I sampled the new Hilton Honors 'breakfast' perk — and I’m impressed

A few weeks back, while going through my credit card tracking spreadsheet, I noticed some unused benefits on my Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card. I had two Hilton free-night certificates, one of which was about to expire on Jan. 3, 2022. Additionally, I hadn't tapped into my $250 Hilton resort credit for the year — which would reset on Oct. 28, my account anniversary.

The details for the Hilton Aspire card were independently gathered by Dinogo. The information provided here has not been reviewed or approved by the card issuer.

Remembering that I also had a targeted Amex Offer for $50 off a $250 spend at Hilton Hotels, Curio Collection properties, and Canopy hotels, I decided to organize an impromptu trip with my family.

After some exploration, we chose the Hilton Marco Island Beach Resort and Spa in Florida — a three-hour drive across the state from our home. We booked a standard room for the weekend using those two free-night certificates on my account. The stay would have normally cost us nearly $1,000, including a $35 resort fee that Hilton Honors (thankfully) waives for award stays.

Nonetheless, I was eager to try out the program's new breakfast benefit. With my Hilton Honors Diamond status from my Aspire card, this marked my first stay at a location where I'd receive a daily food-and-beverage credit instead of just a complimentary continental breakfast.

After just one stay, I’m thoroughly impressed.

Previously, I often felt pressured to have breakfast in the hotel restaurant, considering it was a benefit of my status and a solid way to kick off the day with a full stomach. However, many of those meals left much to be desired. While several properties offered a hearty, hot breakfast at no extra cost, it typically consisted of a buffet with the option to order a made-to-order egg dish or omelet.

Even setting aside concerns related to coronavirus about a shared buffet, that still isn't the most appealing option.

To make things even more frustrating, these restaurants would occasionally shut down their breakfast service mid-morning. We prefer to enjoy a relaxed start to our day while on vacation — savoring a cup of coffee, catching up on the news, and spending quality time with family. Having to set an alarm or feeling hurried to reach a mediocre breakfast before it wraps up at 9:30 a.m. is not our idea of a stress-free morning.

Now, that "pressure" to have the complimentary breakfast is lifted — replaced by a much more flexible benefit that’s easy to enjoy.

Given that our room was 'complimentary', we knew we had to spend at least $500 on the property to fully utilize the Aspire card's resort credit ($250) along with the Amex Offer ($50 off $250). Consequently, we secured a dinner reservation at The Deck at 560 — the hotel's restaurant — for 7 p.m. on Saturday, hoping to catch a stunning sunset.

While the weather didn't cooperate, the food (and service) certainly did not disappoint.

Our ceviche appetizer was delightful, and my wife's grouper entrée was excellent. I enjoyed a cioppino for my dish — an Italian seafood stew in a creamy, tomato-basil-coconut broth paired with crusty garlic bread. It was simply exceptional.

However, our server truly made the experience special. Jonathan was friendly, knowledgeable, and very attentive (without being intrusive) throughout our meal.

Including a bottle of wine, the two desserts we took back to our room, plus tax and tip, our bill totaled about $215 — and at checkout, $24 of that amount was deducted from our folio — effectively giving us a discount of over 11%. While 11% isn’t revolutionary, $24 saved is still $24 saved.

The following morning, we woke up a bit early, and since the hotel was fully booked, we couldn’t secure a late checkout. A friend had suggested a local brunch spot (Doreen's Cup of Joe), so we opted against a full breakfast at the hotel. However, there was a small market just off the lobby, so I picked up an egg wrap to share and hold us over until we got to the restaurant. We also grabbed a couple of Diet Cokes for the drive home and a jar of gummy bears for our daughter.

The total came to $25.68 — of which $24 was deducted from my final bill.

Overall, we enjoyed $48 worth of food and beverages during our two-night stay ($12 per person per day) — but rather than being restricted in our usage, we had the freedom to choose how and when to spend it. We saved $24 on our amazing dinner and then spent under $2 out of pocket for a pre-brunch snack along with drinks and treats for the drive home.

It's true that the on-site market was expensive, but the grab-and-go option was precisely what we needed — and it enabled us to enjoy another fantastic meal (this time off-property) that we would have missed if we had been "forced" to have breakfast at the hotel.

And that’s the essence of this perk: providing flexibility for guests to select the food-and-beverage choices that suit them best.

Certainly, some properties may have a daily credit that doesn’t cover breakfast for those who still appreciate that benefit, and a single experience isn’t enough to claim that this change is universally better for Gold and Diamond members. It's also important to mention that this new credit applies only to U.S. locations — international properties still offer complimentary breakfast (and those are generally much nicer).

Overall, my initial experience with the new perk was very positive — and I’m already eager to use it again on my next trip.