American Express and Hilton have a new lineup of Honors cards for 2018. (Image: Hilton/AmEx)
As part of an overhaul of credit card products for Honors loyalty members, American Express and Hilton are introducing a high-end Aspire Card next year that pays point bonuses as high as 14 times the number of dollars spent.
The new Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card – which will be available starting in January, along with the other card versions – costs a hefty $450 a year. But it will return bonus Honors points worth 14 times the amount of dollars spent at hotels in the Hilton family of brands, and seven times the amount spent on flights booked directly with airlines or with amextravel.com, on car rentals booked from “select car rental companies,” and at U.S. restaurants. All other purchases get a triple points bonus.
The new card carries plenty of other benefits, too: Diamond status in Honors; a free weekend night for signing up, and for each year of card membership; a second weekend night after you spend $60,000 in a calendar year; unlimited entry to Priority Pass airport lounges; a $250 credit for airline fees, and another $250 credit for Hilton resort spending. AmEx said the new card is targeting “frequent travelers seeking premium experiences and elevated experiences.”
The new Aspire card pays 14X Honors points for spending at Hilton properties like this one at Chicago O’Hare. (Image: Hilton)
Too rich for your wallet? The new card lineup also includes a Hilton Honors American Express Ascend Card for a $95 annual fee. That provides a 12X Honors point bonus for spending at Hilton properties, 6X bonus points for spending at U.S. grocery stores, restaurants and gas stations, and 3X for other purchases, along with Honors Gold status, a free weekend night after spending $15,000 in a year, and 10 Priority Pass lounge passes.
For “the occasional traveler,” the no-annual-fee, basic Hilton Honors American Express Card has eliminated foreign transaction fees, and offers Honors point bonuses of 7X for spending at Hilton properties, 5X for purchases at restaurants, gas stations and grocery stores in the U.S., and 3X for other purchases. It also provides Honors Silver status.
Designed for small business owners, the Hilton Honors American Express Business Card includes access to the AmEx OPEN platform for small businesses, and returns 12X bonus points for Hilton-related purchases, and 6X bonus points for spending on mobile phone services, U.S. shipping services, and purchases at U.S. gas stations and restaurants as well as flight and car rental bookings. Cardholders get Honors Gold status, 10 Priority Pass lounge passes, and more. That card costs $95 a year.
You can see full details of the new AmEx/Hilton card lineup here. Hilton announced earlier this year it was ending its Honors card relationship with Citi and making American Express its exclusive co-branded card provider.
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Great write-up. Question. With the Aspire, do the weekend night vouchers work at any Hilton property?