AwardWallet receives compensation from advertising partners for links on the blog. Terms Apply to the offers listed on this page. Enrollment is required for select Amex benefits. The opinions expressed here are our own and have not been reviewed, provided, or approved by any bank advertiser. Here's our complete list of Advertisers.
Offers for the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card are not available through this site. Some offers may have expired. Please see our card marketplace for available offers
The Hilton Free Night Reward is perhaps the most valuable hotel free night award you can earn through credit cards. You can redeem this certificate for a free night at almost any Hilton property (excluding just 57 “distinctive properties”). As long as there's standard reward availability, you can redeem this certificate for the night.
The biggest hassle in using this free night certificate — besides finding award availability — is that you've needed to call Hilton Honors to redeem it. If you're traveling overseas, that could be an expensive call. Or, perhaps it's inconvenient for you to make a phone call. Maybe you just prefer not to talk on the phone.
Well, the good news is that you can now book Hilton Free Night Rewards via Hilton's website chat function. Here's what you need to know about this new ability.
How To Book Hilton Free Night Rewards via Chat
To start, log into your Hilton Honors account and click the chat button in the bottom right corner of the page:
Here are the steps I used to get the virtual assistant to transfer me to a live agent:
- Click the “reservations” button.
- Type “Book a reward night with a free night certificate.”
- Click the “something else” button.
This should transfer you to a live agent who can assist you with booking your free night award. Be ready to provide the property name, date of your stay, the number of guests, and room type.
Tips on booking free night certificates through Hilton chat
- Have a payment method on file: Before starting the chat, log into your Hilton Honors account and browse to your Personal Information page to ensure you have a valid payment card on file. Otherwise, the Hilton chat agent will ask you to add a payment method during the process.
- Two-factor authentication: Before completing the booking, the chat agent will send you a two-factor authentication code to your preferred contact method. So, you may want to have your (or your player two's) email open to provide this code.
- Monitor your chat carefully: The chime sound doesn't reliably work on the chat, and chat agents are quick to disconnect if you don't respond. Be sure to monitor your Hilton Honors window throughout the process.
- Confirm the cancellation period: Particularly for bookings at Hilton luxury resorts — where cancellation policies can be restrictive — I recommend asking the agent to confirm the cancellation policy before they complete the booking.
- Find availability before chatting: Sure, you can ask the agent to check availability for you. But you'll probably save time by finding award availability before starting your chat. Remember, to use your Hilton Free Night Award, there needs to be Standard Room Reward availability. See this post for more about how the Hilton Free Night Reward works.
How To Earn Hilton Free Night Reward Certificates
You can earn a Hilton Free Night Reward certificate through three different co-branded Hilton credit cards:
| Credit Card | Annual Bonus | Annual Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card | One Free Night Reward each year on your account anniversary, plus a second Free Night Reward when you spend $30,000 on eligible purchases on your card in a calendar year. Earn a third award after $60,000 of purchases in a calendar year. | $550 |
| Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card | One Free Night Reward when you spend $15,000 on purchases on your card in a calendar year. | $0 intro annual fee for the first year, then $150 (Rates & Fees) |
Hilton Aspire cardholders automatically get a Hilton Free Night Reward each cardholder year. Plus, they can spend their way to another free night certificate by spending $30,000 in a calendar year plus another award after $60,000 in spending. Meanwhile, cardholders of the Hilton Business Card and Hilton Surpass need to spend $15,000 in a calendar year to earn a free night certificate.
Note: The ability to earn a free night on the Hilton Business Card is ending on June 30, 2024.
Is one night not enough? You can get multiple Hilton cards to earn two or three nights to redeem them back-to-back. And, at least for now, you can still earn a welcome bonus on each Hilton credit card.
Related: Should You Apply for Hilton Cards Now Before They Also Get Stricter Rules?
Need help with tracking your card spending toward a Hilton free night certificate? AwardWallet has you covered. Just link your American Express account to AwardWallet, and we will automatically track your progress:
Bottom Line
One of the hassles of using the Hilton Free Night Award has been having to call to redeem the certificate. Now, travelers have the option to book Hilton free nights via Hilton's chat function. While this isn't as easy as using Marriott free night certificates or Hyatt's Pay My Way, being able to book online without having to call is a modest improvement.
For rates and fees of the cards mentioned in this post, please visit the following links: Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card (Rates & Fees)
Show me how
The comments on this page are not provided, reviewed, or otherwise approved by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.
