Decision Time: Am I Keeping My Hilton Aspire Card?
Hey friends, Phillip here from Points of Phillip! Today, I'm wrestling with a tough decision: what to do about my Hilton Aspire card. The $550 annual fee just hit my account, and it's got me seriously thinking about whether to keep it, cancel it, or downgrade.
It's not a light decision. I genuinely love this card, but $550 is a significant expense. Let's break down the Hilton Aspire card and see if it's worth it for me.
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Hilton Aspire Card: The Basics
First, let's talk about the current offer: You can earn 175,000 Hilton points after spending $6,000 in the first six months of card membership. This offer is valid until January 14th, giving you some time to consider.
The Annual Fee: $550
Earning Potential:
14x Hilton Points at Hilton Properties: This, combined with Diamond status, gives you a total of 34x points per dollar at Hilton! That's insane! Last summer, my wife and I spent $600 on dinner at the Waldorf Astoria Orlando and earned a huge number of points.
7x Points on Flights Booked Directly with Airlines or on AmexTravel.com:
7x Points on Car Rentals Booked Directly with Select Rental Car Companies:
7x Points on Dining: A pretty solid earner for a travel card, if you're traveling somewhere that accepts American Express.
3x Points on Everything Else:
This card can be a great earner if you're deeply invested in the Hilton ecosystem and prefer Hilton points over transferable currencies.
A quick note: While the Aspire earns 7x on dining, the Amex Gold card earns 4x Amex points, which can be transferred to Hilton at a 1:2 ratio, effectively giving you 8x Hilton points. Something to consider!
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Back to the Aspire: Credits and Benefits
What do you get for that $550 annual fee?
$400 in Hilton Resort Credit: This comes in two installments: $200 from January to June, and $200 from July to December. You must use this at participating Hilton Resorts (check the list on Hilton's website) and book the Hilton Honors rate (not a prepaid rate). I consistently get full value from this by staying at the Waldorf Astoria Orlando.
$200 in Flight Credits: Distributed as $50 per quarter, and it's flexible! Taxes and fees, bag fees, and even Breeze Airways tickets have all coded for me.
Complimentary CLEAR Membership: While I don't value this at the full $189, it's beneficial to me.
Adding it up, these credits alone total over $700, surpassing the annual fee!
The Kicker: The Free Night Award
Hilton's free night certificates have no point cap, as long as it's a standard award night. This is huge, especially considering Hilton's recent devaluations. Some properties can cost 200,000+ points per night, but with a free night award, it doesn't matter. I'm planning to get a second Aspire next year for a trip to Edinburgh, where two free nights will be incredibly valuable.
Hilton Honors Diamond Status:
This is where the real magic happens. During a stay at the Conrad in London, St. James, my Diamond status got me free hot breakfast (beyond the continental options) and access to the executive lounge, saving me hundreds of pounds per night. If you travel internationally and stay at hotels with lounges, Diamond status is a game-changer.
National Car Rental Emerald Club Executive Status:
This is HUGE for car rentals. Let me paint a picture:
Last weekend, my wife and I flew into Atlanta. The sky train to the rental car complex was packed. But because of my National Executive status, we skipped the counters and went straight to the Executive Aisle, where we could pick any car we wanted from the elite tier.
While everyone else was fighting for cars, we were able to drive away with a Hyundai Tucson.
National with the Hilton Aspire card is insane, right? Some here aren't people that rent cars, right, when you travel. That's fine. But if you're traveling in the United States, uh domestically, then you probably odds are you will need a car unless you're going to like New York or downtown Chicago or something like that. But most of the time you will need a rental car and national with the Hilton Aspire card gets it done. It just it just gets it done, right? Plus, then you also get some uh protections.
Other Perks:
No Foreign Transaction Fees
Car Rental Loss and Damage Insurance
Trip Delay and Cancellation Insurance
Cell Phone Protection
This card is amazing.
The Verdict: Keep, Cancel, or Downgrade?
So, what did I decide? I'm keeping the Aspire card.
Here's why:
I'm flying to South Carolina next month, and I've already used this quarter's airline credit.
My wife and I are staying at the Hilton Caribe in Puerto Rico, and the resort credit will cover one night.
Simply put, it's easy for me to extract value from this card.
However, if you're not interested in using the resort credits, consider the Hilton Surpass card. It has Hilton credits ($50 each quarter) that are easier to use because they apply to prepaid rates. But $150, it's hard to argue. There's a lot of value there. But anyway, if you only go on a trip once a year, then the Surpass card might not be the best one for you.
Let me know in the comments below what you think!