Amex Hilton Aspire Card Military 2023 | MLA Benefits Explained

All information about American Express Hilton Honors Aspire Card, the Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card, and the Hilton Honors Card has been collected independently by Military Money Manual.

The Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card military benefit waives the annual fee on the card for active duty military and military spouses. This is all thanks to the American Express Military Lending Act policy.

Free Diamond Status at Hilton Hotels for Military

American Express Hilton Honors Aspire Card
Learn how to apply on our partner’s secure site

$450 annual fee waived for military servicemembers and military spouses
Complimentary Diamond Status at all Hilton brands (suite upgrades, breakfast, check in gifts, etc)
150,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points welcome offer after $4,000 of purchases in the first 3 months
1 weekend night reward after opening your account and every year on renewal
$250 Hilton Resort Credit
$250 airline fee credit
14x Hilton Honors Bonus Points at Hilton properties
No foreign transaction fees
The information and associated card details on this page for the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card has been collected independently by Military Money Manual and has not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Full review of Amex Aspire card, terms apply
All information about American Express Hilton Honors Aspire Card has been collected independently by MilitaryMoneymanual.com

Verify your eligibility for Military Lending Act benefits in the MLA database before you apply. The Amex Hilton Aspire card unlocks free Hilton Diamond status for military servicemembers and military spouses.

American Express currently offers 3 Hilton Honors personal credit cards and 1 business card. Together, you could earn 400,000+ Hilton points if you acquired all 4 cards and met the minimum spend on each. That’s more than enough for a 6 night stay at any of the top Hilton properties.

Amex waives the annual fees of all their personal cards for military servicemembers in accordance with their MLA policy. This includes The Platinum Card^® from American Express and the American Express^® Gold Card.

Upgrade Amex Surpass to Amex Aspire

You can upgrade the lower tier cards (Amex Hilton Surpass and the plain Amex Hilton Honors Card) to the higher tier Amex Hilton Aspire card after 1 year of card membership. The military annual fee waiver is still applied.

This allows you to get up to 3 Amex Aspire cards per person. A married couple could have 6 Aspire cards and earn 6 free nights annually in addition to 6x $250 credits at Hilton properties. That’s $1500 per year of credit. And again, you pay no annual fees on any of these cards as a military servicemember or spouse.

If you and your spouse each opened up your own cards, you could earn over 1,000,000 Hilton Honors points in just a few months. Looks like you’ll need to take some more leave!

Earning 1 Million Hilton Honors Points

Late in 2020 I earned over 1 million Hilton Honors points thanks to these cards and multiple TDY stays at Hilton properties around the world. Screenshot of me becoming a Hilton Points Millionaire:

One million Hilton points is enough for 100 nights at some of Hilton’s properties, like the Hilton Garden Inn Hanoi or 50 nights at the Hilton Garden Inn Bucharest Old Town in Romania.

Plus, even if you book the cheapest room in the hotel, you will probably get upgraded because of your automatic Diamond status through the Hilton Honors Aspire card.

Some of these welcome bonuses are at all time highs. You should apply for these cards when the bonuses are high because Amex only allows you to get bonuses on their cards once per lifetime.

Amex Hilton Honors Aspire Card for Military

The perks of the Amex Hilton Honors Aspire include:

American Express Hilton Honors Aspire Card
Learn how to apply on our partner’s secure site

$450 annual fee waived for military servicemembers and military spouses
Complimentary Diamond Status at all Hilton brands (suite upgrades, breakfast, check in gifts, etc)
150,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points welcome offer after $4,000 of purchases in the first 3 months
1 weekend night reward after opening your account and every year on renewal
$250 Hilton Resort Credit
$250 airline fee credit
14x Hilton Honors Bonus Points at Hilton properties
No foreign transaction fees
The information and associated card details on this page for the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card has been collected independently by Military Money Manual and has not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Full review of Amex Aspire card, terms apply
All information about American Express Hilton Honors Aspire Card has been collected independently by MilitaryMoneymanual.com

If you add up the 18 nights stay (worth at least $1500), the 1 weekend reward night ($200), $250 resort credit, and $250 airline fee credit this card can easily give you $2200 of value in the first year PLUS the annual fee of $450 waived!

The free weekend night award can be cashed in at luxury properties that would normally cost hundreds if not thousands of dollars a night.

That’s $2,650 of value from this card alone. Learn how to apply for the Amex Hilton Aspire card here.

Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card

The benefits of the Amex Hilton Honors Surpass include an annual fee waiver for active duty military and military spouses.

Hilton Honors American Express Surpass^® Card
Learn how to apply on our partner’s secure site

Earn 130,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points plus a Free Night Reward after you spend $2,000 in purchases on the Card in the first 3 months of Card Membership.
Earn a weekend night award when you spend $15,000 on the card in a calendar year
$95 annual fee waived for US military
12x Hilton Honors points at Hilton properties
Upgrade this card to another fee waived Aspire card and get all the benefits of the Aspire card x2
Learn how to upgrade to Amex Aspire cards
All information about Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card has been collected independently by MilitaryMoneymanual.com

One tip I have is you can upgrade this card to an Aspire card. You can reap double the benefits, such as resort credit, airline fees, reimbursed, AND get an additional weekend night free annually. You will still pay no annual fees if you are an active duty US servicemember.

Learn how to apply for this card here. (Note this card used to be called the Hilton Honors Ascend card, but AMEX changed the name to Hilton Honors Surpass card in July 2019.)

Hilton Honors American Express Card – No Annual Fee

Hilton Honors American Express Card
Learn how to apply on our partner’s secure site

Earn 80,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points after you spend $1,000 in purchases on the Card in the first 3 months of Card Membership.
Earn 7X Hilton Honors Bonus Points for each dollar of eligible purchases charged directly with hotels and resorts within the Hilton portfolio.
Earn 5X Hilton Honors Bonus Points for each dollar of eligible purchases at U.S. restaurants, at U.S. supermarkets, and at U.S. gas stations.
Earn 3X Hilton Honors Bonus Points for all other eligible purchases on your Card.
No Foreign Transaction Fees. Enjoy international travel without additional fees on purchases made abroad.
Enjoy complimentary Hilton Honors Silver status with your Card. Plus, spend $20,000 on eligible purchases on your Card in a calendar year and you can earn an upgrade to Hilton Honors Gold status through the end of the next calendar year.
No Annual Fee.
Terms Apply.
*All information about Hilton Honors American Express Card has been collected independently by MilitaryMoneymanual.com

This is an EASY way to add to your Hilton Honors points stash.

You can upgrade the Hilton Honors American Express Card to an Amex Hilton Aspire card. That can get you 3x Aspire benefits per spouse!
3 Aspire cards would be $750 in annual Hilton resort credit + 3 free weekend nights annually.
That’s a free weekend away every year, just for holding on to these cards!
And you will pay no annual fees if you are active duty US military!

The Hilton Honors American Express Business Card

Hilton Hotels Diamond Status for Military

This card’s best benefit is a welcome bonus offer you can earn after meeting the minimum spending.

Amex stopped waiving business card annual fees for military servicemembers in January 2020, but this card only has a $95 annual fee.

The annual fee is low enough that it might be worth paying for a year or two just to get the welcome bonus.

Learn how to apply for the The Hilton Honors American Express Business Card

Earn 130,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points after you spend $3,000 in purchases on the Hilton Honors Business Card within the first three months of Card Membership.
Earn Hilton Honors Bonus Points for each dollar of eligible purchases on your Card: 12X at hotels and resorts in the Hilton portfolio, 6X at U.S. gas stations, on U.S. purchases for shipping, on wireless telephone services purchased directly from U.S. service providers, on flights booked directly with airlines or with Amex Travel, on car rentals booked directly from select car rental companies, and at U.S. restaurants, 3X on all other eligible purchases.
Enjoy complimentary Hilton Honors Gold Status with your Hilton Honors Business Card.
Earn a Free Night Reward from Hilton Honors after you spend $15,000 in purchases on your Card in a calendar year.
Earn another Free Night Reward from Hilton Honors after you spend an additional $45,000 in purchases on your Card in the same calendar year.
Terms apply.

One tip is that you can apply for this card even if your business doesn’t make much money. Even if you only sell a few items on eBay or Craigslist, you should qualify for a business credit card. Driving for Uber or any of the other “gig” economy jobs qualify as businesses as well.

Use your Social Security number instead of a employer tax identification number and select “sole proprietor” from the list of corporation types.

Hilton Honors Diamond Status Perks

The tangible perks of Hilton Honors Diamond Status include:

Executive lounge access (free food and drink)
Late check-out
Room upgrades up to 1-bedroom suite
Complimentary breakfast at ALL Hilton Hotels

When I check in at any Hilton around the world, I have always been upgraded as a Diamond member. When we stayed at the Hilton Edinburgh Carlton, we were upgraded to a deluxe king room but more importantly we had access to the executive lounge.

Free happy hour, free espresso machine, free breakfast, and a nice place to relax and get some work done while on the road. Make sure you leave a nice tip for the wait staff, since you’re eating and drinking for free!

Enjoying some Mary’s Milk Bar ice cream in Grassmarket Edinburgh looking up at the castle

Another excellent perk of Hilton Diamond status is the free breakfast. One of the best hotel breakfasts I ever had was at the Hilton Garden Inn Bucharest Old Town. My god it was good!

Sorry for the gratuitous photos of a hotel buffet breakfast, but just look at that bacon!

Amazing bacon and sausage for breakfast at the Hilton Garden Inn Bucharest Old Town. Free for Hilton Diamond members!

Hilton Honors Military Program

While we’re discussing Hilton military benefits, I recommend checking out the Hilton Honors Military Program.

This program offers 100,000 Hilton Honors points to separating or retiring military servicemembers. The points are intended to be used for job search, relocation, or setting up your post-military life. Check out the email below one of my reader’s received when they applied for the program.

You can learn more about the free 100,000 Hilton points for separating military.

Hilton Aspire Card FAQ

Is the Amex Aspire worth it?

Yes, the Amex Hilton Honors Aspire Card is 100% worth it. Especially if you are in the military, you can get the annual fee waived on this card with Amex’s Military Lending Act policy. The card comes with complimentary Diamond Status, Hilton’s highest tier of status.

Does Hilton Aspire Card have foreign transaction fees?

No, the Amex Aspire card does not have foreign transaction fees. This makes it a great card for overseas military, whether TDY/TAD or PCS.

Can you upgrade to Hilton Aspire?

Yes, you can upgrade the lower tier Amex cards like Hilton Honors card and Hilton Honors Surpass card to additional Amex Hilton Honors Aspire cards.

How to use the Hilton Aspire resort credit?

You must stay at a Hilton Resort property listed on hilton.com/resorts. Even if the property has resort in the name, it may not be an official Hilton Resort and eligible for the $250 credit from the Hilton Aspire card.

Can you have 2 Aspire Credit Cards?

Yes, I have 3 Amex Hilton Honors Aspire cards and my wife has 2 Aspire cards. You can upgrade the lower tier Amex Hilton cards to the American Express Hilton Honors Aspire card and receive multiple free nights per year.

What are your favorite perks of the Hilton Honors Aspire card? What was the best upgrade you received as a Hilton Diamond member?

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