Hilton Honors American Specific Aspire card evaluation

Editor’s note: This is a recurring post, regularly updated with new information and offers.

For several years now, Hilton has had an exclusive relationship with American Express for its cobranded credit cards, and this lineup of Amex cards has been a hit.

Although Hilton Honors has sky-high award night prices, the resort credits of up to $250 annually and complimentary Diamond status make the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card a great pick if you stay at Hilton properties regularly.

The information for the Hilton Aspire card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

Even with the card’s significant $450 annual fee (see rates and fees), several benefits easily outweigh the cost. The Aspire card comes with a Priority Pass Select airport lounge membership, which gives you (and two guests) unlimited access to more than 1,300 airport lounges around the world.

On top of that, every year, you’ll get a free night certificate valid at nearly any Hilton property. There aren’t too many hotel credit cards with all of these perks tied to a single card.

Here’s everything you need to know about the Hilton Aspire Card.

The Aspire card’s current welcome offer is 150,000 Hilton Honors points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months of card membership. Those 150,000 points are great — worth $900 according to the latest TPG valuations — but it’s not uncommon to see higher-value bonuses on premium travel cards.

Related: Hilton Honors guide

The card makes it easy to get a high balance in your Hilton Honors account, which you’ll need if you’d like to enjoy luxury or peak-season properties with Hilton Honors award nights.

The Aspire card offers 14 points per dollar spent at hotels in the Hilton portfolio. At TPG’s valuation of 0.6 cents per point, that’s equivalent to an 8.4% return on spending. You’ll also earn 7 points per dollar (a 4.2% return) on flights booked directly with airlines or through amextravel.com, car rentals booked directly from select car rental companies and at U.S. restaurants.

We did some digging on the Amex website and found the following car rental companies will earn 7 points per dollar: Alamo, Avis, Budget, Dollar, Enterprise, E-Z, Fox, Hertz, National, Payless, Sixt and Thrifty.

Finally, you’ll earn 3 points per dollar (a 1.8% return) on all other spend with the card.

Because the card comes with complimentary Hilton Honors Diamond Status, which offers a 100% points bonus (or 20 points per dollar at most Hilton properties), you’ll be earning a total of 34 points per dollar on most Hilton stays when you use the card (an over 20% return). Throw in the routine promotions Hilton offers, and your account balance should skyrocket.

Related: Best credit cards for Hilton stays

Hilton gives you lots of options when it comes time to use your points. We suggest using them for standard award nights instead of using one of your other redemption options, like for merchandise, gift cards, premium room redemptions and airline transfers (at a roughly 10:1 ratio).

Although you can’t be entirely sure how many points an award night will cost thanks to Hilton’s variable award charts, you can use Hilton’s Points Explorer to get a rough idea of how many points your desired property will cost. You can also use your points to subsidize paid stays with the Points & Money option, which could get you up to 1 cent per point off your total room bill when choosing very expensive Hilton properties.

Related: How to maximize Hilton redemptions

• Hilton Honors Diamond status — As long as your card account is open, you’ll receive Diamond Hilton elite status for the primary cardholder (sorry, authorized users don’t get it). We value Diamond status at almost $3,000 annually, thanks to the bonus points you earn, lounge access, free breakfast and room upgrades.
• Up to two reward nights — Receive one night at almost any Hilton property worldwide after opening your account and on your cardmember anniversary each year. Earn a second night when you spend $60,000 on the card in a calendar year.
• Up to $250 in Hilton resort statement credits — During each cardmember year (defined by when you opened the account), you’ll receive up to $250 in statement credits for select expenses charged to your card at participating Hilton resorts. That $250 can be used on dining, activities, spa treatments and even room rates and taxes — but it doesn’t apply to advance-purchase or nonrefundable rates.

• Up to $250 in annual airline fee credits — As with the airline fee credits on The Platinum Card® from American Express, you need to select an airline of your choice in order to receive up to $250 in statement credits for incidentals from that airline on your account each calendar year, including spending by authorized users. The credit is only for incidental fees, such as change or cancellation fees, checked bag fees or lounge passes.
• Up to $100 Hilton on-property credit — When you book at least a two-night paid stay at Waldorf Astoria or Conrad properties through HiltonHonors.com/aspirecard (or over the phone and quote booking code ZZAAP1), you’ll receive a credit of up to $100 for incidentals during your stay.
• Priority Pass membership — Unlimited Priority Pass lounge access for you and two guests. However, authorized users do not receive a membership, and additional guests will be charged $32 per lounge visit. It’s also worth noting that Priority Pass memberships associated with an American Express credit card are not eligible for non-lounge experiences, such as Priority Pass restaurants.

Enrollment required for select benefits.

The card carries some travel protections as well, including trip delay reimbursement* (when your flight is delayed by more than six hours), along with trip cancellation and interruption insurance.*

*Eligibility and benefit level varies by card. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for details. Policies are underwritten by New Hampshire Insurance Company, an AIG Company.

Finally, the Hilton Aspire has no foreign transaction fees (see rates and fees).

Related: Why the Hilton Aspire is great for families

For additional options, please see our list of best hotel cards and best American Express cards.

Related: Hilton Surpass vs. Hilton Aspire

Is the Hilton Aspire worth it?

While its $450 annual fee might seem steep, it comes with a valuable welcome bonus, annual free night certificate, automatic elite status, Priority Pass lounge access and multiple statement credits. You’ll easily justify the Hilton Aspire’s annual fee if you can utilize all or most of these benefits. However, if you don’t stay at Hilton properties often enough to get much value from these benefits, you’ll be better off going a different route.

Related: Choosing the best Hilton credit card for you

If you routinely stay at Hilton properties, the offer of Diamond status and 34 Hilton points per dollar without any promos is incredible — plus, you get complimentary breakfast (or an on-property credit at U.S. properties) from Diamond status and up to $250 off at Hilton resorts every year.

The welcome bonus is enticing, but the added incentive of a free-night reward every time you renew your card is a great incentive to hold the card for the long haul.

Additional reporting by Emily Thompson, Ryan Wilcox, Chris Dong and Benét J. Wilson.

For rates and fees of the Hilton Aspire Card, please click here.
For rates and fees of The Platinum Card please click here.
For rates and fees of the Bonvoy Brilliant Card please click here.