Having recently revisited the Marriott Bonvoy credit card scheme, I thought this would be a good time to now checkout the Hilton credit cards. I decided this time to start with the top-tier Hilton Aspire credit card because it’s a card that I’ve been considering picking up for myself for some time now. Like other credit cards, in the ~3 years since I last posted about this card, the annual fee has increased to $550 (from $450). The Aspire card definitely does not come cheap but is packed with benefits to help justify the high fee. But is it worth getting and holding onto with its higher annual fee?
This blog is for entertainment purposes only and is not financial advice. I provide the information here just to give readers a vague idea if the rewards offered by the card might make sense for them to consider the card. The information on this page has been collected independently, and all information should be confirmed with the card company before applying.
Welcome Offer
At the time of posting, the Hilton Aspire credit card has a welcome offer of 175 000 Hilton points after you spend $6 000 on purchases within the first 6 months of account opening. This higher welcome offer is only available for a limited time, but it doesn’t actually seem to be the highest offer that can be found on this card. Though at the time of posting, this is the highest welcome offer offered on any Hilton card (which is how it’s supposed to work).
Hilton points are not a particularly valuable currency, however, and have a value of around 0.5 ¢/pt, which is lower than another other rewards currency we’ve discussed on this blog. 175 000 Hilton points have a value of around $875, which isn’t bad for a $550 annual fee card, but it’s spectacular either. The lack of value for the welcome offer is really just that Hilton points are not that valuable. That being said, the card offers a free night award on account opening and then each renewal year. So I would argue the free night award should be considered part of the welcome offer (which can improve the welcome offer value substantially if you find a good use for it).
Earnings
The Hilton Aspire card has two bonus categories that are relatively standard for a co-branded travel card. The first bonus category is on Hilton purchases; the card offers 14x points/$ at Hilton hotels, which is a return of around 7%, and these points are on top of the standard points earned at a Hilton hotel. The second bonus category covers dining in the US and select travel (flights, car rentals); the card offers 7x points/$ in this category, for a return of around 3.5%. All other purchases earn 3x points/$, for a return of around 1.5%. For a $550 annual fee card, the Hilton category is strong, but the other categories are mediocre at best. With the increase in annual fee, the points earnings didn’t increase, so that means that the extra annual fee needs to be paid off through the cards benefits.
Marriott really should take note of how much stronger Hilton’s credit card points game is; all Marriott cards with an annual fee earn the same 6x points/$, which seems like a missed opportunity to scale it up.
Benefits
As one would expect with a premium, $550 annual fee travel credit card, the benefits this card offers are strong. The card offers substantial benefits with Hilton: complimentary Diamond (top-tier) Status, an annual free night award (plus the possibility of a second one after spending $60 000 on the card), a $400 Hilton resort statement credit ($200 semi-annually), a $200 flight credit ($50/quarter), and a Clear membership. The card also offers a $100 property credit at top-tier Waldorf Astoria and Conrad resorts and hotels, just like Marriott’s top tier The Ritz-Carlton Card and Bonvoy Brilliant.
Diamond status offers strong perks, including 100% bonus points, a free breakfast benefit, space-available upgrades, and Hotel lounge access. The annual free night award is arguably the strongest benefit of this card: it can be used at (virtually) any Hilton hotel on a weekend night, and can alone justify the annual fee in some cases. The $400 Hilton resort credit is now more straightforward to use: it will work on any standard (i.e. non-advance purchase) room rate or incidentals charge, but it does have to be a Hilton resort (which does not generally fit my hotel patterns currently). The $100 property credit is similar but harder to use, and so I don’t really value it on this card (or on the Marriott cards). The $200 flight credit replaces the former airline fee credit and is now more straightforward to use: $50/quarter on incidentals or airfare.
So what got added with the extra $100 annual fee? $200 in extra resort credits, the $250 airline fee credit became a $200 flight credit, and the Clear membership got added. I find Clear largely useless; it seems like it only continues to exist because of credit card partnerships.
The card also offers Priority Pass Select membership, which is pretty standard on top tier credit cards, but like all Amex-sponsored memberships, it does not include restaurants, only lounges. If you already have a premium travel credit card, this perk does not offer much, if any, incremental value.
How to use the points
The main use for Hilton points is to redeem them for stays at Hilton hotels. Hilton has a substantial global footprint and some great aspirational properties. Hilton, like Marriott, uses dynamic pricing for award stays, so availability is great, but the nights often require 100k+ points.
Examples of using the card
These examples assume you spend all your hotel budget at Hilton.
Spend per month
| Example A | Example B | Example C | Example D | |||||
| Groceries (3x) | $300 | 900 | $200 | 600 | $600 | 1 800 | $400 | 1 200 |
| Gas (3x) | $0 | 0 | $100 | 300 | $200 | 600 | $100 | 300 |
| Airfare (7x) | $700 | 4 900 | $200 | 1 400 | $0 | 0 | $400 | 2 800 |
| Hotels (14x) | $1 000 | 14 000 | $200 | 2 800 | $0 | 0 | $300 | 4 200 |
| Gen Travel (3x) | $400 | 1 200 | $0 | 0 | $300 | 900 | $100 | 300 |
| Dining (7x) | $600 | 4 200 | $300 | 2 100 | $300 | 2 100 | $0 | 0 |
| General (3x) | $1 000 | 3 000 | $500 | 1 500 | $500 | 1 500 | $400 | 1 200 |
| Total | $4 000 | 27 300 | $1 500 | 8 700 | $1 700 | 6 900 | $1 700 | 10 000 |
| Average points/$ | 6.83 | 5.80 | 4.06 | 5.88 |
The Hilton Honors card’s very specific but huge bonus category multipliers mean that the average points earned has an extremely large range of 4.06 – 6.83 points/$, which is worth 2.03 – 3.41 ¢/$, with the valuation of 0.5 ¢/point. The low value of Hilton points means that although this card offers a high number of points/$, the overall return is substantially more in-line with what would be expected for a cobranded card.
Specific examples
These examples include the bonus points earned from getting Hilton Diamond status from the card.
| Card | American Airlines Economy Class ($750) (% return) | Hilton Hotel night ($230/night) | Points values (AA/Hotel) |
| No rewards card | 3 500 AA miles (7%) | 2 000 HP (4.3%) | $52.50 / $10.00 |
| General 2% cashback card | 3 500 AA miles + $15 (9%) | 2 000 HP + $4.60 (5.3%) | $67.50 / $14.60 |
| Chase Sapphire Preferred | 3 500 AA miles + 1 500 UR points (10%) | 2 000 HP + 460 UR points (9.1%) | $75.00 / $16.90 |
| Hilton Amex Card | 3 500 AA miles + 2 250 Hilton points (8.5%) | 4 010 Hilton points (%) | $63.75 / $20.05 |
| Hilton Aspire Card | 3 500 AA miles + 5 250 Hilton points (10.5%) | 7 220 Hilton points (10.9%) | $78.75 / $36.10 |
Is this credit card right for you?
Like the other Hilton co-branded cards, this card can definitely make sense if you stay at Hiltons will any frequency. The airline credit is relatively straightforward to use, and the resort credit is pretty good. Combined those two credits offer $650 of value (vs a $550) if you’re able to maximize them. The free night award should also be straightforward to get $200+ value off, so it’s relatively easy to make the card work in principle assuming that staying at a resort a couple times per year is part of your travel plans. The Diamond Status offered off the card is good and can give you a total of over 30 pts per dollar spent, which is great. But Hilton has recently added the Diamond Reserve status above Diamond, so it may be that Diamond status loses some of its sheen over the next two years. Currently, I stay at Hilton resorts once per year, but I think in 2027 that might increase to *two* that year, which might make this card make sense. I haven’t decided yet though! Maybe Hilton can wow me over from Marriott (I’m definitely open to it…).
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