Update 5/17/23: All of the Hilton Amex cards now have very good offers incuding free night certificates that are generating a lot of interest. So, we wanted to republish this list with a couple of new properties included, as well as some reader reviews.
Hilton has possibly the most flexible and easy to use free night certificates of any major hotel chain. You can use them for a standard room at almost any Hilton property worldwide, regardless of what the nightly cost is in cash or points. Originally, these certs were only applicable towards weekend stays, but during the pandemic, Hilton made them available for use any day of the week, a change that was made permanent in 2022.
Some of my most memorable hotel stays of the last few years have involved Hilton free night certificates. Last year, my wife and I were finally able to go to the marvelous Zemi Beach House in Anguilla, perched by itself on a stunning stretch of Caribbean beach on which we could sometimes walk for a mile without seeing another soul. A couple of years before that, we spent an idyllic week at the Conrad Maldives Rangali Island, where we swam with whale sharks and watched reef sharks swim beneath our overwater plunge pool. There’s many more great opportunities out there.
This post aims to serve as resource for folks looking for ideas on the best places to use their free night certificates. Outside of a couple of historic properties, each hotel in this list has a Tripadvisor and/or Google reviews rating of 4.5 or above. I also didn’t include any properties whose standard rooms price below 80,000 Hilton Honors points per night. Most of the comments included below come from members of our Frequent Milers Insiders group while the unattributed ones are mine. We will update this page regularly to include new opinions, bottom line reviews and additional properties.
How to earn Hilton free night certificates
The Hilton credit cards below all offer various paths to free night certificates. These certs are highly valuable since they can be used at almost any Hilton property in the world. However, these certificates can only be used for a standard room reward…regardless of the points price, they cannot be used towards a Premium Room Reward. It also should be noted that standard room award availability can be very hard to find at some properties.
Hilton Aspire
Earns at least one free night every year. The first certificate is awarded 8-12 weeks after approval. Second free night after $60K spend in calendar year.
| Card Offer and Details |
|---|
Hilton Surpass
Earns a free night after $15K spend each calendar year.
| Card Offer and Details |
|---|
Hilton Business
Earns a free night after $15K spend in a calendar year and another after $60K spend.
| Card Offer and Details |
|---|
Best Uses for Hilton Free Night Certificates in the U.S.
(in parentheses is standard room points price/peak season cash price; $=less than $500/night, $$=$500-1000/night, $$$=$1000+/night)
Arizona
- Arizona Biltmore, A Waldorf Astoria Resort (90,000/$$)
- “Fabulous. A lot of things to do on property from the pool, spa, pickle ball, golf and really happening outdoor bar. Got upgraded to a junior suite as a Diamond. Short Uber ride to Old Town.” – reader Marc
- Boulders Resort & Spa Scottsdale, Curio Collection (95,000/$)
- I stayed here years ago on a long weekend with my wife and liked it a lot. Standard rooms are separate cottages with woodburning fireplaces and it really feels like you’re in the middle of the Arizona rocks.
California
- Hilton Santa Monica (80,000/$)
- Hotel del Coronado, Curio Collection (95,000/$-$$)
- “I don’t recommend the Hotel Del Coronado. We had an expiring cert so decided to use it up locally. They had opened a restaurant that we wanted to try. It was excellent. Otherwise, the stay was a disappointment. Our room was tight and parking was expensive. My memory says parking was somewhere between $40 and $50. The room was sufficiently disappointing that we went home.” – reader Carol
- “I am glad I am not the only one who thinks the same about Hotel Del Coronado. I have stayed there 4 times for an 5 nights each time before and after Hilton took it under their umbrella. Yes, it’s a historic hotel and it truly is amazing…but I was in an “updated” premium room with a huge balcony/terrace with direct view of the famous red roof and pool. The view was spectacular and the bathroom was nice…but the room was just average and kinda musty. I was given the option to pay for an upgrade to this room each time and I took it, only for the view. The last time I was there was 2018 so maybe they updated since. Especially at those prices. I do love historic hotels and maybe I should have stayed in the main building.” – reader PJ
- Oceana Santa Monica (95,000/$$$)
- “$1300 and up plus resort fees. FNC or points is beyond value to be ocean front on Santa Monica.” – reader Carmelita
- “Nice little LXR boutique in Santa Monica, suite upgrade over a weekend, fairly expensive for F/B but that’s the way the cookie crumbles. Very comfortable and had a peekaboo view of the Pacific.” – reader Robert
- Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills (120,000/$$$)
- Waldorf Astoria Monarch Beach (95,000/$$)
Florida
- Baker’s Cay Resort Key Largo, Curio Collection (90,000/$$)
- Conrad Fort Lauderdale Beach (95,000/$$)
- Waldorf Astoria Orlando (90,000/$$)
Georgia
- Waldorf Astoria Atlanta Buckhead (90,000/$-$$)
- “Double upgraded, wonderful staff, honored all diamond benefits even for the second night that was booked through FHR.” – reader Daniel
Hawaii
- Grand Wailea, A Waldorf Astoria Resort (110,000/$$-$$$)
- “It’s got a fantastic pool complex, a nice beach and on the Wailea beach path/trail. That one night by itself paid for the full year’s AF on the Hilton card.” – reader James
- “I was going to be in Maui on vacation anyway and space opened up at Grand Wailea. It’s got a fantastic pool complex, a nice beach and on the Wailea beach path/trail. That one night by itself paid for the full year’s AF on the Hilton card.” – reader James
Illinois
- Waldorf Astoria Chicago (95,000/$$)
- “Fabulous hotel. We got upgrade to a suite, but base level room is also lovely. Id recommend it in the winter because every room has a beautiful fireplace. Spa, gym, pool are as nice as you can imagine!” – reader Vincent
New York
- Conrad New York Downtown (90,000/$-$$)
- “I’ve used 2 expiring FNC at the Conrad New York City Downtown (midtown was not available) and had terrible service experiences. These were a few years apart and under different management, but the lackluster stays were pretty consistent especially with the F&B in the restaurant. Follow up complaints went unanswered so took it to Hilton Corp. customer service. Midtown was unavailable so was stuck with this one. Never again…probably the most disappointing Conrad out there.” – reader matthewsf
- “I had the opposite experience, actually. Stayed at Downtown for my birthday in December. Staff was great, and the food in the bar wasn’t bad at all. Locations wasn’t ideal but it worked for us. We spent a lot of time in LES & Brooklyn, and the huge Revel credits they honored meant we had free Tesla rides everywhere, even to JFK from the hotel!” – reader veeRob
- Conrad New York Midtown (90,000/$$)
- Stayed at the midtown over Thanksgiving ‘22 and it was fantastic We used FNCs for 3 nights such a great location and they upgraded us to a suite.” – reader Michael
South Carolina
Utah
- Cliffrose Springdale, A Curio Collection (90,000/$)
- Hoodoo Moab, Curio Collection (80,000/$)
- Waldorf Astoria Park City (80,000/$$$)
- “Rooms were $1,100 during ski season. Incredibly perfect ski hotel with a lift right out the back door and across the street.” – reader David
Washington, D.C.
Best Uses for Hilton Free Night Certs outside the U.S.
Mexico and the Caribbean
- Zemi Beach House- LXR Anguilla (110,000/$$-$$$)
- Hilton Rose Hall All-inclusive – Jamaica (95,000/$-$$)
- Conrad Punta de Mita (95,000/$$-$$$)
- Conrad Tulum Riviera Maya (110,000/$-$$)
- Hilton Cancun, All-inclusive (89,000/$$)
- Hilton Tulum Riviera Maya, All-inclusive (80,000/$$)
- “The joy of free that came from booking my family of 4 at an All-Inclusive for no additional costs/fees beyond redeeming the certificates at the Hilton Tulum Riviera Maya All-inclusive was great (and no extra points like some competitors)” – reader Brian
- Waldorf Astoria Cancun (110,000/$$)
- Waldorf Astoria Los Cabos Pedregal (120,000/$$$)
- Read our Bottom Line Review here
- “Every room has an ocean view and a private pool!” – reader Adam
- “Average nightly rates are around $1500-2k/night. Rooms were spacious and service was immaculate. ” – reader Marianne
Africa and Middle East
- Mango House Seychelles, LXR – Seychelles (110,000/$$)
- Hilton Seychelles Northolme Resort & Spa – Seychelles (95,000/$$)
- Hilton Seychelles Labriz Resort & Spa – Seychelles (90,000/$-$$)
- Katara Hills Doha, LXR (120,000/$$$)
- Maysan Doha, LXR (110,000/$$-$$$)
- Waldorf Astoria Dubai Palm Jumeirah (80,000/$)
- Waldorf Astoria Jerusalem (95,000/$$)
Asia
- Conrad Bora Bora Nui (120,000/$$$)
- Conrad Koh Samui (95,000/$$-$$$)
- “Beautiful location, food is amazing, friendly staff and the views!” – reader Carmelita
- Conrad Maldives Rangali Island (120,000/$$$)
- “Conrad Maldives for our honeymoon was fantastic. It was during Covid and they upgraded us to a grand overwater villa for free which was insane” – reader Andrew
- Conrad Tokyo (95,000/$$)
- Hilton Maldives Amingiri (110,000/$$$)
- Roku Kyoto, LXR (110,000/$$$)
- “Peak Cherry Blossom season. Rates were going for around $2300/night and I was able to get $150 in property credit as a Diamond member on top of getting $500 worth of resort credits from my 2 Aspire cards.” – reader Marianne
- Waldorf Astoria Maldives Ithaafushi (150,000/$$$)
- Waldorf Astoria Shanghai on the Bund (80,000/$)
Europe
- Conrad London St James (80,000/$$)
- Stayed here several years ago and found it to be a wonderful property. Stylish rooms, terrific club lounge and the location is tough to beat. Service was on-point.
- Hilton Lake Como (90,000/$$)
- Le Hameau des Pesquiers Ecolodge & Spa, Curio Collection (90,000/$)
- Roma Cavalieri, A Waldorf Astoria Hotel (80,000/$$-$$)
- Trafalgar St James, Curio Collection (80,000/$$)
- Waldorf Astoria Amsterdam (120,000/$$$)
- “Unbelievable hotel. Great location, amazing free breakfast as a Hilton Gold (access to buffet as well as one menu item), room was decadent. That stay was my gateway drug to bougie hotels.” – reader Andrea
- “Wonderful grounds and afternoon tea. Excellent breakfast. The first time I ever experienced heated floors!” – reader Julie
- “Never have had such luxury, from the moment we stepped inside to a sit down check in with refreshments and a cool towel. Incredible location and large room with heated bathroom floor. The history of the hotel itself is amazing as it is a combination of 6 monumental canal houses from the 1600’s.” – reader Iliana
- Waldorf Astoria Edinburg – The Caledonian (90,000/$$)
Frequently Asked Questions
What properties can a free night certificate be used for?
The value of a free night certificate is not limited, and can be used at almost any Hilton property worldwide. However, 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 very difficult to find…but they do exist.
Can Hilton free night certificates be used any time?
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.
What’s the best way to find standard award nights?
If you want to find periods where you can book nights at the standard award rate, Hilton makes that easy. When selecting your dates, choose any period but also select the ‘My Dates are Flexible’ check box. 
Then, under “special rates,” click the box that says “use points.”
On the search results screen, click ‘View Available Dates’ and the booking calendar will show you a monthly calendar displaying the nightly cost for the property that you choose. Many starting dates go for more than the standard cost per night due to Premium Room Rewards being the only option available, but you’ll be able to see the days where there is a standard room award.
How do I find Hilton free night certificates in my account?
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.
Can I extend an expiring Hilton free night certificate?
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).
However, in 2022 we began receiving reports of some members getting extensions to free night certificates. 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).
Reader Suggestions?
Have you stayed in any Hilton that’s a great value with a free night certificate and which you’d recommend? Have you stayed in any of these properties that we don’t have comments for (or that we do)? This post will grow and be updated based on readers who contribute their thoughts and experiences. Please comment below!
Want to learn more about miles and points? Subscribe to email updates or check out our podcast on your favorite podcast platform.
I am currently staying at Le Hameau des Pesquiers located just south of Hyeres, France, It is a 3 night stay paid for using a Hilton resort credit and 2 Hilton FNCs. It is near the southernmost point of the French Riviera, just east of Toulon. Based on TripAdvisor reviews, I expected it to be nice, but it is even nicer than I expected. It is family owned. The attention to detail and the service here are amazing. It is a unique, artsy hotel. It is small (less than 20 cars in the parking lot). One con is that it is far from 2 of the places that I am visiting: a 1.5 hour drive to the small, hilltop towns in the Luberon region and a 1.5 hour drive to the Verdon Gorge. Tip; If you like flowers come in late June through early August to see the lavender fields. My wife is disappointed that we are too early to see the blooms.
Please add the Biltmote LXR in London
Can someone book a stay for me (+ my spouse) using their FNC? Would be outside the USA.
Visited the Hilton Labriz in the Seychelles in Feb 2023 for 5 nights. Had a great stay, good diving, lots of hikes on the island. Diamond breakfast was excellent, restaurants were pretty good, although I think we would have been a little bored with dining options if staying longer than 5-6 nights. Seemed to be family friendly, lots of kids in the pool every day.
We stayed in the Waldorf Astoria Dubai Palm Jumeirah in Feb 2023. Nice property but a bit generic, could have been anywhere in the world. Lovely pool, attentive staff, excellent breakfast spread. It’s pretty far out on the ‘palm’ so not the best location if you are visiting other parts of Dubai.
I have followed Frequent Miler for years and have found great value in its contents. Thank you!
Could you please remove the “O” and “M” and “G” from your post?
Thank you.
(this post has been edited by moderator)
(this comment has been deleted for content that was disrespectful to the opinions of another reader)
(this comment has been deleted for content that was disrespectful to the opinions of another reader)
(this comment has been deleted for content that was disrespectful to the opinions of another reader)
Thank you, Frequent Miler, for removing the offensive word. I appreciate it very much, and it encourages me to keep recommending you, using your affiliate links and credit card links, etc.!
No standard award availability in NY. There’s a report that 50% of NYC’s hotel rooms are housing migrants to the average tune of $80,000 per room/per year, tax payer dime. Even the Conrads have migrants.
Umm, both Conrads have standard award availability tonight and tomorrow. And beyond.
You might want to add Hilton Marco Island Resort (95k) as while it’s an older resort, cash rates are usually $500+ or higher with taxes and resort fee. Their award availability is usually pretty good and it’s right on the beach.
They had a somewhat recent renovation. I don’t like it as much as the JW in Marco but it’s still a great hotel and it provides awesome value for a FNC.
Yeah the rooms are in good shape even if the bones of the place are old. Many of the restaurant/bar staff have been there 20+ years which tells me they treat them pretty well. JW is nicer, but way more points/cash and you have to park across the street there which is annoying (plus pay resort fees even on points stays).
Agreed, the staff is great and with the most recent Marriott devaluation the Hilton provides a ton more value over the JW. I was able to go to the JW on a weekend in 2022 using a 50K point FNC. The good old days haha.
What about Australia?
I think the Hilton Sydney on George Street is very hard to beat. Great location to play tourist, good restaurant and gym.
I appreciate the list. Waldorf Pedegral is our current go to. We can use our $250 resort credit at El Farallon, their onsite restaurant. We are treated very well there.
I don’t recommend the Hotel Del Coronado. We had an expiring cert so decided to use it up locally. They had opened a restaurant that we wanted to try. It was excellent. Otherwise, the stay was a disappointment. Our room was tight and parking was expensive. My memory says parking was somewhere between $40 and $50. The room was sufficiently disappointing that we went home.
I am glad I am not the only one who thinks the same about Hotel Del Coronado. I have stayed there 4 times for an 5 nights each time before and after Hilton took it under their umbrella. Yes, it’s a historic hotel and it truly is amazing…but I was in an “updated” premium room with a huge balcony/terrace with direct view of the famous red roof and pool. The view was spectacular and the bathroom was nice…but the room was just average and kinda musty. I was given the option to pay for an upgrade to this room each time and I took it, only for the view. The last time I was there was 2018 so maybe they updated since. Especially at those prices. I do love historic hotels and maybe I should have stayed in the main building.
I just checked parking on their website $50 self $75 valet
It’s hard to defend $50 parking, but I remember downtown SAN hotels charged $40-$50 also.
I would note a few HH properties only seem to ever have “premium room rewards” making them basically blocked, for example the Beverly Hilton.
I love the historical look of the Hotel Del and usually stop by to see it when visiting San Diego. I could totally see how the rooms would be a let down for the price though – being an old hotel I noticed some oddities like guest rooms that open up right into the main lobby area and you can tell from the outside the rooms don’t look very big. I personally don’t love the location either – Coronado island is nice looking but tended to shut down early and didn’t have a lot to do besides sitting on beaches. Staying at a hotel across the street from the Del we found it a little annoying as a base point for visiting the main attractions in the rest of San Diego.
In defense of parking the Marriotts and Hyatts I’ve stayed at in the main downtown or beach areas of San Diego also charge $40+ per night for self parking now. Hyatt Globalist can come up big there if you have it.
In the past, I’ve used 2 expiring FNC at the Conrad New York City Downtown (midtown was not available) and had terrible service experiences. These were a few years apart and under different management, but the lackluster stays were pretty consistent especially with the F&B in the restaurant. Follow up complaints went unanswered so took it to Hilton Corp. customer service. Midtown was unavailable so was stuck with this one. Never again…probably the most disappointing Conrad out there.
I had the opposite experience, actually. Stayed at Downtown for my birthday in December. Staff was great, and the food in the bar wasn’t bad at all. Locations wasn’t ideal but it worked for us.
Agree, downtown location is just fine but the hotel was lovely
Stayed at the midtown over Thanksgiving ‘22 and it was fantastic
@Michael Definitely wanted Midtown but it seems like it’s never available per comments from everyone else ending up with Downtown. Worked out for us as we spent a lot of time in LES & Brooklyn, and the huge Revel credits they honored meant we had free Tesla rides everywhere, even to JFK from the hotel!
We used FNCs for 3 nights @ midtown… such a great location and they upgraded us to a suite… I need to hear about Revel though…don’t know that trick!
Thank you for this wonderful resource. After reading this and other Aspire reviews I do plan on adding this card to my wallet. I am a Hyatt super fan but also held top status with Hilton and Marriott. With the Aspire card I can see going to only Hyatt and when a full-service property is not available choosing Hilton (instead of Marriott). This review gave me something to definitely Aspire about.
Hi, FYI data point: I called last week to extend a FNC set to expire in July and they said they could only extend it a couple of weeks.
That is true, that’s been happening since about 6 months ago.
i had same experience when trying to extend
I had the same experience back in February. They only extended it by 2 weeks (I called almost 20+ times across 3 weeks prior to the expiration of the certificate and was consistently told that 2 weeks was the best they could do). Fortunately, I was able to use it at Conrad Abu Dhabi before our return flights and also add second room for in-laws using the $250 Resort Credit for the year.
While not meeting the minimum points threshold used for this post, I prefer London House in Chicago (vs Waldorf) for being more centrally located to sites, attractions, etc. Sure, the Waldorf is more posh, but I value the location, location, location.
Also below your threshold, but fun if you plan ahead, is the Seelbach in Louisville for the Kentucky Derby. The cash prices for these rooms during that weekend is outrageous, but it is such a hub of Derby activities.
Just used my annual FNC from Aspire at the LondonHouse during peak summer season! Cash price was around $600.
Stayed 3 straight nights at Waldorf Los Cabos in Dec 2021 using FNCs
How about just saying…use your free night at a Conrad or Waldorf Astoria to get the most value.
there is a big difference between telling someone what to do and actually showing them what that looks like. Plus, there are PLENTY of crappy Conrads and Waldorfs out there!
When i first got into the game, I remember watching a video in which Ask Sebby was reviewing the Aspire card and he said he would “take as many of these as they will give me”. At the time i thought it sounded pretty strange but wanted to learn more about why he said that. Over the past four years I managed to accumulate 5 Aspire cards for my family (4 players) – my only regret is that i did not time the applications better so the expiration dates of all FNCs would be similar. These FNCs are indeed hands down the best out there. I have enjoyed wonderful stays at Waldorf Amsterdam, Waldorf Maui, Oceana Santa Monica etc. When these certs are used well, you will find yourself in some amazing properties which will leave you with some great memories!! I am headed to Waldorf Pedregal in a few days and W/A Maui again in November. As a wise man (Sebby) once told me, I will take as many Aspire cards as they will give me!!
Thanks for sharing, Todd. I, too, am in a similar situation managing (4) Aspire cards (P1-P4) for my family, all of which have anniversary dates extremely close to each other. So far, I have used them to stay (4) nights at WA Pedregal, (3) nights Grand Wailea, (3) nights WA Park City, (2) nights Conrad Seoul—all of which were excellent stays w great memories (thanks to diamond suite upgrades + diamond breakfasts + aspire resort CRs, etc.). I am currently searching for our next prop to hit up. Enjoy Pedregal. The service was outstanding, and the 3BR OV Villa (#930) we were graciously upgraded to was phenomenal!
are FNC transferable from another person?
They are not “transferrable” per se but I have not yet (knock on wood) had a problem with adding my name to a FNC reservation on my daughter or mother in law’s account using their FNC. If i remember correctly, i even think there is something on Hilton’s sight which mentions adding someone to the reservation as a check in person. I am headed to W/A pedragal in a few days with four FNCs. Two are my mother in law, one is my daughter’s and one is mine. I have done these stays using my mother in laws two FNCs on days 1 and two as well as using mine first as at various times i have come up with differing logic about whether it is better to use my FNC on day 1 or mother in law or daughter. So far, all patterns have worked without a glitch so i cant say if one order is better than another. Hope that helps 🙂
my family has never had a problem checking into a reservation made for someone else, by adding them as an additional guest name
Staying at Grand Wailea on a free cert a few days from from now, very excited! I thought that the Conrad Koh Samui had been put on the exempt list?
only the Conrad Koh Samui Residences are excluded.
Free Night Reward Property Exclusions (hilton.com)