Hilton Honors Aspire Approval

[MacRoadie]

Checked my calendar yesterday and saw that I was good for a new app on AmEx. I opened a Platinum Delta card back in October and satisfied the spend to earn my 150,000 Delta miles, and have been planning to add a companion hotel card to set up a nice travel combo.

I had looked hard at the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant as I've recently migrated off Hilton and more on to Marriotts, more due to Marriott hosting more of the conferences I attend throughout the year, but also because I've had the good fortune to stay at some very nice properties. AmEx has really been pushing the Hilton product on their site and they always pop up on my card suggestion page, so I decided to compare the two cards and look deeper into the respective reviews. Turns out the Hilton card is far and away the better product.

Hit the old Apply Now button, got the "Congrats you're pre-approved screen", followed the steps, declined an additional card, and got my instant approval at $10k. 

• Earn 150,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points after you spend $4,000 in purchases on the Card within your first 3 months of Card Membership. Will satisfy a huge chunk of this over Christmas, and I'll use it as a daily driver until I hit the spend.
• Earn 14X Hilton Honors Bonus Points when you make eligible purchases on your Card at participating hotels or resorts within the Hilton Portfolio. This is huge. 14X even at lower tier properties racks up fast. Combined with Diamond status as you're ar 34X total when paid on card.
• Earn 7X Hilton Honors Bonus Points on eligible purchases on your Card for: Flights booked directly with airlines or amextravel.com, Car rentals booked directly from select car rental companies and U.S. restaurants. 7X at restaurants will get used A LOT.
• Earn 3X Hilton Honors Bonus Points on all other eligible purchases. Will only daily drive this one until I satisfy SUB minimum spend.
• With your Hilton Honors Aspire Card, you can enjoy complimentary Diamond status which includes even more perks from Hilton, such as 100% extra Bonus Points on all Base Points you earn, room upgrades, and more. The Diamond status benefits (upgrades, free breakfast, etc). is actually a significant plus for me and real value and one big reason I chose this over the Bonvoy Brilliant.
• Enjoy one weekend night reward with your new Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card and every year after renewal. Plus, earn an additional night after you spend $60,000 on purchases on your Card in a calendar year. The weekend night is actually a nice bonus. Real handy for weekend trips to watch pro sports games, etc. 
• With your Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card, enjoy up to $250 in statement credits each year of Card Membership for eligible purchases at participating Hilton Resorts. A real value benefit. Can be used towards almost anything on your hotel bill, including room, incidentals, meals, etc. 
• $250 airline fee credit. Using this in conjunction with Delta card and sky miles for seat upgrades, in-flight dining, etc. 
• Priority Pass Select VIP airport lounge membership. Already have this through my Platinum Card, so no real benefit but it's really the only one I cant see myself using.

[Anonymous]

Congratulations on your new card and great credit limit!

[nuohlac]

Congratulations on your approval!!!

[M_Smart007]

Congrats!!

[Anonymous]

Congrats on your approval and nice sized SL!

[Anonymous]

This is awesome! Congrats!!! It will be my next goal. 

[AllZero]

Congratulations on your approval!

[randomguy1]

Congrats. Like the detail.

[dogmeat]

Congrats.  I love the Aspire card.  You missed mentioning the 5th night free when paying with points.  The only redemption activity this card really requires to be worth it, for me,  is one 6+ night stay at a Hilton resort annually.  That's two nights free (1 free from 5th night free when paying with points, 1 from annual free night certificate), which can reasonably be $300 x 2 = $600 value.  Free breakfasts if you choose, all week, for two: $20 x 2ppl x 6days = $240 value.  I'll usually easily use the $250 credit on that stay as well (or I can book a 7th night, which will use it all.)  No resort fees for nights booked with points: $40 x 5nights = $200.  Not considering other benefits, that's $600 + 240  + 200 = $1040 value, for a (450  - 250) = $200 net annual fee.

Also, I notice you have a Platinum.  Points on the Plat can transfer to your Hilton Honors account at 1:2 any time, which gives you 10x Hilton points on flights and hotels OTHER than Hilton (via amextravel).  During 30%/50% promotions that bumps up to 13/15 Hilton points on flights and other hotels.  Gold card similarly could give you good dining/grocery return in Hilton points when using those transfer promotions.

The reason why I consider the transfer options important is that to get 5 nights free at a resort, which for me is a key benefit of this card, you really need to earn and hoard points, figure a minimum of 240k a year, so that you can spend 300k (and get 60k back) on a 5 night stay at 60k points/night.  Even at 7pts/dollar that's ~$34K in annual spend required if you're planning to acquire all your points organically. 

[Marz2002]

CONGRATS @MacRoadie on your Hilton Honors Aspire approval and the Very Nice SL!!!