Updated on July 17, 2019

The Amex Hilton Aspire card is currently, hands down, the most valuable premium credit card in the American Express portfolio.  Let’s break this post down into 3 sections:

• New Cardmember signup bonus
• Ongoing perks
• Why the $250 airline fee credit is so valuable (especially now)

The annual fee is $450, which may seem high, but the benefits easily cover the costs…

 

Signup Bonus

Here is the current signup bonus that makes this card worth applying for:

• 150,000 Hilton Honors bonus points after $4,000 spend in first 3 months
• Free weekend night certificate at most Hilton properties (you get one now AND every year after renewal!)
  • Defined as Friday, Saturday or Sunday night
  • Excluded properties listed here
  • Yes, to repeat, you get one night NOW and every year you renew (not just upon renewal).

 

Ongoing Perks

Here are the ongoing perks that make this card worth holding onto long term:

• $250 resort credit per cardmember year
  • There is an extensive list of resorts where the credit can be applied (227 resorts as of today)
• $250 airline fee credit per calendar year
  • Works on AA gift cards – read more below
• Annual free weekend night certificate at any Hilton property (worth $450+)
  • Defined as Friday, Saturday or Sunday night stay
  • Excluded properties listed here
• Automatic Hilton Diamond status (top-tier)
  • It is pretty ridiculous that Hilton requires 60 nights (or 30 stays or 120k earned base points) in order to qualify for Diamond status… meanwhile Hilton gives it away for free so long as you hold the Amex Hilton Aspire card
  • Arguably, there isn’t significant value of Diamond status vs. Gold. The key differences for Diamond members:
    • Guaranteed Executive Lounge access – I wasn't granted lounge access during my most recent trip to Conrad Tokyo because the hotel was fully booked and I only have Hilton Gold status
    • Possibility of suite upgrades

There are other perks (such as Priority Pass Select, 14x earning potential, etc.) that I will not cover since they are low value in my book.

 

$250 Airline Fee Credit

The $250 airline fee credit perk is based on calendar year (as opposed to cardmember year). Applying for any Amex card that comes with airline fee credits (e.g. Amex Platinum) generally allows for the $250 credit to be earned twice in the cardmember's first year.  Be sure to check the CardMatch Tool to see if you are targeted for the 100k signup bonus for the Amex Platinum Personal card – this charge card also comes with airline fee credit, but only $200/calendar year.

 

$250 Airline Fee Credit Works on AA Gift Cards

The $250 airline fee credit was intended for incidentals such as baggage fees.  However, Amex continues to reimburse for gift cards for select airlines, including American Airlines.  Be sure to first select AA as your airline and then purchase AA gift cards in $100 increments or less.  There are reports that keeping the purchase at $100 or less is no longer necessary, but I recommend keeping this threshold just to be on the safe side.

**Make sure you select American Airlines as your Airline of Choice BEFORE you do this! This is easily done by using the American Express App, loading the Hilton card, then clicking Membership on the bottom menu.

 

Why Now Is the Ideal Time To Apply

Applying for the Amex Hilton Aspire card between mid to end of December allows you to use the $250 airline benefit 3x during the first cardmember year.

 

Is This Card a Keeper?

I plan to apply for the Amex Hilton Aspire card around 12/15/18 and yes, I do plan to keep the card long-term as long as the ongoing benefits do not get devalued.  The annual free weekend night certificate alone is worth $450+ in my book.  It allows for aspirational Hilton award bookings such as:

• Conrad Maldives
• Conrad Koh Samui

The $250 resort credit is just icing on the cake.

 

How To Signup

Below are 150K referral links from followers of this blog.  Feel free to post your referral link in the comments section.

• 150k Signup Link 1
• 150k Signup Link 2
• 150k Signup Link 3
• 150k Signup Link 4
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• 150k Signup Link 19
• 150k Signup Link 20
• 150k Signup Link 21
• 150k Signup Link 22
• 150k Signup Link 23

As mentioned above, be sure to check the CardMatch Tool to see if you are targeted for the 100k signup bonus for the Amex Platinum card, which, similar to the Amex Hilton Aspire card, comes with airline fee credits ($200 per calendar year).

I just got mine! Doesn't the nice glossy package make you feel special?