Link: Apply now for the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card
The Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card (review) is Hilton’s most premium co-branded credit card, and there are all kinds of reasons to consider picking it up.
While the card has a steep $550 annual fee, I find that to be easy to justify, thanks to benefits like an annual free night award, up to $400 in annual Hilton resort credits, up to $200 in annual flight credits, and more.
Arguably the biggest selling point of this card is how it can help you earn elite status, as having this card gives you top tier Hilton Honors™ Diamond Status. In this post, I want to take a closer look at how that works.
In this post:
Hilton Honors Aspire Card Diamond status basics
The Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card offers Diamond elite status for as long as you have the card:
- This is only available to the basic cardmember, and not to any authorized users
- There’s nothing you need to do to register, but rather the status automatically posts to the Hilton Honors account provided at the time of application
- Officially, it can take 8-12 weeks for Diamond status to post to an eligible account, though in reality, most people report the status posting within a few days of account approval, around the same time the card arrives in the mail
- The status is valid year-after-year, for as long as you maintain the card, and there’s nothing you need to do to re-register
- Officially, the Diamond status is cancelled immediately if you cancel the card, though anecdotally many report the status remains valid for 90 days after closing the account
- Diamond status ordinarily requires 60 nights, 30 stays, or 120,000 base points, per year; if you earn status through the card then you receive Diamond status, but you don’t receive the corresponding nights, stays, or base points
- Lifetime Diamond status requires 10 years of Diamond plus either 1,000 elite nights or two million base points (equivalent of $200,000 of spending); while having a credit card can help you toward the requirement of having status for 10 years, it doesn’t help toward the requirement for elite nights or base points
Hilton Diamond elite status benefits basics
Diamond elite is Hilton Honors’ top tier elite status. It’s pretty great to get that just for having a credit card, though also manage your expectations when it comes to the execution of perks. Here are the most significant Hilton Diamond elite perks, as I see them:
- Room upgrades subject to availability, including to standard suites; however, these upgrades are at the discretion of the hotel, rather than promised based on availability
- Complimentary breakfast at select brands, or a food & beverage credit in the United States; executive lounge access is also offered at most brands, if available
- A 100% points bonus; with Hilton Honors, points really rack up quickly, especially with the constant global promotions
As is the case with virtually any hotel loyalty program, you’ll find that elite recognition differs greatly around the globe. In the United States, I basically just expect the food & beverage credit, and little more. Meanwhile in the Middle East, Asia, etc., I’ve generally had awesome experiences, with amazing breakfasts, nice club lounges, and generous suite upgrades.
My take on the value of Hilton Aspire Card Diamond status
I’ve had the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card for years, and find that it represents a great value. Quite honestly, I easily recoup the card’s annual fee on the annual free night award alone, as I’m consistently able to redeem it at a property costing well over $550 (the card’s annual fee). The up to $400 in Hilton resort credits and up to $200 in flight credits only add even more incremental value.
Then there’s Hilton Diamond elite status. With my hotel elite status strategy, Hilton isn’t my primary hotel group. It’s not even my backup hotel group, but instead, it’s typically my third pick (after World of Hyatt and Marriott Bonvoy).
To be perfectly honest, I largely avoid Hilton Honors properties in the United States, since elite recognition just generally isn’t good in the US (there’s no full breakfast, late check-out isn’t guaranteed, etc.). So a vast majority of my Hilton Honors stays are in the Middle East and Asia, where I find elite recognition to be excellent.
Not only do you typically receive an amazing breakfast, but I also get suite upgrades more often than not. So while I could ultimately live without Hilton Diamond elite status, I find it to be worthwhile, especially since it’s costing me virtually nothing, based on how I account for the cost of the annual fee on the card.
If you stay at Hiltons with any frequency, particularly outside the United States, you should find Diamond to be pretty valuable.
Bottom line
The Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card is a lucrative credit card. The card offers a variety of perks, from an annual free night award, to up to $400 in annual Hilton resort credits, to up to $200 in annual flight credits. On top of that, the card offers the program’s top tier Diamond status, which is a pretty awesome benefit just for being a cardmember. If you stay at Hiltons with any frequency, then I think this is a card that’s worth having.
What’s your take on the Diamond status perks offered by the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card?
This is the best and most honest evaluation of the Aspire card that I've read on any blog. Well done! The card pays for itself if you travel outside of the US, especially if you use the free night at aspirational properties. For ordinary personal and business travel within the USA, Diamond status doesn't mean much: Hilton closed most of their US lounges and downgraded the remaining few to pretzels and water. The "breakfast credits"...
This is the best and most honest evaluation of the Aspire card that I've read on any blog. Well done! The card pays for itself if you travel outside of the US, especially if you use the free night at aspirational properties. For ordinary personal and business travel within the USA, Diamond status doesn't mean much: Hilton closed most of their US lounges and downgraded the remaining few to pretzels and water. The "breakfast credits" usually cover less than the cost of breakfast. Room upgrades and late checkouts are about as common as unicorns and Bigfoot.
You've given a balanced assessment of the card's strengths. We appreciate it!
You are most correct best for international travel. One thing I am sick of is USA's domestic carriers and hotels outside of a place like say Vegas are no where near as attractive as those same chains found internationally. Marriot Courtyard in USA can be very run of the mill. Marriot Courtyard outside of USA is often top notch.
Some of the international Hyatt properties are very interesting and appealing from a Chicago architecture standpoint, but I lived in the same neighborhood as one of the Pritzker heirs and simply can't spend any money with Hyatt. When you see the consequences, I really mean it.
I have been trying some smaller chains in California recently, Ayer and Sonesta and having some nice experiences. Hilton properties out west will often allow you to select a...
Some of the international Hyatt properties are very interesting and appealing from a Chicago architecture standpoint, but I lived in the same neighborhood as one of the Pritzker heirs and simply can't spend any money with Hyatt. When you see the consequences, I really mean it.
I have been trying some smaller chains in California recently, Ayer and Sonesta and having some nice experiences. Hilton properties out west will often allow you to select a much better location than the other chains, but it's no guarantee, there are many franchisers.
I've been trying one of the newer Hilton brands in Asia for low cost transit hotels, and the franchiser in this case is probably the best small hotel operator in the world. I'm running up a bunch of Hilton points recently, and mostly inadvertently, though I'm having a really fine time in some of the luxury Accor properties.
I noticed this week that that Vietnam Airlines is running status matching promotions for most of the major hotel programs. On Skyteam I'm already spread thinly across 5 programs, so getting a basic upgrade on Vietnam Airlines might be nice as I consider switching back to Delta for domestic travel.
You nailed it Ben. For international travel, it's a great card. The resort credits and airline credits have gotten a little annoying to use, especially with every other card also moving to this model, but the free night certificate is still best in class.
I 100% agree!
THIS Hilton card from AmEx is worth the high annual cost of it.
Since at least 8 years by now i used my free night certificates (at the beginning only free Weekends, but now EVERYDAY as long as “STANDARD” Award is avlb. ) and since SLH has joined Hilton Honors too, it’s absolutely a win!
Just returned from 2 SLH in Mykonos & Santorini, not only did we get...
I 100% agree!
THIS Hilton card from AmEx is worth the high annual cost of it.
Since at least 8 years by now i used my free night certificates (at the beginning only free Weekends, but now EVERYDAY as long as “STANDARD” Award is avlb. ) and since SLH has joined Hilton Honors too, it’s absolutely a win!
Just returned from 2 SLH in Mykonos & Santorini, not only did we get the free night with the 4 collected awards (average each night cost more than €840,-!!! in June) and we got benefits in each property, that even the high rank Hilton brands could learn from SLH!
Upgrades, SPA discounts, late(LATE!!!) free check out till 18:00 (6pm) :-o, Bottle of full size local wine, Chocolate, Fruits as well as fair well presents too. WOW, tell that to Hyatt, Jumeirah or St. Regis ….
This Hilton AmEx card is my favorite, after the AmEx Platinum (US) card in terms of being worth paying a hefty annual fee for it!
VERY pleased with it!
If you know how to use those free night certificates clever! and also plan clever plus apply in the summer and ask Hilton to extend your award by just a couple of weeks, you have 2 in 1 year plus is you’re a BIG spender and reach the level of getting an added certificate for your annual spending, it’s worth a LOT more than you pay on the annual fee!
100% recommend it!
This comment is a prime example of YMMV and why you can't dismiss a program or card outright just because it doesn't fit your individual use case. Awesome redemption!