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AMEX ASPIRE New 2nd card/account/annual fee for spouse.

GT75

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Don't know about Frank, but in my case, yes, I get both free nights certs emailed to my email address, and when I call, they never ask to speak to my wife, they let me book both nights even though both free nights came from 2 different credit cards.
Same here. I manage the two Aspire cards (one for me and one for my spouse) plus one Surpass card ( in my name). After setting up my wife's Aspire card, I changed the email address/login and password over so I could manage it. It isn't because I don't trust my spouse, it is because she certainly doesn't want to handle this card.

btw, when I setup the second Aspire card (and additional Surpass), I used my Hilton Honors account number so they are all linked to one account.
 

brp

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mrs. brp has her own Amex credit card account, and the Aspire is one of several there. She manages that. But everything funnels into the one HHonors account, and I manage that. The FNC emails all come to my email since that's the one on the HHonors account. IIRC, the name of the recipient is in the email so we know. And, of course, this all gets tracked on a spreadsheet.

Hyatt works like what is described for Marriott. We decided to make mrs. brp the Globalist, so we accumulate everything in her account. But I have FNAs in my account that I can book and credit to her account, but it takes a call every time. And, when I accumulate Hyatt points, I have to transfer them to her account.

Cheers.
 

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mrs. brp has her own Amex credit card account, and the Aspire is one of several there. She manages that. But everything funnels into the one HHonors account, and I manage that. The FNC emails all come to my email since that's the one on the HHonors account. IIRC, the name of the recipient is in the email so we know. And, of course, this all gets tracked on a spreadsheet.

Hyatt works like what is described for Marriott. We decided to make mrs. brp the Globalist, so we accumulate everything in her account. But I have FNAs in my account that I can book and credit to her account, but it takes a call every time. And, when I accumulate Hyatt points, I have to transfer them to her account.

Cheers.
Same here, my wife is Globalist and we share the same HH account. It’s a nice perk for Hilton/HGV owners.
 

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Other than the SUB (and someone else having Diamond Hilton status), what are the benefits to having a second Aspire in your spouse's name vs having a second Aspire in your own name?
 

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Other than the SUB (and someone else having Diamond Hilton status), what are the benefits to having a second Aspire in your spouse's name vs having a second Aspire in your own name?
if the card is a secondary card, you don't get more credits and have limited benefits. If the card is only in their name, then they get all the primary credits but also pay another fee. I have one and my wife has one, we both pay the fees but also get all the credits.
 

brp

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Other than the SUB (and someone else having Diamond Hilton status), what are the benefits to having a second Aspire in your spouse's name vs having a second Aspire in your own name?

To tag onto this - how does one get a second Aspire card in their own name? Just apply? Seems that that has a good chance of being declined since one already has one. Or does it require a circuitous route?

Cheers.
 

Eric B

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(and someone else having Diamond Hilton status)
A mentioned earlier, you can establish a joint account with your spouse if you're an HGVC owner and both would therefore have Diamond status for both, so I don't really think of this as a benefit. There might be intangible benefits like being able to better track card usage, but I think AMEX allows you to do that already by indicating what card a charge is made to.

To tag onto this - how does one get a second Aspire card in their own name? Just apply? Seems that that has a good chance of being declined since one already has one. Or does it require a circuitous route?

Cheers.
I had already received a SUB for Aspire so I got my second one by calling in and asking them to change a different one to Aspire because I like the benefits better. There was no issue with that. You could also apply for a second one, as many have done, but wouldn't get the SUB unless it was an offer without a lifetime prohibition in the terms and conditions.
 

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I had already received a SUB for Aspire so I got my second one by calling in and asking them to change a different one to Aspire because I like the benefits better. There was no issue with that. You could also apply for a second one, as many have done, but wouldn't get the SUB unless it was an offer without a lifetime prohibition in the terms and conditions.

We have about 2.4M HHononors points. The last think we need is a Hilton SUB :)

But the various perks added again would be nice.

Cheers.
 

Eric B

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We have about 2.4M HHononors points. The last think we need is a Hilton SUB :)

But the various perks added again would be nice.

Cheers.
Hilton will happily transfer points you don't need to another member....
 
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Great3

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Other than the SUB (and someone else having Diamond Hilton status), what are the benefits to having a second Aspire in your spouse's name vs having a second Aspire in your own name?
LOL, good question... Nothing really... I just didn't know you can have a 2nd Aspire card, that's why I had wife apply for one also at the same time. But I think maybe you might have to wait a while before applying of the 2nd Aspire card, maybe can't get a 2nd one after 1 months only... Don't know though.

If I had known, I would have just applied for both Aspire cards, as wife never travels alone. In any case, I just applied for the 2nd Apsire in late Oct. this year after getting one last year Aug., so we have total 3 Aspire cards now between both of us.

Great3
 
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Great3

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To tag onto this - how does one get a second Aspire card in their own name? Just apply? Seems that that has a good chance of being declined since one already has one. Or does it require a circuitous route?

Cheers.

Very straight forward actually... I just went to the Aspire credit card app website and apply again. I didn't do a product change from a different card like many others did for my 2nd Aspire card. Obviously, it said no SUB since I already have the card, but I didn't care, and it turned out to be extra nice having gotten old $250 resort credit, old $250 airline incidental credit, and new $50 airline ticket credit... so definitely worth it for this year.

Great3
 
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frank808

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Same here, my wife is Globalist and we share the same HH account. It’s a nice perk for Hilton/HGV owners.
You mean Diamond? Globalist is a Hyatt level.

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brp

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You mean Diamond? Globalist is a Hyatt level.

Actually talking Globalist here as a comparison of programs. Each of us who pays for an Aspire card is Diamond, so that one's easy. We were talking about having separate Hyatt accounts with one as Globalist since they don't have a joint account like Hilton.

CHeers.
 

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Can I set up a joint account?

It looks like it can still be done for HGVC owners.
Given Hilton allows family pooling of points, there is little need to actually merge these accounts. Just the opposite, if there's a cool promotion, like "stay at Tapestry for an extra 10,000 points", then you can score that offer twice, once from each account.
 

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You mean Diamond? Globalist is a Hyatt level.

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No we have a shared Hilton diamon account and she has Globalist with Hyatt. Just trying it out this year to compare. So far I’m not super impressed but we’ve not stayed at a lot of higher end properties.

We have Kauai booked for July so that may be the best trial for us to see if we will stick with Hyatt another year.
 

brp

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No we have a shared Hilton diamon account and she has Globalist with Hyatt. Just trying it out this year to compare. So far I’m not super impressed but we’ve not stayed at a lot of higher end properties.

We have Kauai booked for July so that may be the best trial for us to see if we will stick with Hyatt another year.

The Grand Hyatt in Poipu is fabulous. Overall, we find the benefits for Hyatt Globalist far better than Hilton Diamond, even at mid-tier properties. The upgrades, waived resort fees, free parking and breakfast are very nice.

Cheers.
 

frank808

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The Grand Hyatt in Poipu is fabulous. Overall, we find the benefits for Hyatt Globalist far better than Hilton Diamond, even at mid-tier properties. The upgrades, waived resort fees, free parking and breakfast are very nice.

Cheers.
Hyatt does not work for us as their footprint is to small. Quiet a few places we visit there are no Hyatts or the Hyatt hotels are to far away. Marriott and Hilton might not treat their Diamond and Titanium members better but these two chains have so many locations that it is easier to stay with them.
 

brp

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Hyatt does not work for us as their footprint is to small. Quiet a few places we visit there are no Hyatts or the Hyatt hotels are to far away. Marriott and Hilton might not treat their Diamond and Titanium members better but these two chains have so many locations that it is easier to stay with them.

Fair point. There are generally Hyatts where we go, so it works for us. But the footprint is definitely smaller. Overseas we use Hilton as Diamond gets actual benefits.

But, yeah, the treatment at a hotel doesn't matter if it ain't there :)

Cheers.
 

frank808

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Our trip to Genoa this past summer, there were no large chain hotels near city center. We stayed at the only Marriott 15 minutes outside city center. Also, no Hiltons in city at all.

Funny thing is the most predominant hotel chain was Best Western that i saw in city centers of Italy. Even in Rome, the dominant hotel chain near Panthenon, Trevi fountain etc (city center) is Best Westerns.

No way that I can get status in another hotel chain (unless status is tied to credit card). There are only 365 days in a year.

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CalGalTraveler

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Surprisingly Best Western is quite prominent in Europe and I used them frequently when on business.. I have heard that Choice is big (and nice) in Scandinavia.

I agree with @brp I will stay anyday at the Grand Hyatt "wing" next door vs. P@P. We are saving Chase points for our next Kauai trip to stay there again. Amazing resort.
 
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The Grand Hyatt in Poipu is fabulous. Overall, we find the benefits for Hyatt Globalist far better than Hilton Diamond, even at mid-tier properties. The upgrades, waived resort fees, free parking and breakfast are very nice.

Cheers.
Yes it looks fab. Should be a great end to our vacation. Agree, free parking is a huge benefit anymore
 
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