Hilton Aspire Card $200 Flight Credit: How To Use It & Maximize Value

The Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card (learn more) is one of the most valuable hotel credit cards out there, thanks to all the great perks the card offers. While the card has a steep $550 annual fee (Rates & Fees), I find that to be easy to justify, thanks to benefits like Hilton Honors™ Diamond Status, an annual free night reward, a $400 annual hotel credit (get up to $200 in statement credits semi-annually for eligible purchases made directly with participating Hilton Resorts), a $200 annual flight credit (get up to $50 in statement credits each quarter, for a total of up to $200 back each year, on flight purchases made directly with an airline or through AmexTravel.com), and more. The card also consistently has a good welcome offer. In this post, I want to take a closer look at how the Hilton Aspire Card airline credit works. While this benefit (annoyingly) has to be used quarterly, I find it quite easy to use, so let’s cover the details. Link: Learn more about the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card $200 Hilton Aspire flight credit details & rulesHow I use the up to $200 Hilton Aspire flight creditHilton Aspire flight credit FAQsBottom line $200 Hilton Aspire flight credit details & rules The Hilton Aspire Card offers up to $200 in flight statement credits every calendar year, in the form of a $50 quarterly credit. As you’d expect, there are some terms to be aware of: The $200 credit is broken down into a $50 quarterly credit, and the purchase must be billed during each of those periods There’s no minimum purchase to trigger this credit, so you can reach the $50 quarterly limit through one or multiple transactions The credit applies toward airfare purchases made directly with an airline, or through amextravel.com; this includes budget carriers and global carriers, so there’s no small list of airlines you need to choose from, or anything like that To be eligible for the benefit, the airfare purchase must be for a scheduled flight on a passenger carrier The credit can’t be applied toward flight purchases made through third parties, charter flights, private jet flights, or flights that are part of vacation packages It can take 8-12 weeks after an eligible purchase for the statement credit to post, though in practice they’ll typically post faster than that; if the credit doesn’t post within the promised timeframe, use the Amex live chat feature to open a case with Amex, so this can be investigated Eligible purchases can be made by either the basic card member or an authorized user, though you still only get a total of up to $200 in credits per year There’s no registration required to take advantage of this, as long as you make the correct eligible purchases with the card You can track your progress toward using this benefit by logging into your Amex account, going to the “Rewards & Benefits” tab, then going to the “Track Your Progress” section, and there you’ll see the “$200 Flight Credit” section Track your Hilton Aspire flight credit progress The Hilton Aspire airline credit doesn’t exclusively work for the direct purchase of airline tickets. What matters for the purpose of this credit posting is that you make a purchase directly with an airline. So in practice, award flight taxes and fees, seat upgrade fees, lounge passes, pet fees, checked bag fees, etc., should qualify as well. While it won’t be 100% consistent, you’ll also often find that purchasing airline gift cards qualifies toward this. The key is that the purchase is processed by the airline and not by a third party. This means that inflight Wi-Fi purchases and the purchase of points often might not qualify, since those transactions are often processed by third parties. For example, when it comes to buying points, airlines like American and Delta process those purchases directly, while other airlines process them through points.com. Let me also emphasize that since the credit is broken up quarterly, you can use a $50 flight credit in each of the following periods: January 1 through March 31 for Q1 April 1 through June 30 for Q2 July 1 through September 30 for Q3 October 1 through December 31 for Q4 Since you need to the purchase to actually post to your account within that timeframe, I’d recommend always making a purchase at least a few days before the end of the quarter, to ensure the purchase actually posts to your account in time. Use your Hilton Aspire flight credit for up to $50 quarterly The Amex airline fee credit (Enrollment required) on products like American Express Platinum Card® (learn more) can be difficult to use, given that it specifically excludes airfare, and only applies to airline fees, which many of us don’t spend much on. By comparison, the credit on the Hilton Aspire Card is awesome, as it’s specifically valid for airfare, and for that matter, any purchase made directly with an airline. Now, the catch is that I try to maximize my points on airfare purchases, so I don’t just want to purchase all my airfare on the Hilton Aspire Card. So, what’s my strategy? Over time, I’ve used multiple strategies to maximize my value with this perk: Sometimes I’ll just buy the cheapest ticket on American that’s not in basic economy; that way I can cancel the ticket and then apply the travel credit toward any future flight within 12 months I’ve also used the $50 credit to buy an airline gift card; for example (there’s no guarantee this will continue to work), but I’ve been able to buy a $50 Delta gift card, and have that reimbursed Sometimes I’ll just use the credit to pay award ticket taxes & fees; for example, typically a domestic award will have $5.60 in taxes & fees one-way, so that $50 quarterly credit covers the fees on nearly nine one-way domestic awards So while this credit does take up a little bit of mental energy in terms of having to remember to use it each quarter, to me it’s one of the perks that helps justify the $550 annual fee. The way I view it, the Hilton resort credit and flight credit help to offset most of the annual fee, while the annual free night reward and Hilton Diamond elite status are what truly make this card special, and what offer outsized value. While minor in the scheme of things, let me also mention that the Hilton Aspire Card also earns 7x Hilton Honors points on airfare purchases, so that means you can be rewarded quite nicely for those purchases while also using your $50 quarterly airline credit. You’d even earn the 7x points on the entire transaction amount. In other words, if you made a $100 airline purchase, you’d potentially receive a $50 statement credit, but you’d still earn 700 Hilton Honors points for the entire purchase. It’s easy enough to maximize the $50 quarterly Hilton Aspire flight credit Hilton Aspire flight credit FAQs How much is the Hilton Aspire Card flight credit worth annually? The Hilton Aspire gives you up to $200 in flight statement credits each calendar year, delivered as up to $50 per quarter. How does the Hilton Aspire Card quarterly flight credit work? The Hilton Aspire $200 flight credit is split into four $50 credits, one for each calendar quarter: January to March, April to June, July to September, and October to December. Each credit is tied to its quarter, so plan to use one in each window. What purchases qualify for the Hilton Aspire Card flight credit? The Hilton Aspire flight credit can be used for purchases directly with airlines, or flight purchases through AmexTravel.com. Generally as long as a purchase is billed directly by an airline, the credit can count toward it. Do I need to enroll to get the Hilton Aspire Card flight credit? No, there’s no registration required to use the Hilton Aspire flight credit. Just charge an eligible airfare purchase to the card and the credit is applied automatically. How long does the Hilton Aspire Card flight credit take to post? Amex says it can take 8-12 weeks after an eligible purchase for the Hilton Aspire flight credit to post. In practice, credits typically post faster than that. Can Hilton Aspire Card authorized users trigger the flight credit? Yes, purchases by the primary cardholder or an authorized user on the Hilton Aspire both count toward the flight credit, but the combined total is still capped at $200 per year. What’s the easiest way to use the Hilton Aspire $50 quarterly credit? You can use the Hilton Aspire flight credit to book a cheap ticket of at least $50 each quarter, ideally for a flight you’ll actually take. If you want to keep earning bonus points on your main airfare purchases with another card, book a flexible fare instead. Most non-basic-economy tickets no longer carry change fees, so you can cancel and bank the value as an airline credit toward a future trip. The credit applies when the purchase posts, so check your airline’s rules on credit validity first. How is this different from the Amex Platinum airline fee credit? The Amex Platinum airline fee credit requires enrollment and specifically excludes airfare, so it only covers incidental airline fees. The Hilton Aspire credit is valid for airfare itself, which makes it much easier to use. Bottom line The Hilton Aspire Card offers many valuable benefits, and among those is a $200 annual flight credit. This is a quarterly credit, so you get up to a $50 statement credit every three months that can be applied toward an eligible flight purchase. My strategy is typically to just put a cheap flight purchase onto this card once per quarter. Ideally it’s for a flight I actually take, though otherwise I just buy a ticket with some flexibility (which most tickets have nowadays), and then I can always bank the credit toward another flight. What has your experience been with using the Hilton Aspire Card $200 flight credit? The following links will direct you to the rates and fees for mentioned American Express Cards. These include: Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card (Rates & Fees).