How I got nearly $5,000 in value from my first month with the Hilton Aspire

There are plenty of reasons why the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card consistently ranks among our favorite hotel credit cards and is one of the best overall travel credit cards.

Not only does the card confer automatic top-tier Hilton Honors Diamond status as long as your card account is open, but cardmembers also receive a free night award certificate each account year, plus annual statement credits that can add up to tremendous value.

The information for the Hilton Aspire card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

American Express touts that you can get over $750 in value from the card each year, but I was able to squeeze even more savings out of it than that just within my first month as a cardmember by applying at the right time and using it for the right expenses.

Here’s how I got nearly $5,000 in value from the Hilton Honors American Express Card within one month of opening it.

Applying at the right time: Bonus points and statement credits

I signed up for the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card in December. Based on some trip plans and other expenses, I had no trouble spending the $6,000 in purchases within six months required to earn the welcome offer of 180,000 bonus points it offered at the time — slightly higher than the current offer of 175,000 bonus points after making $6,000 in purchases in the first six months of card membership.

Typically, we don’t talk much about getting a new card at the end of the calendar year, but it can really pay off. The automatic Hilton Honors Diamond status I received as an Aspire cardmember helped me maximize a holiday trip to the Waldorf Astoria Los Cabos Pedregal, and I was able to take advantage of certain statement credits the card offers both before the end of 2023 and then again in January 2024.

The card recently changed the terms and conditions of various statement credits it offers in addition to raising its annual fee to $550 (see rates and fees). However, I was still able to maximize some of the old benefits along with the new ones, thanks to my late-in-the-year application and my trip to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.

Although we’re just over two months into 2024 now, it’s never too early to look ahead toward your credit card strategy for the end of the year as those elite status windows close and you consider where your points or miles might come in handy for holiday travel.

The end of the year can be a great time to open a new credit card since you can often double dip on statement credits that reset quarterly or based on the calendar year. It also happens to be a time of higher-than-usual spending for many folks, thanks to travel expenses and holiday purchases, which can help you meet the minimum spending requirements for a welcome offer.

Here is the total tally for the value I was able to get from the card between when I applied in mid-December and a month later in mid-January.

Resort statement credits: $450

Through the end of 2023, the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire offered up to $250 in statement credits each calendar year toward eligible purchases at participating Hilton resorts (you can find the whole list here).

As of 2024, this statement has morphed into a credit of up to $400 on eligible purchases at participating Hilton resorts each calendar year — $200 in the first six months and another $200 in the second six months.

My stay at the Waldorf Astoria Los Cabos Pedregal was from Dec. 24 to 29, 2023, and although it was an award stay that did not incur any room charges, the meals, activities and other purchases I made during my stay counted toward last year’s statement credit.

Then, I had to make a quick trip to San Diego to visit family the second week in January, so I stayed at the Hilton San Diego/Del Mar, another eligible resort. Room rates were just over $200 at the time, so I saved that amount on my stay.

All told, I had just gotten $450 in statement credits toward hotel stays I would have had to book anyway, all within the first few weeks of having the card.

But I wasn’t done yet.

An extra award night: $600

My holiday trip to Cabo was planned at rather the last minute (basically at the same time as when I got my new Hilton Honors Aspire Card).

Even down to the wire, there were standard award nights available at the hotel for 120,000 points each. That meant my five-night stay would have cost 600,000 Hilton Honors points.

However, thanks to the elite status conferred by my new Aspire card, I was able to take advantage of Hilton’s fifth-night-free benefit for elite members redeeming points (on stays of up to 20 nights).

Rather than redeeming the total number of points for all five nights of a stay and being refunded for your fifth night, Hilton instead prices the whole stay for the number of points you’d need for four nights. That meant I only needed 480,000 points for my vacation.

TPG values Hilton Honors points at 0.6 cents apiece, so the 120,000 points I saved thanks to my newfound Diamond status courtesy of the Aspire would amount to $720 in value.

I look at it more conservatively, though, by saying that Hilton often offers 100% bonuses on points purchases. You could buy 120,000 points for just $600 during one of these promotions. So, that’s the dollar amount I’ll peg this benefit at for now. It’s still a tremendous amount of value and alone was worth more than the card’s $550 annual fee.

Room upgrade: $1,150

My award reservation at the Waldorf Astoria Los Cabos Pedregal was for a standard Pacific View Room with a plunge pool and a terrace. However, within a few days of making my reservation, I received a notification that I’d been upgraded to an Ocean View Room (also with a plunge pool and a terrace).

The rooms aren’t drastically different since they’re the same size and offer the same amenities. Still, they are on opposite sides of the property, and the Ocean View category is slightly closer to the water, providing a view of the beach and the Pacific rather than one of the guest pools.

For the dates I was there, Hilton was selling the Ocean View accommodations for about $230 more per night than the Pacific View category, which meant I was getting an extra $1,150 in value over the course of five nights thanks to my Aspire-conferred Diamond status.

Breakfast credits: $370

Having Hilton Honors Diamond status means you get a daily food and beverage credit at most participating hotels in the U.S. and complimentary continental breakfast for two daily at participating hotels outside the U.S.

At the Waldorf Astoria Los Cabos Pedregal, the continental breakfast my partner and I were entitled to based on status was worth $34 per person. It included fresh pastries, a main yogurt dish with granola, oatmeal, cereal, fruit plates, coffee or tea, and a fresh juice of the day. Over the course of five days, this benefit saved us $340.

Then, at the Hilton San Diego/Del Mar, we received $15 per person in dining and beverage credits, which we put toward breakfast on the single morning of our stay, netting us another $30 in value.

Airline fee credits: $100

The Hilton Honors Aspire offers up to $200 in annual airline fee credits. You receive up to $50 in statement credits each calendar quarter for airfare purchases on flights made directly with the airline or through AmexTravel.com.

Shortly after receiving my card in December, I redeemed Etihad Guest miles for an award that also carried a few hundred dollars in fees and taxes, $50 of which was promptly credited back to my Aspire account within about a week of making the charge.

Then, early in January, I made another award redemption, this time for tickets to South America on LATAM for later in the year. The booking came with award fees of $98 total for two tickets, $50 of which was returned to me as a statement credit.

Because I used my card to pay for the taxes and fees for these trips, they should be covered by the Hilton Aspire’s various travel protections including trip cancellation and interruption insurance worth up to $10,000 per trip and $20,000 per eligible card per 12-consecutive-month period*; trip delay insurance* of up to $500 per trip with a maximum of two claims per eligible card per consecutive 12-month period; and baggage insurance** of up to $3,000 for checked and carry-on baggage in case my luggage goes missing.

All told, I already got $100 back in airline fee credits, though I’m going to have to remember to use this benefit quarterly to take full advantage of it — a minor but inconvenient hoop to jump through.

*Eligibility and benefit level varies by card. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for details. Policies are underwritten by New Hampshire Insurance Company, an AIG Company.

**Eligibility and benefit level varies by card. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for details. Policies are underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company.

Free night certificate: $2,270

I have also tentatively redeemed my Hilton Honors Aspire annual free night certificate to maximum effect. This certificate is only valid for standard night awards (meaning it can’t be used for upgraded rooms or suites) at nearly any Hilton property worldwide.

At the Waldorf Astoria Seychelles Platte Island, which is one of the most exciting hotels opening this year, standard awards are a whopping 130,000 points per night for a King Deluxe Room, but since that’s the standard, my free night certificate is still valid. And thanks to the spending I did on my card in the first month, plus the welcome bonus it earned me (yes, in the first month!) and a few thousand Hilton points I had stashed away, I have enough points (260,000) for another two nights at the hotel.

Paid rates for those same nights are a staggering $2,270 each, so my free night certificate is worth almost as much as the combined value of all the other benefits I’ve taken advantage of so far.

Keep in mind, Hilton Aspire cardmembers can earn a second free night certificate after spending $30,000 on purchases with the card in a calendar year and another free night certificate if they spend $60,000 in purchases on the card in a calendar year … though I probably won’t hit those marks.

Unused benefits (so far)

I’m doing pretty well so far, but I haven’t even unlocked some of the card’s other savings.

One of the Hilton Honors Aspire perks I haven’t leveraged yet is a statement credit of up to $189 per year when using the card to pay for a Clear Plus membership. I plan to do that in the next few weeks, though, so I can get through airport security faster.

I’ll also be keeping an eye on the value I might be able to reap from things like upgrades and preferred rentals thanks to the card’s complimentary National Emerald Club Executive status (after enrollment in the Emerald Club program — terms apply).

And I may choose to pay my cellphone bill with the card since it offers cellphone protection for repair or theft of the device up to a maximum of $800 per claim, with a limit of two approved claims within a 12-month period and a $50 deductible per claim.

Another perk I intend to use is the up-to-$100 Hilton on-property credit that cardholders receive when booking at least a two-night paid stay at eligible Waldorf Astoria or Conrad properties through HiltonHonors.com/aspirecard (or via phone with the booking code “ZZAAP1”). It can be used toward incidentals (not room charges) during your stay.

Plus, I’ve already received some great Amex Offers on my card that I intend to trigger imminently, including $25 back on a bill of $125 or more at one of my favorite sushi restaurants in Los Angeles and $10 off a Macy’s purchase of $60 or more, so I’ll be keeping an eye out for other dining, shopping and travel offers.

Bottom line

Thanks to its plethora of perks, the Hilton Honors Aspire Card is among the best travel credit cards. Not only does it offer hundreds of dollars in annual statement credits for things like resort stays and airline fees, but by leveraging its other benefits like free night certificates and Hilton Diamond elite status cleverly, you can glean hundreds — or even thousands— of dollars more in value from the card each year.

My only regret is not getting the card sooner so that I could have been taking advantage of these benefits for a longer time. That said, I think I’m still doing pretty well for less than three months in, and the value I was able to get from it just within the first month has convinced me to keep it for the foreseeable future.

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For rates and fees of the Hilton Honors Aspire Card, click here.