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Overview
Hilton is one of the most recognizable brands on the planet. With hotels spanning every corner of the globe, there’s a good chance you’ve stayed in at least one Hilton property in your life. With that popularity, the Hilton Honors loyalty program is one of the most prominent in the industry.
But is it worth your time? And how can you take full advantage of its perks?
As a Diamond Hilton Honors member of over ten years, I feel especially qualified to answer that for you. But to help your research, I’ve compiled everything you need to know about Hilton Honors.
The Bottom Line
Hilton Honors is one of the most popular loyalty programs in the world. Its elite perks are almost unmatched by any other brand and, while its redemption value is sometimes left lacking, it’s still a valuable points currency to have saved.
Hilton High-Level Overview
Hilton is one of the world’s leading hospitality companies. With 1.25 million rooms shared among over 8,400 hotels in 123 countries, you’re never too far from a Hilton property. Originally founded in Texas in 1919 by Conrad Hilton (yes, the great-grandfather of Paris Hilton), the company has expanded into 24 distinct brands, slotting into specific price points and demographics.
Hilton Honors is the loyalty program attached to the company, allowing customers to earn and redeem points, as well as earn elite status, unlocking high-end perks.
Hilton Brands
Hilton spreads its portfolio across 24 unique brands. Hilton Honors extends to each of these but is used in different ways depending on the standard of the property. Here’s a look at each brand. Some names, like Waldorf Astoria, will be recognizable immediately, while others are newer additions to an adapting travel landscape.
Hilton Luxury Brands
- Waldorf Astoria – High-end elegance in iconic locations
- LXR Hotels – Independently run luxury hotels
- Conrad Hotels and Resorts – High-end, boldly designed hotels focussing on the location
- NoMad – A recently acquired upscale lifestyle brand.
- Signia – Modern luxury with high-end and business travelers in mind
Lifestyle
- Canopy by Hilton – Destination-inspired hotels built to immerse guests in their surroundings
- Curio Collection – Independently owned and operated hotels with a focus on individuality
- Graduate by Hilton – A brand of hotels located in and inspired by college towns around the US
- Tempo by Hilton – Elegant but approachable is the MO for Tempo. Professionals on the go flock here to help keep on schedule
- Motto by Hilton – Specially located urban lifestyle hotels designed to immerse the traveler in a vibrant neighborhood
- Tapestry Collection by Hilton – A selection of independent upscale hotels intended as a base for exploration
Full Service
- Hilton Hotels and Resorts – The flagship brand. Found across the world. Some locations may feel dated nowadays, but refurbishments are bringing most up to date with the standards expected
- Doubletree by Hilton – Simple, comfortable, full-service accommodations. And, of course, those cookies.
Focused Service
- Hilton Garden Inn – Laid-back, well-designed hotels that have catered to business and leisure travelers for years
- Hampton by Hilton – Simple, friendly service. A trustworthy go-to for millions of travelers
- Tru by Hilton – A simple, contemporary hotel with an approachable price point geared at millennial and Gen-Z travelers
- Spark by Hilton – A budget brand focusing on smart design and strong space use
Suites
- Embassy Suites – Upscale hotels with two-room suites, cooked-to-order breakfasts, and evening receptions
- Homewood Suites by Hilton – Spacious studios and suites with kitchens. Designed for extended stays
- Home2 Suites – Budget extended-stay hotels with flexible room configurations
- LivSmart Studios by Hilton – Value-centric properties geared at guests staying for twenty nights and beyond
Vacation Ownership
- Hilton Grand Vacations – Spacious studios and multi-bedroom suites in popular vacation destinations.
- Hilton Vacation Club – Provides exclusive vacation ownership experiences in desirable locations.
- Hilton Club – A collection of upscale vacation ownership resorts in prime urban and leisure destinations.
Hilton Elite Status
Hilton, as with most hotel brands, offers a loyalty program that gifts customers with a range of perks, from free breakfasts to when-available room upgrades, as well as the ability to earn redeemable points.
The program is separated into four tiers ranging from a basic member to Diamond. Traditionally, the only way to earn status was to stay in Hilton properties regularly, but these days, you can walk straight into top-tier status with a premium credit card. Here are the details on each elite status tier.
Basic Member Level
After signing up for Hilton Honors, customers are assigned the basic category of Member. There’s not much to see here, but it’s worth signing up even if you stay a couple of times a year, thanks to the members’ rates and the fee waivers on resorts.
Perks
Members discount rates
Ability to earn points on stays
No resort fees on award stays
Digital check-in and check out
Free wifi
Choose your room
How to earn
Sign up for Hilton Honors
Silver Level
Silver steps things up a little, offering access to one of Hilton’s best sweet spots as well as bonus earnings on stays.
Perks
All of Member benefits
20% bonus points on Hilton stays or 12 points per dollar*
Fifth free night on award stays
Elite rollover nights
Two bottles of water per stay
All-inclusive 15% spa discount
How to earn
Either (in a year):
10 nights
4 stays
25,000 Base points
Open the Hilton Honors American Express Card
Gold Level
Things start to get interesting with Gold status. Earnings soar, freebies emerge, and the coveted upgrades become possible.
Perks
All of Silver and Member benefits
80% bonus points on Hilton stays or 18 points per dollar
Space available for room upgrades up to executive floor types
10,000 bonus points every 10 beyond 40 nights
Daily food and beverage credits or continental breakfast**
How to earn
Either (in a year):
40 nights
20 stays
75,000 Base points
- Best for: Free Hilton Stays
- Annual Fee: $150
- APR: 19.99%-28.99% Variable
- Reward Rate: 3X - 12X
- Recommended Credit: 670-850
Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card
130,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points + Free Night Reward
Offer Details:
Earn 130,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points plus a Free Night Reward after you spend $3,000 in purchases on the Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Offer Ends 4/29/2025.
Why we like it
The Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card is an excellent hotel card, with a strong intro bonus of 130,000 Hilton Honors bonus points plus a Free Night Reward after you spend $3,000 in purchases on the card in your first six months of card membership. It’s worth having this card even for a couple of stays a year, as the $150 annual fee is already validated by the free breakfast and strong points earnings. If free Hilton nights is the goal, its earning potential is stellar, with 4X points for each dollar on U.S. online retail purchases, and 3X points for all other eligible purchases on your card.
Reward details
12X Hilton Honors Bonus Points for each dollar of eligible purchases charged on your card directly with a hotel or resort within the Hilton portfolio.
6X Points for each dollar of purchases on your Card at U.S. restaurants, at U.S. supermarkets, and at U.S. gas stations.
4X Points for each dollar on U.S. Online Retail Purchases.
3X Points for all other eligible purchases on your Card.
Pros & Cons
Pros
Strong 130,000-point intro bonus, which could translate to multiple free nights or one night in a luxury property in some places
Get up to $50 in statement credits each quarter for purchases made directly with a property in the Hilton portfolio on your Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card. That’s up to $200 in statement credits annually.
Get complimentary Hilton Honors Gold status. This entitles the cardholder to room upgrades if available, free breakfast, 80% bonus points on Hilton spends, and fifth night free on an award stay. It’s more than worth the annual fee.
Strong spending categories on popular purchases like U.S. supermarkets, U.S. gas stations, and U.S. restaurants
Free Night Reward from Hilton Honors after you spend $15,000 on eligible purchases on your card in a calendar year
Enjoy complimentary Hilton Honors(TM) Gold Status
Cons
No automatic free anniversary nights
You’ll need a lot of Hilton points to redeem for a free night at a luxury property
$150 annual fee
Diamond Level
The top tier of Hilton Honors is Diamond and it’s arguably the best hotel status out there. I’ve clung to my own status for over a decade because it’s been brilliant. They treat you bloody special when they see the Diamond status ping up on the check-in screen.
Perks
All of Member, Silver, and Gold benefits
100% bonus on Hilton stays or 20 points per dollar
Executive lounge access
Premium wifi
Elite status gifting after 60 nights
Space available for room upgrades
Diamond status extension
48-hour room guarantee
How to earn
Either (in a year):
60 nights
30 stays
120,000 Base points
- Best for: Premium Hotel Perks
- Annual Fee: $550
- Regular APR: 20.24% to 29.24% (Variable)
- Reward Rate: 3X - 14X
- Recommended Credit: 670-850
Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card
150,000 Bonus Points
Offer Details:
150,000 Bonus points after you spend $6,000 on purchases in the first 6 months from account opening.
*Information about the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card has been collected independently by The Daily Navigator and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer of the card prior to publication.
Why we like it
The Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card is big ticket hotel card with a hefty $550 annual fee to match. But with complimentary Hilton Diamond elite status, a whopping 150,000-point intro bonus worth around $900, an annual free night certificate, free Priority Pass membership, $250 in resort credits, and a further $250 in airline fee credits, the Aspire has a lot to offer, even if you only stay in Hilton properties a few times a year.
Reward details
14X Hilton Honors Bonus Points per $1 of eligible purchases on your Card made directly with hotels and resorts within the Hilton portfolio.
7X Hilton Honors Bonus Points for eligible purchases: on flights booked directly with airlines or amextravel.com; on car rentals booked directly from select car rental companies; & at U.S. restaurants.
3X Hilton Honors Bonus Points for all other purchases
Pros & Cons
Pros
The 150,000 point intro bonus is worth around $900 and can score you several nights in some excellent hotels. It’s earned by spending $4,000 within the first three months of opening the card.
Complimentary Diamond elite status with Hilton Honors is a huge perk as its the hotel’s top-tier status. It offers free breakfast, executive lounge access, room upgrades, and strong bonus points earning opportunities.
Cardholders get a free night on their anniversary each year which can be used at any Hilton hotel around the world, and big spending customers will get another free night if they spend $60,000 in a year on the card. This is on the top of the points you already earn for spending on the card.
The $250 resort credit can be used to cover room rates or on-site expenses at almost 250 resorts worldwide, further validating the annual fee.
The $250 yearly airline fee can be used to offset checked bag fees, among other costs, with your selected airline. This perk makes the card more flexible, as you don’t need an airline card to enjoy free checked bags if you only travel a few times a year.
The Priority Pass Select membership allows for unlimited visits to 1400+ airport lounges around the world, a major benefit for anyone traveling regularly. You can even bring two guests for free.
Cons
The $550 yearly fee is high, and while it’s easy to gain the value back, infrequent travelers may want to look at a less expensive Hilton credit card
The airline and resort credits have rules that make them a little more complicated to use, so gaining maximum value isn’t always easy
Hilton Honors awards nights can have very high rates
*Some brands have different earning rates
**Benefit varies depending on location
How To Earn Hilton Points
As with most programs, Hilton Honors has two separate point systems. One, its “Base Points” system, is the metric for attaining elite status. Hilton Honors Bonus Points, on the other hand, are the currency earned in different ways and redeemed for free stays and more. We’ll focus on Hilton Bonus Points, as these are the most valuable.
Generally, there are three main ways to earn Hilton Honors Bonus Points. The best method for you will depend exclusively on how much you use Hilton and whether you own or are willing to open specific credit cards.
Stays
The most straightforward earning method is to stay at Hilton Hotels. Every time you pay for a stay with Hilton, you’ll earn a base rate of 10 points per dollar. Depending on your status, you’ll earn a percentage extra in bonus points. Diamond members, for example, get 100% extra, so 20 points per dollar spent.
There are often promotions to take advantage of on Hilton’s website, offering extra points for booking within a specific timeframe or other requirements. It’s important to note that stays earn “Base Points”. These count toward your elite status and can be redeemed for stays.
Co-Branded Credit Cards
The easiest way to amass sizeable numbers of Hilton Honors points is to use credit cards. Hilton currently has four American Express-based co-branded cards available, offering impressive introductory offers. It’s not uncommon for these to go well above 100,000 points, making it the fastest way to grab a lot of points—especially if you don’t stay in hotels too much. These cards also offer elite status, allowing you to skip the stay requirements.
Beyond the introductory offers, these cards offer elevated earnings on day-to-day purchases and even higher earnings at Hilton properties.
Co-Branded Cards
Transfer Partners
If you’re not committed enough to Hilton to open a co-branded card, don’t worry. There are other ways to earn Hilton points. Transferring points from a credit card or travel partner can be an effective way to maximize your points in the right situation.
American Express is the only general credit card currently transferring to Hilton. Transfers are completed at a rate of 1:2, so 1,000 American Express Membership Reward Points would grab you 2,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points.
While that seems like an excellent deal, it’s important to understand that Amex points are valued much higher than Hilton points. Even doubling your points may not get you the most value. Still, if you find a great deal, it’s the easiest method for the casual Hilton customer.
You can also transfer points from other travel programs, including Hawaiian Airlines, Virgin Atlantic, and Amtrak. The transfer ratios aren’t favorable, and there’s a good chance you’ll lose value, but it’s useful information if you find yourself a few points short of a great Hilton redemption.
How to Use Hilton Points
You’ve done the hard part, now you want to use your Hilton Points for some epic stays. There’s good news and bad news. The good? You can use your points for some sublime stays, especially if you’re smart about it. The bad? High-value Hilton redemptions are getting rarer by the day. Patience, flexibility, and an understanding of value can take you a long way.
How to Redeem Points For Stays
Redeeming your points is technically easy. Simply log into your Hilton account and begin a new search. Underneath the search bar, there will be a check box asking if you would like to search using Hilton Honors Points. Select that box and fill in your search criteria.
The results will show as they normally would and will show the lowest cash price as well as the lowest points price. Sift through the hotel options and select the one you want. At the checkout, you will be given the chance to pay using points, cash, or a mixture of both. I’d advise against cash and points as they severely devalue your points, even if it feels like a good deal in your wallet.
Generally, Hilton points are valued at around 0.6 cents each, so you should be aiming for a rate above that before parting with your precious currency.
Sweet Spots, Perks, and Strategy
As suggested, the valuation of 0.6 cents is already low. So, to maximize your points, you need to shoot for better. Generally, this is more likely at expensive hotels. But there are some ways you can help yourself. A combination of Hilton Sweet Spots and elite benefits can help increase the value.
5th night free
Hilton’s fifth-night-free perk is the best way to maximize your points. The benefit stipulates that any member who redeems four consecutive nights can get a fifth for free. There’s a good and a bad side to this. The upside is that in a five-night stay, usually worth 40,000 points a night, you’re saving 20%. The downside is that you’ll still need 160,000 points to get to that point.
If the room costs $240 in cash each night, without the fifth free night, you’d be getting 0.6 cents per point. With the bonus night, you’d bring that figure up to .75 cents. It’s still not amazing, but it’s a significant improvement. You can scale that up when you find an even better deal.
Luxury Stays
Once again, this is a double-edged sword. Often, the best value is found at the most luxurious properties. A high-end hotel may cost $2,000 a night, well outside the average person’s budget, but the award rate could be as low as 150,000 points. That’s still a ton of points, but that’s grabbing you 1.3 cents per point—a strong deal on your points.
If you have a ton of Hilton points, combining this fact with the fifth-night free option could be an epic value prospect.
Flexibility
The best way to find value from your redemptions is to be flexible. Tying yourself to specific dates means your options are what they are. Because of Hilton’s dynamic pricing, an incredible stay in the off-season might be a fraction of the points rate in peak season. Working this with the fifth night free and luxury stays is the way to go.
From experience
I’ve wrangled my way into five nights in Hilton hotels four times now. Once in New York and three times in London. The New York stay, in particular, was incredible as it was peak season in the middle of Christmas. In each case, I used between 130,000 and 200,000 points. That’s a lot of points, but looking back it saved me around $8,000 in cash.
The Point
Hilton Honors is an excellent loyalty program, especially in terms of its elite status benefits. With some of the best perks in the hotel industry, Diamond status is an experiential goal that most travelers should put on their list. While redemptions are not as easy to wrangle value from as programs like Hyatt, there are still some strong redemptions to be found.
by your friends at The Daily Navigator
