Hilton Honors is the loyalty program for Hilton hotels & resorts and their many brands worldwide. While Hilton has gotten a bit of a bad rap in the frequent traveler community over the past few years for eliminating its award chart, there are many advantages to the program — including easy elite status, high earnings on paid stays, no resort fees on award bookings, and more. This complete guide offers everything you need to know about the Hilton Honors program.
Hilton Honors overview
Hilton Honors shares traits that are common to most hotel rewards programs:
- Earn points from paid stays (but not when stays are booked through online travel agencies such as Expedia).
- Use points to book free night awards.
- Those who spend many nights at Hilton hotels booked either as free nights or paid stays (but not those booked through online travel agencies) earn elite status.
- Elite status levels range from Silver to top-tier Diamond. The higher your status, the more perks you get.
- Branded credit cards can be used to earn points and to help earn elite status.
Hilton Honors Award chart / Points Explorer Tool
Direct link to Hilton Points Explorer Tool
Hilton eliminated award charts several years ago and pricing is now variable. Hilton instead offers the Hilton Points Explorer tool linked above that purportedly shows the minimum price of a standard room at each hotel in the Hilton Honors program.
Unfortunately, when the tool launched we showed that it isn’t very reliable (See: Hilton’s junky new Points Explorer tool isn’t always accurate). The tool does not always accurately reflect the minimum price. While that post was originally written in 2019, it still holds true that the points explorer tool is often still inaccurate. For example, a recent search of the tool showed a minimum price of 67,000 points per night for a property, but clicking through to view dates showed dates in the coming months from 54,000 points.
Hilton Honors “5th Night Free” awards
Hilton offers the 5th night free on standard room points award stays for those with Silver status or higher. The Hilton Honors Terms & Conditions state that “After the 5th Night Free benefit is applied, eligible members will be charged 0 points for the 5th night, 10th night, 15th night, and 20th night of the stay, as applicable.” You can get a maximum of 4 free nights in a single stay (i.e. at a maximum, you would get 4 free nights on a 20-night stay). However, a member can utilize this benefit an unlimited number of times during the year.
Note that the way Hilton calculates and displays the price on 5th night free stays can be confusing. Essentially, Hilton prices each night at 4/5ths of the cost of an award night, though the average nightly cost of a 5-night stay may not be the same as the price of booking 5 nights separately. The best practice is to search nights both as a 5-night stay and individually to be sure you get the best deal. See: Hilton’s funny math: save points by extending a stay and Hilton stinks at math: book award nights separately for more on this topic.
Points & Money awards
Hilton offers members the chance to book an award using a mixture of points and money. Members can use points in increments of 1,000 points to offset the cost of a stay. When using points & money, points will offset the cash cost at a rate just below the ratio of the paid room rate to the award night cost.
In other words, if a $100 stay costs 20,000 points, the value of points in that instance is half a cent per point. If a member uses points to partially offset the cost of the stay, the points will reduce the cost by just under half a cent per point (i.e. using 10,000 points will reduce the cash cost by a little less than $50).
Hilton Honors Elite status
| Status level | Nights per year required | Lifetime status requirements | Key benefits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Silver | 4 stays, 10 nights or 25,000 base points | N/A | 20% bonus on base points, 2 bottles of water at most full-service properties |
| Gold | 20 stays, 40 nights, or 75,000 base points | N/A | 80% bonus on base points. Food and beverage credit of $10-$25 for you and one additional registered guest at most properties in the US or free continental breakfast abroad. Amount of credit varies by brand. |
| Diamond | 30 stays, 60 nights, or 120,000 base points | 10 years of Diamond status plus either 1,000 lifetime nights or 2 million base points earned | 100% bonus on base points, lounge access, food and beverage credit of $10-$25 for you and one additional registered guest at most properties in the US or free continental breakfast abroad. Amount of credit varies by brand. |
Elite status things to know
- Lifetime status is only available for Diamond members. The 1,000 lifetime nights required can be paid and/or award stays.
- Elite nights are earned with either cash or award stays. When booking a four night award, it may make sense to book 5 nights instead (thanks to 5th Night Free pricing) just so that you can get an extra elite night. Make sure not to check out after the fourth night.
- Elite nights are not earned with online travel agency bookings. For example, if you book through Expedia, you will not earn elite night credit (or points) for your stay. You also might not receive elite benefits during your stay, but some hotels have been known to offer them anyway as long as you add your Hilton Honors membership number to the reservation.
- Missing stay: If a stay was not properly credited to your account, you can fill out a missing stay request form online: https://www.hilton.com/en/hilton-honors/guest/missing-stays (note that you’ll need to log in to fill out the form)
Hilton Honors Rollover nights
Rollover nights can reduce your path to elite status. Once you reach Silver status or higher, any nights in excess of those required to qualify for status will count toward elite qualification for the next calendar year (January 1 – December 31).
As an example, if you end an ordinary year with 50 elite nights, you’ll have Hilton Gold status (which ordinarily requires 40 elite nights) and 10 nights will roll over into the next year — meaning that you’ll begin the new calendar year with 10 elite nights already earned.
Hilton Honors Milestone Rewards
Milestone Rewards are additional points offered to Gold and Diamond members upon reaching night thresholds. Gold and Diamond members will receive 10,000 bonus points when reaching 40 elite nights and then 10,000 bonus points with each 10 nights thereafter (and a one-time additional bonus of 30,000 points upon reaching 60 nights). Note that rollover nights do not count toward milestone rewards and that only Gold and Diamond members receive Milestone Rewards.
Elite perks: what and where?
Breakfast
Hilton offers a set of elite benefits that vary depending upon whether you are staying at a property in the US or overseas and perhaps depending on the brand where you stay.
Gold members are entitled to a food and beverage credit of $10-$25 at most properties in the United States or complimentary continental breakfast abroad. Those with Gold status can also receive a complimentary room upgrade up to the executive level (note that Gold members only receive lounge access when upgraded to the executive level).
Diamond members also receive a food and beverage credit of $10-$25 at most properties in the United States or complimentary continental breakfast abroad and additionally receive lounge access at properties with an executive lounge.
Note that the food and beverage credit at properties within the United States does not need to be used on breakfast. Some members may prefer to use this credit on appetizers / dinner / drinks and/or you may already have breakfast included in your rate or lounge access. Most properties will likely require you to use the credit daily or lose it — you likely will not be able to combine the credits from multiple days to use at one time.
For those booking properties abroad, keep in mind that the definition of a continental breakfast varies; at some properties, this consists of a full made-to-order breakfast in the hotel restaurant, at others it could mean a voucher that can be used at on-property dining options that may not completely cover breakfast. However, most Hilton full-service properties have good breakfast offerings. Unfortunately, the food & beverage credit may not be enough to fully cover the cost at properties within the United States.
Upgrades
Note that elite members are not entitled to upgrades at a large segment of Hilton’s portfolio. From the Hilton terms and conditions:
The following brands do not offer complimentary upgrades: Embassy Suites, Hilton Garden Inn, Hampton by Hilton, Tru by Hilton, Homewood Suites by Hilton, Home2 Suites by Hilton, Hilton Grand Vacations, and Motto by Hilton.
Stephen found that those brands account for around 77% of Hilton’s portfolio. While Hilton has improved on elite recognition at many of the higher-end brands, sometimes even emailing members about proactive room upgrades days before arrival, they explicitly exclude upgrades at many brands.
Unfortunately, Hilton has recently launched paid upgrade offers for elite members. Some elite members at select properties are offered the opportunity to buy an upgrade during the online check-in process. Time will tell whether this creates a disincentive for properties to offer the complimentary upgrades that are outlined as perks of the elite status program as noted above.
Shortcuts to elite status
There are two key shortcuts to Hilton elite status: credit cards or status match.
Credit Cards
The easiest shortcut to Hilton elite status is via credit card. The Hilton Honors Surpass and Business cards from American Express offers complimentary Gold elite status. Alternatively, the Hilton Honors Aspire card from American Express offers complimentary Diamond status. The ability to essentially buy meaningful elite status by maintaining a credit card account was long unique to Hilton (though we have since seen Marriott add the ability to get automatic Platinum status with their ultra-premium credit card).
Note that those who spend $40,000 in a calendar year on the Surpass card earn Diamond status.
The Amex Platinum cards (both personal and business) also come with a benefit that offers Gold status in the Hilton Honors program.
Status match
Hilton also offers a status match program. At times in the past, they have given a straight match to those with comparable status in other programs. Hilton currently offers a status match challenge whereby they will match your comparable status in another program to either Hilton Gold or Hilton Diamond and then you will need to complete 8 nights (for Gold) or 14 nights (for Diamond) within a 90-day trial period to maintain status through the end of the current membership period.
See Hilton’s status match page here: https://statusmatch.hiltonhonors.com/
Point earning from stays
| Status | Points earned per $ | Points earned at Home2 Suites & Tru by Hilton |
|---|---|---|
| Member | 10 | 5 |
| Silver (20% bonus) | 12 | 6 |
| Gold (80% bonus) | 18 | 9 |
| Diamond (100% bonus) | 20 | 10 |
The chart above shows point earnings for stays. The middle column shows the number of points earned per dollar at most brands. The next column shows the points earned per dollar at long-stay brands that don’t follow the same formula: Home2Suites and Tru by Hilton.
Points are not earned with online travel agency bookings. For example, if you book through Expedia, you will not earn points for your room charge. You also might not receive elite benefits during your stay, but some hotels have been known to offer them anyway as long as you add your Hilton Honors membership number to the reservation.
Hilton for Business
Hilton for Business provides an opportunity for small and medium-sized businesses to get rewarded when employees stay with the chain. In addition to both the employee and the business earning Hilton Honors points, the program offers a special Hilton for Business rate as well.
Benefits of the program include:
-
- Exclusive discounted rate
- 7,500 bonus points after your company’s first stay on the Hilton for Business rate
- 5,000 bonus points for every 10 nights stayed on the Hilton for Business rate
- Program management in order to track spending
- Transfer company points to your personal account or employees’ accounts (this feature will be rolled out soon)
- Earn bonus points and/or elite night credits with various time-limited promotions
You can access the Hilton for Business landing page here.
Point transfers to airline miles
Hilton Honors used to offer the ability to transfer Hilton points to various airline partners, but it seems that they now only allow transfers into Hilton. Transfer ratios were always abysmal when moving Hilton points to airlines anyway.
You learn more about transferring points here: https://hiltonhonors3.hilton.com/en/earn-use-points/exchange/airline-rail/index.html
Manage points
Share points with others (transfer or pool points)
Hilton Honors allows members to transfer points to other members or pool points with a group. You can find the options shown above by logging in to your account at Hilton.com and choosing the “Points” tab at the top.
Note that each Hilton Honors Member is limited to sending no more than five hundred thousand (500,000) Points and receiving two million (2,000,000) Points via Points Pooling or Transfers combined per calendar year. Also, each member is limited to making six transfers to other member accounts and six Hilton Points Pooling transactions per calendar year.
If you simply want to move points from one account to another (perhaps from one spouse to another), you can “transfer points” to another member for no fee also. You’ll need to verify your account with a code sent to the email address on file and then enter the name, email address, and Hilton Honors account number of the recipient.
If you want to share points amongst a larger group (like a family), Hilton Honors also allows points pooling whereby you can share points with up to 10 other members. Each member can transfer up to 500,000 points into a pool in a calendar year and an individual member can receive up to 2,000,000 points in a calendar year. You must have been a member for at least 30 days and have at least 1,000 points in your account to join a pool. Note that while the original program announcement suggested that pooled points are available immediately but “may take up to 24 hours” to be reflected in your account, my experience has been that this really varies. Sometimes, pooled points move instantly. Sometimes, it can take several days for pooled points to transfer and other times transfers have sometimes failed without reason. It is advisable to initiate pooling or transfers in advance when possible.
How to keep Hilton Honors points alive
Points expire after 24 months of inactivity. Fortunately, almost all points activity will reset the clock. Points remain alive and available as long as you earn or use points at least once every 24 months.
Some examples of activity that would keep points alive:
- Earning from a stay
- Using a Hilton credit card
- Purchasing points
- Transferring from Amex Membership Rewards
- Earning from the Hilton Dining program
- Shopping with points at Amazon
- Earning points from a car rental
- Donating Hilton points to charity
Credit cards
The Hilton Honors credit cards are issued by American Express. Below you’ll find information about each currently available Hilton credit card:
| Card Offer and Details |
|---|
Limited Time Offer: 175K Points + free night certificate ⓘ Friend-Referral 175K after $6K spend in first 6 months. Free night certificate every year - first certificate is awarded 8-12 weeks after approval. Terms apply. (Offer Expires 7/31/2024)$550 Annual Fee After clicking through, be sure to select the card you want on the next page. Information about this card has been collected independently by Frequent Miler. The issuer did not provide the details, nor is it responsible for their accuracy. FM Mini Review: This card is loaded with valuable perks that are more than worth the card's annual fee if you stay in Hilton resorts at least twice per year. Earning rate: ✦ 14X Hilton spend ✦ 7X US restaurants, flights booked directly with airlines or amextravel.com, select car rental companies ✦ 3X on all other eligible purchases ✦ Terms & Limitations Apply. Card Info: Amex Credit Card issued by Amex. This card has no foreign currency conversion fees. Big spend bonus: Additional free night awards after $30K and $60K spend in calendar year Noteworthy perks: ✦Annual Free Night Reward every year upon renewal ✦ Free Diamond Status ✦ Up to $400 Hilton Resort Credit per membership year ($200 semi-annually) ✦ $200 Flight Credit ($50 per quarter for purchases directly with airlines or via Amex Travel) ✦ $100 on-property credit w/ Aspire Card package ✦ Terms Apply. See Rates & Fees See also: Amex Hilton Aspire In-Depth Review |
Limited Time Offer: 130K points + Free Night Certificate ⓘ Affiliate 130K points + free night certificate after $3K spend within the first 6 months. Terms apply. (Offer Expires 7/31/2024)$150 Annual Fee After clicking through, be sure to select the card you want on the next page. Recent better offer: None, this is the best that we've seen. FM Mini Review: Easy way to secure Hilton Gold status (which offers free breakfast among other perks). Those who want Diamond status may be better off with the Aspire card. Earning rate: ✦ 12X Hilton spend ✦ 6X U.S. restaurants, US Supermarkets, and US gas stations ✦ 4X U.S. Online Retail Purchases ✦ 3X on all other eligible purchases Base: 3X (1.44%) Dine: 6X (2.88%) Gas: 6X (2.88%) Grocery: 6X (2.88%) Shop: 4X (1.92%) Brand: 12X (5.76%) Card Info: Amex Credit Card issued by Amex. This card has no foreign currency conversion fees. Big spend bonus: ✦ Free night award after $15K spend in calendar year ✦ Diamond elite status with $40K calendar year spend ✦ Terms apply Noteworthy perks: Free Gold status. Diamond status w/ $40K spend. ✦ Up to $200 in Hilton credits ($50 per quarter) ✦ Terms Apply. (Rates & Fees) |
Limited Time Offer: 70K points + Free Night Certificate ⓘ Affiliate 70K points + free night certificate after $2K spend within the first 6 months. Terms apply. (Rates & Fees) (Offer Expires 7/31/2024)No Annual Fee After clicking through, be sure to choose the card you want on the landing page. Recent better offer: None. This is the best that we've seen. FM Mini Review: This card isn't particularly rewarding, but it's good to keep primarily for targeted Amex upgrade offers to the Surpass card. Earning rate: ✦ 7X Hilton eligible Hilton purchases ✦ 5X US restaurants, US Supermarkets, and US gas stations ✦ 3X on all other eligible purchases Card Info: Amex Credit Card issued by Amex. This card has no foreign currency conversion fees. Big spend bonus: Gold elite status with $20K calendar year spend Noteworthy perks: ✦ Free Silver status; Gold status with $20K spend. ✦ Terms Apply. (Rates & Fees) |
130K Points ⓘ Affiliate 130K after $6K spend in first 6 months. Terms apply. $195 Annual Fee Recent better offer: 175K points after $8K spend in 6 months [Expired 6/5/24] FM Mini Review: Easy way to secure Hilton Gold status (which offers free breakfast among other perks). Amex business cards do not count towards 5/24 status so will not hurt chances of applying for Chase cards. Earning rate: ✦ 12X Hilton spend ✦ 5X on other eligible purchases (on the first $100K in purchases per calendar year, 3X thereafter). ✦ For eligible purchases made from March 28, 2024 through June 30, 2024: 6X on Select Business & Travel Purchases (flights booked directly with airlines or Amex Travel; car rentals booked directly from select car rental companies; US restaurants; US gas stations; wireless telephone services purchased directly from US service provider; US shipping purchases) Card Info: Amex Credit Card issued by Amex. This card has no foreign currency conversion fees. Big spend bonus: Eligible purchases made through June 30, 2024 will count toward a Free Night Award after $15K spend within a calendar year and another Free Night Award after $60K spend. This benefit will no longer be available after June 30, 2024. Diamond elite status with $40K calendar year spend Noteworthy perks: ✦ Free Gold status. Diamond status w/ $40K spend. ✦ Up to $240 in annual credits for Hilton purchases (Up to $60 per quarter) ✦ National Car Rental Executive Status ✦ Terms Apply. (Rates & Fees) |
Free night certificates
The Hilton credit cards offer paths to free night certificates (these paths vary from an annual free night certificate to those earned through spend or as part of a welcome bonus depending on the card and offer). These free night certificates can be highly valuable since they can be used at almost any Hilton property in the world.
Free night certificates valid any night of the week
In years past, credit card free night certificates were limited to weekend night use, but that changed during the pandemic (initially on a temporary basis and then eventually it became a permanent change). Now Hilton free night certificates can be used any night of the week. This additional flexibility makes them significantly more valuable.
While the value of a free night certificate is not limited in the sense that it can be used at almost any Hilton property, note that these certificates can only be used for a standard room reward. Keep in mind that at some of the most popular properties, like the Conrad Bora Bora and Waldorf Astoria Maldives, standard room rewards can sometimes be difficult to find, but they do exist. In 2024, Hilton started adding Small Luxury Hotels of the World (SLH) properties which has increased the number of high value, luxury properties you can book with these certificates (and points).
How to find your Hilton free night certificates
Furthermore, free night certificates can now be found on your main account dashboard when you log in at Hilton.com. You simply need to sign in and go to “My Account”. You may need to scroll down to find the section where free night certificates are displayed, including certificate numbers and expiration dates. This can be very handy as you will need the certificate number to book a reservation with your certificate.
Extending Hilton free night certificates
Hilton free night certificates are valid for one year from date of issuance. The stay must be completed by the expiration date on the certificate (the expiration date is not just a “book by” date but rather a “consume by” date).
A number of people have had success getting extensions to free night certificates simply by asking. Length of extensions have varied from a couple of weeks to a couple of months depending on the agent and situation. If you have a use in mind for your certificates beyond their current expiration dates, it may be worth calling to ask for an extension. More details can be found in this post: Got an expiring Hilton free night certificate? Maybe it can be extended (YMMV).
Experiences
In addition to redeeming points for award nights, it is also possible to redeem points for experiences. These include things like backstage concert tickets, impossible to get sports event tickets, dining with famous chefs, etc. Some experiences have fixed award prices, but most are setup as auctions. In either case, you may or may not get good value depending upon circumstances.
Here is a link to available Hilton Honors experiences: https://experiences.hiltonhonors.com/
Hilton Honors Pros & Cons
Pros (where Hilton Honors is better than average):
- Both Gold and Diamond members receive food and beverage credits (or continental breakfast outside of the US)
- Easy elite status via credit card
- No resort fees on award stays
- 5th night free awards (Marriott offers this too, although Marriott’s benefit differs slightly in its execution)
- Points pooling with up to 10 other members (share up to 500K points per year or receive up to 2,000,000 points per year). This makes it easy to combine forces for an award.
- Hilton offers good point earnings on paid stays for elites
- Hilton has a huge number of hotels that run from bottom-tier to luxury
Cons (where Hilton Honors is worse than average):
- Variable award pricing means it is nearly impossible to predict how many points you’ll need until you are ready to book
- Food & beverage credits given in the United States will not cover the full cost of breakfast in many instances
- Elite members are not entitled to upgrades at many of Hilton’s limited-service properties
Q & A (Questions and Answers)
Q: Can I get the 5th Night Free if I pay for some of the nights with cash, free night certificates, or cash + points?
A: No. To get the 5th Night Free, you must book entirely with points.
Q: I completed a stay but it hasn’t credited to my account. What can I do?
A: First, wait a bit. It’s not unusual for a stay to appear on your account about a week after checkout. Next, if the stay still hasn’t appeared, you can fill out a missing stay request online: https://www.hilton.com/en/hilton-honors/guest/missing-stays
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