The Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card has a large $550 annual fee (rates & fees), but has evolved into much more than a premium hotel card. Hilton Honors perks remain its biggest draw, but the card includes several benefits that extend beyond Hilton stays.
One example is the card’s up to $200 annual flight statement credit. Unlike many American Express airline credits that come with restrictions or enrollment requirements, the Hilton Aspire card’s flight credit is simple.
Hilton Aspire Card Overview
If maximized, benefits like the up to $200 annual flight credit can reduce the annual fee by more than a third. The Hilton Aspire card also provides automatic Hilton Honors Diamond elite status, a free night reward every cardmember anniversary, up to $400 in annual Hilton resort credits (up to $200 semiannually), and more.
For frequent Hilton Honors guests and even travelers at large, these benefits can easily outweigh the $550 annual fee, making it one of the best premium travel cards.
What Is the $200 Flight Credit?
The Hilton Aspire card offers up to $200 in flight credits each calendar year, though the benefit is split into up to $50 in statement credits per quarter rather than 1 lump sum (Source: American Express).
The quarterly earning periods are:
- Q1: January 1 to March 31
- Q2: April 1 to June 30
- Q3: July 1 to September 30
- Q4: October 1 to December 31
To use the credit, pay for eligible airfare directly with an airline or book through AmexTravel.com or the Amex Travel app using your Hilton Aspire card.
How the Flight Credit Works
Unlike the up-to-$200 airline incidental credit on the Platinum Card® from American Express and The Business Platinum Card® from American Express, the Hilton Aspire card’s benefit isn’t limited to incidental fees. It can be used for airfare, making it much easier to redeem. Better yet, you’re not locked into a single airline, so you can use the credit with any carrier.
The credit applies to any commercial carrier, but there are a few purchases that aren’t eligible for reimbursement:
- Charter flights
- Private jet flights
- Flights that are part of a vacation package
- Any flights purchased from a third-party travel portal, such as Expedia or Kayak
That said, there isn’t any minimum purchase requirement. Whether your ticket costs $50 or $500, you can automatically receive up to $50 in statement credits for eligible purchases each quarter. American Express says it can take up to 8 to 12 weeks for the credit to post, but Upgraded Points staff members have consistently seen the reimbursement appear within just a few days.
Eligible Airlines and Booking Methods
To receive the flight credit, make the purchase with your Hilton Aspire card via one of 3 avenues:
- Directly with the airline (the easiest method)
- AmexTravel.com
- Amex Travel app
There’s no restriction on the airline, as long as it offers commercial service. Therefore, you can earn the flight credit on airfare purchases from all U.S. carriers, including legacy airlines like American and Delta, as well as budget airlines like Frontier and Breeze. The credit will even apply to international carriers such as Air Canada and Japan Airlines.
Not only can you receive up to $50 back in flight credits each quarter, but the Hilton Aspire card also earns 7x Hilton Honors points on flights booked directly with airlines or through AmexTravel.com (including the app). Plus, the statement credit doesn’t reduce the amount of points you earn — you’ll receive bonus points based on the full purchase amount.
For example, if you book a $300 flight, you’ll receive up to $50 back as a statement credit, lowering your out-of-pocket cost to $250. At the same time, you’ll still earn 7x points on the original $300 purchase, for a total of 2,100 Hilton Honors points.
What Purchases Trigger the Credit
Overall, the Hilton Aspire card’s flight credit is flexible. Using it for airfare is the easiest and most obvious way to maximize the benefit, but it’s not your only option.
Many purchases charged directly by the airline should also qualify, such as:
- Award flight taxes and fees
- Airline gift cards
- Checked bag fees
- Seat upgrade charges
- Lounge passes (including for guests)
- Pet fees
You don’t have to use the entire $50 quarterly credit in a single transaction. Eligible purchases can be spread across multiple purchases throughout the quarter until you’ve received the full $50 in statement credits.
Timing and Renewal
Because this is a quarterly benefit based on the calendar year (and not your cardmember anniversary), we recommend using the credit at least 3 to 4 days before each quarter ends.
For example, booking a flight on March 31 — the final day of the first quarter — can be risky. If the purchase doesn’t fully process until April, the Hilton Aspire card may apply your second-quarter credit instead, causing you to miss out on the first-quarter allotment.
Officially, American Express shares the following:
American Express relies on the merchant’s processing of transactions to determine the transaction date. If there is a delay in the merchant submitting the transaction to us or if the merchant uses another date as the transaction date then your purchase may not earn the statement credit benefit for the benefit period in which you made the purchase.
To play it safe, remember to use your flight credit at least a few business days before each quarter ends to ensure you receive the full value of the benefit.
How To Track Your Progress Toward the Flight Credit
American Express makes it easy to check how much of the flight credit you’ve used along the way. First, log in to your online American Express account. If you’ve got multiple American Express cards, select the Hilton Aspire card from the dropdown menu.
Then, hit Rewards & Benefits. Under Benefits Activity, you should find this progress tracker:
It may take a few business days for your progress to update after an eligible purchase posts and the statement credit is applied. Until then, the most reliable (though more manual) way to check whether you’ve used your quarterly allotment is to review your statement credits. Using the quarterly dates above as a reference, look for eligible flight purchases and confirm that the corresponding flight credit has posted.
Common Mistakes and How To Avoid Them
Beyond remembering to use the credit before each quarterly deadline, the biggest mistake travelers make is assuming every purchase is processed by the airline. Many incidental charges are handled by third parties, making them ineligible for the statement credit.
A good example is inflight Wi-Fi. Even though you purchase it on the plane, the charge is often processed by the internet provider (such as Viasat or Gogo) rather than the airline.
The same caution applies if you’re planning to buy airline miles with the flight credit. Many loyalty programs use third-party providers, such as Points.com, to process mileage purchases, which means they generally won’t trigger the credit (Source: Points.com).
However, there are exceptions. Airlines like American Airlines and Delta process mileage purchases directly, so those transactions should trigger the Hilton Aspire card’s flight credit. As always, merchant processing can change, so pay close attention to see who’s processing the transaction at checkout.
Maximizing the $200 Credit
With airfare rarely costing $50 these days, the simplest way to think about the Hilton Honors Aspire Card’s flight credit is as a discount on your next ticket. On an inexpensive domestic flight, it could cover a significant portion of the fare, and on a pricier itinerary, it still helps shave $50 each quarter.
You can earn 7x Hilton Honors points on eligible flights booked directly with airlines or through AmexTravel.com. Since the statement credit doesn’t reduce the purchase amount that earns rewards, you’re effectively stacking a $50 discount with valuable Hilton points on the full purchase.
If you don’t fly every quarter, another way to maximize the credit is to purchase an airline gift card. In many cases, gift cards purchased from an airline are processed directly, making them eligible for the statement credit. Buying a $50 gift card is also an easy way to use the full quarterly credit without leaving any value on the table.
That said, it’s important to verify that the purchase is processed directly by the airline and not by a third-party vendor, as only eligible airline transactions qualify. If you’re trying this strategy for the first time, consider purchasing the airline’s lowest gift card denomination (if available) to make sure it codes correctly before buying a $50 gift card.
Finally, the flight credit is a great way to save on taxes and fees from mileage redemptions. For example, most domestic award tickets require you to pay $5.60 in taxes and fees at checkout. You could use your $50 quarterly credit to cover the taxes and fees on up to 8 domestic award flights.
Final Thoughts
The flight credit on the Hilton Aspire card requires very few hoops to jump through. Once you get into the habit of using the up to $50 quarterly allotment, it’s an easy way to receive up to $200 in statement credits each year on eligible flight purchases. It’s just one piece of the card’s overall value proposition, as the card offers a breadth of Hilton Honors benefits to elevate your stays.