Hilton Honors elite status offers valuable perks for travelers who regularly stay at Hilton properties, including free nights and complimentary room upgrades.
As one of the largest hotel brands in the world, Hilton has a robust customer loyalty program to keep travelers coming back for more. Hilton Honors gives loyal customers a way to redeem points for free hotel stays across its 19 brands around the world. With more than 7,000 properties worldwide, Hilton likely has a hotel property that fits your needs and budget.
Read more in our full review of the Hilton Honors American Express Card.
| Hilton Honors quick facts | |
|---|---|
| Number of properties | 7,000+ |
| Hilton points needed for a free night | 5,000+ |
| Number of redemption options | 6 |
| Point value | 0.5 cents per point ($0.005) |
| Pros |
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| Cons |
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Whether you’re a frequent traveler or only travel a few times per year, the Hilton Honors program is worth joining to earn points for free night stays in the future.
You can use these points at any one of Hilton’s 7,000+ properties, and your points won’t expire unless your account is inactive for 24 consecutive months.
While many experts claim that you need a ton of points to make hotel rewards programs worth it, you still have options if you’ve collected a small amount of Hilton Honors points. The Hilton Honors program offers affordable options, making it a great choice for all types of travelers.
Hotel points are fun to collect, but they typically aren’t worth much.
Hilton Honors points are generally valued at 0.5 cents per point. This makes the value of 10,000 Hilton Honors points roughly $50.
This is an estimate based on our valuations, as Hilton doesn’t reveal the true “value” of its points.
| Hotel | Cash price | Points required | Points value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conrad New York Midtown | $452 | 89,000 points | 0.51 cents |
| Embassy Suites by Hilton New York Manhattan Times Square | $87 | 24,000 points | 0.36 cents |
| Hilton Garden Inn New York/Central Park South Midtown West | $134 | 24,000 points | 0.56 cents |
| Homewood Suites by Hilton New York/Midtown Manhattan Times Square-South, NY | $183 | 40,000 points | 0.46 cents |
| Average value | 0.47 cents |
You should collect Hilton Honors points with the intention of using them right away. Saving your points for future use is a bad strategy, as rewards programs regularly devalue their points to protect their bottom line. So if you can redeem your points for half a cent each on a particular stay, we recommend using your points right away.
If you can cash in your Hilton Honors points for 0.5 cents per point, it’s likely worth it to use them. To calculate the value of your Hilton points for a particular stay, use this simple equation:
Cash price (including taxes and fees) / Number of points needed for hotel stay = Points value for that specific reservation
Among popular hotel rewards programs, Hilton Honors stands out for its wide variety of options to earn and redeem points.
The Hilton Honors program is free and easy to join, and with more than 7,000 properties, offers endless options to travel for less. Hilton Honors makes it easy to earn elite status, giving travelers quick access to valuable hotel perks.
A major downside of the Hilton Honors program is that it operates on dynamic pricing. This means that prices for award nights will fluctuate based on demand. Other programs, like World of Hyatt, use an award chart to price their award nights. This matters because you may find a hotel room you like, but the price may change before you book the room. Prices for similar properties can vary depending on time and location.
The Hilton Honors program is one of the easiest hotel rewards programs to get started with because it offers many opportunities to earn Hilton points, including:
Hilton has partnered with American Express to provide some of the most highly-regarded hotel credit cards on the market. These cards offer generous rewards rates on all your purchases and in popular categories like Hilton hotel stays, restaurants, U.S. supermarkets and U.S. gas stations.
| Credit Cards | Our Ratings | Welcome Offer | Rewards Rate | Annual Fee | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hilton Honors American Express Card
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Earn 80,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points after you spend $2,000 in purchases on the Card in the first 6 months of Card Membership. | Earn 7X Hilton Honors Bonus Points for each dollar of eligible purchases charged directly with hotels and resorts within the Hilton portfolio, 5X Hilton Honors Bonus Points at U.S. restaurants, U.S. supermarkets, and U.S. gas stations AND 3X Hilton Honors Bonus Points for all other eligible purchases on your Card. | $0 | ||
Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card
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Earn 130,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points after you spend $3,000 in purchases on the Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. | Earn 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. Earn 6X Hilton Honors Bonus Points for each dollar of eligible purchases on your Card at U.S. restaurants, U.S. supermarkets, and U.S. gas stations. Earn 4X Points for each dollar on U.S. Online Retail Purchases. Earn 3X Hilton Honors Bonus Points for all other eligible purchases on your Card. | $150 | ||
Hilton Honors Aspire Card from American Express*
Learn More
on American Express's secure site |
Earn 175,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points after you spend $6,000 in purchases on the Card within your first 6 months of Card Membership. | Earn 14X per $1 of eligible purchases on your card directly with a participating Hilton hotel or resort, 7X 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, and 3X for other purchases on your card | $550 |
Learn More
on American Express's secure site |
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The Hilton Honors American Express Business Card
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Earn 175,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points after you spend $8,000 in purchases on the Hilton Honors Business Card within the first six months of Card Membership. Offer Ends 6/5. | Earn 12X Hilton Honors Bonus Points on eligible Hilton purchases. Earn 5X Hilton Honors Bonus Points on other purchases made using the Hilton Honors Business Card on the first $100,000 in purchases each calendar year, 3X points thereafter. Terms & Limitations Apply. | $195 | ||
The Platinum Card® from American Express
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Earn 80,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $8,000 on purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. | 5X Membership Rewards® points on flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel on up to $500,000 on these purchases per calendar year and 5X Membership Rewards® points on prepaid hotels booked with American Express Travel. Terms apply. | $695 |
While The Platinum Card® from American Express isn’t a Hilton card, it provides cardholders with complimentary Hilton Honors Gold status (enrollment required). You’ll also have the option to transfer Membership Rewards points to Hilton Honors. If you travel consistently and stay at Hilton properties, consider pairing this card with a Hilton card to maximize your points.
When you book a hotel directly through Hilton, you earn Hilton Honors points based on the price of the room, minus taxes and fees.
Regular Hilton Honors members will earn 10 points per $1 at all properties, excluding stays at Tru & Home2 properties, which earn 5 points per $1.
When you have elite status, however, your points earning potential will increase:
Hilton Honors Dining is a free program that lets you earn Hilton points by connecting your rewards account to any credit card that you use for dining. When you sign up, you’ll be asked to link a credit card. You can link any credit card, not just one from Hilton.
When you use a card linked to your Hilton Honors Dining profile, you will earn Hilton points for dining, in addition to any applicable credit card rewards. This is known as “double dipping” — earning points from two different programs with one purchase.
You will earn Hilton Honors points in the Hilton Honors Dining program depending on how much you dine and whether you opt in to email notifications:
| Points earned per $1 | Requirements |
|---|---|
| 2 bonus points |
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| 5 bonus points |
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| 8 bonus points |
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You can buy points directly from Hilton if you need additional points for a reservation. We don’t recommend it, though, since the price you pay when you buy points often exceeds their estimated value of 0.5 cents each.
You should only purchase points if you need to top off your points balance for a stay — not in large quantities. From time to time, Hilton offers discounts on points that may net a decent value.
If you buy Hilton points, use our formula to make sure you’re getting your money’s worth.
You can transfer your Hilton Honors points to a friend or family member if you’re planning on booking a trip together. There’s no fee to transfer your points.
Once you earn Hilton Honors points, the exciting part is spending them. Hilton points are simple to redeem, but it can be tricky to navigate Hilton’s dynamic pricing.
The best option for using Hilton Honors points is redeeming them for free hotel nights. Whether you’re looking for a budget property or a luxurious getaway, your points can save you a lot of money.
But it’s best to estimate the value of your points before you book a room. The chart below offers a rough guideline on when to use Hilton points and when to pay cash. You’ll notice there isn’t a fixed dollar amount on the left-hand side: The general idea is the higher the cost of the room, the better it is to use points, especially if the value for the points is high for that specific reservation.
For example, let’s look at a hotel reservation for a Hilton Grand Vacations property in Las Vegas. We found a room in December 2023 for around $231 per night after taxes and fees, or 85,000 points. This equates to approximately $0.003 cents per point, a below-average valuation for an award room booking. In this case, it will not be worth using points.
You can book free nights at any of Hilton’s brands:
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Hilton’s 5th night free benefit gets you an extra night on your reservation when you pay for four consecutive nights with Hilton Honors points. This boosts your point value by 20%, and gives you one extra night to rest your head at a Hilton property.
You’ll need to have Silver status or above with Hilton Honors to qualify for this option. To earn Hilton status, you must meet the requirements or have a Hilton Honors credit card that awards complimentary status to cardholders.
You can use your Hilton Honors points to book flights on a number of partnering airlines, and earn more points by flying with those airlines and transferring your miles to Hilton. To do this, you must have your travel partner linked to your Hilton Honors account and all transactions must be done online.
Here are all of Hilton’s participating airline partners:
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If you earn Hilton Honors points but don’t want to use them for a hotel stay, you have other redemption options, including:
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These redemptions will give you a low value for your Hilton Honors points. If you earn Hilton Honors points through credit card purchases but don’t intend to redeem points for hotel rooms, it may be best to switch to a different travel rewards credit card.
Hilton Honors elite status is a great way to enhance your hotel experience with potential benefits like free hotel room upgrades, food and beverage credits and welcome amenities.
Members typically earn status by staying a specific number of nights at Hilton properties. This method is practical for those who travel constantly for work or leisure.
| Status levels | Requirements to earn |
|---|---|
| Hilton Honors member | Join the program |
| Hilton Honors Silver Elite | 10 nights, 4 stays or 25,000 base points |
| Hilton Honors Gold Elite | 40 nights, 20 stays or 75,000 base points |
| Hilton Honors Diamond Elite | 60 nights, 30 stays or 120,000 base points |
Once you earn Hilton status, you’ll have it until the end of the following calendar year.
Here are the different status levels of the Hilton Honors program, along with what each level offers:
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Member benefits, plus…
Silver benefits, plus…
Gold benefits, plus…
There are four status levels in the Hilton Honors program: Member, Silver, Gold and Diamond.
The highest Hilton Honors status is Diamond. Diamond status will afford you benefits including space-available room upgrades, 100% points earning bonus on stays, elite status gifting and more.
You can maintain your Hilton Honors status by staying the required number of nights/stays or earning enough qualifying base points within a calendar year. Alternatively, you can sign up for a credit card that offers Hilton Honors status as a perk, like The Platinum Card® from American Express (enrollment required).
Hilton Honors Gold status is a high tier of the Hilton Honors rewards program that offers perks like 80% points earning bonus on stays, a daily food and beverage credit or continental breakfast, space-available room upgrades and more. To get Gold status, you’ll need 40 nights, 20 stays or 75,000 base points.
The above offers and/or promotions may have since changed, expired, or is no longer available. Check the Issuers’ website for more details.
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