Frequent Miler's latest team challenge, Million Mile Madness, is almost done! The last two weeks Greg, Nick, and Stephen competed to earn 1 Million SAS miles by flying 15 airlines. But who completed the challenge with the most Speed, Affordability, and Style?
I just redeemed Hilton points for a 5-night stay that would have run $23,833.60 if I were paying the cash rate. I don’t know exactly what to expect when we get to the RiverView Ranch Retreat & Western Adventures in Alberton, Montana, but reviews are excellent and I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to use points to book a stay at a place that I wouldn’t dream of visiting were it not for award travel.
A member of our Frequent Miler Insiders started a conversation thread in our Facebook group this morning highlighting what appears to be an amazing value: the all-inclusive RiverView Ranch Retreat & Western Adventures in Alberton, Montana is a Small Luxury Hotels of the World (SLH) property that is now bookable via the Hilton Honors program. The entire resort has just nine rooms. Award nights seem to run 130,000 points per night (and remember that it is possible to get the 5th night free with Hilton, effectively paying 104,000 points per night for a 5-night stay).
That represents incredible value versus the cash rates, which run more than $4,766 per night after taxes & fees. This was the total for 5 nights in the “King Lakefront Suite” (which accommodates a family of four) for a different set of dates that had the identical cash rate to the nights I booked.
Instead, we used 520,000 Hilton Honors points for the stay. For those into calculating cents per point, that’s 4.5c per Hilton point as compared to the cash rate, which is well over our Reasonable Redemption Value of 0.48c per Hilton point :-).
It’s worth noting that the cash rate for all of the room types appears to be the same, but the King Lakefront Suite is the only one bookable for the Standard Room Reward rate of 130,000 points per night, so that’s the room you need to find available to book for a reasonable number of points. Alternatively, you can use Hilton Free Night Certificates. This place would be a monster value for those certs.
Before I get into the resort though, I want to highlight the highly-punitive cancellation policy, which notes a 20% penalty of the total stay if cancelled by 2pm local time 61 or more days prior to arrival or 100% of your stay if cancelled within 60 days of arrival.
I suppose that means that I’ll lose more than 100,000 points if I cancel at least 61 days in advance (the terms note the percentage of the total stay, which I’d argue is of the points used for the stay, but be aware that Marriott is known to return points and charge based on the cash rate of the property, which would be an exorbitant amount of money in this case. That said, I’d go on record with my opinion that it would be unreasonable to do that here based on the verbiage).
We didn’t have enough Hilton points to cover this stay. I ordinarily advocate for purchasing Hilton Honors points rather than transferring from Membership Rewards since Hilton frequently (including through September 24th) offers points for sale for 0.5c per point. However, each member can only buy up to a maximum of 470,000 points in the current sale (for $2,350). Since Hilton allows points pooling with up to 10 people, we could nonetheless buy the 520,000 points required for this stay for a total of $2,600 and pool the points together, which would certainly make for a nice savings over the $23,800+ cash rate.
However, given the current 30% point transfer bonus from Membership Rewards and the 250K Membership Rewards points I’ll have coming over the next couple of months, I decided to go ahead and transfer points from Amex. Given the transfer bonus, you’d need 200,000 Amex Membership Rewards points to end up with the 520,000 points necessary for a 5-night stay. That’s certainly not cheap, but at 40K Amex points per night for a stay with a cash rate of about $4800 per night with taxes & fees, it doesn’t seem unreasonable. That said, since the 200,000 points are essentially saving me the $2,600 that I could have spent buying Hilton points, I’m really only getting 1.3c per Amex point in value even though the hotel would cost far more to book with cash. That’s on the low end of what I’d consider a reasonable redemption of Membership Rewards points, but given that we’ve been replacing Amex points at a decent clip and most of our 2025 travel is set, I was willing to give this a whirl.
So what is it that you get for 520,000 points or almost $24,000?
Stays appear to include all meals (breakfast, lunch, and dinner). There are a number of dining options, but here are the descriptions of a couple of them:
Guests will experience extraordinary meals- including snacks and packed lunches. Our Sommelier will be pleased to recommend a wine pairing from our complimentary selection of premium house wines and beers. Indulge in our award-winning reserve cellar of premium vintages- premium wines at additional cost. Hearty family-style feasts and mouthwatering multi-course wine pairing experiences await in our magnificent Lodge Great Room using farm-to-table ingredients.
Enjoy an authentic outdoor chuck wagon dinner where the finest offerings are prepared before your eyes. Whether it is Angus prime steak and ribs to bison and the fresh trout you just caught- we assure it will be cooked to your liking. Picture a lake-side dinner with fresh corn and local vegetables grilled over a BBQ flame- scrumptious classics like baked beans- skillet potatoes- and fresh garden salads. You will not walk away with an empty stomach.
There are also numerous activities, which appear to be included such as fishing, horseback riding, archery, paintball, jet skis, whitewater rafting, ATV rides, and a lot more. Early reviews indicate that there are so many activities that you can’t “do it all” within the space of a few days.
Speaking of early reviews, they look excellent overall both on Google and TripAdvisor. I’m somewhat surprised by one negative review that notes an injury/scary experience with horseback riding mostly because management appears to have neither addressed the situation during the stay nor have they responded to the TripAdvisor review, but things look positive overall (and even that reviewer notes that the review would have been very positive were it not for that experience and lack of response).
The setting looks beautiful and according to Google Maps it appears to be a reasonable drive (approx 2.5hrs) from Glacier National Park, so we’ll probably look to combine this stay with a road trip to explore places further afield after our stay. For those curious, Missoula is the nearest airport (according to the hotel website, it’s about a 20-minute drive from the hotel).
Overall, I think it’s pretty exciting that there’s a Hilton redemption within the United States that yields such incredible value as compared to the cash rate. As I noted above, since it is currently possible to buy the points for a little more than 10% of the cash rate, it’s hard to say that this is a true 4.5c per point redemption. On the other hand, I ultimately decided to book because this is exactly the type of situation for which I collect points: to get experiences that I’d never otherwise consider with cash. I’m not totally sold that this is a perfect fit for us since my family lives in the countryside where these types of activities are less “exotic” than they would be for someone who lives in a city, but I’m nonetheless really excited to try out something that we wouldn’t otherwise consider if not for the opportunities opened by collecting miles and points.
Thanks be to Brendan in our Facebook group for a great find!
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The hotel called me today from 406-382-9020. Kayla (?) is the general manager and explained it would be $800/night additional charge for 2 extra adults. I asked her about cancelling since that charge was not listed on the website or confirmation email, and she said a 20% fee would apply. It sounded like the hotel has issue with Hilton not showing the correct fees and they don’t want to take any responsibility for it. She asked if I just wanted to cancel the 2 extra adults, which I assume I could just do when we show up and only have 2 total adults, but she was not clear. She did reference the policy that I didn’t notice when booking, but seems like it applies to some of Hilton’s award redemptions, “Standard Room Rewards allow Hilton Honors members to use points to book free standard rooms. Hilton Honors Redemptions are for double occupancy room rate only. Additional occupants are subject to the standard extra guest charges. Please contact hotel for more details.” I don’t see these terms in any of my other hotel confirmations by email, but it is written in all of the terms for free night certificates. I will still probably keep the reservation as is, since the 20% fee really stings, but obviously it’s not worth $800/night to bring anyone with me besides +1.
For those who are considering cancelling, if you booked more than 3 nights, try changing your reservation online to 3 nights, at least more than 60 days out, and then cancel once it’s changed. You might avoid some of that fee, and Hilton might waive the fee if you take issue with the fees not showing in the confirmation email.
I just cancelled my reservation after much back and forth with Hilton (Personally need flexibility around the time we booked) and can confirm the penalty is 20% points and no cash penalty! Those who reserved award space while available, please enjoy! @nickreyes
Hi George, can you still confirm this to be true? You were never charged in cash after this time has passed, only points?
Still true! Only points.
Thank you for the update!!!
what about travel insurance? When you pay with your hotel points is there reliable travel insurance available to cover the potential cash charge?
Let this be a valuable lesson for all. When hotels/resorts are onboarded into a rewards program for the first time and become available for booking, it pays to read the fine print and understand all of the details prior to transferring a large amount of points that can’t be reversed.
FYI, the percentage charged for cancellation is cash not points. I verified with multiple Hilton reps after booking multiple SLH properties. So beware of and plan accordingly with these high end properties otherwise you’re potentially spending thousands in fees for a cancellation. A small note is that I’ve only noticed this for properties that were 130k and 150k. Some 110k properties I’ve booked haven’t even mentioned any real cancellation fees just the standard Hilton policy.
All dates have been removed for both cash and points bookings. I’m willing to bet we will be involuntarily forfeiting our bookings soon.
[…] $4,500 per night ranch in Montana redeemable for 130,000 Hilton points […]
That’s a beautiful area. There’s whitewater rafting on the river through there. Missoula is a pretty cool town too. And if you fly through MSO for this trip and the weather is nice, there’s an outdoor patio next to a couple of gates that was a nice place to wait for my (delayed because United scheduled two planes for one gate at the same time) flight.
If you cancel the ranch reservation maybe you get to keep the points, but, you will be charged the cash value of the room?
I can’t imagine that is true, I’ve never heard of being charged in cash value of the room for cancelling a stay booked with points, but I’d definitely love to hear other people’s thoughts on this too.
Like Nick said, it’s common with Marriott. St Regis Aspen is a famous one.
Confirmed with reps it is the cash equivalent that you will be charged. I’ve booked several SLH properties for next year and it’s typically been the 130k and 150k properties that have this cancellation policy. 110k properties I’ve booked had the standard Hilton policy.
Really? I spoke with someone from Hilton today who said the cancellation would be charged as points. Now I’m curious if there is a disconnect on what the policy is and how this would impact us in the event of cancellation. As Nick said, the verbiage is a bit confusing so I think this is just one detail that needs to be ironed out. Nonetheless, I love this partnership so far for the outsized value opportunities it provides.
Just spoke with another Hilton phone rep, they said it is charged as 20% of room rate in cash. Although this is a bit unfortunate, at least we have clarity now. I think it’s safe to say we should all book once we have firm plans, as the cancellation fees will likely be quite hefty. Despite this, there is definitely amazing value to be had with the new SLH partnership, and the property just seems like an all-encompassing amazing experience.
All Hiltons are YMMV to some extent when it comes to upgrades and truth in advertising. But I suspect some or many SLHs are bit more devious, due to most of them being on the small side. How? I recently spent 3 nights at The View in Lugano, a new SLH Hilton. I’m a Diamond, wasn’t upgraded, asked to be upgraded at check-in, told no upgrades available. Got room with no “View” that included several technical problems staff couldn’t solve (no hot water, A/C didn’t work). After 2 nights one staff told me they could have upgraded us to a normal “View” room but only for the first 2 nights. It felt like they had a small handful of non-view rooms they could fill with 110,000 Hilton points a night people and their staff was instructed under no circumstances do you upgrade a Hilton points night customer. And I suspect there are other / many SLHs in the same boat. I’m sure there are some SLHs that treat Hilton points customers and Diamonds/Golds well. I’m curious to hear about those.
Just did a few on my honeymoon, and still at another non points hotel in Italy.
Both Canaves properties gave huge upgrades to 2 bedroom villa. One night each. Did not mention Hilton diamond or SLH though, so maybe just a honeymoon upgrade or a one night stay why not upgrade?
Furore Grand in Italy did acknowledge Hilton diamond but no upgrade despite tons of availability showing same night. I didn’t want to ask as my wife is a bit off-put by that level of directness and not worth rocking the boat.
How was Furore?
Only one night, but it was great. I’m not super experienced in high end travel though. The location is tough, with a lot of extremely narrow winding roads. They offered a shuttle service to and from another popular hotel with a highly rated restaurant so that helped.
Had it been available via Hilton we probably would’ve stayed longer but got antsy to get things booked and did Hotel Botanico San Lazzaro non refundable. Beautiful property as well.
Last year when slh were under Hyatt I was charged an additional 90 euro fee for a child at a slh hotel when I wasn’t notified at booking even though the child was listed at booking. Hyatt said slh bookings were for two people and hotels could charge non listed fees for extra people or children at check in and that the two people award limit was listed in small print on their website. It made me afraid to book slh. The nightly rate at this hotel was less than 400 euro so the extra fee ended up making it a bad deal. I wonder if we will have to call to confirm extra fees before booking more than 2 people with Hilton?
Wow, thanks for that warning. Do you mind saying which hotel this was? I played around with bookings for this property, and the cash price does go up based on the number of persons after 2. But the points rate was allowing up to 4, which is what I booked. The only terms I see is, “Special pricing rules apply for kids. Enter all guest details for the most accurate rate.” I’m seeing kids up to age 17 are free. Just try 1 adult and 3 kids at age 17 to see the price doesn’t go up. The cheapest points booked room allows up to 4 persons. I would argue that Hilton needs to reimburse the hotel for any additional expense the hotel wants for 3-4 persons. Let’s hope they figure it out.
LOL. Nick battles Greg in coffee break against transferring Am Ex points to Hilton and voila…he transfer points to Hilton.
Genuinely curious, what do people find so attractive about this, besides incredible Hilton CPP rate.
That’s like asking what do people find attractive about the beach or a ski resort or an overwater bungalow in the Maldives — obviously everyone has different interests. Is it hard to imagine that some people would be interested in a vacation in the countryside with all meals, wine, and activities like horseback riding, ATVing, fishing, kayaking, clay pigeon shooting, archery, and a lot more included?
Maybe none of that appeals to you and that’s obviously fine — but I would think it would be pretty easy to imagine all of that being appealing for people who want all of those things included in a hotel stay.
I booked for the winter, so I’m looking forward to snowmobiling, snowshoeing, cross country skiing, sleigh rides, and then whatever of their year-round activities appeal to me (archery, clay shooting, etc.). The food looks amazing, and alcohol being included lets me enjoy it rather than think about whether I want to buy another bottle every time, etc.
Yes, I can book all these activities separately a la carte somewhere else, and yes I can go out and pay for a bunch of fancy dinners with alcohol wherever I like.
I don’t care about the sticker price or cpp. The value of the points is around $400-$500 per night. I think that’s a great price compared to booking all of these things separately, especially because of the time it would take for me to coordinate and plan all these activities separately on my own.
Full disclosure, I’ll be subject to the $500 per night supplement for a child if they choose to enforce it. At $900-$1000 per night, I could understand someone not being willing to pay that. It is more borderline for me, but I’m still going to go if they honor all these bookings.
Even when the king lakefront suite is available now, it doesn’t show the points rate.
“Pay with Points is currently unavailable at this property. We’re showing the lowest available rates.”
The only multiple night stay in the next 365 days was in august, so I booked it. It’s only a 2 night stay. Looks like everyone found out about it today!