The Hilton Hotel group is one of the world’s largest hotel chains.
With almost 6,000 properties around the globe, there’s sure to be a hotel you can stay at while you’re traveling.
And your ticket to free night stays is through the Hilton Honors program. With high earnings on stays, as well as 3 great credit cards that provide both points and complimentary stays, you’ll be staying for free in no time.
Of course, free nights aren’t the only way to use your points. We’ll review every way to use Hilton Honors points so you can get the redemption that suits what you’re looking for.
Related: Score Hotel Discounts With The Best Hotel Credit Cards
Hilton Honors Rewards at a glance
| Value of a Hilton Honors point: | High: $0.005 for hotel stays Low: $0.0017 for airline transfers |
|---|---|
| Ways to redeem Hilton Honors points: | * Hotels – 0.48 cents per point (CPP) * Car rentals – 0.24 CPP * Amazon – 0.2 CPP * Transfer to Airline Partners – 0.17 CPP * Donations to charity – 0.25 CPP * Hilton Honors Experiences |
| How to earn Hilton Honors points: | * Hilton hotel stays * Car rentals * 3 credit cards |
| Who these rewards are good for: | * World Travellers |
| Frequently Asked Questions: | * Level of flexibility? Medium * Blackout dates? No * Do rewards expire? No * Rewards cover taxes and fees? Yes * Can these rewards be transferred? Yes * Is there a way to earn rewards faster? Yes * How to access Hilton Honors login? * Hilton Honors customer service contact? |
Calculating the value of a Hilton Honors Point
Like any rewards program, there are many ways to use your points.
And while it may seem obvious that hotels provide the best redemption value, Hilton Honors offers several other ways you can use your points as well.
Redeem Hilton Honors points for hotel stays – 0.48 cents per point
Without a doubt, if you just want the best possible value for your points, using them for free hotel stays is the way to go. It’s double the value over the nearest redemption option.
Not only are the points valuable, it’s also generally easy to use them to get a free night. We had no problems finding availability for booking free hotel nights.
With that said, there’s no set chart to determine how many points you need to book a stay. The amount of points you need varies not only by property, but dates, length of stay, and room type.
So the best way to see how many points you need is to simply do some test bookings.
A word of advice – do not sign into your account for this. When we were signed in, it wouldn’t show us any point redemption rates, probably because we didn’t have enough for any of these bookings. Not signing in eliminated this problem.
We test booked a 2-night weekend stay, booked 3 weeks in advance, at downtown hotels located in 20 cities around the continental United States.
We found an average value of 0.5 cents per point when looking for hotel stays.
To review our results, click here to see what hotels we looked at.
Car rentals – 0.24 CPP
Want to save on a car rental? You can use points to book a car rental with Alamo, Enterprise, and National.
We surveyed 1-day weekend rentals at various major airports throughout the United States. You can see our results here.
We came to an average value of 0.24 cents per point when you use points for car rentals.
Shop at Amazon – 0.2 CPP
For some discounted shopping, you can use Hilton points to shop at Amazon.com.
Simply link your Hilton and Amazon accounts together, and use your points to pay for Amazon purchases.
500 Hilton points gives you a $1 discount, a value of 0.2 cents per point.
Transfer to Airline partners – 0.17 CPP
If you prefer to get free flights, Hilton Honors allows you to transfer your points to over 40 airline partners.
The transfer rate depends on the airline, but averages around 10,000 Hilton points for 1,000 airline miles.
Out of the 40, there are 6 U.S. carriers that you can transfer your Hilton points to. Here’s an average Hilton points value, based on our typical average values for these airlines.
| Airline | Transfer rate | Typical airline mile value | Value of transferred miles | Hilton Honors value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Airlines | 10,000:1,500 | $0.014 | $21 | 0.21 cents |
| Delta Air Lines | 10,000:1,000 | $0.012 | $12 | 0.12 cents |
| United | 10,000:1,000 | $0.014 | $14 | 0.14 cents |
| Alaska Airlines | 10,000:1,000 | $0.018 | $18 | 0.18 cents |
| Frontier Airlines | 10,000:1,500 | $0.011 | $16.50 | 0.17 cents |
| Hawaiian Airlines | 10,000:1,500 | $0.012 | $18 | 0.18 cents |
So while there are plenty of options to use your points, you’re losing over half your value when compared to redeeming for hotel stays.
You can also transfer points to Amtrak at a 10,000:1,500 ratio for the rail enthusiast.
Donations to charities – 0.25 CPP
If you want to donate some points to charities, you have the option to do so.
4,000 points is a cash donation of $10, a value of 0.25 cents per point.
Hilton Honors Experiences
For experiences money can’t buy, you can use your points to either get a ticket or bid on experiences.
Many of these items don’t have a price attached to them – what they’re worth is in the eye of the beholder.
You can head here and see what’s available.
Earning Hilton Honors Rewards
So how do you actually earn Hilton Honors points? You can earn by using your loyalty number, as well as several American Express issued credit cards.
Earn Hilton Honors with hotel stays
When you stay at any Hilton property, you’ll earn 10 points for every eligible U.S. dollar spent (if you travel outside the U.S., they’ll convert the currency to USD then award your points).
You earn points on the room rate, plus eligible charges such as phone calls and room service. You do not earn points on taxes and fees.
There are 2 exceptions – you only earn 5 points per USD at Home 2 Suites at Hilton and Tru by Hilton properties.
You can boost the amount you earn through various bonus offers, as well as getting elite status which offers bonus points on your stays.
Earn Hilton Honors through car rentals
You can also collect Hilton points when you rent cars with National, Alamo, and Enterprise.
Earn 500 points for every day you rent a vehicle, for up to 5,000 points per rental.
American Express Hilton Honors Credit Cards
If you want to earn points on your everyday purchases, American Express offers 3 Hilton Honors branded credit cards.
Here’s a brief overview of each one. As a bonus, each one of them charge no foreign transaction fees, saving you the standard 3% many credit cards charge.
Hilton Honors American Express Card
A no fee card, the
Earn 75,000 points as a welcome bonus after spending $1,000 in the first 3 months.
And earn points on all of your day to day purchases:
- 7 points per $1 at Hilton properties,
- 5 points per $1 at restaurants, grocery stores and gas stations (U.S. only), and
- 3 points per $1 on all other purchases.
That’s up to a 2.5% return on your everyday spending, for no annual fee.
Plus it comes with complimentary Silver Status for even more Hilton benefits. Get upgraded to Gold Status by spending $20,000 per year.
Hilton Honors American Express Ascend Card
Kicking things up a notch, the
The welcome bonus gets increased to 125,000 points after spending $2,000 in the first 3 months.
It also has slightly better earn rates:
- 12 points per $1 at Hilton properties,
- 6 points per $1 at restaurants, grocery stores, and gas stations (U.S. only), and
- 3 points per $1 on all other purchases.
It also comes with complimentary Gold Status, plus the chance to upgrade to Diamond Status after spending $40,000 per year on the card.
The best part? It comes with a free weekend night reward after spending $15,000 every year you own the card. This alone more than covers the annual fee of $95.
Related: Best Travel Credit Cards For 2019
Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card
For the most perks you can possibly get, the
Get the best sign up bonus out of the 3 cards – 150,000 points after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months.
Something special about this card – instead of rewarding you for grocery store and gas station purchases, you get extra points for flights and car rentals.. This makes it the perfect card for those who don’t stay in one place long enough for grocery purchases.
- 14 points per $1 at Hilton properties,
- 7 points per $1 on flights, car rentals, and U.S. restaurants, and
- 3 points per $1 on all other purchases.
And it comes with Diamond Status, where you’ll get 100% bonus points on stays, free room upgrades, and more.
Plus the free weekend night is awarded every year you have the card as well, with the opportunity to earn a 2nd night after spending $60,000 in a year.
It also comes with a bevy of statement credits you can earn, which can offset the hefty annual fee:
- $250 at eligible purchases at Hilton Resorts,
- $250 airline fee credit for things like checked bag fees and in-flight refreshments, and
- $100 credit on qualifying purchases for minimum 2 night stays at Astoria Hotels & Resorts and Conrad Hotels & Resorts.
That’s up to $600 in credits waiting for you to take advantage of.
Hilton Honors questions and answers
Here are the answers to some common questions about the Hilton Honors program.
How flexible are these rewards?
These are somewhat flexible rewards.
You can use your points to book almost any hotel room you find within Hilton Honors, as well as transfer points to airline partners and book car rentals. But, no cash option exists for using your points.
Are there blackout dates?
No, provided there’s hotel availability.
Do these rewards expire?
No, provided you make at least one transaction every 12 months.
Can you use points to cover taxes & fees?
Yes, your points cover taxes and fees for both hotel stays and car rentals.
Can these rewards be transferred?
Yes, you can transfer your points to over 40 airline partners, as well as Amtrak.
Is there a way to earn rewards faster?
Yes, by using both your loyalty number and credit card when staying at hotels and renting cars.
How to access your Hilton Honors login
Simply head to hiltonhonors.com to sign in to your account.
Hilton Honors customer service contact info
To contact Hilton Honors, here are the numbers to call.
For account inquiries:
- Inside the United States and Canada (toll-free): 1-800-548-8690
- Outside the United States and Canada (not a toll-free call): 1-800-449-4155
For reservations:
- United States and Canada, including Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands (toll-free): 1-800-445-8667
- International Free Number (UIFN): 800 44 45 86 67
To summarize
The Hilton Honors program makes it easy to redeem points and stay for free at almost 6,000 hotel properties around the world.
Do you use the Hilton Honors program?
What has your experience been?
Leave us a comment below and share it with others.
