Renewal time has come on my Hilton Aspire American Express card, and $550 is a lot of money. I’m of two minds on whether to keep the card and thought I would lay out my pros and cons list here so you can see my thinking process. I’d appreciate your thoughts in the comments as to whether the Hilton Aspire is worth it or not.
Whenever an annual fee hits, you should do a cost/benefit analysis before you make that payment. This is going to be extra-relevant as we absorb the news that both Capital One and Chase are serving about benefits being limited and fees being raised on their premium card lineup.
You should also contact the issuer and let them know you’re considering canceling the card in case they offer you a retention bonus. I had no luck with Amex this time, so have to decide if the Hilton juice is worth the $550 squeeze.
Reasons to keep the Hilton Aspire
Let’s start with the positives, as there is some real value to be had with the Aspire card. I’ve had the card basically since it came out and until the last revamp it was without a doubt my favorite hotel card. Note I’m not selling you the card so won’t list every benefit, rather I’m mentioning the ones that have value to me.
Free night certificate is unlimited: $400
Most free night certificates that come with credit cards these days are only valid up to a certain category or point value, so the fact that you can use the Hilton certificate on any available standard points value room is a huge perk. The last two certificates I used, at the Westhouse Hotel in Manhattan and the La Quinta Resort in Palm Springs, netted me at least $400 each in value. The fact that Hilton doesn’t charge resort fees on award stays just adds to the shine.
Top-tier Hilton Diamond status comes with the card: $300
The Aspire is the only hotel card that comes with top-tier status which could mean it makes sense to hold onto the card for future status matches as well as for the benefits Diamond status gives you. I know my valuation is low, but it’s what I actually get out of Diamond status over Gold, which comes with my Amex Platinum Card.
One major benefit is upgrades when available. I’ve had mixed luck with upgrades, getting a casita with a huge patio and both indoor and outdoor fireplaces in Palm Springs but not even an improved view at the Westhouse. But Diamonds do get guaranteed Club access in hotels that have one, so that’s a plus.
The other major benefit is a food/beverage credit, which varies by property in the U.S. The lack of a guaranteed free breakfast benefit, as the credit usually will barely cover a bagel and coffee, is a sore spot. It also doesn’t help that Gold status gives the same benefit.
$50 quarterly airline credits: $150
I actually do use the quarterly airline credit, because it’s good on both airfare and award fees and it’s valid with any airline, you just have to charge to the Aspire Card. But the mere fact that I have to pull the card out four times a year to use it diminishes the value.
CLEAR Plus: $100
This is also a benefit replicated on the Amex Platinum, but having it twice means I can get CLEAR Plus for a family member.
Return protection: $300
I do use the heck out of return protection, which gives you credit if a retailer won’t accept a return within certain parameters. My trunk tends to “lose” Amazon returns and return protection has saved me when I find them after the 30-day return window has closed.
Reasons to cancel the Hilton Aspire
So, my back-of-envelope math seems to make keeping the Aspire Card a no-brainer. But let’s talk about why I want to get rid of it.
$400 Resort credit breakage
I HATE the resort credit on the Hilton Aspire because not only is it split in two, it’s only good at about five percent of Hilton Hotels worldwide. It’s a prime example of Amex’s breakage tendencies, where the company offers hundreds in perceived value they know full well a majority of cardholders won’t receive.
Yes, I know there are grey-area ways around this, but it’s the principle. The only way I have to make my voice heard about this terrible practice (besides, you know, writing a blog post) is to make my purchases match my opinions.
$550 is real money, not perceived value
When you pay well into four digits in annual credit card fees, it’s easy to get caught up in hacker math. It’s the same argument I have with myself about hotel status every year, when I have to remember that value on paper doesn’t mean value in reality.
I said in the pros section that I get at least $400 in value on my free night certificates. Yes, that is true, but doing so also locked me into stays that I might not have made otherwise. I could have found a more reasonable points redemption, a decent cash rate or even a vacation rental if I hadn’t been forced to use a certificate with an expiration date.
Remembering that money is well, money helped me successfully cancel all of our Delta cards earlier this year, saving close to a thousand in annual fees. I realized that the Delta Stays perks and other random credits required me to make choices that didn’t make sense in order to use them. And usually if I’m traveling far away enough to check a bag, I’m flying on a business class award ticket so having the credit card doesn’t save me any money.
Replicating status benefits is easier than I realized
Since becoming a travel agent, I’ve geeked out on all of the different programs that can provide you with upgrades, free breakfast, room credits and all sorts of other perks, making having status much less important than it used to be on cash stays. I knew about Amex Fine Hotels and Resorts and Chase Travel, but there are so many doors that having access to a travel agent opens.
Of course that doesn’t help with award stays, but a smart strategy could be to use cash on stays where perks matter and points for oblications and other trips where I just need to rest my head.
Should I stay or should I go?
I have a few days to decide, but I am leaning toward keeping the Aspire Card another year. I still have around 300,000 Hilton Honors points so I’ll give myself time to burn them up while still keeping Diamond status active. I’m not thrilled to give Amex more money but even without a retention bonus there’s probably enough value in the card to pay the annual fee. But I’ll try one more time to get a retention offer before I pay up, because there’s always a chance.
What would you do—keep or cancel the Aspire? Please share your thoughts in the comments.
