The American Express® Gold Card and Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card are premium credit cards tailored to different lifestyles.
The Amex Gold Card focuses on everyday spending, offering significant rewards on dining, U.S. supermarkets, and flights.
In contrast, the Hilton Honors Aspire Card targets frequent Hilton guests, providing generous rewards within the Hilton portfolio, complimentary Diamond status, and other travel-related perks.
This article will compare each card based on several factors to help you make an informed decision on which card is the best to add to your wallet.
Full Reviews: American Express® Gold Card and Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card.
Overview of Each Card
Welcome Bonus
The Amex Gold currently offers the following welcome bonus:
bonus_miles_full
The Hilton Aspire Amex currently offers the following welcome bonus:
Earn 150,000 Hilton Points After $4,000 in Eligible Purchases in the First 3 Months.
Earning Rewards
The Amex Gold earns Membership Rewards points and offers some very nice points multipliers to help you earn a lot of points:
- 4 points per dollar on dining at restaurants (including takeout and food delivery in the U.S.).
- 4 points per dollar on up to $25,000 in purchases at U.S. supermarkets per calendar year (then 1 point per dollar).
- 3 points per dollar on flights booked directly from the airline or through the Amex Travel.
- 1 point per dollar on all other eligible purchases.
The Hilton Aspire Amex earns Hilton Honors points at the following rates:
- 14 points per dollar at Hilton Hotels and Resorts;
- 7 points per dollar on flights booked directly with airlines or AmexTravel.com;
- 7 points per dollar on car rentals booked directly with select car rental companies;
- 7 points per dollar at U.S. restaurants, including takeout and delivery; and
- 3 points per dollar on all other purchses.
Winner: Amex Gold for non-Hilton spending. Amex Membership Rewards points are more valuable than Hilton Honors points, so the Amex Gold is a great option for restaurants, U.S. Supermarkets, and flights.
The Hilton Aspire beats the Amex Gold when it comes to spending at Hilton Honors (14x Hilton points vs 1 Membership Rewards point).
Card Benefits and Perks
The American Express Gold Card offers the following benefits for its cardholders:
- Up to $120 annual dining statement credit: Earn up to $10 in monthly statement credits when you pay with the Amex Gold Card at participating dining partners, including Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com, Milk Bar, and select Shake Shack locations. Enrollment is required.
- Up to $120 in annual Uber Cash: Earn up to $10 in Uber Cash monthly for Uber Eats and Uber rides in the U.S. when you enroll and add the card to the Uber app.
- Up to $100 in hotel credits: Cardmembers who use their card to book a stay of two nights or more through Amex’s The Hotel Collection receive a $100 on-site credit for qualifying activities.
- Trip delay insurance ($300 for a delay of more than 12 hours)*
- Lost luggage reimbursement*
- No foreign transaction fees
- Secondary rental car insurance*
- Return protection*
- Purchase protection*
- Extended warranty
* Eligibility and benefit level varies by card. Terms, conditions, and limitations apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details.
The Hilton Aspire Amex offers the following benefits and perks:
- Top-tier Hilton Diamond Elite status.
- Annual Free Night Reward.
- Additional free night reward if you spend up to $60,000 on eligible purchases in a calendar year.
- Priority Pass airport lounge access.
- $250 Hilton Resort credit.
- $250 Airline fee credit.
- $100 Hilton On-Property Credit for two night stay at Waldorf Astoria and Conrad Hotels.
- No foreign transaction fees.
- Secondary rental car insurance.*
- Trip delay insurance.*
- Trip cancellation and interruption insurance.*
- Baggage Insurance Plan.*
- Return protection.*
- Purchase protection.*
- Extended Warranty.*
* Eligibility and benefit level varies by card. Terms, conditions, and limitations apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details.
Winner: Hilton Aspire offers great benefits with Hilton Diamond status, airport lounge access, and lots of credits.
Value of the Annual Fees
The American Express Gold has a $250 annual fee (rates and fees), which is offset by the $240 in credits, trip and purchase protections, and extra points on dining, flights, and U.S. supermarkets.
The Hilton Aspire Card has a $450 annual fee (rates & fees), which you can offset with the Hilton Diamond status, annual free night award, and $250 Hilton Resort Statement Credit.
Winner: Tie. The Amex Gold’s annual fee can be easily offset with up to $240 in statement credits. The Hilton Aspire has more potential to get great value from the card, but it requires additional work to maximize the benefits.
Redeeming Rewards
American Express Membership Rewards is a popular rewards program that offers a variety of redemption options, including travel, merchandise, gift cards, and more.
However, to get the most value out of your rewards, it’s important to use them strategically.
One of the best ways to use Amex Membership Rewards is through transfer partners.
The program partners with over 20 airline and hotel partners, including ANA, Air Canada Aeroplan, Iberia Avios, and Avianca LifeMiles.
By transferring your points to these partners, you can often get more value per point and enjoy a wider range of redemption options.
Membership Rewards Transfer Partners [1 to 1]
|
|
|---|---|
Aer Lingus Avios
|
AeroMexico [1 to 1.6]
|
Air Canada Aeroplan
|
Air France/KLM Flying Blue
|
ANA
|
Avianca LifeMiles
|
British Airways Avios
|
Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
|
Delta SkyMiles
|
El Al [1,000 to 20]
|
Emirates
|
Etihad Guest
|
Hawaiian Airlines
|
Iberia Avios
|
JetBlue [250 to 200]
|
Qantas
|
Qatar Airways
|
Singapore KrisFlyer
|
Virgin Atlantic
|
Choice
|
Marriott Bonvoy
|
Hilton Honors [1 to 2]
|
For the Hilton Honors program, redeeming your points for free hotel nights is the best value.
Unfortunately, Hilton does not publish an award chart so the cost to use your points varies based on several factors such as the demand for the hotel and the cash price for your chosen dates.
The price for a “standard room” is between 5,000 points for budget properties and 150,000 points for ultra-luxurious properties like the Waldorf Astoria Maldives.
Hilton also lets you book a “premium room”, which allows you to book suites, villas, and better rooms, but the price for these are much higher than standard rooms.
All Hilton Honors elite members (including Silver, Gold, and Diamond members) receive a fifth night free on award stays, which is a way to help save points on longer award stays.
Winner: Amex Gold since Membership Rewards offers the most flexibility.
The Verdict
Both the Amex Gold and Hilton Aspire Amex are great options and could be a good tandem if you frequently stay at Hilton Hotels.
If you don’t frequently stay at Hilton Hotels, then the Amex Gold is a better option because its rewards flexiblity.
Which card are you going to choose?
