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American Express Delta SkyMiles Reserve Card vs Hilton Honors Aspire Card

Both are American Express cards. Here is every spend category, ranked by what each card actually returns.

Best card by category Card terms as of Oct 29

Everything else

  1. Hilton Honors Aspire Card 1.2% 3x base rate
  2. Delta SkyMiles Reserve Card 1.2% 1x base rate

Dining

  1. Hilton Honors Aspire Card 2.8% 7x
  2. Delta SkyMiles Reserve Card 1.2% 1x base rate

Flights

  1. Delta SkyMiles Reserve Card 3.6% 3x
  2. Hilton Honors Aspire Card 2.8% 7x

Hotels

  1. Hilton Honors Aspire Card 5.6% 14x
  2. Delta SkyMiles Reserve Card 1.2% 1x base rate

Car rental

  1. Hilton Honors Aspire Card 2.8% 7x
  2. Delta SkyMiles Reserve Card 1.2% 1x base rate

What the numbers are doing

Delta SkyMiles Reserve Card tops flights at 3.6% only because this table values its points at 1.2 cents each. Value them at one cent and Hilton Honors Aspire Card wins that category instead.

The table is earn rate only — annual fees are not netted out of it. These cards charge Delta SkyMiles Reserve Card $650 and Hilton Honors Aspire Card $550 a year, so a thin lead in one category may not cover the difference.

Where they differ: Hilton Honors Aspire Card takes dining, hotels and car rental; Delta SkyMiles Reserve Card takes flights.

pointslipEveryday
Pass content preview
CategoryBest card
Everything elseHilton Honors Aspire Card1.2%
DiningHilton Honors Aspire Card2.8%
FlightsDelta SkyMiles Reserve Card3.6%
HotelsHilton Honors Aspire Card5.6%
Car rentalHilton Honors Aspire Card2.8%

Content preview. Apple Wallet controls the layout; visible categories vary by device. Categories that rank the same as Everything else are left off; every other category is in pass details.

Every category, every card

Everything else

  1. Hilton Honors Aspire Card — 1.2%
  2. Delta SkyMiles Reserve Card — 1.2%

Dining

  1. Hilton Honors Aspire Card — 2.8%
  2. Delta SkyMiles Reserve Card — 1.2%

Flights

  1. Delta SkyMiles Reserve Card — 3.6%
  2. Hilton Honors Aspire Card — 2.8%

Hotels

  1. Hilton Honors Aspire Card — 5.6%
  2. Delta SkyMiles Reserve Card — 1.2%

Car rental

  1. Hilton Honors Aspire Card — 2.8%
  2. Delta SkyMiles Reserve Card — 1.2%
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