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Last week Amex announced some exciting new Hilton cards coming January 18th, 2018.
Earlier in the year, American Express announced that they would soon become the sole issuer of Hilton cards. This was a much needed win for Amex who lost out on the Costco deal to Citi/Visa and has faced increased competition in the luxury card market. The caché of carrying an Amex, and specifically a Platinum card, was no longer enough in a crowded and competitive market space. Whether this new suite of cards for Amex will result in financial win for Amex isn’t quite clear, but one card in particular is a HUGE win for the cardholder: The Aspire. Let’s take a closer look at these new cards, and how you can get top tier status by holding one of them!
The No Fee Card
A look at the benefits:
- 7X Hilton Honors Bonus Points at hotels and resorts in the Hilton portfolio worldwide
- 5X Hilton Honors Bonus Points at U.S. grocery stores, U.S. restaurants, and U.S. gas stations
- 3X Hilton Honors Bonus Points on all other eligible purchases
- Complimentary Hilton Honors Silver status; Earn Gold status after spending $20,000 in purchases on the Card in a calendar year
- No foreign transaction fees
- No annual fee
If you carry an Amex Hilton Surpass – you will soon be an Ascend cardholder
Foreign transaction fees removed, free hotel night after $15k spend, and gold status. Full benefits below:
- 12X Hilton Honors Bonus Points at hotels and resorts in the Hilton portfolio worldwide
- 6X Hilton Honors Bonus Points at U.S. grocery stores, U.S. restaurants, and U.S. gas stations
- 3X Hilton Honors Bonus Points on all other eligible purchases
- Complimentary Hilton Honors Gold status; Earn Diamond status after spending $40,000 in purchases on the Card in a calendar year
- One Weekend Night Reward at a hotel or resort in the Hilton portfolio after spending $15,000 in purchases on the Card in a calendar year
- 10 free Priority Pass™Lounge passes to ease the airport experience
- No foreign transaction fees
- $95 annual fee
HOLY SCHMOLY!!!! The Amex Hilton Aspire – Diamond status, $250 Airline Fee credit, priority pass, $250 Hilton resort credit, and a free weekend night. Every year you hold the card.
This is the home run card…scratch that: GRAND SLAM. I’ve been a diamond member for the past couple of years due to status matches, extensions, and overall luck. The status provides club lounge access, upgrades, increased earning rates, etc. $450 for that status alone would be a great deal. Throw in airline credits, priority pass, and a free weekend night? That’s incredible. They didn’t stop there – they also threw in a $250 annual resort credit – which can be applied to room rates if you pay with the card at check out. INSANE!
- 14X Hilton Honors Bonus Points at hotels and resorts in the Hilton portfolio worldwide
- 7X Hilton Honors Bonus Points on flights booked directly with airlines or amextravel.com, car rentals booked directly from select car rental companies and at U.S. restaurants
- 3X Hilton Honors Bonus Points on other purchases
- Complimentary Hilton Honors Diamond status
- One Weekend Night Reward at a hotel or resort in the Hilton portfolio with your new Card and each year of Card Membership
- A second Weekend Night Reward at a hotel or resort in the Hilton portfolio after spending $60,000 in purchases on the Card in a calendar year
- Unlimited Priority Pass™Lounge passes to ease the airport experience
- $250 Airline incidental fee statement credit
- $250 Hilton resort statement credit
- $100 on-property credit at Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts and Conrad Hotels & Resorts when booking the exclusive Aspire Card package
- Access to 24/7 American Express concierge
- No foreign transaction fees
- $450 annual fee
And a business version
- 12X Hilton Honors Bonus Points at hotels and resorts in the Hilton portfolio worldwide
- 6X Hilton Honors Bonus Points on U.S. gas stations, wireless telephone services purchased directly from U.S. service producers and U.S. purchases for shipping
- 6X Hilton Honors Bonus Points on U.S. restaurants, flights booked directly with airlines or amextravel.com, and car rentals booked directly from select car rental companies
- 3X Hilton Honors Bonus Points on all other eligible purchases
- Complimentary Hilton Honors Gold status; Earn Diamond status after spending $40,000 in purchases on the Card in a calendar year
- One Weekend Night Reward at a hotel or resort in the Hilton portfolio after spending $15,000 in purchases on the Card in a calendar year
- A second Weekend Night Reward at a hotel or resort in the Hilton portfolio after spending $60,000 in purchases on the Card in a calendar year
- 10 free Priority Pass™Lounge passes to ease the airport experience and get work done more easily and comfortably while waiting for a flight
- No foreign transaction fees
- $95 annual fee
Thoughts:
I’m 100% getting an Aspire come January.
Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Welcome Offer
Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
Annual Fee
$95
Points Earned
Transferrable Chase Ultimate Rewards
- 5x on all travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
- 3x on dining, including eligible delivery services for takeout & dining out
- 3x on select streaming services
- 3x on online grocery purchases
- (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
- $50 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit via Chase Travel℠
- The begins immediately for new cardmembers and after your account anniversary for existing cardmembers
- 2x on all other travel
- 10% Anniversary Bonus
- Every year you keep the card, your total spend will yield a 10% points bonus. If you spend $10k in a year, you’ll get 1k bonus points
- Chase Sapphire Preferred continues to redeem at 1.25c in the Chase Travel℠ and the slew of other benefits remain in tact including Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver ( primary ), purchase protections, etc.
- Points are transferrable to 14 Ultimate Rewards partners
- Redeem in Chase Travel℠ for 1.25 cents per point
- No foreign transaction fees
- Suite of Travel and Purchase Coverage
- Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver is my favorite
- Get complimentary access to DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees and lower service fees for a minimum of one year when you activate by December 31, 2027.
- $95 Annual Fee
We keep an up to date spreadsheet that lists the best ever offers: You can find that spreadsheet here.
Historically 80k is a very, very good offer and hit in both 2022 and 2023. In 2021, we saw the offer hit an all time high of 100k. Who knows if that will ever come back.
Main Cast:
Cards that earn flexible points and should be used on the bulk of your purchases.
Supporting Cast:
Cards that earn fixed points in the currency of the airline/hotel and can not be transferred at attractive rates. These cards yield benefits that make it worth keeping, but not necessarily worth putting a lot of your everyday spend on.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® is exceptional starter card and offers transferrable Ultimate Rewards, and pairs well with other Chase cards.
If you carry this card alongside Chase’s cashback cards like the Chase Freedom Flex® and Chase Freedom Unlimited® or the business versions: Ink Business Cash® , Ink Business Unlimited® you can combine the points into Preferred account and transfer into hotel and airline partners
Annual fee is quite low at $95 a year + you get a 10% anniversary bonus on points + $50 hotel credit in Chase travel.
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