On October 19, 2023, American Express announced a refreshed version of the Hilton Honors Aspire® Card. The card used to be an absolute no-brainer for almost everyone. Now it comes with an increased annual fee and resort and airline credits that are tougher to use. Additionally, Priority Pass will no longer be a benefit as of February 1, 2024. On the positive side, Amex has added a few new and potentially exciting perks like an annual $189 CLEAR reimbursement and cell phone protection.

This can still be a valuable card to keep if you can utilize the credits and take advantage of the new benefits. However, I don’t think it’s still a no-brainer card for everyone. As has been the case for some time, American Express offers three personal Hilton Honors credit cards to choose from.

• Hilton Honors Card (no annual fee)
• Hilton Honors Surpass® Card (mid-tier card; $150 annual fee)
• Hilton Honors Aspire® Card (premium card; $550 annual fee)

Which Hilton card is right for you? See a side by side comparison of all three cards.

The Aspire Card is a premium product, as evidenced by the annual fee. However, if you you stay at Hilton Hotels at least a few times a year and can use the available credits, this card can provide a terrific value that outweighs the cost. On top of earning 180,000 Hilton Honors points after meeting the minimum spending requirements, you also get perks such as $400 in Hilton resort credits, $200 in flight credits and the ability to spend your way to earn up to two free night certificates annually.

Who is this card for?

Quite simply, if stay at Hilton Hotels at least a few times a year and can make use of the available credits, then you should own this card. Even with a $550 annual fee, the benefits can certainly go further than the annual fee. The highlights are a $200 annual (calendar year) flight credit and a $400 annual (card anniversary year) Hilton resort statement credit. You also get a free night certificate each year of card membership (with the ability to earn an additional night after spending $30,000, and another one after spending $60,000 in purchases on the card in a calendar year).

You can apply for the Hilton Honors Aspire Card from American Express here.

Card Features

Bonus Offer

You’ll earn 180,000 bonus points after you spend $6,000 on purchases in the first six months. That’s good enough for a free night at a top-tier property or several nights at a lower-tier property.

Annual Fee

The card comes with a $550 annual fee (up from $450). At first, the fee seems steep, but there are lots of benefits available to help offset it. In fact, some people will be able to get much more than $550 in value from the card.

Earning Rates

The earnings rate on stays at Hilton properties are pretty incredible, so frequent stays at Hilton properties can quickly supercharge your points balance. You’ll earn:

• 14 points per $1 spent at Hilton properties
• 7 points per $1 spent on dining, airfare booked directly with airlines or amextravel.com and select car rental companies
• 3 points per $1 on all other spending

This card also comes with complimentary Hilton Honors Diamond status, which further enhances the earnings rate on Hilton stays. Diamond status earns a 100% bonus over Member status, which is 20 points per $1 spent. So when you combine the earnings rates from the card and status, you’ll earn 34 points for every dollar spent at Hilton properties.

If you have a Hilton points goal you are striving to achieve, then using this card to pay for dining, travel and car rentals can help you reach that goal pretty quickly.

However, if you have no goal in mind, you may want to think twice about using the card for anything other than Hilton stays. Dining, travel and car rental purchases should really be made with cards that earn transferable points like Chase Ultimate Rewards, American Express Membership Rewards or Citi ThankYou points. Those points are much more valuable than Hilton points and can be used in many different ways.

Redeeming Points

Hilton allows you to redeem points for gift cards, merchandise, and premium rooms. You can also transfer points to airlines at a rate of 10:1. None of these options are very enticing, in my opinion, so I would always look to redeem Hilton points for standard award nights.

Hilton now uses a variable award chart, so you can never be totally sure how much an award night is going to cost. However, you can get a pretty good idea by looking into some of your desired properties.

When searching a property, check the “Use Flexible Dates” box to see how much an award night will cost over several weeks. For example, the Hilton Austin will cost 70,000 per night anytime on dates in March 2024. Below is an example search of standard award night costs for the Hilton Austin.

You can also consider using Hilton’s Points & Money option which allows you to book a night using both points and cash. The tool has a convenient slider that shows you how much cash would be needed if you spend less points.

Card Benefits

Hilton Honors Diamond Status

As long as your account is open and in good standing, you’ll receive complimentary Hilton Honors Diamond Status. The perks of this status are the increased earnings rate on Hilton stays, lounge access, room upgrades and free breakfast.

Annual Free Nights

You’ll receive one free night reward, valid at almost any property in the Hilton portfolio, after opening your account and on your card-opening anniversary each year. Additionally, if you spend $30,000 in a calendar year, you can earn a second free night and if you spend $60,000 in a calendar year, you can earn a third free night.

Fifth Night Free

When redeeming points for a standard room award, every fifth night is free.

Priority Pass (Valid before February 1, 2024)

You and two guests can enjoy unlimited access to 1,200+ VIP airport lounges worldwide with Priority Pass™ Select. Additional guests will be charged $27 per lounge visit.

$400 Hilton Resort Credit

Each calendar year, you can receive up to $200 in semi-annual statement credits for eligible purchases at participating Hilton resorts. If you’re able to use this twice a year, that’s $400 back in statement credits. Credits will apply automatically when using your card to pay for your resort stay.

$200 Airline Flight Credit

Each calendar year, you can get up to $50 in statement credits each quarter, for a total of up to $200 back on eligible flight purchases.

$100 Property Credit at Waldorf Astoria and Conrad Hotels

When you book at least a 2 night stay with your card through HiltonHonors.com/AspireCard (or over the phone using code ZZAAP.), you’ll receive up to $100 in credit for qualifying charges at participating Waldorf Astoria and Conrad Hotels & Resorts. 

$189 CLEAR® Plus Credit

You can cover the cost of a CLEAR Plus Membership (excluding any applicable taxes and fees and subject to auto-renewal) with up to $189 in statement credits per calendar year.

National Car Rental® Emerald Club Executive® Status

Enjoy complimentary National Car Rental® Emerald Club Executive® status, including perks like Executive Area Access (for full-size reservations and above) in the USA and Canada. You must enroll in the National Car Rental Emerald Club Executive status through your American Express online account. 

Cell Phone Protection

When you pay your monthly cell phone bill with your card, you can get up to $800 per claim if your cell phone is damaged or stolen. Coverage is limited to 2 claims in a 12 month period and each claim has a $50 deductible.

No Foreign Transaction Fees

For those who travel internationally, this card does not charge foreign transaction fees.

Trip Cancellation/Trip Interruption Insurance

If your trip can’t start, is cut short or interrupted by sickness, severe weather or other covered situations, you can be reimbursed for prepaid, non-refundable travel expenses up to $10,000 per trip and up to $20,000 per eligible card per 12 consecutive month period.

Trip Delay Reimbursement

If a round-trip is paid for entirely with your eligible card and a covered reason delays your trip more than 6 hours, you and your family are covered for non-reimbursed expenses, such as meals and lodging, up to $500 per ticket. There’s a maximum of two claims per eligible card per 12 consecutive month period.

Other Travel Benefits

The card carries secondary collision damage waiver, lost baggage insurance and travel accident insurance. If you’re renting a car, you should always try to use a card that provides primary collision damage waiver like the Chase Sapphire Preferred® or Chase Sapphire Reserve®.

Amex Offers

Amex Offers is a free program that saves you money or earns you points on shopping, dining and more. You choose offers from brands you love and get discounts in the form of statement credits or as extra points.

To redeem an offer, simply select the offer you want to add to your card. Then use your card to pay and see the savings or points add up on your statement.

Purchase Protection

This benefit covers your new purchases for 90 days against damage or theft up to $10,000 per occurrence and $50,000 per account per calendar year. As always, make sure you read the fine print for benefit terms and conditions. But you’ll sleep easy knowing your new, big purchases are covered.

Extended Warranty Protection

With this benefit, you can extend the time period of the U.S. manufacturer’s warranty by one additional year. This applies to eligible warranties of five years or less. Coverage is limited to the actual amount charged on the card for the item, up to $10,000 per item and $50,000 per calendar year.

Who should look for another card?

While many people can find great value from this card, the $550 annual fee can feel quite steep to some. Those whose spending doesn’t justify the annual fee may want to focus on either the mid-tier Hilton Honors Surpass® Card or a flexible points card like the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card instead.

If the annual fee doesn’t bother you, but you don’t stay at Hilton properties much, the $695 per year Platinum Card® from American Express also has great benefits. It earns flexible American Express Membership Rewards points and if you needed to top off your Hilton points, you can transfer those to your Hilton account, as well as many other hotel chains and airlines.

There’s also the Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card, which has an identical $550 annual fee, great benefits and earns Chase Ultimate Rewards points. People who would rather collect flexible points like Membership Rewards or Ultimate Rewards, may prefer cards in those ecosystems.

Bottom Line

This premium card carries a high annual fee but also provides great value to those who travel frequently and stay at Hilton properties. If you’re able to use the Hilton resort credits, the flight credits and the annual free reward night, you can more than pay for the card’s annual fee each year.

When I applied for this card, it was for a specific short-term goal. However, the annual benefits have kept me as a cardholder. For my situation, I feel that the recent changes are more negative than positive, so I’ll need to consider whether I want to keep this card for the long-term.

Apply here for the Hilton Honors Aspire Card from American Express.