Even though I only stay at Hilton Honors properties a few times each year, I’m a fan of the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card because I believe it offers far more value than its $550 annual fee (see rates and fees).
I enjoy getting complimentary Hilton Diamond status as a cardmember and have redeemed the annual free night certificate I get each year after renewing my card at spectacular properties. But one perk I must carefully plan my trips to utilize is the Hilton Aspire resort credit.
So, here’s what you should know about the Hilton Aspire resort credit, including how to determine which properties are eligible.
Hilton Aspire resort credit basics
If you have the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card, you can get up to $200 in statement credits twice a year when you make eligible purchases directly with participating Hilton resort properties. Specifically, you’ll get one up to $200 credit from January through June and another between July and December, totaling $400 back annually.
Considering the Hilton Aspire has a $550 annual fee, fully using these statement credits at participating Hilton resorts each year can effectively cover a significant portion of your card’s annual fee. As such, you should consider the best way to use the Hilton Aspire resort credit during each qualifying period.
Related: Is the Hilton Aspire Amex card worth the annual fee?
How to use the Hilton Aspire resort credit
To use the Hilton Aspire resort credit, you or an authorized user on your account should stay at an eligible Hilton resort and use your Hilton Aspire card to pay for eligible charges.
Advanced and nonrefundable purchase rates do not count toward the Hilton Aspire resort credit. Still, room rates and other incidental charges to a room should be eligible when you pay at the property with your Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card.
In the past, some consumers have had luck using their Hilton Aspire resort credit when making spa or restaurant purchases at participating properties without staying.
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However, the terms of the Hilton Aspire resort credit state that “Incidental charges (including charges made at restaurants, spas, and other establishments within the hotel property) must be charged to your room and paid for with a Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card for the benefit to apply.”
The terms go on to state that “your purchase will not be eligible if it is not made directly with a Hilton Resort (e.g., if a purchase is made at a restaurant or convenience store within a Hilton Resort).”
Some travelers have also had luck getting the Hilton Aspire resort credit to cover advanced deposits and gift cards purchased directly with an eligible resort. For example, TPG’s Carly Helfand purchased gift cards in the first half of the year with a resort she was staying at in the second half of the year, and Matt Moffitt called a hotel to make a deposit on a 2025 stay near the end of 2024.
Related: Problems using your Hilton gift cards? Try this trick that worked for me
The terms of the Hilton Aspire resort credit say you “may not receive the statement credit if we receive inaccurate information or are otherwise unable to identify your purchase as eligible, if a transaction is made with an electronic wallet or through a third party (such as an app store), or if the merchant uses a mobile or wireless card reader to process it.”
So, be sure to have your physical Hilton Aspire card to pay with when checking out of an eligible resort if you want the charge to apply toward your Hilton Aspire resort credit.
As with many statement credits, the credit is based on the transaction date, which may differ from when you made a purchase. I highly recommend that you don’t wait until the last few days of June or December to make an eligible purchase at a Hilton resort. Otherwise, the charge could post after your current credit expires.
It may take up to twelve weeks for the statement credit(s) to post to your account after your purchase. If Amex hasn’t posted the statement credits after 12 weeks have elapsed, call the number on the back of your card to speak with an agent.
Related: 7 reasons to get the Hilton Amex Aspire Card
Hilton Aspire resort credit list
The Hilton Aspire’s terms direct you to view a list sorted by brand or region on the Hilton website. I recommend using the sort by region function, as then you can look through the currently eligible properties that you may be able to include in an upcoming trip.
Don’t use the search bar at the top of this page, though, as doing so will also display properties that aren’t eligible for the Hilton Aspire resort credit.
Related: 11 best Hilton all-inclusive resorts
How I use the Hilton Aspire resort credit
My husband and I each have a Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card, which means we get a total of two free night certificates to use each year. This also means we have two sets of Hilton Aspire resort credits to use each January through June and July through December.
So, we find two Hilton resorts to visit each year — one from January through June and another between July and December — and split the bill between our cards at checkout.
In 2024, we used the January through June credits at the Hilton Alexandria Corniche in Egypt. Our five-night stay cost just $433, so we used our credits to cover all but $33.
Meanwhile, we used our July through December credit for incidentals at the Waldorf Astoria Maldives Ithaafushi, where we used two free night certificates and 150,000 Hilton points for our room.
In 2025, we used the January through June credits at the Hilton Cartagena Hotel. Our three-night stay cost $536, so we covered all but $136 with our Hilton Aspire resort credits.
I haven’t decided where we’ll use our Hilton Aspire resort credits in the second half of this year. However, I’d love to return to Jordan’s Dead Sea resort area, and I love Surfers Paradise in Australia. Some of the properties in Thailand also look appealing, especially since I’ve yet to visit Hua Hin or Pattaya.
Related: The 21 best Hilton hotels in the world
Use multiple credits on one Hilton stay
TPG contributor Matt Moffitt recently wrote about stacking benefits from two Amex cards to pay just $35 per night for a Hilton stay in Portugal.
In his case, he stacked his Hilton resort credit with the up to $200 in statement credits he gets each year on prepaid Fine Hotels + Resorts or The Hotel Collection (minimum two-night stay required) bookings through American Express Travel® as a benefit of The Platinum Card® from American Express.
But there are other credits you can also potentially use on one stay.
For example, The Business Platinum Card® from American Express gives me up to $200 in statement credits per calendar year (up to $50 per quarter; enrollment in the Hilton for Business program required) when I use my Amex Business Platinum card to make purchases directly with a property in the Hilton portfolio.
I would have put $50 of my Hilton Cartagena stay on my Amex Business Platinum card earlier this year if I hadn’t already used that quarter’s credit for a different stay.
Likewise, it’s worth checking whether any Chase Offers or Amex Offers apply to your stay. Then, consider how you want to split your payment to best use all your credits and offers before you reach the check-in desk. I’ve never had an issue asking the front desk to split payment for a stay across several cards.
Related: How to maximize the statement credits on Hilton’s cobranded credit cards
Bottom line
The Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card is one of the most valuable hotel credit cards on the market. The card’s complimentary Hilton Diamond status and 14 points per dollar earnings on eligible purchases made directly with hotels or resorts within the Hilton portfolio are straightforward to maximize.
Maximizing the Hilton Aspire resort credits and annual free night certificate takes more planning. But, even if you don’t fully maximize these perks, you’ll likely find the card offers more than enough value to justify paying its annual fee.
If you don’t already have the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card, know that it currently has a welcome offer of 150,000 Hilton Honors bonus points after you spend $6,000 in purchases on the card within your first six months of card membership.
To learn more, read our full review of the Hilton Aspire.
Apply here: Hilton Aspire
For rates and fees of the Hilton Honors Aspire card, click here.
