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- Hilton Honors Amex Aspire Bonus
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The Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card has a very nice 150,000 Hilton Honors bonus points offer available, but it’s this premium hotel card’s perks that put it over the top.
While there are certainly plenty of premium benefits anyone can take advantage of, you really should only choose this as your premium credit card if you are loyal to the Hilton brand and intend to base your card usage around Hilton stays. Otherwise, the non-branded Platinum Card from American Express is probably the better premium Amex card choice.
The annual fee is steep at $450 (typical of premium cards), but you’ll find all the generous credits and perks, if used, easily make up for that cost.
The Hilton Honors program has an exclusive partnership with American Express now, and there are two other Hilton Cards you may want to consider if you don’t think all the premium benefits are worth the annual fee.
- Hilton Honors American Express Card
- This is the no annual fee option for earning Hilton Honors rewards for those who stay less than 20 nights out of the year.
- Hilton Honors American Express Ascend Card
- This option does have an annual fee and I generally recommend it for those who stay at least 20-25 nights yearly to make up for that fee in rewards.
For business owners, the Hilton Honors American Express Business Card is a good option, with benefits and an annual fee most equivalent to the Ascend Card.
| At-A-Glance | |
| Bonus available | 150,000 bonus points directly through the Amex website. |
| Travel credit | $100 Property Credit $250 Airline Fee Credit $250 Hilton Resort Credit |
| Weekend night rewards | 1 weekend night reward with your new card and every year after renewal. An additional night after you spend $60,000 on purchases in a calendar year. |
| Ongoing rewards | 14X Hilton Honors bonus points at participating hotels or resorts within the Hilton Portfolio. 7X Hilton Honors bonus points for flights booked directly with airlines or amextravel.com, car rentals booked directly from select car rental companies, U.S. restaurants. 3X Hilton Honors bonus points on all other eligible purchases. |
| Foreign transaction fees? | No |
| Airport lounge access | 1,000+ VIP lounges in over 500 cities worldwide with Priority Pass Select for you and up to 2 guests per visit. |
| Annual Fee | $450 annual fee |
150,000 Bonus Points With The Aspire Card
You’ll be able to find the 150,000 bonus points offer directly through the American Express website. Like many other Amex credit card offers, it’s usually better to go directly through their site, rather than redirecting from review sites or other credit card portals. I’ve seen a 100,000 bonus points offer when visiting some review sites.
When you redeem towards Hilton hotel stays (the best choice for redemption), we value the 150,000 points to be worth $900.
The bonus requirements are the same for either offer – you’ll have to spend $4,000 in purchases on the Card within your first 3 months of Card Membership.
Below are some tips if your normal everyday spending won’t be enough for the requirement:
MEETING CREDIT CARD BONUS SPENDING REQUIREMENTS
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What Makes The Aspire Card So Great?
Rewards. Credits. Freebies.
The Aspire Card earns 14X Hilton Honors bonus points at participating hotels or resorts within the Hilton Portfolio (see the next section below for the listing of properties). 7X Hilton Honors points are earned on flights booked directly with airlines or amextravel.com, car rentals booked directly from select car rental companies, and U.S. restaurants. The select car rental companies include: Alamo, Avis, Budget, Dollar, Enterprise, E-Z, Fox, Hertz, National, Payless, Sixt and Thrifty.
You’ll earn 3X Hilton Honors bonus points on all other eligible purchases.
We value each point to be worth 0.6 cents, so your return for each points earning tier is as follows:
- 14X = 8.4% return
- 7X = 4.2% return
- 3X = 1.8% return
You’ll have complimentary Diamond Status with the Hilton Honors Aspire Card, which includes Silver and Gold Status benefits along with it’s own. Here’s everything you’ll get with Diamond Status:
- Guaranteed Member Discount
- Points Towards Free Nights
- No resort fees on Reward Stays
- Digital Check-in and Choose Your Room
- Digital Key
- In-Room and Lobby Wi-Fi
- Second Guest Stays Free
- Late Check-out
- Free Transfer of Points and Points Pooling
- 5th Standard Reward Night Free
- 2 Bottles of Water
- Elite Tier Rollover Nights
- Space-available Room Upgrade
- Complimentary Breakfast at all hotels
- Unlimited Milestone Bonuses
- Executive Lounge Access *Diamond Status tier
- Diamond Status Extension *Diamond Status tier
- 48-Hour Room Guarantee *Diamond Status tier
- Elite Status Gifting *Diamond Status tier
Enjoy one weekend night reward with your new Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card and every year after renewal.
Plus, earn an additional night after you spend $60,000 on purchases on your Card in a calendar year.
With your Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card, enjoy up to $250 in statement credits each year of Card Membership for eligible purchases at participating Hilton Resorts. Visit hilton.com/resorts for the list of participating Hilton Resorts.
Statement credits of up to $250 per calendar year toward incidental air travel fees with your selected qualifying airline at www.americanexpress.com/airlinecreditchoice. Choose your airline carefully, but you’ll be able to change your choice one time each year in January.
With your Card, book a 2 night minimum stay at HiltonHonors.com/aspirecard and get up to $100 in credits for qualifying charges at participating hotels (Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts, and Conrad Hotels & Resorts).
Relax with unlimited lounge visits for you and up to 2 guests per visit once enrolled in complimentary Priority Pass Select membership, which offers access to over 1,000 airport lounges around the world.
This is more than $400 in value when compared to the standalone Priority Pass membership level that most closely resembles Priority Pass Select.
No additional fees on purchases made abroad, which are typically 2.7% per transaction for cards that don’t have this feature.
As you can see, if you’re able to max out a good portion of the credits and weekend night rewards, and use the Priority Pass Select membership, you’ll actually come out on top despite the annual fee.
Properties In The Hilton Portfolio
| The Hilton Portfolio of hotels consists of over 5,000 locations in 100 countries and territories, and includes the properties below. |
| HILTON HOTELS & RESORTS. With more than 570 properties across six continents, Hilton Hotels & Resorts stands as the stylish, innovative leader of hospitality. |
| WALDORF ASTORIA HOTELS & RESORTS. In landmark destinations around the globe, Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts truly reflect their location and are fresh expressions of the legendary True Waldorf Service. |
| CONRAD HOTELS & RESORTS. At Conrad Hotels & Resorts, luxury is a style you can connect with and service that is attuned to your every need. |
| CANOPY BY HILTON. For those seeking an energizing and comfortable experience, Canopy by Hilton is the fresh, neighborhood hotel that creates a positive stay through simple guest-directed service and thoughtful local choices. |
| CURIO COLLECTION BY HILTON. Each hotel in the Curio Collection is completely different from the next. Curio is a collection of hand-picked hotels that are authentic, independent and remarkable. |
| DOUBLETREE BY HILTON. Full-service and full of warmth, DoubleTree by Hilton has more than 400 wonderful places to stay, occupying prime locations in gateway cities and getaway destinations around the globe. |
| TAPESTRY COLLECTION BY HILTON. Tapestry Collection by Hilton is a gathering of original hotels chosen because of a commitment to being anything but generic. |
| EMBASSY SUITES BY HILTON. All guests are welcomed with a two-room suite, free made-to-order breakfast each morning, and complimentary drinks and snacks for two hours every night. |
| HILTON GARDEN INN. With over 530 locations worldwide, they understand what you need to get from one busy, bustling business day to the next, and we’ll go above and beyond to ensure each stay is a successful one. |
| HAMPTON BY HILTON. With over 2,200 locations globally, Hampton by Hilton hotels offer high-quality and consistent accommodations and amenities. |
| TRU BY HILTON. Tru by Hilton is a revolutionary new brand that is simplified, spirited and grounded in value for guests with a zest for life and a desire for human connection. |
| HOMEWOOD SUITES BY HILTON. In every suite they give you a spacious living room and a real kitchen with a full-sized fridge, and a comfortable bedroom with space to spread out and organize. |
| HOME2 SUITES BY HILTON. Home2 Suites by Hilton is more than a midscale, extended-stay hotel; it’s a spirited and innovative hotel brand for the savvy, value-wise traveler staying a few months or a few nights. |
| HILTON GRAND VACATIONS. Hilton Grand Vacations develops, markets and operates a collection of high-quality vacation ownership resorts in renowned travel destinations. |
What’s The Competition?
A premium card that equates in value to the Aspire Card is actually another American Express card, The Platinum card. If you don’t want a Hilton-branded card, it’s a good alternative.
If don’t really find the value with all the premium card benefits, a general travel rewards card with a good sign-up bonus and much lower annual fee may suit you better. The Barclaycard Arrival Plus is a good example.
| The Platinum Card from American Express has a special offer for 75,000 Points after you spend $5,000 on purchases on your new Card in your first 3 months. The best options for redeeming these points would be by booking travel through American Express or by redeeming for gift cards. Using these options, the 75,000 bonus will be worth $750. You must go directly to the American Express website to find this offer. Typically, the bonus offer reverts back to a 60,000 or 40,000 points promo, so it's all about timing here. The biggest drawback to this card is the $550 annual fee, which puts it in the premium class of credit cards. The card has a market because it offers premium travel benefits, such as 5X points for flights and eligible hotels, access to 1,000+ airport lounges, $200 in Uber credits yearly, and a $200 airline fee credit annually. For frequent travelers, the added benefits make sense in terms of value and added luxury. Full Review |
 The Barclaycard Arrival Plus® World Elite Mastercard® is now offering a 70,000 bonus miles offer. The 70k bonus miles will be worth $700 when you redeem towards travel. If you take into account the 5% miles back every time you redeem perk, the 70k miles would then have a $735 value.This card also earns unlimited miles at the rate of 2 miles per $1 spent on all purchases regardless of category, and doesn't have foreign transaction fees on international purchases either.Full Review |
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