Why the Hilton Aspire Card is one of the best premium cards for families

When I first entered the world of points and miles several years ago, I never thought a credit card could provide enough value to justify a high annual fee. The occasional $95 was no problem. But $550? Not a chance. I don’t care what you’re selling.

Slowly my attitude changed. As I tallied up the value of the recurring credits, perks and sign-up bonuses offered by many cards, I eventually concluded that some could be worth it.

It is rare to find a card like the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card that is worth the annual fee. The card offers excellent ongoing value for families, and if I had to pick one high annual fee card to keep, this would likely be it.

I know a high annual fee card does not make sense for all families, but here are four reasons the Hilton Aspire Amex will easily command a place in my wallet.

The information for the Hilton Aspire Amex card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

The Hilton Aspire* shines in its array of annual perks that help the card quickly pay for itself. This includes an up to $400 annual resort credit (applicable even to room charges), split into $200 bi-annual statement credits. In addition, there’s a up to $200 airline fee credit (up to $50 quarterly) that can be used to book airfare directly with an airline or through AmexTravel.com.

If you can max out these two credits alone, you’re looking at $600 in value for a $550 annual fee (see rates and fees). Enrollment is required for select benefits.

If the annual credits aren’t enough, the Hilton Aspire* also offers a free night reward annually, arriving around your card anniversary, that can be used at any Hilton hotel with standard room reward availability. The value of this night can obviously vary greatly depending on where you use it, but the potential value is excellent. More on that later on.

Executive lounge access

When deciding among hotels for family travel, free breakfast is one of the first perks I consider. If I’m traveling solo, it’s not a huge deal. But the savings really add up when you’re looking at breakfast times five.

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Officially, Hilton Diamond status only offers breakfast to the elite member plus one guest. However, Hilton Diamond status guarantees executive lounge access at any property with an executive lounge. I’ve yet to have a hotel turn us away or charge us for having more than one child. This represents substantial savings for families throughout the year.

I’ve found that most hotels will even honor the restaurant breakfast benefit for additional kids in the same room. For all but one stay, I’ve not been charged for a second child when eating in the restaurant instead of the lounge. We’ve not tried this with our entire family, but when my daughter and I stayed at the Hilton Buenos Aires, a family of five from Northern Ireland ate in the restaurant for free each morning.

One of the reasons that I chose the Hilton Aspire* card over the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card is the fact that it offers top-tier status that guarantees breakfast for everyone. The Bonvoy Brilliant card only offers Marriott Gold Elite status. If you’re curious about which card would be better for your family, check out this head-to-head comparison.

Related: The best hotel chains for families

Free night rewards

In addition to offering a free night reward upon account opening and every year on your cardmember anniversary, Hilton Aspire* also provides up to two more free night rewards each year.

You can earn a second night after you spend $30,000 on the card in a calendar year and a third free night reward when you spend $60,000 during the same calendar year.

This is an excellent perk, especially for families, because based on your children’s ages or the property, they may require you to book a second room to accommodate all guests.

Free night rewards are also an excellent way to stay at properties that would be otherwise quite pricey for a family, such as Conrad Bora Bora Nui or Conrad Maldives Rangali Island.

A card’s initial welcome offer is typically the first thing that turns my head. The current welcome offer for the Hilton Aspire* is 175,000 bonus points after spending $6,000 on the card in the first six months. Offer ends April 17.

Based on TPG’s valuation, this bonus is worth approximately $1,050. A hefty welcome offer makes for a lucrative redemption to jumpstart your family’s travels.

The array of perks and statement credits offered by the Hilton Aspire* make it a winner in terms of a hotel-cobranded credit card. The elite status, annual resort credit, airline fee credit and free night reward more than pay for the card’s annual fee, and the other perks are enough for me to consider this a keeper card for years to come.

Related reading:

For rates and fees of the Hilton Aspire Card, click here.