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With one of the world's largest footprints, most travelers have stayed in — or at least seen — a Hilton hotel. Since this vast hotel chain has a variety of properties to fit every budget and over 7,000 hotels located across 123 countries, it makes a lot of sense to consider joining the Hilton Honors loyalty program.
Hilton's loyalty program is one of the best amongst major hotel chains. Enrolling in Hilton Honors is free, and Hilton offers excellent rewards just for signing up. This includes earning points for free stays, late checkout, waived resort fees on award stays, earning free WiFi, and discounted rates. As your status increases, you'll also see perks such as free breakfast, room upgrades, and a fifth night free on eligible award stays.
Earning and redeeming Hilton rewards points is also very simple — there are a ton of ways to jump-start your points balance, including large welcome bonus offers from travel credit cards, hotel promotions, and even transferring points from different partners. Once you've got a good amount, you can then use points toward free hotel stays, once-in-a-lifetime experiences, Amazon purchases, and even airline miles.
We'll break down everything you need to know to earn, redeem, and maximize your Hilton Honors points.
Joining Hilton Honors can be especially lucrative if you're frequently on the road. As your elite status increases, so will the benefits you're offered during your stay.
Just for enrolling, you'll get late checkout when available, complimentary Wi-Fi, members-only rates, no resort fees on award stays, award nights that count for elite status, and the ability to earn Hilton Honors points.
Silver Elite status adds a 20% points earning bonus on stays, the fifth night free on award stays, free bottled water, and elite rollover nights.
Gold Elite members can earn their status from stays or by holding an Amex Platinum or Hilton Surpass card. In addition to all the Silver benefits, Gold members receive an 80% points-earning bonus on stays, room upgrades, free breakfast, and milestone bonuses.
Diamond — Hilton's top-tier status — elite members experience even more benefits. You can earn Diamond status via Hilton or, even better, get the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire and maintain Diamond status as long as you hold the card.
Diamond members can expect 100% points-earning bonuses on stays, up to suite room upgrades, executive lounge access, premium Wi-Fi, elite status gifting, and a 48-hour room guarantee.
Hilton has two main categories of points: bonus points, which help you earn rewards via special promotions, and elite-qualifying base points. The main difference is that base points count toward your elite status for the year, while bonus points do not — but you can redeem both kinds of points toward stays and other rewards.
Unlike bonus points, base points can only be earned via stays at a Hilton hotel. Charges for room rates, dining, and spas all count toward base points for elite status. Otherwise, there are plenty of ways to build up your Hilton Honors bonus points balance.
Depending on your elite status, you can earn anywhere from 10 (with a few exceptions) to 20 points per dollar for paid stays. Hilton hotel brands include:
There are also ways to earn bonus points during your stay. Hilton's frequent promotions have included offers like double points on your entire stay, 2,000 bonus points per stay, or even additional bonus points for every 10 nights you stay. Depending on your hotel and elite status level, you might also be able to earn points as a welcome amenity.
It's important to remember that in order to earn points on your stays, you'll need to book directly with Hilton. Using a third-party site (such as an online travel agency) invalidates both your elite status benefits and any potential points earnings. However, you can earn bonus rewards by navigating to Hilton's website via an online shopping portal.
Hilton and American Express have teamed up to offer four Hilton credit cards with a variety of benefits and bonuses, ranging from a no-annual-fee travel card to a premium credit card with lucrative travel perks.
The cheapest is the no-annual-fee Hilton Honors American Express Card, which is offering a welcome bonus of 70,000 Hilton Honors bonus points plus a Free Night Reward after you spend $2,000 in purchases on the card in the first six months of card membership (offer ends 7/31/2024).
It earns 7 points per dollar spent on eligible purchases at Hilton hotels, 5 points per dollar at eligible U.S. restaurants, U.S. supermarkets, and U.S. gas stations, and 3 points per eligible dollar everywhere else. This makes it very easy to earn lots of Hilton points without worrying about a yearly fee.
The Hilton Honors American Express Card also comes with automatic Hilton Silver elite status, and an upgrade to Gold status if you spend $20,000 or more in a calendar year.
If you stay at Hilton hotels even a couple of times a year, the Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card is worth considering. Along with a welcome bonus offer of 130,000 Hilton Honors bonus points plus a Free Night Reward after you spend $3,000 in purchases on the card in the first six months of card membership (offer ends 7/31/2024), cardholders receive automatic Hilton Gold elite status, which comes with benefits like free breakfast (currently awarded as a food and beverage credit at U.S. hotels), upgrades to better rooms, and bonus points.
The free breakfast perk alone can make paying the $150 annual fee on the Hilton Honors American Express Surpass well worth it, especially if you stay at expensive hotels. It's also a fantastic card for everyday spending — you'll earn 12x points at eligible Hilton hotels, 6x points at eligible U.S. restaurants, U.S. supermarkets, and U.S. gas stations, 4x points on U.S. online retail purchases, and 3x points on everything else.
Cardholders can get a bump up to top-tier Diamond status when they spend $40,000 or more in a calendar year, and receive a free reward night certificate (valid at almost any Hilton hotel worldwide) after spending $15,000 in a calendar year. The card also gives you Priority Pass airport lounge access when you enroll, with up to 10 free visits per year.
Small-business owners who stay with Hilton hotels should consider The Hilton Honors American Express Business Card. It currently offers a bonus of 130,000 Hilton Honors bonus points after you spend $6,000 in purchases on the card within the first six months of card membership and earns bonus Hilton points on a wide variety of business-related expenses.
Cardholders earn 12x points at eligible Hilton hotels and 5x points on the first $100,000 spent on other purchases each calendar year, then 3x points.
The Hilton Honors American Express Business Card has a $195 annual fee and comes with automatic Hilton Gold elite status with the ability to upgrade to Diamond after spending $40,000 in a calendar year.
On the other end of the spectrum is the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card, a luxury card with a $550 annual fee that is offset by hundreds of dollars in annual credits and top-tier Hilton Diamond elite status.
The card also comes with a welcome bonus offer of 175,000 Hilton Honors bonus points after you spend $6,000 in purchases on the card within your first six months of card membership (offer ends 7/31/2024), and earns 14x points on eligible purchases at hotels and resorts in the Hilton portfolio, 7x points at U.S. restaurants and on select travel, and 3x points on all other eligible purchases.
If you're staying often at a Hilton, you'll rack up points quickly with the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire. Cardholders also receive a free reward night after they open the card, and again on each card anniversary. Along with Diamond status, you'll get up to $250 per calendar year in airline incidental fee credits, up to $250 per cardmember year in Hilton resort credits, and a full Priority Pass Select airport lounge membership**.
If you like to eat out, it's worth checking out the Hilton Honors Dining program, which offers up to 8 Hilton Honors points per dollar spent at participating restaurants.
Alternately, if you've got a large event or meeting planned, booking it at a Hilton hotel could earn you some serious points. Once booked, add your number to your reservation and you'll earn 1 Hilton Honors point per dollar, up to $100,000.
Hilton has also partnered with Alamo, Enterprise, and National to offer bonus points on rental cars when booked via their travel portal. You'll earn 500 points per day, with a maximum of 5,000 points per rental.
Finally, Lyft and Hilton have teamed up to offer 3x Hilton Honors points on Lyft rides, or 2x Hilton points for shared Lyft rides. If you're a frequent user of rideshare services, these points will add up quickly.
You can use Hilton points in a variety of ways, including for hotel stays, Hilton Honors experiences, and even Amazon purchases.
Redeeming Hilton Honors points for hotel stays is typically the most lucrative option, allowing you to take vacations to expensive, far-flung destinations — or a road trip closer to home — using only points.
You can't use your Hilton Honors points toward room or suite upgrades on existing reservations, but you can use the Points & Money feature — described in more detail below — to book stays you might not otherwise be able to afford on strict cash or on points alone.
Hilton doesn't have an official award chart, but a good rule of thumb is that their least-expensive hotels start at 5,000 points per night and cap out at 95,000 points per night (with a few exceptions up to 150,000 points). Keep in mind that these prices are for standard room rates — when these aren't available, redemption prices can often skyrocket astronomically, so be sure to check which rate you're trying to book.
Here are a few examples of great redemptions:
Silver and higher elite members get their fifth night free on all award stays of five nights or more, which amounts to an effective 20% discount in points on your redemptions. Planning your stays wisely can help stretch your points considerably.
If you have the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire, you'll receive a free reward night after you open your account and again each year on your card anniversary. Valid at nearly all Hilton hotels (with a handful of exceptions), its uncapped value means you can potentially redeem it for a night worth $1,000 or more at hotels such as the Waldorf Astoria Maldives or the Conrad Bora Bora.
Hilton Honors American Express Surpass members can earn similar free reward nights when they meet spending thresholds on their card.
There are many ways to draw out the value of your precious Hilton rewards. Here are some of our suggestions.
If you'd rather make your Hilton points last, you can make the most of your redemption by using Points & Money to pay for your award nights. Hilton introduced this option a few years ago, which allows you to customize the number of points you'd like to use per night. You'll then pay the difference in cash.
If you've already got an American Express card that earns Amex Membership Rewards points, you can opt to transfer your rewards to your Hilton Honors account. Points transfer at a 1:2 ratio, which means that 1 Amex Membership Rewards point is worth 2 Hilton Honors points.
You can earn transferable American Express Membership Rewards with the following personal cards:
Some of the best small business credit cards earn Amex Membership Rewards points:
Hilton also partners with Hawaiian Airlines and Virgin Atlantic to transfer rewards. You can do so at the following ratios:
The Hilton Experiences program offers a variety of unique opportunities for redeeming points. These have included afternoon tea in Shanghai, a Czech beer experience, a night of "Amore" in Venice, and even strawberry picking in Indonesia.
It's also possible to redeem your points for events at a Hilton, though this isn't generally considered a good way to maximize your Hilton points value. Here's how much the credits cost:
If you'd rather have airline or rail points, you have the option to transfer Hilton points to partner airlines, though redemption rates vary. You'll first earn your Hilton Honors points and then exchange them into miles via your account. Hilton has around two dozen airline partners, including all the big US domestic airlines as well as tons of overseas options.
To redeem points at Amazon, you need to connect your Hilton and Amazon accounts. Paying with Hilton points will then be an option during your Amazon checkout. This isn't a great option generally speaking, as your points are only worth 0.2 cents each with Amazon.
You can also choose to donate your points via Hilton's PointWorthy website. For every 10,000 points you donate, Hilton will send $25 to a charity of your choice.
If you're not planning on traveling anywhere, you can take advantage of Hilton's fee-free points transfer option to send up to 2 million points per year to friends or family. Hilton also has the unique option to pool your points with up to 11 people in order to afford a redemption.
As part of Hilton's partnership with Lyft, Honors members can redeem points for Lyft credits — but the value you'll get per Hilton point isn't great (around 0.2 cents each).
You can also purchase points in order to boost your balance, in increments of 1,000 and starting at $10 per 1,000 points. However, Hilton frequently has promotions to either discount or offer bonus points, which means that quite often you can acquire points at half their regular cost. Note that you're only allowed to buy 160,000 points per calendar year, but with 100% bonus points promotions you can receive up to 320,000 points per year.
When you refer a friend to apply for any of the American Express Hilton credit cards, you can earn 15,000 to 20,000 points for each referral, or up to 140,000 points per year.
Hilton Honors offers a program called Guest Opinion Rewards, which allows eligible members to take surveys and earn points. After enrollment, you can currently earn 1,250 Hilton points for completing your first survey — but after that, the rewards are much less generous.
That said, if you enjoy taking surveys and have a lot of free time, this can be a good way to earn a few extra points here and there.
Hilton Honors doesn't have the most lucrative travel rewards, with an average Hilton points value of 0.5 cents apiece in Personal Finance Insider's most recent points and miles valuations. Nonetheless, the program offers good (and sometimes great) value when redeeming for hotel rooms and access to special events.
Even if you don't stay at Hilton hotels frequently, there are plenty of ways to earn Hilton points. The fastest and easiest method is by opening and using a co-branded Hilton credit card, and you can also earn points through dining and shopping partnerships or completing surveys.
The best way to redeem Hilton points is for stays at one of Hilton's 19 brands. You'll often get the best return for your points when you redeem them for luxury resorts that cost $1,000+ per night, but there's good value to be had at more budget-friendly properties, too.
Other options for using Hilton points include transferring to airlines, spending points at Amazon, or cashing in points for Lyft rides — but in these cases, you'll almost always get an inferior value compared to redeeming your rewards for hotel stays.
Hilton loyalists can earn points by signing up for the Hilton Honors loyalty program, staying at Hilton properties, using Hilton Honors credit cards for purchases, and taking advantage of partner offers and promotions within the Hilton Honors program.
Redeem points for free nights at Hilton hotels, room upgrades, unique experiences, shopping items, or even transfer them to airline partners. Points pooling allows you to combine points with family and friends for bigger rewards.
Elite members enjoy benefits like bonus points, complimentary room upgrades, free breakfast at certain membership levels, late check-out, and more. The perks increase with each elite status tier from Silver and Gold to Diamond.
Book stays during promotional periods, strategically use points for high-value stays, and choose Hilton Honors credit cards that align with your spending habits to accelerate points earning.
There are many ways to quickly earn Hilton points. You can such apply for Hilton Honors credit cards to earn points on everyday purchases, staying at Hilton properties and paying with a Hilton card for up to 34 points per dollar, and checking for current promotions to earn bonus points.
