Do Waldorf Astoria Las Vegas Dining Charges Trigger Hilton Aspire Resort Credits?

Short answer (May 2026): In my May 2026 test, dining at two Waldorf Astoria Las Vegas restaurants without staying overnight earned the full 14x points available on the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card but did not trigger Hilton Aspire Resort Credits. I spent almost $600 across four transactions and waited four weeks for credits to appear.

One of the most common questions among Hilton Aspire cardholders is whether dining at an eligible resort without staying overnight still triggers the twice-yearly resort credit.

The answer is surprisingly difficult to pin down. Hilton publishes the list of eligible resorts, but it doesn’t spell out exactly which restaurant, bar or spa transactions qualify. As a result, travellers often rely on individual datapoints shared on Reddit, FlyerTalk and other travel communities.

I recently tested the question myself at the Waldorf Astoria Las Vegas.

This article summarizes the outcome. For the complete experiment, including timelines and the reasoning behind the test, you can read my more detailed Vegas test article.

I made two separate visits. The first was dinner at Hard Shake, where the bill came to $310.67. To maximise the possibility of triggering credits, I split the payment across two Aspire Cards. The charges appeared as:

The following day we returned for afternoon tea at Peacock Alley. That bill totalled $284.59, again split across two Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Cards. Those charges appeared as:

In both cases, Hilton Honors points posted almost immediately.

After waiting approximately four weeks, none of the four transactions had generated Hilton Aspire resort credits.

Because the transactions earned Hilton Honors points at the Aspire Card’s hotel earning rate, there was little doubt they were recognized as Hilton spend. That makes this a useful distinction. A transaction can qualify as Hilton hotel spend for the purposes of earning points while still failing to qualify for the separate Aspire resort credit.

No. It means these transactions didn’t.

Hotel merchant coding can change over time. Individual outlets sometimes process payments differently. Different restaurants inside the same hotel may even settle through different merchant accounts.

For that reason, no single datapoint can prove a rule. It can only add evidence. In my case, two different dining experiences at the Waldorf Astoria Las Vegas both produced the same result:

Absolutely. Hard Shake was one of my favorite dining experiences of the trip. If I returned to Las Vegas tomorrow I’d happily visit again, regardless of whether any Aspire credit appeared.

Peacock Alley was enjoyable too, although in hindsight I probably wouldn’t have spent nearly $300 there had I known in advance the resort credits were unlikely to post. That’s a personal judgment rather than a criticism of the venue.

If you’re hoping to trigger Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card resort credits by dining at the Waldorf Astoria Las Vegas without an overnight stay, my May 2026 data point suggests you should not rely on dining charges alone to trigger them.

My transactions:

Because Hilton and American Express occasionally change merchant coding, future results may differ.

This is an abbreviated version of a story I ran recently. For the full story behind the experiment: Hilton Aspire Resort Credits: A Vegas Test

In my May 2026 testing it did not. Four separate restaurant transactions earned Hilton Honors points but no Aspire Resort Credits.

Yes. They coded as Waldorf Astoria Las Vegas purchases and earned the full 14x Hilton Honors points.

No. This was a restaurant-only visit.