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The Hilton Honors loyalty program is one of my favorite programs in the points and miles world. It offers thousands of properties worldwide and interesting luxury points redemption opportunities make it a solid choice for my family time after time. With innovative features like points pooling, premium room redemptions, and top-tier elite status just for holding a credit card, it's hard to ignore Hilton Honors.
Here are nine things I love about the Hilton Honors rewards program.
Page Contents
- Pool Your Hilton Points With Others To Get To Redemptions Faster
- Get the Best Mid-Tier Hotel Elite Status for $150
- Earn Complimentary Hilton Diamond Status with One Card
- No Shortage of Redemption Opportunities
- Get the 5th Night Free on Award Redemptions
- Frequent Promotions To Boost Your Hilton Point-Earning Ability
- Points & Money Redemptions Offer Solid Value
- Gifting Your Hilton Status to Friends and Family
- Unlock Incredible Value With Hilton Free Night Awards
- Final Thoughts
Pool Your Hilton Points With Others To Get To Redemptions Faster
Hilton's points pooling feature is a real benefit for award travelers with a family, as it allows family and friends to combine their Hilton Honors points. Each pool can have up to 11 members, and each member can send 500,000 points per year and receive up to two million points annually.
To combine points, you must be an active member of Hilton Honors and have been a member for at least 30 days. Plus, you need a minimum of 1,000 points to participate. This makes it super easy to redeem for awards that require a large balance and to take advantage of Hilton's 5th night free benefit (more on that below). You can pool your points here.
In addition, if you'd like to make a simple transfer to another Hilton account, you can do so by transferring points rather than forming a pool. This is subject to the same yearly restrictions as pooling, so you can send 500,000 points and receive two million points per year across both pooling and transferring points.
I have a young son, which has changed how my wife and I travel (for obvious reasons). We sometimes bring a grandparent along on a trip as an extra pair of hands, so pooling our points to redeem for a long hotel stay or a suite that can comfortably fit everyone is our move nowadays.
Get the Best Mid-Tier Hotel Elite Status for $150
Hilton Honors Gold is the best mid-tier hotel elite status available, offering a daily food and beverage credit in the U.S. (and free breakfast for two internationally) via your MyWay benefits as well as space-available upgrades at Waldorf Astoria, Conrad, Curio, Hilton, and DoubleTree properties, based on availability.
Hilton Gold is also one of the easiest hotel statuses to achieve. The hard route involves 20 stays, 40 nights, or 75K base points. But you can enroll for complimentary Gold status with these cards (Enrollment is required for select Amex benefits.):
- Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card
- The Hilton Honors American Express Business Card
- The Platinum Card® from American Express
- The Business Platinum Card® from American Express
Additionally, the Hilton Honors American Express Card offers complimentary Hilton Honors Silver status with a fast track to Gold status after spending $20K in a calendar year.
You can earn this status just by holding one of the cards above, so with the Hilton Surpass‘ $150 annual fee (Rates & Fees), you can skip the hoops of earning status that you'd otherwise jump through.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 Points for each dollar of purchases on your Card at U.S. restaurants, at U.S. supermarkets, and at U.S. gas stations.
- Earn 4X Points for each dollar on U.S. Online Retail Purchases.
- Earn 3X Points for all other eligible purchases on your Card.
- Earn a 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 ™ Gold Status with your Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card.
- Spend $40,000 on eligible purchases on your Card in a calendar year and you can earn Hilton Honors™ Diamond Status through the end of the next calendar year.
- As a Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card Member, you can enroll to receive complimentary National Car Rental® Emerald Club Executive® status through the link on your American Express online account. After you're enrolled, you can reserve a rental car by calling National Car Rental directly, using your travel service, or by booking online or through the National Car Rental mobile app. Terms apply.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees. Enjoy international travel without additional fees on purchases made abroad.
- $150 annual fee.
- Apply with confidence. Know if you're approved for a Card with no impact to your credit score. If you're approved and you choose to accept this Card, your credit score may be impacted.
- Terms Apply.
- Rates & Fees
- 12X bonus points for each dollar of eligible purchases charged on your card directly with a hotel or resort within the Hilton portfolio
- 6X bonus points for each dollar of eligible purchases on your card at U.S. restaurants, U.S. supermarkets, and U.S. gas stations
- 4X bonus points on U.S online retail purchases
- 3X bonus points for all other eligible purchases on your card
In my experience as a Hilton Diamond member, my heightened status hasn't benefited my on-property experience. However, the jump in savings and recognition from Silver to Gold is huge, as you'll earn free breakfast at Hilton or food and beverage credits each day and better your chances for an upgrade.
Related: Which Hilton Honors Credit Card Is Right for You?
Earn Complimentary Hilton Diamond Status with One Card
The Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card offers complimentary Hilton Honors Diamond status — the top tier — as a perk of just carrying the card!
Alternatively, if you don't want to pay a premium annual fee, put $40,000 of spending on eligible purchases on the Hilton Surpass or Hilton Business Card in a calendar year. In this case, you'll earn Hilton Diamond status, which typically takes 30 stays, 60 nights, or 120K base points — a substantial investment of time and energy.
Above what you get with Gold status, Diamond members get a 48-hour room guarantee, express/late checkout, and guaranteed lounge access (where available). Plus, they're eligible for upgrades to suites at check-in.
I've been a Hilton Aspire card member since the card was launched and is one of my “must-have” credit cards for the Hilton benefits each year.
- 14X Hilton Honors Bonus Points for each dollar of eligible purchases charged on your Card directly with a hotel or resort within the Hilton Portfolio
- 7X Hilton Honors Bonus Points on flights booked directly with airlines or amextravel.com, car rentals booked directly through select rental companies, and at U.S. restaurants
- 3X Hilton Honors Bonus Points for all other eligible purchases on your Card
Related: All the Credit Cards That Earn Hilton Honors Points
No Shortage of Redemption Opportunities
Hilton has a huge footprint with over 8,000 locations — including hotels in places you may not suspect. For instance, those looking for perks at Walt Disney World may balk at on-property pricing at Disney-operated resorts. However, several options in the Hilton portfolio offer early park access without breaking the bank. Plus, you can take advantage of Hilton's 5th night free benefit to further save on award stays for elites.
While the Hilton Lake Buena Vista Palace charges a resort fee on paid stays, award stays in the Hilton program enjoy waived resort fees, furthering your savings.
Better yet, Hilton offers multiple credit cards to help you unlock redemptions. Here's a look at the current welcome bonuses on Hilton Honors co-branded credit cards:
- Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card: Earn 150,000 Bonus Points after you use your new Card to make $6,000 in eligible purchases within the first 6 months of Card Membership.
- Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card: 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.
- Hilton Honors American Express Card: Earn 80,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points after you spend $2,000 in purchases on the Hilton Honors American Express Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership.
- The Hilton Honors American Express Business Card: Earn 130,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points after you spend $6,000 in purchases on the Hilton Honors Business Card within the first six months of Card Membership.
(Terms Apply)
- 12X bonus points for each dollar of eligible purchases charged on your card directly with a hotel or resort within the Hilton portfolio
- 6X bonus points for each dollar of eligible purchases on your card at U.S. restaurants, U.S. supermarkets, and U.S. gas stations
- 4X bonus points on U.S online retail purchases
- 3X bonus points for all other eligible purchases on your card
(Terms apply)
- Earn 7X Points per dollar on eligible purchases charged directly with a hotel or resort within the Hilton Honors portfolio of brands
- Earn 5X Points per dollar on eligible purchases at U.S. restaurants, at U.S. supermarkets, and at U.S. gas stations
- Earn 3X Points for all other eligible purchases on your Card.
(Terms apply)
- 12X Hilton Honors points on purchases made directly with hotels and resorts in the Hilton portfolio
- 5X Hilton Honors points on the first $100,000 spent per calendar year on other eligible purchases; 3X thereafter
These Amex co-branded cards are the fastest way to amass a healthy balance of Hilton points. They offer significant new card member welcome offers and tangible benefits, for a relatively small (or no) annual fee. If more than one member of your household takes advantage of these offers, you can pool the points into a single account to redeem for a one-of-a-kind holiday!
Related: Best Hilton Honors Redemptions for the Budget-Savvy Traveler
Get the 5th Night Free on Award Redemptions
Another reason to love Hilton Honors is that elite members get the 5th night free on award stays. And it's not hard to get status, considering even the Hilton Amex confers Silver status. That means this benefit offers incredible value while being extremely accessible.
The fifth night free doesn't technically offer your fifth night free. Instead, you receive a discount equal to the average cost of a night across a five-night reservation.
And, according to Hilton's terms and conditions, reservations with 10, 15, and 20 nights will enjoy a free night on every 5th night. You'll need to find standard room availability to use this perk, and you can't use it on Points & Money Rewards reservations.
Frequent Promotions To Boost Your Hilton Point-Earning Ability
The number of points required for Hilton’s high-end properties can be a little deceiving. But when you factor in how fast you can earn Hilton points through methods such as Hilton bonus points promos, and the ability to buy Hilton points, earning enough points for luxury redemptions is a breeze.
I've found that Hilton offers a double-point promotion regularly, with triple-point promotions occurring occasionally. Paired with the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card, I've earned up to 54X points per dollar on past promotions. Based on the average redemption value of AwardWallet readers of 0.59¢ apiece, that's like earning over 31% back on every dollar spent with the brand!
Related: Do Hilton Points Expire?
Points & Money Redemptions Offer Solid Value
The Hilton Honors revamp also features Points & Money Slider, which has turned out to be one of the program's better innovations. Does it lower the cost of every stay? No, and in the case of redemptions subject to a resort fee, even adding the smallest amount of cash to the slider can add the resort fees in full to the cost of your reservation. The value of the Points & Money Slider differs between properties and dates, and you'll need at least 5,000 Hilton points to redeem with Points & Money and redeem in 1,000-point increments.
We’ve found value in all kinds of points and cash combos, with some of the best value found in Hilton’s mid-range hotels. Not only can this tool lower the cost of your reservation, but if you have plans to stay at a particular hotel and don’t quite have the required points, you can use a Points & Money reservation for any combo that works for you financially.
Gifting Your Hilton Status to Friends and Family
Spreading the joy of travel benefits to family and friends can be a great reward for loyalty. Once a Diamond Elite member reaches 60 nights in a calendar year, they can gift Gold status to a friend or family member.
If you reach 100 nights in a calendar year, you can gift Diamond Elite status to a friend or family member. Diamond Elite members can gift one Gold and one Diamond Elite status per year, assuming you stay for the required amount of nights. Once you have reached the required nights for gifting status, you will receive a claim code by email and instructions on how to gift your status. The gifted status lasts for 365 days from the date it was gifted.
Unlock Incredible Value With Hilton Free Night Awards
While most other award programs put limits on the use of their free night rewards, Hilton Honors does no such thing. You can use a Hilton Free Night Reward for nearly any property at any price point, so long as there is standard award availability (with few limitations). You can use your free night for something more aspirational like the Waldorf Astoria Maldives Ithaafushi or the Waldorf Astoria Los Cabos Pedregal, my favorite redemption so far with my Free Night Award.
Final Thoughts
Hilton Honors has transformed itself into one of the best hotel programs out there for redemptions, and the Honors program now counts some stellar features that we love. The points pooling feature allows you to combine points with up to 10 other accounts to reach your travel goals, and the super-achievable Hilton Gold status can get you free breakfast and your fifth night free on award stays.
Did your favorite Hilton Honors perk not make the list? Let us know what it is in the comments below.
For rates and fees of the cards mentioned in this post, please visit the following links: Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card (Rates & Fees), Hilton Honors American Express Card (Rates & Fees), and The Hilton Honors American Express Business Card (Rates & Fees)
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