Hilton AmEx cards

[HuskerATL]

My DH is 35k shy of million miler on United and we both look forward to lifetime gold. I am sticking my DH on United every chance to get him across the finish line. I didn't realize that the Aspire can credit United travel bank. We usually use on Southwest but am adding an Aspire for DH this year so will connect his bonus to United.

I have to fly another million for gold on Delta. I am not sure I will hit that. 6+ million is Diamond...

I was literally in a different country almost every month for a few years to get up to the million mark.

 

[frank808]

I was Diamond for many years when I traveled more than I do now and it has some nice perks.... First in line for upgrades , etc. I used to book coach and get upgraded to first class on most of my international trips. I usually flew Delta to AMS and then KLM to the next destination. Diamond gave me access to the KLM lounge and it is nice in AMS. Also, I have a pretty big collection of KLM Delft crafted houses from their first class. Neat but just dust collectors. Plus, you get a lot of bonus miles so you accrue a lot on those long haul flights. I fly to Africa and Asia a lot so great mileage builders. Between moving to Africa for 3 years and then the pandemic, my flying has reduced. I miss the old perks but I don't miss being away from home so much. Surprised my wife didn't give me the boot.....

Almost the same benefits (what do you expect with the airlines)? Makes sense that you fly Delta alot as that is their hub in Atlanta. I would say upgrades on United are scarce. Because United sells their FC product relatively cheap, complimentary upgrades even for published top tier United elite is bad. I think I got 4 complimentary upgrades out of 54 flights last year. Less than 10%. I do get points to upgrade like using miles though. If wife and I are traveling together I use points to upgrade. Traveling by myself I am fine with economy comfort seating but wont say no to a free upgrade.

Sorry to OP for going off topic here.

 

[frank808]

My DH is 35k shy of million miler on United and we both look forward to lifetime gold. I am reserving my DH on United metal every chance to get him across the finish line.

I didn't realize that the Aspire can credit United travel bank. That sounds really easy. How long is the travel bank good for?

We usually use the credit on Southwest but am adding an Aspire for DH this year so will connect his bonus to United if the bank doesn't expire too quickly.

Bought Travel bank is good for 5 years IIRC. I burn through the travel bank immediately so have not really paid attention.

Congrats to your husband on getting to 1M miles! It is a drain having to fly so much. I would get home then turn around 4 days later to repeat the trip. Has he been to the new United Lounge at EWR by gate C123? Nicest United club lounge in the network. Good food, bar, coffee cafe and showers!

 

[HuskerATL]

Sorry to OP for going off topic here

When do we ever stay on topic?

 

[GT75]

Wait, we are off-topic?

 

[Nowaker]

Two aspires in my name and two aspires in wife's name. No rules against having more than one Aspire. Now we did get one Aspire apiece first, then applied for the lower tier Ascend. I got an invitation to upgrade to Aspire with 125K bonus. I had a $75 AF Ascend that was grandfathered, so Amex probably wanted me out of that product. So I upgraded. Wife had the $95 Ascend (or whatever that card was called then) but never got the bonus points upgrade offer. Hers was the $95 annual fee version.

OK. We have 2x Surpass (2019+ name for Ascend), 2x Aspire, 1x Business. Surpass is actually a great card too, as Aspire and Surpass in tandem are self-complementary (one has 7x on airfares, car rental, restaurants, another has 6x on gas and groceries/supermarkets). But we also have 2x regular no-fee Amex Hilton card, of course just to drain the signup bonus, so we could see about upgrading that one to Aspire/Surpass.

I'll look at bumping them ASAP. I have our two Aspire renewals around EOY, so getting another free night cert would be helpful. Trying to organize the next dream vacation for us... Maldives Ithaafushi has currently 3 days in a row on Standard Room Rewards rate... Speaking of which, do you know if multiple free night certs can be combined for a multi-day stay? (rather than separate 1-night bookings) I only used free night certs for single nights.

 

[Wright17s]

Speaking of which, do you know if multiple free night certs can be combined for a multi-day stay? (rather than separate 1-night bookings) I only used free night certs for single nights.

They can definitely be combined... you have to call and speak to one of their phone reps, but with COVID extensions I ended up with 4 free night certs somehow and used them all to stay at Hilton Marco Island last year.

 

[frank808]

OK. We have 2x Surpass (2019+ name for Ascend), 2x Aspire, 1x Business. Surpass is actually a great card too, as Aspire and Surpass in tandem are self-complementary (one has 7x on airfares, car rental, restaurants, another has 6x on gas and groceries/supermarkets). But we also have 2x regular no-fee Amex Hilton card, of course just to drain the signup bonus, so we could see about upgrading that one to Aspire/Surpass.

I'll look at bumping them ASAP. I have our two Aspire renewals around EOY, so getting another free night cert would be helpful. Trying to organize the next dream vacation for us... Maldives Ithaafushi has currently 3 days in a row on Standard Room Rewards rate... Speaking of which, do you know if multiple free night certs can be combined for a multi-day stay? (rather than separate 1-night bookings) I only used free night certs for single nights.

For my use, I have the 5% AAA card for gas, United club for airfares and car rental(primary car insurance is included, while Amex charges $19.95), Amex green for 3x points on restaurants and any other travel expenses(tolls, subways, parking, taxi, uber etc.) and 2% Penfed card for everything else.

Yes FNA can be combined. With four Aspire certs and two hilton business certs we have used for 6 night stay at the Hilton Wailea. Before when FNA was limited to weekend, we would use it for 3 night stays (Fri, Sat and Sunday).

Am thinking of changing the Hilton Business to another Marriott business card. The $95AF and $15K spend to get the FNA is not worth it to me anymore. I mean the FNA is worth it but the $15k spend is not. I can get at least $300 cash back on that $15k spend. So the FNA + 45K Hilton Honors points is costing me $450. The marriott business is $95 for the 35k free night certificate. That 35k night cert is easily worth the $95 AF.

 

[CalGalTraveler]

Thanks @frank808 . He's not quite there yet- 35k to go. He used to fly to Asia and Europe frequently for business. He would have it by now but then Covid hit.

Good to know that Travel Bank works - 5 years is good runway. Refunds only 1 year. Refunds of one year works easily for Southwest where we have multiple family members flying monthly. But now that has gone away. Harder to use when less frequent long-haul.

We have been to the EWR lounge. It is big and nice. Have you tried the new Polaris Lounge in SFO? It is awesome. It has a full sit-down restaurant. We used it before our trip to the UK last year because we got upgraded to First.

 

[frank808]

Have not tried the Polaris at SFO. Next Polaris will be out of EWR in June to Rome. Not a fan of the EWR Polaris as it is crowded in that one and sometimes long lines to get in. If not in the mood for a sit down meal and the line is long, I'll just walk a little further to the C123 United club.

I see United is flying to Europe out of SFO. Probably be in Oct 2024 for me to visit that Polaris lounge. How crowded is Polaris lounge at SFO as i dont go to the international side much. Most SFO flights out of terminal 3 for me. Will be slumming it at one of United clubs, Giants Clubhouse, Yankee Pier and Lark Creek grill at SFO.

Sent from my SM-N975U using Tapatalk

 

[Zenichiro]

OK. We have 2x Surpass (2019+ name for Ascend), 2x Aspire, 1x Business. Surpass is actually a great card too, as Aspire and Surpass in tandem are self-complementary (one has 7x on airfares, car rental, restaurants, another has 6x on gas and groceries/supermarkets). But we also have 2x regular no-fee Amex Hilton card, of course just to drain the signup bonus, so we could see about upgrading that one to Aspire/Surpass.

I'll look at bumping them ASAP. I have our two Aspire renewals around EOY, so getting another free night cert would be helpful. Trying to organize the next dream vacation for us... Maldives Ithaafushi has currently 3 days in a row on Standard Room Rewards rate... Speaking of which, do you know if multiple free night certs can be combined for a multi-day stay? (rather than separate 1-night bookings) I only used free night certs for single nights.

They can be combined and also I think a lot of folks underestimate the power of the two cards. Like you mentioned Surpass and Aspire combo gets the best point redemptions but also the free night certs.

For instance, you can hardly get into Park City at the moment Jan/Feb via HGV. However you can easily get into Park City Waldorf which is $1,700 a night this time of year. We always look to book an area with HGV points or check the Hilton reward availability (points + free nights).

 

[brp]

I knew about the DL trick. There's a similar one with WN. The United Travel bank is interesting. We fly primarily AA and AS, so no love for us in any of this. Nothing to spend it on. So. I converted my Aspire and Platinum to AS to get a lounge membership. mrs. brp will still use here Aspire for the few WN flights we take in any given year. Although, the the 25K points they gave each of us for the debacle, we have a bit of points backlog

Cheers.

 

[letsgobobby]

how long does it typically take to receive thr $250 Hilton resort credit?

 

[Nowaker]

how long does it typically take to receive thr $250 Hilton resort credit?

Around a week.

 

[yodaDaenerys]

perhaps off-topic, but do points offered by these cards outweigh the 2% cash back offered by many cards?

i have the no fee hilton honors card,but don't use it much.

i've never found points cards, airline or hotel, to be better than cash back cards, but i'd be happy to learn i'm wrong as i'm getting ready to retire and travel more.

 

[HuskerATL]

If you need and want the benefits that they offer, then they are worth it but maybe not for everyday spending. The Aspire pays itself with the free room, $250 resort credit, HH Diamond status, and 14x HH points.... If you use them. The Amex platinum pays for itself with the $200 credit toward a fine resort, global entry, clear, 5x on flights, airline credit, Walmart+(free paramount+), $240 digital subscription credit (free Disney/Hulu/ESPN+ bundle), priority pass, etc but you need to travel. Delta Amex platinum pays itself with the free baggage and companion ticket. Amex preferred Blue does with 6x on groceries and 3x on gas (this is our spender for groceries and gas that aren't Kroger). Kroger card for groceries and gas as Kroger for the 0.25/gallon off plus the fuel points. Each have their place and we use them accordingly.

Btw, you can use the MaxReward app to maximize the benefits for your cards and there is even a function where you can see what is the best card, that you have, for use nearby. So, if are at a place and want to know which of your cards is the best to use there, it will tell you. Also, you can use Rakuten and link it to your Amex Platinum or other MRs card, to get cash back on stuff that you are buying anyway. Then you get cash back from it and the points on the card for the purchase.

Just saw this article in today's news feed: https://onemileatatime.com/guides/hilton-aspire-perks/

 

[Zenichiro]

Also don’t forget status and free night rewards. You get Gold status with Surpass and Diamond with Aspire as well as free night reward. Of course your mileage may vary on status depending on the Hilton brand you choose and time of year. However, we have had pretty good luck with upgrades and everyone gets the food and beverage credit.
Example: Our Puerto Rico 7 night stay during Christmas 2022 was upgraded from 2 queen ocean front to king suite ocean front. This was over $100 extra per night and then add the F&B credit for yourself and 1 companion it was over $900 in value for us.
We used 2 free night rewards, 1 night points and paid $200 per night cash for the other 4 for a Suite that should have cost $350 per night for 7 nights.

Hard to compare that to 2% or 3% cash back.

 

[letsgobobby]

after 10 days no credit for Lagoon MF. Will give it a few more days before contacting Amex.

 

[simpsontruckdriver]

After weeks of watching comparison videos, and reading comparison sites, between the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant (MBB) and Hilton Honors Aspire (HHA), I applied for and now have the Aspire! The MBB issues were the higher AF and higher purchases to get the bonus. I may not have the dining credit, but as long as I travel at least once per year, I am good. I have the Delta SkyMiles Platinum also, so I won't be using the HHA or flights, unless I need to go somewhere Delta does not fly. What I also like about American Express is, I applied yesterday, and they guarantee I will have my card tomorrow!

As a side note, Delta SkyMiles Platinum card now gives everyone FREE WiFi and 15% off airfare on Delta.

TS

 

[frank808]

I had to go look this up as I would switch back to Delta if this Amex card got 15% off airfare. It is actually 15% off using miles to book award travel. Some savings for sure but not as good as I thought. People would be rushing to applying for Delta Amex if it provided 15% off all airfare and not just award bookings.

 

[brp]

After weeks of watching comparison videos, and reading comparison sites, between the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant (MBB) and Hilton Honors Aspire (HHA), I applied for and now have the Aspire! The MBB issues were the higher AF and higher purchases to get the bonus. I may not have the dining credit, but as long as I travel at least once per year, I am good.

I have Aspire and MBB. The MBB is marginal for me. We do use the dining credits, and the 85K free night is good. But this still may be too high a price. I also have Chase Sapphire Reserve and Amex Platinum in the high-priced category and I can make them worth it. But the Aspire is actually a money-maker, as others have noted.

Cheers.

 

[Zenichiro]

I have Aspire and MBB. The MBB is marginal for me. We do use the dining credits, and the 85K free night is good. But this still may be too high a price. I also have Chase Sapphire Reserve and Amex Platinum in the high-priced category and I can make them worth it. But the Aspire is actually a money-maker, as others have noted.

Cheers.

MBB is status focused for sure. (25 nights I think)

 

[brp]

MBB is status focused for sure. (25 nights I think)

We only stay at Marriott periodically, so won't attain higher status. MBB comes with Platinum and that gets breakfast and 4PM checkout. We used free nights from MBB and my other Marriott card, and not many more. Our main focus is Hyatt where we get top level by stays and spend.

So, MBB is not really status focused for us.

Cheers.

 

[Sandy VDH]

I play the points game. I keep two expensive cards Chase Sapphire Reserve (CSR) and AMEX Hilton Honors Aspire (HHA). I few mid-level expense cards Chase United Quest ICUQ) ($250 but $125 comes in form of UA credit on purchase), and Chase Marriott Boundless (CMB) ($95), and a few fee free cards Chase Unlimited Plus and Citibank Costco Card.

As long as I can make up for the cost of the card without going out of my way to do it, I will use it and keep it.

Expensive Cards
CSR - $550 cost, ($300 annual credit on travel, so really costs $250). My main usage card. Mostly for travel, meals and all other expenses. Use Priority Plus perks includes usage at restaurants which I use often, use points to purchase travel tours or flights at 50% points bonus, Get Global Entry credit (thankfully now can be Nexus too). Big plus is also PRIMARY coverage on Car Rental. Paid off last year when my rental car got written off after an snowy slide into a 18 wheeler. The 18 wheeler won.

HHA - $450 cost ($250 UA travel bank and $250 for HGVC MFs back), already get back more than I paid plus I get Diamond and free night, and Hilton is free night anywhere with standard nights, much better deal than Marriott program which gives you points to use. 14X on Hilton MF payments, and Hilton stays.

Mid cards
CUQ - $250 cost ($125 UA instant Credit) so are other Perks worth $125. 3X mileage on UA travel. Can earn some PDP on spend, free 1st and 2nd bag, 25% of inflight purchases, some anniversary perks on UA reward usage. get Global Entry credit (thankfully now can be Nexus too, I let my Nexus lapse as I had to pay for it, but now I will use this and get it back again and extend my Global entry at the same time.) Just signed up for this last month for 80K bonus.

CMB - $95 cost and get a free 35K annual, use for Marriott stays per night. As long as I value 35K are more than $95 I keep it for the free night. Use for any Marriott cash stays. I am lifetime Platinum Elite, so I don't really need to worry about status.

Free Cards
Chase Unlimited I use for whatever the quarterly 5% bonus is. Then move those points to CSR to get 50% bonus.

Citibank Costco - Use at Costco always and for Gas if when gas is not a 5% bonus.

I figure I spend over $1300 but get way more than that in return, without going out of my way to do so.

 

[HuskerATL]

Our expensive ones are the Amex Aspire and Platinum. You can definitely get your money out of them, if you use the benefits. Plus, sometimes you do things to use the benefits that you may not but it is still nice. Such as, we just booked the free Aspire night at a Waldorf for a Saturday night ($600+ per night) and then booked the Sunday night with FHR credit ($200 credit) from the platinum card and it comes with a $100 hotel credit, early check in, late check out, and an upgrade, if available.

There is the Maxrewards app that is good to see the benefits of your cards and you can even go to a place and then open the app. It will tell you which of your cards is the best to use for that place to get the best rewards.