Hilton Honors is the loyalty program for Hilton hotels & resorts and their many brands worldwide. Hilton has gotten a bit of a bad rap in the frequent-traveler community recently: its points have dropped ~15-20% in value, the maximum price for award nights has more than doubled, and there is a new top-tier status with an $18k yearly spending requirement.
On the flip side, the Hilton Honors offers many advantages: high earnings on paid stays, no resort fees on award bookings, elite status that’s easier than ever to obtain, and free night certificates that are among the most valuable in the industry.
A lot has happened over the last year with Hilton Honors, and this guide offers everything you need to know about in 2026.
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 Reserve. The higher your status, the more perks you get.
- Branded credit cards can be used to earn points and to help earn elite status.
Free Nights with Hilton Honors
Points Explorer Tool
Hilton eliminated award charts several years ago, and pricing is now variable. Hilton instead offers the Hilton Points Explorer tool 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 wasn’t very reliable. The tool does not always accurately reflect the minimum price. 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 up to 4 free nights in a single stay (i.e., at most 4 free nights on a 20-night stay). However, a member can use this benefit an unlimited number of times each year.
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, each point reduces the cost by just under half a cent (i.e., using 10,000 points reduces the cash cost by a little less than $50).
Small Luxury Hotels of the World
Hilton’s new-ish partnership with Small Luxury Hotels of the World (SLH) is one of the most exciting ways to use both Hilton points and free night certificates. There are now over 400 participating SLH hotels that can be booked through Hilton Honors, and many of them are drool-worthy destinations that would be out of reach for most people when booking with cash. Like Hilton’s own properties, SLH hotels and resorts currently cap at 250,000 points per night, but many of them have cash rates well over $1,500/night.
Hilton Honors Elite status
| Status level | Nights per year required | Credit card access | Key benefits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Silver | 4 stays, 10 nights, or 25,000 base points | Hilton Honors | 20% bonus on base points, 2 bottles of water at most full-service properties |
| Gold | 15 stays, 25 nights, or $6,000 Hilton spend | Hilton Surpass, Hilton Business, American Express Platinum® | 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 | 25 stays, 50 nights, or $11,500 Hilton spend | Hilton Aspire | 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. |
| Diamond Reserve | 40 stays or 80 nights, AND $18,000 Hilton spend | None | 120% bonus on base points, guaranteed 4 pm checkout, lounge and premium club 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. Confirmable Suite Upgrade upon qualification. |
Elite status things to know
- Hilton has removed base points as a qualifying metric for elite status. Now, it is nights, stays, or spending at Hilton properties.
- The exception to this is top-tier Diamond Reserve status, which requires a minimum of $18,000 in yearly Hilton spend AND either 40 stays or 80 elite nights. There is no way to remove or waive the spending requirement.
- 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) to get an extra elite night. Make sure not to check out after the fourth night.
- Elite nights are not earned with most online travel agency bookings. If you book through Expedia (or another 3rd party), 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.
- There are some exceptions now, as programs like Rove Miles, Fine Hotels + Resorts, and The Edit by Chase Travel℠ offer bookings eligible for points, elite perks, and qualifying nights.
- Lifetime status is only available for Diamond members. The requirements are: 10 years of Diamond status and either 1,000 lifetime nights or $200,000 in lifetime Hilton spending. Qualifying nights can be paid and/or awarded stays.
- Missing stay: If a stay was not properly credited to your account, you can submit a missing stay request form here (you’ll need to log in).
Hilton Honors Milestone Rewards
Milestone Rewards are additional points offered to Gold, Diamond, and Diamond Reserve members upon reaching night thresholds.
- Gold, Diamond, and Diamond Reserve members will receive 10,000 bonus points when reaching 40 elite nights and then 10,000 bonus points with every 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.
- Once you hit 60 nights in the calendar year, you can gift Gold status to any member. If you reach 100 nights, then that gift is upgraded to Diamond.
- At 120 nights, members get a choice of 30,000 points or a Confirmed Upgrade Reward, regardless of whether or not they’ve qualified for Diamond Reserve status.
Elite perks: what and where?
Breakfast
Hilton offers a set of elite benefits that vary depending on whether you are staying at a property in the US or overseas, and perhaps on the brand you stay with.
- Gold members are entitled to a food and beverage credit of $10-$25 at most properties in the United States or a 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 $10-$25 food and beverage credit at most United States properties or a complimentary continental breakfast abroad, as well as lounge access at properties with an executive lounge.
- Diamond Reserve members also receive a food and beverage credit of $10-$25 at most properties in the United States, a complimentary continental breakfast abroad, lounge access at properties with an executive lounge, and access to Premium Clubs at properties that offer them.
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, 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 will usually 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. Some properties will provide a full, made-to-order breakfast in the hotel restaurant, but others might offer a voucher that can be used at on-property dining options (which may not fully cover breakfast). Most Hilton full-service properties offer good breakfast options, but unfortunately, the food & beverage credit is often not enough to fully cover the cost at properties in the United States.
Complimentary Upgrades
While Hilton has improved elite recognition across many of its higher-end brands, upgrades remain modest for Diamond and Gold members. We don’t often hear about more than a one-category upgrade domestically. I (Tim) have had good luck requesting a specific room type via chat directly with the hotel in the app, but your mileage may vary.
Diamond Reserve members have the highest upgrade priority at Hilton properties worldwide, and the terms state that space-available upgrades may include one-bedroom suites. However, Hilton is very clear that it does not provide a Hyatt-style guarantee along the lines of, “if a better room is available, it’s yours.” Properties can set which rooms are available for upgrades, as well as the inventory level required for that upgrade to be “available.” Up till now, that hasn’t been a recipe for consistent benefits, especially in the US.
Elite members are not entitled to upgrades at a large segment of Hilton’s portfolio, as complimentary upgrades are officially excluded at many brands. 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.
Some Hilton properties also offer paid upgrades for elite members, allowing them to purchase an upgrade during the online check-in process.
Confirmed Upgrade Rewards
Confirmed Upgrade Rewards (CUR) are awarded once a member reaches Diamond Reserve status and again, as a Milestone Reward, at 120 nights. It’s also possible to get one at 120 nights without reaching Diamond Reserve status, and if you manage to stay 120 nights in Hilton properties without spending close to $18,000, hats off to you.
“CURs” are valid at any Hilton property that offers space-available upgrades, provided the booking is made directly through Hilton. You’ll be able to upgrade to a one-bedroom suite (or other lower-category rooms) for up to 7 nights, and you’ll be able to see which rooms are available for the upgrade before you finish the booking.
The reward is valid for one year from the date of issue, and cannot be extended beyond that. You must complete your stay before the expiration date in order to apply the confirmed upgrade.
Confirmed Upgrade Rewards effectively match the confirmable suite upgrades offered by IHG and Hyatt, and are a significant improvement over Marriott Nightly Upgrade Awards, which are only valid for one night and aren’t confirmed until a few days before your stay.
Where it doesn’t quite match up with Hyatt and IHG is what you have to go through to get one. If you stayed 80 nights with IHG, you could have up to four confirmable suite upgrades. If you spent 80 nights with Hyatt, you could have a whopping seven Suite Upgrade Awards, all valid for up to a one-week stay. By comparison, Diamond Reserve members only get one, which feels a bit paltry, especially since you also have to spend $18,000 and have no means to add elite nights via credit card spend, like you can with Hyatt.
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 a credit card. The Hilton Honors Surpass and Business cards from American Express offer 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.
The Amex Platinum cards (both personal and business) also offer Gold status in the Hilton Honors program. Those who spend $40,000 in a calendar year on the Business or Surpass cards earn Diamond status.
Status match
Hilton also offers a status match program, whereby they will match your comparable status in another program to either Hilton Gold or Hilton Diamond and then you will need to complete 6 nights (for Gold) or 12 nights (for Diamond) within a 90-day trial period to maintain status through the end of the current membership period.
Point earning from stays
| Status | Points earned per $ | Points earned at Home2 Suites, Homewood Suites, Spark & Tru by Hilton |
|---|---|---|
| Member | 10 | 5 |
| Silver (20% bonus) | 12 | 6 |
| Gold (80% bonus) | 18 | 9 |
| Diamond (100% bonus) | 20 | 10 |
| Diamond Reserve (120% bonus) | 22 | 11 |
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.
Points are not earned with most online travel agency bookings. If you book through Expedia (or another 3rd party), you will not earn points for your stay. You might also not receive elite benefits, but some hotels have been known to offer them anyway, as long as you add your Hilton Honors membership number to the reservation. Like with elite nights, there are some exceptions. Programs like Rove Miles, Fine Hotels + Resorts, and The Edit by Chase Travel℠ offer bookings that are eligible for points, elite perks, and qualifying nights.
Hilton for Business
Hilton for Business offers small and medium-sized businesses the opportunity to earn rewards when employees stay at the chain. In addition to the employee and the business earning Hilton Honors points, the program also offers a special Hilton for Business rate.
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.
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, then enter the recipient’s name, email address, and Hilton Honors account number.
If you want to share points with a larger group (like a family), Hilton Honors also allows points pooling, which lets you 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.
Hilton suggests that pooled points are available immediately, but “may take up to 24 hours” to be reflected in your account. Our experience has been varied. Sometimes, pooled points move instantly. Sometimes it can take several days for pooled points to transfer, and at other times, transfers fail for no apparent reason. It is advisable to initiate pooling or transfers in advance when possible.
How to keep Hilton Honors points alive
Hilton 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 or Bilt Rewards
- Earning from the Hilton Dining program
- Shopping with points at Amazon
- Earning points from a car rental
- Donating Hilton points to charity
Hilton 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 |
|---|
![](http://cdn.nextinsure.com/imaging/opt/a5e33401-8d6f-4ae8-b471-5da085075406.jpg?w=300" alt="The Hilton Honors American Express Business Card" />) ⓘ $971 1st Yr Value Estimate$240 Hilton credit ($60 per quarter) valued at $180, Hilton Free Night valued at $418 Click to learn about first year value estimates 175K Points + free night certificate ⓘAffiliateThis is an affiliate offer. Frequent Miler may earn a commission if you are approved for this offer Earn 175k Hilton Honors bonus points plus a free night reward after you spend $8k in purchases on the Hilton Honors Business Card in the first six months of card membership. Terms apply. (Rates & Fees) (Offer Expires 4/15/2026)$195 Annual Fee Recent better offer: None FM Mini Review: Easy way to secure Hilton Honors™ 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 Points thereafter). Card Info: Amex Credit Card issued by Amex. This card has no foreign currency conversion fees. Big spend bonus: Hilton Honors™ Diamond elite status with $40K in eligible purchases in a calendar year Noteworthy perks: Automatic Hilton Honors™ Gold status. Diamond status w/ $40K in eligible purchases in a calendar year ✦ Up to $240 in annual credits for eligible Hilton purchases (Up to $60 per quarter) ✦ Complimentary National Car Rental(R) Emerald Club Executive(R) status (enroll through the link on your American Express online account) ✦ Terms Apply (Rates & Fees) |
 ⓘ $913 1st Yr Value Estimate$400 Hilton resort credit ($200 per six months) valued at $280, Hilton Free Night valued at $418, $200 airline credit ($50 per quarter) valued at $160 Click to learn about first year value estimates 175K Points + free night certificate ⓘAffiliateThis is an affiliate offer. Frequent Miler may earn a commission if you are approved for this offer Limited-time offer: 175K after $6K spend on eligible purchases in the first 6 months of card membership. Free night certificate every year - first certificate is awarded 8-12 weeks after approval. Terms apply. Rates & Fees (Offer Expires 4/15/2026)$550 Annual Fee Recent better offer: None 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 in eligible purchases in calendar year Noteworthy perks: Annual Free Night Reward every year upon renewal ✦ Hilton Honors™ Diamond status ✦ Up to $400 Hilton Resort Credit per calendar year ($200 semi-annually) ✦ $200 Flight Credit (Up to $50 per quarter for purchases directly with airlines or via Amex Travel) ✦ Up to $209 CLEAR+ fee credit per calendar year ✦ Up to $100 on-property credit w/ Aspire Card package ✦ Terms Apply See Rates & Fees See also: Amex Hilton Aspire In-Depth Review |
 ⓘ $895 1st Yr Value Estimate$200 Hilton credit ($50 per quarter) valued at $150, Hilton Free Night valued at $418 Click to learn about first year value estimates 130K Points + free night certificate ⓘAffiliateThis is an affiliate offer. Frequent Miler may earn a commission if you are approved for this offer Limited Time Offer - Earn 130k bonus points plus a free night reward after you spend $3,000 in purchases on the card in the first 6 months of card membership. Terms apply. Rates & Fees (Offer Expires 4/15/2026)$150 Annual Fee Recent better offer: None 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, U.S. supermarkets, and U.S. gas stations ✦ 4X U.S. Online Retail Purchases ✦ 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: Free night award after $15K in eligible purchases in calendar year ✦ Hilton Honors™ Diamond status with $40K in eligible purchases in a calendar year ✦ Terms apply Noteworthy perks: Automatic Hilton Honors™ Gold status. Hilton Honors™ Diamond status w/ $40K in eligible purchases in a calendar year ✦ Up to $200 in Hilton credits ($50 per quarter) ✦ Terms Apply |
 ⓘ $668 1st Yr Value EstimateHilton Free Night valued at $418 Click to learn about first year value estimates 70K Points + free night certificate ⓘAffiliateThis is an affiliate offer. Frequent Miler may earn a commission if you are approved for this offer Limited Time Offer - Earn 70k bonus points plus a free night reward after you spend $2,000 in purchases on the card in the first 6 months of card Membership. Terms apply. Rates & Fees (Offer Expires 4/15/2026)No Annual Fee Recent better offer: 100K points after $2K spend in first 6 months (Expired 1/14/26) 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: Hilton Honors™ Gold status with $20K in eligible purchases in calendar year Noteworthy perks: Free Silver status; Gold status with $20K in eligible purchases per calendar year ✦ Terms Apply. |
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).
As the points price of Hilton awards has increased, free night certificates have arguably become even more valuable, as they can be used at almost any Hilton property worldwide, regardless of nightly rate. The addition of Small Luxury Hotels of the World (SLH) properties has drastically increased the number of high-value, luxury properties you can book with these certificates (and points).
Free night certificates are valid on any night of the week
Hilton free night certificates can be used on any night of the week. 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. Standard room rewards can often be difficult to find at many of the most popular properties, but they do exist.
How to find your Hilton free night certificates
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 that displays free night certificates, 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 the 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. The length of extensions has varied from a couple of weeks to a couple of months, depending on the agent and the situation. If you have a use for your certificates beyond their current expiration dates, it may be worth calling to request an extension.
Experiences
In addition to redeeming points for award nights, points can also be redeemed 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 set up as auctions. In either case, you may or may not get good value depending upon circumstances.
Hilton Honors Pros & Cons
Pros (where Hilton Honors is better than average):
- Even Gold elite members receive food and beverage credits (or continental breakfast outside of the US)
- Easy, meaningful elite status can be had via a 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 is allowed with up to 10 other members (share up to 500K points per year or receive up to 2,000,000 points per year)
- Hilton offers good point earnings on paid stays for elites
- Hilton has a huge number of hotels that run from economy to luxury
Cons (where Hilton Honors is worse than average):
- The prices of Hilton’s higher-end properties have shot up astronomically in recent years, and now top out at 250,000 points per night for a standard room award.
- Variable award pricing means that prices can swing by rather sizable margins.
- Food & beverage credits given in the United States will often not cover the full cost of breakfast in most instances
- Elite members are not entitled to upgrades at many of Hilton’s limited-service properties (and not guaranteed at any property)
- Top-tier Diamond Reserve elite status requires $18,000 in Hilton spend per year, and there’s no way to waive that requirement.
Q & A (Questions and Answers)
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.
I completed a stay, but it hasn’t been 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 here.
Is there a lifetime Diamond Reserve status?
No, the highest lifetime status that a Hilton Honors member can earn is Diamond.
Will I roll over extra elite nights with Hilton Honors?
No, 2025 was the last year that Hilton Honors could roll over elite nights earned past a member’s current tier.
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If I earn a welcome bonus on the Hilton Honors Business card, will those points show up in my personal Hilton account or do I need to transfer from the Hilton business side?
So long as you provided your personal Hilton account number when applying for the card, they’ll be sent there.
I really liked Hilton but are with the author the substantial value has gone down. A hotel we stayed at the last three years year to be 55k points is now 75k. Many of the places we stay at seemed to have some that. It had me rethinking my Hilton earnings.
Can someone else get Hilton points if they booked the reservation for their coworkers who are Hilton Honors and the company is paying for the stay.
Potentially. For starters, there’s the Hilton for Business program, so the company could benefit on top https://www.hilton.com/en/p/hilton-for-business/
Hilton also lets members earn points on up to four rooms booked as part of the same reservation. If the employee paying for the stay is also staying at that same hotel and booked the rooms together, they could earn the points on up to three additional rooms. If the employee isn’t staying though, they wouldn’t earn points on their colleagues’ rooms.
Thank you so much for the information.
Adding the link to the RRV for Hilton to this article would be helpful, thank you! (or is it here and i’m overlooking it?)
I’m a longtime Hyatt Globalist but only recent Hilton Diamond via the Aspire card. We are looking forward to using the FNC in future for SLH properties, but I have to say that my general experience with Hilton thus far has been… aside from SLH, I can’t say it really lives up to Hyatt at each level of property.
We’ve been to a couple of Conrads, and I’m in London for business and have tried three Hilton properties just to get a sampling. So it is true that Diamond doesn’t get you much at Hilton in the US; in Europe it gets you a little more – upgrades to “executive” rooms and full breakfast, not the paltry $25 credit.
But. The three Hiltons I’ve stayed at in London – although I did get high floor rooms, at all three properties the rooms were below the typical Hyatt standard. They seem to set aside these odd rooms for the upgrade; not always the greatest view. The breakfasts at all three properties were meh; slightly better than Hyatt Place quality. The Conrads we stayed at in the US had decent breakfasts but both hotels fell short of the Park Hyatt level of quality on all levels.
I noticed a caller to the podcast last week was comparing the programs and concluded Hyatt and Hilton and Marriott had “similar” elite benefits but that’s really not the case. Not only does Hyatt have much better benefits but at least thus far I’d put Hyatt at each level above Hilton. Hyatt mid-tier > Hilton mid-tier, Park Hyatt > Conrad. At least in my small sample thus far.
Staying at a more upscale Hilton for my last night and it is somewhat better than the other two – but still, this breakfast is sub-par. The room is nice but not up to Hyatt standards, etc.
On the other hand, you get what you pay for. The Hiltons in London, at least the ones available at short notice, are cheaper than the Hyatts.
I think a big difference is how easy it is to achieve status. Hyatt requires either actual stays or quite a lot of spend. With Hilton, one credit card gets you Diamond status. As someone who simply will not have enough hotel nights to get to Globalist, Hilton earning and status with meaningful benefits is much, much easier to achieve, even if those benefits are not comparable to Globalist and all the awards along the way.
IMO, Hilton is a good back up to Hyatt. I still prefer Hyatts even though I have Gold status on Hilton (currently hold Surpass – will be opening an Aspire card later this year) and no meaningful status on Hyatt. We will see how that changes after May.
For SLH hotels, will the $50 Hilton credit per quarter on AMEX cards track?
Following
How many FNA’s can one earn in a calendar year per $15,000 spend? AMEX told me today that I can only earn one per year, no matter how much I spend on the Surpass card.
Tip – Bookings through Amex FHR do count towards Hilton Honors if a person enters one’s membership number. Same within the Marriott ecosystem.
Given the overall value of the Hilton program, I’m not a taker. But, if a given property is attractive, I’d go the Amex FHR route.
Hi FM team, is Hilton prohibiting 3rd guests in SLH standard rooms? I’m finding this to be the case in properties I’m monitoring. This would have a massive impact on families. Would really appreciate it if you could look into it.
Two SLH properties I’ve been tracking no longer allow the standard room to be booked with a 3rd guest where the room sleeps 3 or more. Specifically, Nanuku Resort (Fiji) and Eichardt’s Private Hotel (NZ) both have standard rooms that sleep 3 or 4, however when you select 3 guests (2 adults + 1 child), Hilton will not allow you to book the standard room. Both previously allowed the standard room to book with guests up to the identified limit (I last searched these in November).
I looked to see if this was a system-wide issue and found the same issue at Cape Fahn Hotel (Thailand) and Raiwasa Private Resort (Fiji). But I found a couple – Hounds Tooth Inn (CA) and TAGO Tulum (MX) that still allow 3 guests to book in the standard room. So thankfully it doesn’t appear to be a complete system-wide issue. But it seems relatively widespread (4 of 6 in my limited search).
I looked at SLH directly to see if the change was on their end and it is not. Both Nanuku and Eichardt allow the standard room to be booked with 3 guests and without any additional cost versus 2 guests.
Do you know if this is a change in Hilton policy? If so, it would be great to get an explanation from Hilton – given the hotels allow the 3rd guest in the room and in the examples I found charge no additional cost for the extra guest, it’s a baffling decision (perhaps someone at HIlton really hates families???). Next, do you know if there is a workaround? Book for 2 guests and contact the hotel directly?
Appreciate all your work! Thanks!
Book for two, show up with your child, and just say oops. It’s hard to imagine they’d put up a fuss.
I would not do this FWIW, especially outside the US.
In my experience, the 5th night free award booking no longer calculates the average nightly cost by summing total required points and divide by 5. Instead, it waives the actual points required of the 5th night in the reservation. For example, if the booking requires 50k, 50k, 60k, 60k, 50k points for a 5-night stay, the final night (50k points) is waived instead of (54k) 270k/5. I have completed three 5-night stays within the past 12 months and all my bookings were calculated this way.
Can’t help but notice all the Hilton content now that the ‘Boss’ has done a buy in on Hilton
Greg is indeed more interested in Hilton now, but that’s because of the changes Hilton has made with SLH recently which in turn has led to posts due to noteworthy updates such as overwater villas in the Maldives becoming bookable and award availability at the Grand Hotel Victoria (which Nick had written about at least twice before they even joined Hilton).
This particular guide needed updating as a result of recent Hilton changes; we’re in the process of updating hundreds of non-Hilton resources too.
I think it’s great – FM has been accused of giving Hyatt too much credit, and now they are refocusing due to real substantive changes in both programs. I think we’re lucky to have several competitive hotel programs these days, between Hyatt, Hilton and IHG I’m getting great value and affordable luxury.
Can a free night certificate be transfered to a spouse’s account? My spouse has diamond status and we would like to do one booking.
Any issues with having an Aspire + either the personal Surpass or business card? Thinking that for a single player this would be a path to two annual free cert nights with the 15k big spend annually.
All, QQ. I bought 1000 Hilton points a few days as I have had no activity but want to keep my points for future use. I have not seen it post as an activity that extends my points for another 12 months yet. How lond does it take and can I rest assured that this activity COUNTS as an activity that extends expiration of points?
Is the fifth night free available on all-inclusive resorts? I’m looking to book the Playa de Carmen all-inclusive for my daughter’s honeymoon, but don’t have the points now to put in a dummy reservation and see if it works. Do you know if I will get the 5th night free?
Yes that will work