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Premium travel rewards cards, such as the ones we’re comparing today, offer a collection of benefits every frequent traveler can use. The challenge is to find the card best suited to your spending profile that offers benefits aligned with your priorities. You’ll also want to ensure the card you select lets you redeem your rewards for what matters most to you.
That’s a tall order, but these premium travel credit cards are designed to meet the challenge.
We’re comparing the Platinum Card^® from American Express and the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card. We’ll review the value of each card’s welcome offer, how they compare with earnings and redemptions, and the benefits associated with each card.
Before discussing the specific details of each card, let’s start with an overview of our 2 featured cards.
Benefit
Platinum Card^® from American Express
Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card
Welcome Offer
Apply and find out if you’re eligible for as high as 175,000 points after spending $8,000 in eligible purchases in the first 6 months. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer.
Earn 150,000 bonus points after you spend $6,000 within your first 6 months of Card Membership.
Earnings
Redemptions
Transfer to travel partners, redeem for select travel via AmexTravel.com, gift cards, and shopping.
Redeem for free hotel nights, gift cards, shopping, and bid on experiences.
Travel Benefits and Protections
Additional Travel Benefits and Protections
Shopping Benefits and Protections
Additional Shopping Benefits and Protections
Statement credits for airline incidentals, Oura, Resy, lululemon, Walmart+, Saks Fifth Avenue, CLEAR^® Plus, digital entertainment, prepaid hotels, and more (upon enrollment)
Statement credits for CLEAR^® Plus, resort and property credits for Hilton stays, and airline credits (upon enrollment)
Annual Fee

$550 (rates & fees)
A welcome offer for a travel rewards credit card is a valuable benefit you can earn after approval. The Amex Platinum card and the Hilton Aspire card each have generous offers, and you can earn them by meeting the minimum spending requirements in the specified period.
Here’s a quick snapshot of the current welcome offers and card highlights.
The Amex Platinum reigns supreme for luxury travel, offering the best airport lounge access plus generous statement credits, and complimentary elite status.
If you're approved and accept this Card, your credit score may be impacted.
When it comes to cards that offer top-notch benefits, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better card out there than the Platinum Card^® from American Express.
Make no mistake — the Amex Platinum card is a premium card with a premium price tag. With amazing benefits like best-in-class airport lounge access, hotel elite status, and tremendous value in annual statement credits, it can easily prove to be one of the most lucrative cards in your wallet year after year.
American Express Membership Rewards
Hot Tip: Apply and find out if you’re eligible for a welcome bonus offer of as high as 175,000 points with the Amex Platinum. Welcome offers may vary and you may not be eligible for an offer.
Membership Rewards points can be redeemed for travel for 1 cent per point. With this valuation, a 50,000-point welcome bonus offer could be redeemed for $500 in travel and a 100,000-point bonus for $1,000 in travel.
However, here at Upgraded Points, we value Amex points at 2.2 cents per point, meaning if you transfer your points or seek high-value redemptions, 50,000 points could actually be worth $1,100 — or potentially even more.
Consult our travel points and mile valuations to understand what your points are worth.
Automatic Hilton Diamond status, an annual free night, and a travel and resort credit make this the perfect card for those who stay in Hilton hotels.
If you're approved and accept this Card, your credit score may be impacted.
Paying hundreds of dollars for an annual fee on a co-branded hotel card might seem ridiculous, but you should know that the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card is much more than your run-of-the-mill hotel credit card.
The Hilton Aspire card is not only a phenomenal card for Hilton Honors loyalists, but even those who visit Hilton hotels just a few times a year can still get excellent value out of all the benefits that are packed into this card.
So let’s have a look at what makes the card so valuable to travelers.
The value of a welcome offer depends on the selected hotel and the dates you’re redeeming points. However, you can generally count on a value of at least 0.5 cents per Hilton Honors point. This valuation would equate the current welcome offer to up to $750, but you could receive much greater value depending on the specific hotel redemption.
The ultimate value of a welcome offer depends on how you redeem your points. You can determine the value you’re receiving for your redeemed points by finding the cash price of the travel you’re interested in, then dividing that price by the number of points you’d be redeeming. This gives you the value per point you’d receive for your redemption. 
Both of these cards earn well on travel purchases. The Amex Platinum card earns more on flights and prepaid hotels, while the Hilton Aspire card has a slightly broader range of categories for elevated earnings.
Here’s how the cards compare in terms of earnings.
While earnings vary widely on these cards, the value you receive for your points at redemption time ultimately determines the more valuable rewards currency for your situation.
Membership Rewards points are some of the most valuable travel rewards points you can earn because they are flexible at redemption time.
Conversely, Hilton Honors points are easy to earn and provide solid value when booking free hotel nights.
Here’s how you earn points on each of these cards.
Amex Platinum Card
Hilton Aspire Card
If you spend a lot on flights and prepaid hotels, you’d earn well on the Amex Platinum card. If you’re a Hilton loyalist, the earnings on the Hilton Aspire card would add up substantially when spending at Hilton and on flights, rental cars, and dining. 
When it’s time to redeem your points, you’d have more flexibility with Membership Rewards points. You can redeem travel points or transfer points to the Amex transfer partners for even greater potential value. It’s worth noting that Amex Membership Rewards points transfer to Hilton Honors at a 1:2 ratio.
Hilton Honors points can be redeemed at nearly 6,500 hotel properties worldwide using variable award pricing. You can also redeem Hilton Honors points by transferring to airline partners at a lesser value.
While both cards offer various redemptions, just a few offer the best value for your points.
Card
Best Redemption Options
Additional Redemption Options 
Amex Platinum Card
Transfer to hotel partners, redeem for travel other than flights on AmexTravel.com, statement credits, gift cards, merchandise, Amazon, or Ticketmaster, or donate points.
Hilton Aspire Card
Transfer to travel partners, bid for experiences, transfer for gift cards, Amazon, car rentals, or cruises, or donate points.
To get the most value out of your Membership Rewards points, you have to get creative. Same goes for Hilton Honors redemptions; it takes time and research to figure out where and how you can obtain the most value.
Statement credits provide direct value that can help offset a card’s annual fee. Some may require enrollment.
Here are the statement credits you can expect to receive from specific purchases made on your Amex Platinum card or Hilton Aspire card (some benefits may require enrollment):
Amex Platinum Card
Hilton Aspire Card
The Amex Platinum card offers the opportunity for thousands of dollars in statement credits, while the Hilton Aspire card offers just over $900. However, the ultimate value you receive depends on how many of these statement credit offers you actually use. 
Frequent travelers value the sanctuary, better food, and refreshment aspects of premium airport lounge access. Only one of the card’s we’re comparing today offers lounge access, and that’s the Amex Platinum card. The Hilton Aspire card no longer offers airport lounge access.
The value of airport lounge access can be significant. Here is a sampling of current comparative lounge membership costs.
The Amex Platinum card excels in offering access to a wide selection of global lounge networks, including the prestigious Centurion Lounge network. Access is provided (except where noted) for the primary cardholder plus up to 2 additional guests.
Amex Platinum Card: Those with an Additional Platinum Card have full worldwide lounge access with the same cardholder and guest privileges as the primary member. You can add Additional Platinum Card holders for a $195 annual fee per person (rates & fees).
Access 37 international airlines to book discounted premium flights through the International Airline Program.
While you might not expect a high level of hotel elite benefits from a general travel rewards card, the Amex Platinum card fares quite well in this category.
Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite members receive upgraded rooms (when available), free Wi-Fi, welcome points, 25% bonus points on earnings, and late checkout.
Members can enroll in Sterling status, the only elite tier in the Leaders Club program. Benefits include upgrade priority at check-in, 5% bonus earnings, and 5 prearrival upgrade awards annually.
Receive upgraded rooms, free Wi-Fi, complimentary breakfast or a food and beverage credit in the U.S., and earn 18 points per $1 spent at Hilton properties, thanks to Hilton Honors Gold status.
Enroll for these benefits via your online Amex Platinum card account under the section entitled “Rewards and Benefits.”
When you book a Fine Hotels + Resorts property, you receive these amazing benefits:

Stay 2 nights or more with The Hotel Collection and receive a $100 credit toward on-site qualifying dining, spa, and resort activities. Additionally, you earn 5x Membership Rewards on prepaid bookings.
Remember that cardholders can get up to $600 in annual statement credits to offset the costs of booking a hotel with Fine Hotels + Resorts or The Hotel Collection. This is available as up to $300 semiannually (a stay of 2 nights or more is required for using the credit on Hotel Collection bookings).
You should expect a premium hotel credit card to have a solid collection of elite-style benefits, and the Hilton Aspire card delivers. The Hilton Aspire card offers elite status, elevated earnings, free hotel nights, and more.
The Amex Platinum card provides the following rental car program benefits upon enrollment:
Cardholders get National Car Rental Emerald Club Executive Status (enrollment is required).
Since the Amex Platinum card and the Hilton Aspire card are premium cards issued by American Express, the travel benefits and protections are similar. The benefits listed apply to both cards unless specifically noted:
Benefits offered by premium travel rewards cards frequently require registration before they can be activated. When you receive your card, sign in to your online card account and register for any desired benefits under the benefits section.
The Amex Platinum card and Hilton Aspire card offer these shopping benefits and protections:
Each of these cards has specific fees you should be aware of before applying:
Neither of our featured cards charges foreign transaction fees.
Authorized users receive some of the same benefits as primary cardholders.
Additional Platinum Card holders receive full worldwide lounge access, hotel elite status, and Global Entry or TSA PreCheck statement credit, for $195 per card (rates & fees).
Though there is no additional fee (rates & fees) to add authorized users to your Hilton Aspire card, they don’t receive hotel elite status or additional statement credits. The charges made by authorized users earn points that are credited to the primary cardholder account. Authorized users do receive travel and shopping benefits and protections.
When we compare benefits for additional cardholders, the Amex Platinum card offers significantly more benefits, though you have to pay a fee. 
While there are definitely overlaps in the benefits on these cards, deciding between the two is not difficult.
If you are a Hilton loyalist, you’d benefit greatly from having the Hilton Aspire card.
If you’re a frequent international traveler, enjoy Centurion Lounges, purchase a lot of flights, and have little hotel loyalty, you may fare better with the Amex Platinum card. And remember, you can always transfer Membership Rewards points to Hilton Honors points.
The card that is better for you depends on your priorities. If you are a Hilton loyalist, the Hilton Aspire card is a solid choice for significant earnings at Hilton properties, elite status, and good redemptions at Hilton.
If you’re a frequent traveler and have little hotel loyalty but spend a lot on flights and prepaid hotels, you’re going to find better value with the Amex Platinum card.
The Amex Platinum card is also the better card if you value worldwide airport lounge access.
American Express premium travel rewards cards are worth paying an annual fee if you can use most of the benefits offered by the card you select.
If a card provides worldwide airport lounge access, for example, and you’d usually purchase this annual membership, having a card with lounge access would make sense. And, if you utilize the statement credits, elite benefits, and travel protections that come with the card, you can realize more than enough value to offset the cost of an annual fee.
As long as you have 1 Membership Rewards-earning card open and active, your points won’t expire. If you decide to close your card, you should redeem or transfer your points prior to closure to avoid losing them.
Hilton Honors points don’t expire as long as you have activity in your account within any 12-month period — activity is defined as earning or redeeming Hilton Honors points.
You don’t need to have a Hilton Honors credit card open to keep points active, as once points are earned, they are deposited into your Hilton Honors account and are then subject to the terms associated with that account.
For rates and fees of the Platinum Card^® from American Express, click here.
For rates and fees of the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card, click here.
For the trip cancellation and interruption insurance benefit of the

, the maximum benefit amount for trip cancellation and interruption insurance is $10,000 per covered trip and $20,000 per eligible card per 12 consecutive month period. Eligibility and benefit level varies by card. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by New Hampshire Insurance Company, an AIG Company.
For the trip cancellation and interruption insurance benefit of the

, the maximum benefit amount for trip cancellation and interruption insurance is $10,000 per covered trip and $20,000 per eligible card per 12 consecutive month period. Eligibility and benefit level varies by card. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by New Hampshire Insurance Company, an AIG Company.
For the car rental loss and damage insurance benefit of the

, car rental loss and damage insurance can provide coverage up to $75,000 for theft of or damage to most rental vehicles when you use your eligible card to reserve and pay for the entire eligible vehicle rental and decline the collision damage waiver or similar option offered by the commercial car rental company. This product provides secondary coverage and does not include liability coverage. Not all vehicle types or rentals are covered. geographic restrictions apply. Eligibility and benefit level varies by card. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company. Car Rental Loss or Damage Coverage is offered through American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc.
For the car rental loss and damage insurance benefit of the

, car rental loss and damage insurance can provide coverage up to $75,000 for theft of or damage to most rental vehicles when you use your eligible card to reserve and pay for the entire eligible vehicle rental and decline the collision damage waiver or similar option offered by the commercial car rental company. This product provides secondary coverage and does not include liability coverage. Not all vehicle types or rentals are covered. geographic restrictions apply. Eligibility and benefit level varies by card. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company. Car Rental Loss or Damage Coverage is offered through American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc.
For the baggage insurance plan benefit of the

, eligibility and benefit level varies by card. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company.
For the baggage insurance plan benefit of the

, eligibility and benefit level varies by card. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company.
For the premium global assist hotline benefit of the

, eligibility and benefit level varies by Card. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. If approved and coordinated by premium global assist hotline, emergency medical transportation assistance may be provided at no cost. In any other circumstance, card members may be responsible for the costs charged by third-party service providers.
For the premium global assist hotline benefit of the

, eligibility and benefit level varies by Card. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. If approved and coordinated by premium global assist hotline, emergency medical transportation assistance may be provided at no cost. In any other circumstance, card members may be responsible for the costs charged by third-party service providers.
For the return protection benefit of the

, with return protection, you may return eligible purchases to American Express if the seller won’t take them back up to 90 days from the date of purchase. American Express may refund the full purchase price excluding shipping and handling, up to $300 per item, up to a maximum of $1,000 per calendar year per Card account, if you purchased it entirely with your eligible American Express® Card. Purchases must be made in the U.S. or its territories. Eligibility and benefit level varies by card. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details.
For the return protection benefit of the

, with return protection, you may return eligible purchases to American Express if the seller won’t take them back up to 90 days from the date of purchase. American Express may refund the full purchase price excluding shipping and handling, up to $300 per item, up to a maximum of $1,000 per calendar year per Card account, if you purchased it entirely with your eligible American Express® Card. Purchases must be made in the U.S. or its territories. Eligibility and benefit level varies by card. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details.
For the extended warranty benefit of the

, eligibility and benefit level varies by card. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company.
For the extended warranty benefit of the

, eligibility and benefit level varies by card. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company.
For the purchase protection benefit of the

, purchase protection is an embedded benefit of your card membership and requires no enrollment. It can help protect covered purchases made on your eligible card when they’re accidentally damaged, stolen, or lost, for up to 90 days from the covered purchase date. The coverage is limited up to $10,000 per occurrence, up to $50,000 per card member account per calendar year. Coverage limits apply. Eligibility and benefit level varies by card. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company.
For the purchase protection benefit of the

, purchase protection is an embedded benefit of your card membership and requires no enrollment. It can help protect covered purchases made on your eligible card when they’re accidentally damaged, stolen, or lost, for up to 90 days from the covered purchase date. The coverage is limited up to $10,000 per occurrence, up to $50,000 per card member account per calendar year. Coverage limits apply. Eligibility and benefit level varies by card. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company.
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Christine ran her own business developing and managing insurance and financial services offices. This stoked a passion for points and miles and she now has over 2 dozen credit cards and creates in-depth, detailed content for UP.
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Platinum Card^® from American Express
Platinum Card^® from American Express
Welcome Offer: As High As 175,000 Points. Find Out Your Offer.
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