel & Suites in a guest room that has a king-size bed.
And similar to the previous hotel in Fiji, one night in this room usually costs $389, so it’s a pretty good deal.
Points earning Potential
Now the ability to earn points with your credit card is an important part of how much value you can squeeze out of it just by making everyday purchases.
And the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card has quite a few good options for earning a lot of points.
The highest points earning that this card offers is the ability to earn 14x points for bookings that are made at hotels and resorts that are from within the Hilton portfolio.
Then there are a few options for earning 7x points which include:
- Any flights booked directly with an airline or through AmexTravel.com
- Car rentals booked directly through select car rental agencies
- Dining at US restaurants, including takeout and delivery
Then all other purchases that are made on the card will receive 3x points per dollar spent.
Benefits and user perks
Now when it comes to benefits and user perks, the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card has a whole range of fantastic benefits that are worth quite a lot of money.
Now when it comes to benefits and user perks, the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card has a whole range of fantastic benefits that are worth quite a lot of money.
First of all, there is a $250 Hilton Resort Statement Credit which will be provided as a statement credit.
And this can be used for eligible purchases that are made directly with participating Hilton Resorts.
Then if you book 2 nights or more at either a Waldorf Astoria Hotel & Resort or a ConradHotel & Resort through the website hiltonhonorsaspirecard.com it is possible to receive a $100 Property Credit.
Now there is also the Weekend Night Rewards which gives you a free night at a qualifying Hilton property.
And until the end of 2022, it is possible to use this on any night of the week.
Then if you manage to spend $60,000 or more in a calendar year, you will receive an additional night.
Along with these hotel-related benefits, there is also complimentary Hilton Honors Diamond status.
And this gives you the ability to earn even more points when staying at Hilton properties.
It also provides a whole host of additional benefits.
Now there is also a couple of airline-related benefits, the first being a $250 Airline Fee Credit.
And this can be used on one qualifying airline that you choose from a list that Amex provides you.
Basically, this covers expenses that the airline might charge such as baggage fees, inflight purchases, or flight changes.
Finally, there is a complimentary Priority Pass Select membership which provides you with unlimited lounge access for you and up to 2 guests.
And currently, there are over 1,200 airport lounges all over the world.
Insurance coverage
Now another valuable aspect of a good credit card is the insurance-related coverage that it provides.
And depending on the circumstances, this can potentially save you a lot of money.
So one very useful benefit that I have used before with my Amex card is the Car Rental Loss and Damage Insurance.
And with the Aspire card this will cover up to $75,000, and it’s worth noting that this is secondary coverage.
This can save you quite a bit of money in more than one way.
First of all, when you rent a car from a car rental agency Amex recommends that you decline the collision damage waiver (CDW) that the car Rental Company offers you.
And just this can save you quite a lot of money as car rental agencies quite often charge a fair bit for their car insurance.
Then if you happened to have a minor accident or someone scratches your car, Amex (in most cases) will cover it.
And from my experience dealing with Amex for a claim on a rental car that got scratched whilst I was in France a few years ago, it was really quite easy to organize and Amex took care of everything.
Now assuming you travel a fair amount the next benefit is quite useful as well,
With Trip Cancellation and Interruption Insurance, there is coverage of up to $10,000 per covered trip with a total of $20,000 per card per 12-month period.
And in the unlikely event that you might need to use this benefit, it could save you a lot of money.
Some of the instances it covers are:
- Injury or sickness
- A change in military orders
- Called to Jury duty or subpoenaed by a court
Now another similar benefit is the Trip Delay Insurance, which covers up to $500 per covered trip and allows for a maximum of 2 claims in a 12-month period.
And this is available for you the cardholder, a family member traveling with you, or a Traveling Companion that is traveling on the same booking as you.
Another travel-related insurance benefit is the Baggage Insurance Plan.
And this can also prove to be a great benefit to have, as luggage quite often gets damaged or even lost by the carrier when you are on your trip.
This covers up to $2,000 per covered person for checked Baggage and then up to $3,000 for carry-on baggage.
So if you have this card already or are considering getting it, make sure to keep an eye on your luggage next time you travel, as if there is any damage to your bags, you may well be able to get some compensation for it.
Now the last three insurance benefits that come with this card are all related to general purchases.
The first is Return Protection, and this basically provides you with 90 days of coverage on new purchases that a merchant won’t take back.
It will cover up to a total of $300 per item and a maximum of $1,000 per card per year.
Similar to this is Purchase Protection which also provides 90 days of coverage on new purchases that get accidentally damaged or are stolen.
And coverage is for up to $10,000 per covered purchase and a total of $50,000 per card per year.
The final coverage that is offered with this card is an Extended Warranty.
This basically gives you the ability to extend the Original Manufacturer’s Warranty by 1 additional year as long as it was purchased from within the US and is 5 years or less in length.
APR
So as with most of my credit card reviews, I like to cover what the current APR is and what fees they charge for using services like a cash advance.
And as I have mentioned in some of my other videos, I really recommend that you never get a cash advance on your credit card, as will end up costing you a lot of money in interest and fees.
An alternative option to getting a cash advance would be to apply for a 0% intro APR credit card like the Amex Blue Cash Everyday card.
This will give you the ability to finance certain purchases for up to 15 Months without having to pay interest upfront.
Just make sure to pay off the amount owing before the interest sets in.
So in the case of the Hilton Honors Aspire Card, the current APR for purchases is between 17.99% to 26.99%.
Getting a cash advance will have an APR of 27.49% and will also incur a fee of $10 or 5%.
As an example, a $1,000 cash advance would cost you $50 straight up, and if you were to pay it off over 12 months at a rate of $100 a week, you will be charged approximately $122 in interest.
Now another thing that you must try to avoid is having any late payments on your account or having a payment returned by your bank.
This can negatively affect your credit score and will cost you unnecessary fees.
If this does happen, Amex will put you on a penalty APR of 29.99%.
They will also charge you a fee of up to $40 for each occurrence.
Final thoughts
So that pretty much covers everything there is to know about the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card, and as you can see it is a pretty valuable card with a ton of great benefits and user perks to choose from.
I personally think is one of the better hotel reward credit cards that is available at the moment.
But if you think otherwise, please leave a comment in the comment section below and let me know what Hotel Reward credit card is your favorite.
I hope that this article was able to provide you with a good idea of what this card is capable of if used correctly.
Now if you are looking into getting a good airline credit card, why not check out my review where I review and compare all of the Amex Delta SkyMiles Credit Cards