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Compare the Features and Benefits of IHG One Rewards Traveler Credit Card and
Hilton Honors American Express Aspire® Card

Detailed Comparison Overview

Key Facts
Annual Fee
Avg. Min. Credit Score
Ongoing APR
Balance transfers fees
Best Multiplier
Avg. Point Value
(Learn More)
Bonus Offer
Rating
Review
Key features
Unique Card Benefits
Secondary Car Rental CDW Waiver
Grants Hotel Status
Extended Warranty
Purchase Protection
Trip Protections
No Foreign Transaction Fees
No Fees for Authorized Users
Free Access to Credit Score
Travel and Emergency Assistance Services
Free Annual Hotel Night
Annual Statement Credits
Return Protection
Grants Car Rental Status
Cell Phone Protection
Concierge Services
Amex Offers
Annual Fee
$0
Avg. Min. Credit Score
670-850
Ongoing APR
20.99%-27.99% (Variable)
Balance transfers fees
Either $5 or 5% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater.
Best Multiplier
5x Hotels

At IHG brand hotels and resorts booked directly; otherwise earn 2X.

3x Cable / Internet / VOIP Phone
3x Gas Stations
3x Cellular Phone Service
3x Dining Out / Food Delivery
3x Streaming Services
2x Everything Else
Avg. Point Value
(Learn More)
$0.004
Bonus Offer
Earn 100,000 Bonus Points after spending $2,000 on purchases within the first 3 months of account opening
Rating
YBCC Card Rate Stars Filled
YBCC Card Rate Stars Empty
(3.95) Our Review

Our ratings are determined by the authors and editors on our team. Each individual card feature is compared against all other cards we offer and the total score is an average of those 4 ratings.

Review

The IHG Rewards Traveler Credit Card is IHG’s no-annual-fee credit card. As such, it doesn’t offer the excellent perks that come with the IHG Premier Credit Card — like a free night each account anniversary, automatic Platinum Elite status, and other travel perks.

However, the IHG Traveler Card still offers surprisingly good benefits for a no-annual-fee card. You’ll get IHG Rewards’ intro level Silver Elite status, fourth night free on rewards stays, and a 20% discount on purchases of IHG Rewards points.

Screenshot showing IHG card benefit of 20% discount on purchases of IHG Rewards points.

Silver Elite status doesn’t offer too many perks — 20% bonus points at IHG hotels and resorts, a shot at late checkout, and not having to worry about point expiration. Cardholders can spend $20,000 in a calendar year to upgrade to Gold Elite status. Gold Elite status includes 40% bonus points at IHG hotels and resorts.

In addition to the sign-up bonus, IHG Rewards Traveler Credit Card cardholders will earn bonus points on IHG hotel stays, dining, gas stations, select streaming services, and utility monthly bills. Cardholders earn 2 points per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases. Considering the IHG Rewards point value is only around 0.4 cents per point, that’s not the best possible return on your other purchases.

So, you might just want to limit using your IHG Traveler Card to IHG hotels and resorts. By charging IHG hotel stays to their IHG Traveler Card, cardholders will earn a total of at least 17 points per dollar spent:

  • 5 points per dollar spent by charging the IHG hotel stay to their IHG Traveler Card
  • 10 points per dollar spent as an IHG Rewards member.
  • 2 bonus points per dollar spent at as Silver Elite (or more if you have a higher tier of IHG Rewards elite status)

For those unfamiliar, the IHG Rewards loyalty program includes a wide range of hotel brands. On the luxury side, you can earn and redeem IHG points at InterContinental Hotels, Kimpton, Hotel Indigo, Six Senses, and Regent Hotels. On the flip side, you can earn and redeem IHG points for stays at Holiday Inn Express, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Club Vacations, Candlewood Suites, and Staybridge Suites. That range of earning and redemption options is truly impressive.

Read more
Unique Card Benefits
yes
Secondary Car Rental CDW Waiver
yes
Grants Hotel Status
yes
Extended Warranty
yes
Purchase Protection
yes
Trip Protections
yes
No Foreign Transaction Fees
yes
No Fees for Authorized Users
yes
Free Access to Credit Score
yes
Travel and Emergency Assistance Services
yes
Free Annual Hotel Night
no
Annual Statement Credits
no
Return Protection
no
Grants Car Rental Status
no
Cell Phone Protection
no
Concierge Services
no
Amex Offers
no
Annual Fee
$550 (Rates and fees)
Avg. Min. Credit Score
Good-Excellent
Ongoing APR
-
Balance transfers fees
-
Best Multiplier
14x Hotels

At Hilton portfolio properties when you book direct with Hilton or the hotel. Otherwise, earn 3X points

7x Airfare
7x Car Rentals
7x Dining Out / Food Delivery

U.S. dining, including takeout and delivery

3x All Other Eligible Purchases
Avg. Point Value
(Learn More)
$0.005
Bonus Offer
Earn 175,000 Bonus Points after spending $6,000 on eligible purchases within the first six months of Card Membership (Terms apply).
Rating
YBCC Card Rate Stars Filled
YBCC Card Rate Stars Empty
(4.38) Our Review

Our ratings are determined by the authors and editors on our team. Each individual card feature is compared against all other cards we offer and the total score is an average of those 4 ratings.

Review

I’ve long said at MilesTalk that I think the Hilton Aspire is the best hotel credit card on the market.

Setting aside the welcome bonus, here are your yearly benefits:

Hilton Resort Credits – $400: If you stay at Hilton resorts twice annually (although it must be one time January to June and one time July to December, this is as good as cash.

Airline credits – $200 ($50 per calendar quarter): Easy to use if you fly once per quarter

Hilton Honors Diamond status – $950: This could technically be worth a couple thousand if you stay frequently at Hilton properties (and a certain site I won’t name would say it’s worth over $3,000), but that would also likely mean you don’t need this card to earn it, since you’d earn it from nights stayed.

Even if you only stay 10 nights a year, the free breakfast or daily food credits and lounge access for two would be conservatively worth ~$70 a day. Room upgrades are never guaranteed, but they are frequent in my experience. Let’s call those ~$25 a stay even though that’s very light as a value given that some upgrades are likely to be suites.  If you stay 10 nights a year, Diamond status is worth $950 using the calculations above.

Annual Free Night Certificates $500: Valid any night of the week and good at any Hilton properties in the Hilton portfolio. with no points limit. It’s not going to be hard to pick and choose where to use that for maximum value and at any Conrad or Waldorf-Astoria at a busy time, $500 is easy. I recently redeemed my own for the Waldorf Astoria Pedregal in Cabo for a $1,500 night room!

I won’t value the potential free second or third weekend night since those do require $30,000 and $60,000 in spend.

I also won’t value the $189 CLEAR+ credit as that is available on so many other Amex cards.

Total Tangible Benefits from your $550 in annual spend? $2,050

I mean, that is NUTS. And I hope you can tell that if anything I tried to assign lower values to perks than they are probably worth! If anything, I undervalued them. The only thing is that you obviously need to stay at Hilton hotels or resorts a handful of times a year to enjoy the benefits. And really, if you don’t, then you likely don’t need a Hilton credit card.

Rates and Fees for the Hilton Honors Aspire® Credit Card

All information about the Hilton Honors Aspire® Credit Card has been collected independently by Your Best Credit Cards.

Read more
Unique Card Benefits
yes
Secondary Car Rental CDW Waiver
yes
Grants Hotel Status
yes
Extended Warranty
yes
Purchase Protection
yes
Trip Protections
yes
No Foreign Transaction Fees
yes
No Fees for Authorized Users
yes
Free Access to Credit Score
no
Travel and Emergency Assistance Services
no
Free Annual Hotel Night
yes
Annual Statement Credits
yes
Return Protection
yes
Grants Car Rental Status
yes
Cell Phone Protection
yes
Concierge Services
yes
Amex Offers
yes

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