Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Credit Card review: Luxury rewards for Hilton loyalists
One of the best hotel co-branded cards for Hilton enthusiasts.
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Snapshot
4.2
Bottom line
With annual credits that exceed the annual fee and automatic Diamond elite status, the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire card offers strong rewards for those who choose to stay at Hilton hotels worldwide.
Intro offer
Earn 175,000 points
Rewards rate
3X - 14X
Annual fee
$550
APR
20.49% - 29.49% Variable
Bankrate Score
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Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Credit Card Overview
Hotel credit cards often deliver value exclusively for free hotel nights through collecting points. But what if a hotel card could offer more? The Hilton Honors Aspire Card delivers on those travel dreams. In addition to a solid welcome offer and earning Hilton Honors points on all purchases, this card offers annual airline purchase credits, annual Hilton resort credits and top-tier Diamond elite status. If you want to stay at more Hilton properties around the world, this luxury Hilton Honors American Express Card could help you unlock better experiences and get more free nights.
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Rewards
- 14X points at participating Hilton hotels or resorts
- 7X points on flights booked directly with airlines or via amextravel.com, car rentals booked directly from select car rental companies and U.S. restaurants
- 3X points on other purchases
Expert Appraisal: Good
See our expert analysis -
Welcome offer
- Earn 130,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points after spending $3,000 in purchases on the card within the first six months
Expert Appraisal: Good
See our expert analysis -
Rates and fees
- $550 annual fee
- No intro APR offer for purchases or balance transfers
- 20.49 percent to 29.49 percent APR (variable)
Expert Appraisal: Typical
See our expert analysis -
Other cardholder perks
- Annual airline, resort and on-property credits
- Weekend reward night certificates
- Hilton Honors Diamond status
- One free night reward with your new card and every year after renewal
Expert Appraisal: Good
See our expert analysis
Hilton Amex Aspire pros and cons
Pros
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This card offers the highest points among all Hilton Honors American Express credit cards for booking Hilton properties and certain travel purchases.
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You can enjoy a terrific welcome bonus, upping this card's first-year value.
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Along with Diamond status, this card offers plenty of perks like annual credits and exclusive access to American Express events and experiences.
Cons
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This card's primary value comes only from the Hilton Honors program, so it doesn't offer much flexibility.
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You won't earn bonus rewards for everyday categories like U.S. supermarkets or U.S. gas stations as you would with its sibling Hilton cards.
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Although the card earns at a high rate, redemptions are also very costly relative to other hotel rewards cards.
Why you might want the Hilton Amex Aspire card
The Hilton Amex Aspire Card is perhaps the perfect fit for those who enjoy Hilton properties, as the boosted rewards rate, welcome offer and perks are top-tier for Hilton loyalists.
Welcome offer: Highest welcome offer of all Hilton Amex cards
Among all the Hilton Honors credit cards, the Aspire Card offers the highest welcome offer for your spending. Fora limited time, new applicants who have not previously held this card can earn 130,000 Hilton Honors bonus points after spending $3,000 on eligible purchases in the first six months of card membership, starting from the date your card is approved.
Hilton Honors points are worth around 0.6 cents each, according to Bankrate's latest estimated valuations. If you were to maximize your value on redemption, your welcome bonus points could be worth as much as $1,050 in rewards.
If your ultimate goal is to get free nights, the total value from your hotel credit cards is dependent on how you use your points. Room awards start at 5,000 points per night and go to a maximum of 95,000 points per night. With the welcome offer points alone, you could get up to 11 nights with hotel rooms costing 15,000 points per night, three nights in hotel rooms costing 50,000 points per night or one night at a high-end luxury hotel for 95,000 points per night with some extra to spare, depending on the season and room availability.
Rewards: Highly competitive rates
The Hilton Amex Aspire Card earns boosted rewards on Hilton purchases and other eligible spending, making it a competitive option for Hilton loyalists who want to maximize their rewards potential.
Redemption: Various ways to redeem
There are six ways to use points in the Hilton Honors reward program. They range from free and discounted hotel nights to making purchases on Amazon.com. However, your rewards value will vary depending on how you redeem, so you should consider the best ways to maximize your rewards to get the most mileage out of your card.
You'll get the highest value by using your Hilton Honors points toward free or discounted rooms at one of Hilton’s over 6,500 properties worldwide. Rooms can be booked either entirely with points or with a combination of points and cash. However, because Hilton rewards according to Bankrate's estimations are valued around 0.6 cents each, Hilton redemptions typically require a lot more points than redemptions with many other rewards programs.
Free hotel room nights range in value from 5,000 points at low-end properties (like the Hampton Inn by Hilton and Hilton Garden Inn) to 95,000 points for a standard room in high-end luxury properties and resorts around the world. If you don’t have enough points to get a free night, you can discount your hotel room night using a combination of points and cash. Your discount is a percentage based on the cost of the room and how many points you want to use. For example, if a room at a Hilton property costs $270 or 70,000 points per night, using 35,000 points could discount the room to $135, or 50 percent of the cash price. Using 17,500 points would give you a 25 percent discount on the room, making your cost before taxes and other fees $204 per night.
You can also use points for Hilton Honors Experiences, a service that offers access to unique and exclusive events outside of the normal amenities. Some recent experiences include multi-course culinary experiences across Asia, European spirit tastings and more.
Cardholder perks: Top-tier benefits
Like other high-end or luxury travel and hotel cards, the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card isn’t good for just earning loyalty rewards with the card’s issuer. It also comes with a host of perks and features that make your travel more convenient and comfortable. What makes this arguably the best Hilton credit card are the annual credits towards travel, free night rewards and the potential to earn Hilton Honors Diamond status.
Why you might want a different hotel card
Even though the Hilton Amex Aspire has a high rewards rate on Hilton hotel bookings, a great welcome offer and a wide range of redemption options and perks, there are still some potential downsides to consider, such as its rewards value compared to other hotel cards and the high annual fee.
Rewards value: Low return value when points are redeemed
Based on our latest point valuations, Hilton Honors points have a market value of about 0.6 cents each. That means if you’re getting a return of 0.6 cents each per point (or more), you’re getting a good redemption value.
To calculate your Hilton Honors points’ value, multiply the cash price of a stay by 100 and divide by the number of points it would take to cover a reward night. For example, a $270 room available for 70,000 points results in a value of just under 0.4 cents per point — not a great return on your points. However, if that same room at a luxury hotel were $540 or 70,000 points, you would almost get a value of 0.8 cents per point, which is above our estimated average point value. As you can see, you’ll have to be mindful of the fluctuating point value when you’re booking your next trip.
Some of the worst ways to use points are through partner offers like exchanging points for Lyft rides, using points to book rental cars, shopping with points on Amazon.com or transferring points to airline partners. Using points this way can drop their value as low as 0.2 cents each, which is far lower than their potential when used for hotel rooms.
Rates and fees: High annual fee
Because the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire card is a top-tier travel card, it comes with a high annual fee at $550 and higher interest rates on purchases. However, this is in line with other high-end travel rewards cards. For instance, the Chase Sapphire Reserve® card and The Platinum Card® from American Express charge cardholders $550 and $695, respectively.
The Hilton Honors American Express Aspire card comes with no foreign transaction fees, standard for a premium travel rewards card. If you take a cash advance from this card, you'll face a combination of cash advance fees and a higher interest rate. The Hilton Honors Aspire card charges the greater of $10 or 5 percent of the cash advance amount, as well as a 29.99 percent APR until it is paid off.
If you pay your card late or have a payment returned, you could be charged up to $40 on each count, plus a 29.99 percent penalty APR for at least six months.
We tried it: Here's what our experts say
Bankrate credit cards writer Ryan Flanigan uses his Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Credit Card for extra value on luxury Hilton vacations.
"I like to stay at high-end Hilton properties, so this card essentially gives me free money to use whenever I go. I’ve often cashed in the uncapped free nights for properties worth well over $1,000 per night. Diamond status always comes in handy for some extra benefits and credits on the property. I like the high earning rates at restaurants and still can’t believe I earn 34X points for on-property spending on the card — I earn enough on one trip to pay for another."
— Ryan Flanigan, Writer, Credit Cards
How the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire compares to other hotel cards
The Hilton Honors American Express Aspire card offers many similar credits and added value found on other top-tier travel cards. On the downside, you are limited to the Hilton brand to earn its most lucrative bonus rates. When you choose the best travel card consider factors like annual costs, annual credits and perks, rewards and redemption options to find the one that’s right for you.
Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card
Annual fee
Intro offer
Earn 175,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points with the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card after you spend $6,000 in purchases on the Card within your first 6 months of Card Membership. Offer ends 1/8/2025.
Rewards rate
14X points on hotels and resorts For eligible purchases at hotels and resorts in the Hilton portfolio. 7X points on select travel Including flights booked directly with airlines or AmexTravel.com and car rentals booked directly with select car rental companies. 7X points on dining at U.S. restaurants, including takeout and delivery. 3X points for each dollar spent on other eligible purchases.
Recommended Credit Score
A FICO score/credit score is used to represent the creditworthiness of a person and may be one indicator to the credit type you are eligible for. However, credit score alone does not guarantee or imply approval for any financial product.
Annual fee
Intro offer
Earn 185,000 Marriott Bonvoy® bonus points after you use your new Card to make $6,000 in purchases within the first 6 months of Card Membership.
Rewards rate
Earn 6X Marriott Bonvoy® points for each dollar of eligible purchases at hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy®. 3X Marriott Bonvoy® points at restaurants worldwide and on flights booked directly with airlines. 2X Marriott Bonvoy® points on all other eligible purchases made on the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card.
Recommended Credit Score
A FICO score/credit score is used to represent the creditworthiness of a person and may be one indicator to the credit type you are eligible for. However, credit score alone does not guarantee or imply approval for any financial product.
Annual fee
Intro offer
Earn 80,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $8,000 on eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership.
Rewards rate
Earn 5X Membership Rewards® Points for flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel up to $500,000 on these purchases per calendar year. Earn 5X Membership Rewards® Points on prepaid hotels booked with American Express Travel.
Recommended Credit Score
A FICO score/credit score is used to represent the creditworthiness of a person and may be one indicator to the credit type you are eligible for. However, credit score alone does not guarantee or imply approval for any financial product.
Best cards to pair with the Hilton Amex Aspire
Since the key benefit of holding this card is earning points toward free hotel rooms for your everyday spending and on-site credits, you might pair this card with one that can help you reduce travel costs in other ways — either through earning more Hilton Honors points or earning cash back to help you save elsewhere.
Who is the Hilton Amex Aspire Card right for?
Even if the Hilton Amex Aspire is the right choice for some, it may not be useful to all cardholders.
Bankrate’s Take — Is the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire worth it?
If you can take advantage of the Hilton Honors points, airline credits and Hilton resort credits each year, the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire card is absolutely worth holding. This card is great for frequent travelers who only want one high-end card, fans of Hilton hotels, families who take resort vacations yearly and anyone who can take advantage of the over $500 in credits offered to cardholders. Combined with Diamond elite status for the life of the card, there’s a lot to appreciate with this card.
But before you add this card to your wallet, be sure that you can use the points you are earning. If you aren’t committed to regularly staying at Hilton hotels, these points won’t add up to a lot of value for your spending. If you are motivated by overall rewards value instead of Hilton stays, you may be better served by a cash back or flexible points credit card.
For rates and fees of Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card, please click here.
For rates and fees of The Platinum Card® from American Express, please click here.
All information about the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Credit Card has been collected independently by Bankrate and has not been reviewed or approved by the issuer.
How we rated this card
We rate credit cards using a proprietary card scoring system that ranks each card’s estimated average rewards rate, estimated annual earnings, welcome bonus value, APR, fees, perks and more against those of other cards in its primary category.
Each card feature is assigned a weighting based on how important it is to people looking for a card in a given category. These features are then scored based on how they rank relative to the features on other cards in the category. Based on these calculations, each card receives an overall rating of 1-5 stars (with 5 being the highest possible score and 1 being the lowest).
We analyzed over 150 of the most popular rewards and cash back cards to determine where each stacked up based on their value, cost, benefits and more. Here are some of the key factors that influenced this card’s overall score and how the score influenced our review:
Frequently asked questions
What cardholders think
Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card
In May 2024, Bankrate collaborated with third-party SliceMR to survey 6160 cardholders nationwide. Bankrate and Slice MR collected, averaged and presented website analytics and cardholder responses to six questions on a 5-point scale. Responses are based on individual cardholder’s product details, and therefore cannot be verified for accuracy. User ratings are unedited and have not been reviewed or approved by credit card issuers, nor do these ratings reflect Bankrate’s own reviews of these cards.
Community Reviews
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Editorial Disclosure: Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, and have not been reviewed or approved by any advertiser. The information, including card rates and fees, is accurate as of the publish date. All products or services are presented without warranty. Check the bank’s website for the most current information.
