Hilton Honors Gold Benefits Explained (Upgrades, Breakfast, Etc.) [2022]

Hilton Honors Gold Status offers some decent benefits like dining credits, bonus earnings, and even room upgrades but a lot of people might wonder whether or not it’s worth it to pursue obtaining Gold Status and if the perks will benefit their travels.

Here’s a look at all of the different Hilton Gold benefits and some insight to help you decide if it’s something you might benefit from.

 I’ll also show you how to obtain Gold status with certain credit cards and status challenges. 

What are the Hilton Gold Benefits?

The main Hilton Gold benefits are:

  • 80% bonus on base points
  • Daily Food & Beverage Credit for two (at some properties)
  • Upgrades (subject to availability)
  • Lounge access (when upgraded to lounge level rooms)
  • Late check-out (subject to availability)

I’ll discuss each of these in more detail below. 

Photo of a Hilton entrance at a hotel lobby
Hilton Gold is one of the best mid-tier statuses.

Tip: Use the free app WalletFlo to help you travel the world for free by finding the best travel credit cards and promotions!

How to get Hilton Honors Gold status

You can achieve Honors Gold Status the hard way or the easy way. 

The hard way: hotel stays

The hard way to earn Gold is by physically staying in Hilton properties.

Frequent business travelers aside, it may be difficult for the average traveler to achieve status with stays.

You’d have to meet the following criteria in a calendar year:

  • 20 stays in a calendar year, or
  • 40 nights in a calendar year, or
  • 75,000 Honors Base Points

During the 2022 calendar year, Hilton Honors Gold will be awarded with 14 stays, 28 nights or 52,500 Base Points earned during in a calendar year.

The easy way: credit cards

I highly recommend utilizing credit cards to obtain Hilton Honors Gold Status because it’s really easy to do.

The credit cards that will offer you automatic Gold Honors status are the following:

Platinum Card from American Express

The Amex Platinum Card comes with a lot of benefits in addition to Gold status include:

Hilton Honors Surpass Card

The Hilton Honors Surpass Card comes with a lot of benefits in addition to Gold status which include:

  • 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
  • 6X Hilton Honors Bonus Points at U.S. supermarkets, U.S. restaurants, and U.S. gas stations
  • 3X Hilton Honors Bonus Points on all other eligible purchases
  • 10 free priority pass lounge passes
  • One Weekend Night Reward at a hotel or resort in the Hilton portfolio after spending $15,000 in purchases in a calendar year
  • No foreign transaction fees

Earning 12X on Hilton purchases is a big deal.

If you value Hilton points around half a cent per point, that’s like getting back 6% on your Hilton purchases which is competitive or even better than some of the most premium credit cards.

Also, the free night certificate offered by this card is one of the best because you can use it at even the most expensive Hilton brands which could go for close to $1,000 per night or more!

Status matches and challenges

You can also utilize status matches and challenges to earn Hilton Honors Gold status.

These typically require you to have a certain level of status with another hotel loyalty program (IHG, Marriott, Hyatt, etc.) and maybe proof that you’ve stayed with that hotel in the past year.

After you show that, you’ll often be matched with a corresponding level of Hilton Honors status.

For example, IHG Platinum status can earn you Hilton Honors Diamond status.

Sometimes you’ll be able to keep that status without doing anything but other times you’ll need to book some Hilton stays in order to retain the status.

For example, you might need to complete seven or eight stays to hold on to your status.

Related: Which American Express Hilton Card is Best for You?

Hilton Gold benefits
Hilton Cabana Miami Beach.

Tip: Use the free app WalletFlo to help you travel the world for free by finding the best travel credit cards and promotions!

The Hilton Honors Gold benefits

80% elite status bonus

  • With Gold elite status, you automatically receive a 80% bonus on all the Honors Base Points you earn.

This is a decent benefit but given the weak value of Honors points, it’s not exactly as strong as you might have first imagined. 

All Hilton Honors members will earn 10 points per dollar spent at Hilton properties. So with this 80% bonus, you will be earning 18 points per dollar spent.

Compared to other major hotel loyalty programs, this 80% bonus for mid-tier status amounts to a ~7% return based on a point valuation of .4 cents per point which is below Marriott, IHG, and Hyatt.

With a more generous valuation of .5 or .6 cents per point, however, the return value is much more competitive.

Still, extra points are always nice and Hilton runs many lucrative promotions that make earning Honors points probably easier than any other program (like when they offered triple the points to Hilton Honors Diamond members, allowing for returns of 16% or more).

Arizona Biltmore Waldorf Astoria Resort Review

Daily Food & Beverage Credit ($10 to $25)

As a Gold member, you can receive a Daily Food & Beverage Credit as a MyWay Benefit. 

The amount of the Daily Food & Beverage Credit will depend on the type of brand you’re staying at and your location but you will be granted a credit for you and one additional guest.

For example, you’ll receive a Daily Food & Beverage Credit of $25 at Conrad Hotels & Resorts in the U.S but you can get a free breakfast at international Conrad locations.

At DoubleTree by Hilton, you’ll receive a Daily Food & Beverage Credit of $15 in the U.S. ($18 in select markets).

Here’s a breakdown of the Food & Beverage Credit amounts:

At hotels that have an Executive Lounge that offers complimentary breakfast, Gold members upgraded to Executive Lounge access will not receive the Daily F&B Credit.

However, these hotels will still provide the Daily F&B Credit to Gold members NOT upgraded to Executive Lounge access.

Keep in mind that many hotels usually offer complimentary breakfasts to all guests, such as Homewood Suites, Hampton Inns, etc.

Related Reading: What Hotels Have Free Breakfast?

Hilton Gold benefits
Hilton Honors breakfast, one of the top Hilton Gold benefits.

Upgrades

Hilton states that with Gold Status, you’re eligible for upgrades at the following hotels:

  • Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts
  • Conrad Hotels & Resorts
  • Canopy by Hilton
  • Signia by Hilton
  • Hilton Hotels & Resorts
  • Curio Collection by Hilton
  • DoubleTree by Hilton
  • Tapestry Collection by Hilton properties

Although the terms and conditions only explicitly reference the hotels above, you’re not limited to just these hotels for upgrades.

I’ve stayed in Hilton hotels not on this list that have given me upgrades specifically because of my Gold Status.

So while Hilton doesn’t list them on their website, I believe you should always inquire about upgrades if you have Gold Status.

Here’s what the terms and conditions have to say about Hilton Gold upgrades: 

Gold Hilton Honors Members may be upgraded to preferred rooms up to Executive Floor room types.  Preferred rooms may also include those not on the Executive Floor but conferring Executive Lounge access, the next-best available room types, rooms with desirable views or amenities or other rooms identified as “preferred” by the hotel and may vary within each brand.

They exclude:

executive suites, villas, specialty accommodations/floors/towers, and “Club” accommodation types

Although a suite upgrade could happen I would not expect that.

More likely, you might get bumped up to a higher floor or a room with a better view.

One thing I will say is to not assume that your upgrade will automatically happen when you check in.

If you are really interested in maximizing your upgrade odds, you should definitely inquire with the agent at check in to see if they have any available upgrades for you as a Hilton Gold member.

Most of my best upgrades have happened upon me requesting them.

Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach Resort Review

Executive Floor Lounge Access Policy

While Diamond Members are granted access to the executive lounges, Gold Members are only given these privileges when they “receive a room upgrade to the Executive Floor or an upgrade to a room type that confers Executive Floor Lounge access benefits.”

However, you’ll still be able to get your dining credit in many of the hotels, so I wouldn’t stress too much over the lack of lounge access.

In fact, sometimes the breakfast offered in the lounge isn’t even on the same level as the breakfast offered by the restaurant (where you can use your credit).

Thus, for many people, having breakfast comped is enough to satisfy them and lounge access isn’t a deal breaker.

Gold status can sometimes get you lounge access.

Late check-out?

One of the biggest let downs has to be late check out.

Hilton does not offer guaranteed late check out up to 2PM or 4PM like some other programs do. In fact, many times I have only been given late checkout until about 1 PM.

In the past, they listed late check out as an official benefit but as of September 2022, I can’t find any mention of it in the main pages for benefits or terms and conditions.

However, one page does mention:

“Late check-out must be requested and is subject to availability.”

So you can still get it when you request it but it is not guaranteed.

Related reading: Ultimate Late Check-Out Guide for Hotel Stays

DoubleTree Suites by Hilton Hotel Phoenix Review

The basic Hilton Honors benefits

Two valuable Hilton Honors benefits are the fifth night free and complimentary internet.

These benefits are also offered to Hilton Honors Silver Members, but I wanted to cover these two since they can be pretty valuable. 

5th night free

Silver, Gold and Diamond elite members will receive every 5th night free on Standard Room Reward stays of 5 nights or more.

The way that the fifth night free works is that Hilton takes an average of each night based on the total number of points required for the stay.

They then average the amount of points needed per night and subtract that amount from the total number of points required for the booking.

Utilizing the fifth free night is how to capture ridiculous value with your Hilton points.

We once used the fifth night free at the all inclusive Hilton Playa del Carmen and we came out with over $3,500 worth of free travel on that trip. It was pretty fantastic.

You can read more about how the free night is calculated here.

With this benefit you have to think about if your particular travel style will benefit from this perk.

I know a lot of travelers (myself included) who rarely, if ever, stay in the same location for more than four nights when they travel. If you fall into that category then you obviously should value this perk accordingly. 

Complimentary internet

Silver, Gold and Diamond elite members will receive complimentary in-room and lobby Standard Internet access during stays at:

  • Waldorf Astoria Hotels and Resorts
  • LXR Hotels & Resorts
  • Conrad Hotels and Resorts
  • Canopy by Hilton
  • Signia by Hilton
  • Hilton
  • Curio Collection by Hilton
  • DoubleTree by Hilton
  • Tapestry Collection by Hilton
  • Embassy Suites by Hilton
  • Hilton Garden Inn
  • and Hilton Grand Vacations

This is yet another nice perk but it’s offered to Silver Status holders so you’re not getting anything exclusive internet-wise by being a Gold Member.

If you make your way to Diamond Status, the difference is that you’re given premium internet in the lobby and your room.

In my experience, the difference in speed varies hotel to hotel and for most purposes the complimentary standard internet has been sufficient for me. 

Hilton Honors Gold FAQ

What is the easiest way to earn Hilton Gold?

The easiest way to earn Hilton Gold is with a credit card. You can get automatic Hilton Gold status with the following credit cards:

Platinum Card from American Express
Hilton Honors Surpass Card

How many nights are needed to earn Hilton Gold?

Gold status requires 40 nights in a calendar year.

Alternatively, you can earn it with 20 stays in a calendar year or by earning 75,000 base points in a calendar year.

What are the main Hilton Gold benefits?

80% bonus on base points
Daily Food & Beverage Credit for two
Upgrades (subject to availability)
Lounge access (when upgraded to lounge level rooms)
Late check-out

Do you get free breakfast with Hilton Gold?

You can get a Daily Food & Beverage Credit for two which you can use for breakfast.

Do you get lounge access with Hilton Gold?

You only get lounge access if you are upgraded to a room that offers lounge access.

What Hilton hotels offer upgrades to Gold members?

Hilton states that you are eligible for upgrades at the following hotels:

Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts
Conrad Hotels & Resorts
Canopy by Hilton
Signia by Hilton
Hilton Hotels & Resorts
Curio Collection by Hilton
DoubleTree by Hilton
Tapestry Collection by Hilton properties

Can you get upgraded to a suite with Gold status?

Typically, an upgrade is just to a preferred room but it is possible that you could be upgraded to a suite. If you would like upgrades to suites then you might want to consider going for Hilton Diamond status.

How many bonus points do I earn with Gold status?

You will earn an 80% bonus on base points which means that you will earn an extra eight points per dollar spent.

Do I get late check out with Gold status?

Hilton offers late check out but it is not guaranteed up to 2 PM or 4 PM like other programs. Often, your late check out will be given up to 1 PM but you can always request for later.

Final Word

Hilton Gold benefits can consist of solid perks like food and dining credits and potential upgrades (in addition to all of the other basic benefits). I like how easy it is to obtain the status and to maintain it over time and so it is one of my favorite middle-tier statuses.

Hilton Honors Silver Status Benefits Explained [2022]

Hilton Silver status is the bottom tier of elite status with Hilton Honors so as you would expect, it is not going to offer you the most lucrative suite of hotel benefits. With that said, there is still some nice value you can extract from this status, and I will break down the benefits below.

What are the Hilton Honors Silver status benefits?

  • 20% bonus on points earning
  • Free bottled water
  • Fifth night free
  • Elite rollover nights

Tip: Use WalletFlo for all your credit card needs. It’s free and will help you optimize your rewards and savings!

How to get Hilton Honors Silver Status

Hotel stays

  • 4 stays
  • 10 nights

As you can see, obtaining Hilton Silver status via hotel stays or hotel nights is pretty easy.

Credit cards

You can get automatic Silver status if you are approved for the Hilton Honors Card. The Hilton Honors Card is the only Hilton credit card with no annual fee and in addition to the silver status, you can also earn some great bonus earnings including:

  • 7X at Hilton
  • 5X at U.S. restaurants and at U.S. supermarkets
  • 5X at U.S. gas stations
  • 3X on all purchases

If you would like to make the jump to Gold status then you might want too consider the Hilton Honors Surpass Card.

The Hilton Honors Surpass Card comes with a lot of benefits in addition to Gold status which include:

  • 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
  • 6X Hilton Honors Bonus Points at U.S. supermarkets, U.S. restaurants, and U.S. gas stations
  • 3X Hilton Honors Bonus Points on all other eligible purchases
  • 10 free priority pass lounge passes
  • One Weekend Night Reward at a hotel or resort in the Hilton portfolio after spending $15,000 in purchases in a calendar year
  • No foreign transaction fees
Hilton Aspire Bonus

And finally, you can also get automatic Hilton Honors Diamond status with the American Express Hilton Aspire. The Aspire is one of the most loaded premium cards in terms of benefits. Here’s a look at everything the Hilton Aspire card has to offer:

  • 14X Hilton Honors Bonus Points at hotels and resorts in the Hilton portfolio worldwide
  • 7X Hilton Honors Bonus Points on flights booked directly with airlines or amextravel.com, car rentals booked directly from select car rental companies and at U.S. restaurants
  • 3X Hilton Honors Bonus Points on other purchases
  • Complimentary Hilton Honors Diamond status
  • One weekend night at any hotel or resort in the Hilton portfolio (upon opening account and on account anniversary)
  • Weekend night after spending $60,000 on the card within a calendar year
  • Unlimited Priority Pass membership
  • $250 airline incidental fee statement credit
  • $250 Hilton resort statement credit
  • $100 on property credit at Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts and Conrad Hotels & Resorts when booking the exclusive Aspire Card package
  • $450 Annual Fee 

Related: Which American Express Hilton Card is Best for You?

Tip: Check out the free app WalletFlo so that you can optimize your credit card spend by seeing the best card to use! You can also track credits, annual fees, and get notifications when you’re eligible for the best cards!

Hilton Silver benefits

  • 20% Points earning Bonus on stays
  • Free bottled water
  • Fifth night free
  • Elite Rollover Nights

20% Bonus on stays

As a Silver member, you will earn an additional 20% bonus points on stays. This means that you would typically earn 12 points on a stay since most Hilton properties earn 10 base points per dollar spent. (Some Hilton brands only earn five points per dollar spent.)

If you value Hilton points at about half a cent per point, then that is around 6% back on your status which is not too bad.

If you have the Hilton Honors Card, you can earn an additional 7X on top of your 12X for a total of 19X. That’s close to a 10% return which is more solid than the straight 6% return without the Hilton Honors Card.

Earning these bonus points with Silver status is a nice way to help build up your Hilton balance much quicker but 20% is only a marginal increase.

By earning Gold status, the bonus jumps all the way up to 80% which is why I would encourage a lot of people to consider the Surpass if they want to maximize points with Hilton.

Free bottled water

Probably the least exciting benefit you could imagine is a bottle of water.

It’s true, it’s not very exciting and the value is pretty minimal but if you have been traveling extensively and are a little bit dehydrated it is nice to receive a free bottle of water.

The standard offering is two bottles of water but note that bottled water may not be available for free at properties with a resort charge that includes bottled water.

Fifth night free

Probably the most valuable benefit you can use as a Silver member is the fifth night free. Basically, if you use points to book 5 nights, you will receive the fifth night free. Depending on the type of hotel you are staying at, this could come out to hundreds of dollars in value.

I once used the fifth night free at an all-inclusive property in Mexico and it allowed me to not only receive a few hundred dollars in free value, but it increased the value of my points on the redemption in a significant way.

We booked six nights so we were able to get the 5th night free and our total came out to 400,000 Hilton Honors points. The room would have cost over $3,500 so we got over .8 cents per point in value which is fantastic for Hilton points. 

Elite roll overnights

If you earn nights above your minimum threshold for your elite level, those nights can roll over to the next year which will help you earn elite status a little bit quicker.

So let’s say you earned 15 nights in 2021. Five of those nights could roll over and count towards your status earned in 2022.

Here are the elite status requirements for your reference:

  • Member
  • Silver
    • 4 stays in a calendar year or
    • 10 nights in a calendar year
  • Gold
    • 20 stays in a calendar year, or
    • 40 nights in a calendar year, or
    • 75,000 Hilton Honors Base Points in a calendar year
  • Diamond
    • 30 stays in a calendar year, or
    • 60 nights in a calendar year, or
    • 120,000 Hilton Honors Base Points in a calendar year

Additional benefits

You can also receive the benefits that all Hilton members will receive and these include:

  • Guaranteed Hilton Honors Discount rate
  • Points toward free nights, travel partners and more
  • No resort fees on reward stays
  • Digital Check-in
  • Choose Your Room
  • Digital Key
  • Free wifi
  • Access to Exclusive Hilton Honors Experiences

A lot of these benefits are pretty standard across major hotel brands but I do like how you can avoid resort fees on awards stays.

Hilton Silver FAQs

How many nights are needed for Silver status?

You can earn Hilton Silver status with five nights.

Can you get Silver status with a credit card?

Yes, you can get automatic Silver status with the Hilton Honors Card.

Do you get free breakfast with Silver status?

No, unfortunately you do not receive free breakfast. However, if you earn Gold status you will be entitled to a free breakfast at many properties.

Do you get upgrades with Silver status?

Upgrades are not listed as an official benefit for Silver status. However, that does not mean that you cannot get an occasional upgrade as a Silver member.

Final word

As you can probably tell, Hilton Silver is not going to rock your socks when it comes to benefits. That is pretty standard for a bottom tier elite status. But you can still squeeze a lot of value from this elite status if you can utilize the fifth night free.

Hilton Honors Complete Guide [2021]

Getting introduced to a hotel loyalty program can be overwhelming because there are a lot of different factors to learn and consider.

You’ve got elite levels and requirements, point values, ways to earn points, ways to use points, the list just goes on.

So to make things easy, I broke down all of the most important things you need to know about Hilton Honors.

You’ll find out how to earn elite status and what the benefits are for each elite level, how much points are worth, and how to get the best use out of your points.

And finally, I cover other features of the program like points pooling, transfer partners, etc.

What is Hilton Honors?

Hilton Honors is the official loyalty program for Hilton. It allows members to receive special perks and benefits for staying at Hilton properties and also provides members with ways to get free nights.

Tip: Use the free app WalletFlo to help you travel the world for free by finding the best travel credit cards and promotions!

What are the Hilton Honors elite levels?

Here are the different Hilton Honors elite levels and the requirements for each level.

  • Member
  • Silver
    • 4 stays in a calendar year or
    • 10 nights in a calendar year
  • Gold
    • 20 stays in a calendar year, or
    • 40 nights in a calendar year, or
    • 75,000 Hilton Honors Base Points in a calendar year
  • Diamond
    • 30 stays in a calendar year, or
    • 60 nights in a calendar year, or
    • 120,000 Hilton Honors Base Points in a calendar year
  • Lifetime Diamond Status

Tip: Take a shortcut on the path to Hilton Honors Gold status with the Amex Platinum or the Hilton Surpass.

What are the Hilton Honors benefits?

The benefits you receive will depend on your specific elite level but in general you can receive benefits like the 5th night free, free breakfast, upgrades, lounge access, late check-out, and others.

Below is a breakdown of all of the main benefits for each elite status level.

Hilton Honors Member

Anybody can become a Hilton Honors Member instantly just by signing up online. In fact, you can do this right now — just click here to join Hilton Honors.

Just by signing up you’ll be granted a few perks like:

  • Hilton Honors discount rates
  • Complimentary in-room and lobby standard internet access
  • Late check-out (must be requested and is subject to availability)

The biggest reason to become a member is so you can start earning points on your Hilton stays.

If you’ve recently stayed at a Hilton with the past 30 days but weren’t a member you can still get points but you”ll need to submit a written request to the nearest Hilton Reservations and Customer Care office.

But beyond earning points, it’s also nice to receive complimentary wifi and even late check-out when available. While these perks are nice, you’ll want to be at one of the higher Hilton Honors levels to start reaping real value.

Related Reading: Ultimate Late Check-Out Guide for Hotel Stays

The Hilton Auckland, New Zealand.

Hilton Honors Silver

  • Requirement:
    • 4 stays in a calendar year or
    • 10 nights in a calendar year

Hilton Silver is very easy to obtain since you only need four stays. Hilton Silver status can also easily be achieved with the Amex Hilton Honors card.

That card earns 7X on Hilton purchases, 5X at U.S. restaurants, supermarkets, and gas stations and comes with no annual fee. So you’re basically getting these perks like the 5th night free for no cost, which is not a bad deal.

Since this is the bottom tier status level, you won’t get a lot of super valuable benefits but you do get come solid perks such as:

  • 5th night free when booking a reward stay of five nights or more using all Points
  • 20% bonus on all the Hilton Honors Base Points you earn
  • Complimentary in-room and lobby Standard Internet access
  • Two complimentary bottles of water per stay

The fifth night free benefit can end up being an extremely valuable perk, especially if you use your points to cover a night at an expensive Hilton property.

I broke down the costs in points and cash at some of the top Hilton brands like the Conrad, Waldorf, and Curio Collection, so you can see how much value you can get out of this perk alone (it’s a lot).

The 20% bonus on base points is okay but there’s not any notable benefits of Hilton Silver that standard Members don’t get besides the above. Thus, Silver really only adds a lot of potential value with it’s 5th night free perk.

Related Reading: What’s The Best Top Hotel Elite Status?

The 5th night free at a property like the Conrad Maldives could be very valuable.

Hilton Honors Gold

  • Requirement:
    • 20 stays in a calendar year, or
    • 40 nights in a calendar year, or
    • 75,000 Hilton Honors Base Points in a calendar year

Hilton Gold status is where things really start to heat up in the benefits department. With Hilton Gold you’ll be given the following benefits:

  • Upgrades (when available)
  • Free breakfast
  • Lounge access (but only at certain properties or when upgraded)
  • 80% bonus on all the Hilton Honors Base Points you earn

Hilton Gold status can land you upgrades at Hilton hotels. While you likely won’t receive as many suite upgrades as a Diamond member, it’s still possible to get bumped up to better rooms. The real benefit to me is the free breakfast, though.

That’s where a lot of the value of Gold status is since many travelers mostly look forward to saving some cash on breakfast each morning with their elite status.

Related: What Hotels Have Free Breakfast?

Hilton Honors Gold can be obtained in a number of ways. In terms of credit cards, one popular method is going with the Amex Platinum Card, which comes with a host of benefits but a high annual fee.

A cheaper option is to go with the Amex Hilton Surpass which is a credit card offering 12X on Hilton purchases, 6X at U.S. restaurants, supermarkets, and gas stations, and comes with a free weekend night after you spend $15,000 in a calendar year. The annual fee is only $95 and the card usually comes with a great welcome offer.

Hilton Honors Diamond

  • Requirement:
    • 30 stays in a calendar year, or
    • 60 nights in a calendar year, or
    • 120,000 Hilton Honors Base Points in a calendar year

Hilton Diamond is the top tier elite Hilton Honors level and will offer you the following benefits.

  • 100% bonus on all the Hilton Honors Base Points you earn
  • Executive lounge access
  • Free breakfasts
  • Eligible Diamond members can choose to extend their status for an additional year beyond the expiration date, one-time, for any reason
  • You are guaranteed a room when you make a reservation at least 48 hours prior to your arrival
  • Complimentary in-room and lobby Premium Internet access

The biggest perks are the upgrades, executive lounge access, and the 100% bonus on points earned.

A lot of Diamond members aren’t happy about their upgrade experiences. I know they can’t happen all of the time, but honestly I’ve had an overall positive experience with getting upgrades.

Milestone Bonuses

One thing to note about Hilton is that as you climb these elite levels, you can earn milestone bonuses.

  • 40 nights in a calendar year = 10,000 bonus points, and then an additional 10,000 bonus points for every additional 10 nights after that.
  • 60 nights in a calendar year = 30,000 bonus points.

How much are Hilton points worth?

Any points valuation is going to be inherently variable and/or subjective to a degree.

With that said, you will find that Hilton honors points are usually worth around 0.52 cent per point if you use your points efficiently and aim for higher tier properties.

However, that valuation can change quite a bit depending on the property or rewards that you are redeeming your points for.

I’ll show you a number of examples below that illustrate how to get maximum value for your Hilton Honors points as well as how to avoid getting poor value.

Getting free nights with Hilton Honors

How many Hilton points are needed for a free night?

Reward stays start as low as 5,000 points per night and go up to 95,000 per night, so there’s a huge difference between the cheapest Hilton properties and the most expensive ones.

I would say to expect to pay 30,000 to 60,000 per night for a mid-tier property in a major city on average but there can be pretty wild fluctuations in certain parts of the world where top properties can go for pretty cheap.

If you search long and hard enough, you’ll be surprised what you might find. You can use Awardomatic to try to find hotel properties within your price range.

5th night free

To get the most from your Hilton points you should highly consider trying to take advantage of the 5th night free which is available to Hilton Silver, Gold, and Diamond members.

This is one of the easiest ways to maximize the value of your points.

Free night certificates

Also, note that it is possible to get free night certificates from Hilton credit cards which can be used at even the top tier properties. So these certificates are essentially worth 95,000 Hilton points.

For that reason, you don’t want to use these certificates for cheap properties unless they would otherwise go to waste.

Related: Which Hotel Credit Card Has the Best Free Night Certificate?

The best ways to earn Hilton points

Hilton credit cards

There used to be both Citibank and American Express Hilton credit cards.

However, now only American Express issues Hilton credit cards. The good news is that there are a number of very solid Hilton credit cards issued by Amex.

Hilton Surpass

Aspire vs Ascend

The Hilton Surpass offers the following features:

  • An additional 25,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points after you make an additional $1,000 in purchases within your first 6 months
  • 12X Hilton Honors Bonus Points at hotels and resorts in the Hilton portfolio worldwide
  • 6X Hilton Honors Bonus Points at U.S. supermarkets, U.S. restaurants, and U.S. gas stations
  • 3X Hilton Honors Bonus Points on all other eligible purchases
  • 10 free priority pass lounge passes
  • One Weekend Night Reward at a hotel or resort in the Hilton portfolio after spending $15,000 in purchases in a calendar year
  • Automatic Hilton Honors Gold status

This is a great way to quickly earn up to 100,000 Hilton Honors points with the welcome offer alone. But note that you also get Hilton Honors Gold status, which will allow you to earn more points when you stay at Hilton properties.

The Surpass also allows you to earn 12X Hilton Honors points at Hilton hotels, which is very good.

Hilton Aspire

Hilton Aspire Bonus
The Hilton Aspire comes with automatic Diamond status.
  • 14X Hilton Honors Bonus Points at hotels and resorts in the Hilton portfolio worldwide
  • 7X Hilton Honors Bonus Points on flights booked directly with airlines or amextravel.com, car rentals booked directly from select car rental companies and at U.S. restaurants
  • 3X Hilton Honors Bonus Points on other purchases
  • Complimentary Hilton Honors Diamond status
  • One weekend night at any hotel or resort in the Hilton portfolio (upon opening account and on account anniversary)
  • Weekend night after spending $60,000 on the card within a calendar year
  • Unlimited Priority Pass membership
  • $250 airline incidental fee statement credit
  • $250 Hilton resort statement credit
  • $100 on property credit at Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts and Conrad Hotels & Resorts when booking the exclusive Aspire Card package

If you don’t mind paying a hefty annual fee for a credit card, the Hilton Aspire credit card is probably the best Hilton card you can get.

While the annual fee is $450, it comes with several different travel credits that easily offset the annual fee and provide you with great perks. One of the best perks of the Hilton Aspire card is that it offers you Hilton Diamond status.

Hilton Small Business Card

new Hilton business credit car
The new Hilton business credit card.
  • 12X on Hilton purchases
  • 6X on select business and air travel purchases
  • 3X everywhere else
  • Automatic Hilton Honors Gold Status
  • Upgrade to Diamond Status by spending $40,000 on eligible purchases on your Card in a calendar year
  • Free weekend night after spending $15,000 in a year
  • No foreign transaction fees
  • $95 annual fee (not waived)

If you’re in the market for a small business credit card, the Hilton business credit card is not a bad option.

Earn from hotel stays

The most common type of way to earn Hilton points is to earn them when you stay at Hilton properties.

You will always earn 10 base points for most of your Hilton stays but you will also earn bonus points on top of those depending on the level of elite status that you have (or don’t have) with Hilton.

  • 20% bonus once you reach Silver status
  • 80% bonus once you reach Gold status
  • 100% bonus once you achieve Diamond status

Hilton Honors promotions

When it comes to hotel promotions, Hilton is usually at the top of the game. They offer many different promotions throughout the year that allow you to ramp up your earnings.

In the past, we’ve seen promotions that allow you to earn up to  54 Hilton Honors points per dollar spent! 

That’s highly impressive.

You just need to remember to register for these promotions when they come around.

Registration is usually very easy and only takes a couple of seconds so there really is no reason to not do it even if you have no Hilton stays planned in the future.

Transfer points from American Express

You can also transfer your points from American Express.

I do not recommend doing this because the value that you lose is pretty significant and it is usually not a very good deal.

I’ll show you why.

If you value American Express points at 1.8 cents per point then 1,000 Membership Rewards is worth $18. But if you transfer those 1,000 Membership Rewards to Hilton, you end up with 2,000 Hilton points.

At a valuation of .5 cent per point, then that’s an exchange of $18 of value for $10, so you can see why it’s not always a good idea.

However, there are times when you just need to top off your points and transferring your points into Hilton can make a lot of sense. This is especially true if you’re booking a stay at a top property.

So it is good to at least be aware of this option even though you probably will not be using it very often.

Earn from shopping

You can earn Hilton points when doing your everyday shopping at the Hilton Honors shopping portal.

You simply log-in to the portal and then find an online store and then click through to that store and you can earn Hilton points for your purchases. The products and prices would be the same so there’s really no drawback.

However, I’d encourage you to read my article on shopping portals and to check out CashBackMonitor to make sure that you’re getting the best return.

That’s because other portals like the Chase Shopping Portal could be more worth your while.

Hilton Honors Dining

You can also earn Hilton Honors points when you dine out.

Here are the earning rates:

  • Earn 8 Bonus Points per $1 when you dine 11 or more times in a year, and opt in for email notifications from Hilton Honors Dining.
  • Earn 5 Bonus Points per $1 when you dine 10 or less times in a year, and opt in for email notifications from Hilton Honors Dining.
  • Earn only 2 Bonus Points per $1 when you don’t opt in for email notifications.

Car rentals

You can also earn Hilton honors points whenever you have a rental car purchase.

Alamo

Earn 500 Hilton Honors Bonus Points on every qualifying rental. Plus save on everyday low prices and earn an additional 500 bonus points for every day during your qualified rental, up to 5,000 bonus points.

Enterprise

Earn 500 Hilton Honors Bonus Points on every qualifying rental. Plus save on everyday low rates and earn an additional 500 bonus points for every day during your qualified rental, up to 5,000 bonus points

National Car Rental

Earn 500 Hilton Honors Bonus Points on every qualifying rental. Plus save up to 25% and earn an additional 500 bonus points for every day during your qualified rental, up to 5,000 bonus points

Cruises

Book through Cruises for Hilton Honors, and earn Bonus Points based on the length of your cruise.

Length of cruiseHilton Honors Bonus Points earned
1–5 nights6,000
6–8 nights12,000
9–12 nights24,000
13+ nights50,000

Tip: Use WalletFlo for all your credit card needs. It’s free and will help you optimize your rewards and savings!

Purchasing Hilton Honors points

In most cases it is usually not worth it to purchase points.

However, there are some exceptions to this rule.

In this article, I talk about a lot of different scenarios where it is worth it to purchase points.

In a nut shell, purchasing points can make sense when you need to top-off your points or in other situations where it can be cheaper to purchase points to cover your hotel stay. (This usually happens where there’s a great promotion ongoing.)

All you have to do is run some simple math and usually it is pretty obvious that it would be better to purchase points and use them toward a stay versus just paying cash out right for that day.

Just make sure you’re getting the lowest rate. For example, a lot of people don’t know about special discount codes like the Hilton MVP program.

Hilton Auckland Bowhead Suite.

The best ways to spend Hilton points

Best value for your points

Finding the best Hilton redemptions is going to depend on a lot of subjective factors.

Preferences for things like location, price, dining, nearby attractions, service, suites, etc. are all too variable to list a definite top 10 list of Hilton properties in my opinion.

However, I’ve put together three charts below which show you a snapshot of the high value you can get at some of the most premier Hilton properties.

The first table looks at Waldorf properties.

The average Waldorf hotel property costs $425 per night and Waldorf Hotels require on average 72,696 points. This results in getting an average value of .57 cents per point when redeeming Hilton Honors points at a Waldorf property.

Average cash price:  $425.83
Average points price:72,696
Average value per point: 0.57

You can read more about the findings here.

The next table looks at Conrad properties.

The average Conrad hotel property costs $352 per night and Conrad Hotels require on average 57,857 points per night. This results in getting an average value of .59 cents per point when redeeming Hilton Honors points at a Conrad property.

So while Conrad properties are on average cheaper than Waldorf properties, they actually offer more cents per point on redemptions since Waldorfs offered .57 cents per point in my prior analysis.

Average cash price:  $352.03
Average points price:57,857
Average value in cents per point: 0.59

You can read more about the findings here.

The next table looks at Curio properties.

The average Hilton Curio hotel costs $300 per night and Hilton Curios require on average 55,568 points per night. This results in getting an average value of .54 cents per point when redeeming Hilton Honors points at a Curio property.

Average cash price:  $300.82
Average points price:55,568
Average value in cents per point: 0.54

You can read more about the findings here.

Hilton Points & Money Rewards

When Hilton recently overhauled its loyalty program, it introduced the new Points & Money Rewards.

This allows you to use a slider to determine a combination of points and cash that you’d like to use (1,000 Point increments). In the past, this was available for select properties, but now they’ve opened it up for all properties and for any combination of points and cash (in increment of 1,000).

You should always check to see if it is cheaper to utilize the Points & Money Rewards or if it is a better deal to just purchase points.

Something else to consider is that if you use points and cash, you will most likely have to pay resort fees. If you book entirely with points you can often avoid the resort fees but if you only book partially with points and cash you’ll probably have to pay the fee.

Amazon

Using your Hilton points for Amazon is generally not where you’re going to get the best value.

500 Hilton Honors Points equal one dollar on Amazon.com.

So that’s a value of 0.2 cent per Hilton Honors point. 

That’s way less than the standard value of .5 cent per point and so I don’t think it’s worth using Hilton points for Amazon.

Hilton points transfer partners

You can exchange points and miles with over 30 participating airline, rail, and mileage rewards programs worldwide.

But the downside is that the transfer ratios are not favorable. For example, for American Airlines, you can exchange 10,000 Hilton Honors points for 1,500 AAdvantage miles, which just isn’t an attractive option.

And for Delta, the conversion is even worse at 10,000 Hilton Honors points for 1,000 Delta miles.

So some of the transfer ratios are a little different but they are all generally not very good, so this usually is not a good idea from a value perspective.

Turn Hilton points into miles

You can click here to convert your Hilton Honors points into miles for the following program:

  • Aeroflot Russian Airlines
  • Aeromexico
  • Aeroplan
  • Air Asia BIG
  • Air New Zealand
  • Alaska Airlines
  • American Airlines
  • Amtrak
  • ANA (All Nippon Airways)
  • Asia Miles (Cathay Pacific)
  • Asiana Airlines
  • Avianca Taca Airlines
  • British Airways(AVIOS Points)
  • China Eastern Airlines
  • Delta Air Lines
  • Emirates/Skywards
  • Ethiopian Airlines
  • Etihad Airways
  • Eurowings
  • EVA Air
  • Finnair
  • Flying Blue (Air France/KLM)
  • Frontier Airlines
  • Garuda Indonesia
  • Hainan Airlines
  • Hawaiian Airlines
  • Icelandair
  • JAL (Japan Airlines)
  • Jet Airways
  • LAN PASS
  • Malaysia Airlines
  • Miles & More (Lufthansa/Swiss/Austrian Air)
  • Philippine Airlines
  • Qantas Airways
  • Qatar Airways
  • SAS Scandinavian Airlines
  • Saudi Arabian Airlines
  • Singapore Airlines
  • South African Airways
  • Turkish Airlines
  • United Airlines
  • Virgin Atlantic Airways
  • Virgin Australia

Note: Southwest Airlines is NOT a Hilton partner 

To exchange more than 100,000 points, call customer care at 1-800-4Honors or send an email to: hiltonhonors@Hilton.com

Turn miles into Hilton points

You can also make exchanges the other way — from a partner account to your Hilton Honors account.

You can make exchanges with any of the following travel partners:

• Amtrak
• Hawaiian Airlines
• Virgin Atlantic
• American Express Membership Rewards
• Diners Club International Club Rewards

Pooling Hilton points

One of the best changes that Hilton made to its loyalty program is that it allowed its customers to pool their points with other people.

This is fantastic since it makes it much easier to rack up the points needed for large redemptions. There are some specific guidelines for pooling points but they are not very strict at all.

Rule for pooling points

  • Hilton Honors members can combine their points with up to 10 family and friends for no cost. (That means that a total of 11 individuals can pool their points together.)
  • There is no limit to the number of pools you can be a member to.
  • You can use pooled points for any type of award (even for things other than hotel stays).
  • You can transfer a minimum of 1,000 points and a maximum of 500,000 Points into a pool in a calendar year.
  • A member can receive up to 2 million points in a calendar year.
  • To use points pooling, you must be an active member, be in the program for 30 days, and have a minimum Points balance of 1,000 Points.

Read more about pooling Hilton points here. 

Expiration

Hilton Honors points will expire in an account with no eligible activity in a 12-month period.

However, there are a lot of ways for you to prevent your Hilton points from expiring.

If you earn any Hilton points that will reset the clock. That means you can stay at a Hilton property, put spend on a Hilton credit card, earn points through the shopping portal, or transfer points in or out of your Hilton account.

So keep tabs on your points and make sure you keep some activity going on so you don’t lose your points.

Hilton Honors FAQ

How much is a Hilton point worth?

The value of Hilton points depends on the type of redemption you use but generally you can expect to receive around .52 cents per point if you use your points efficiently and aim for higher-tier properties.

Lower to mid-tier properties will get closer to .4 cents per point.

How many Hilton points do you need for free night?

The number of Hilton points needed for a free night can range drastically from 5,000 points to 95,000 points.

Generally if you’re looking for a decent hotel in a major city, you can expect to pay between 30,000 and 60,000 points.

What credit cards does Hilton offer?

Hilton offers four different Amex credit cards:

Hilton Honors
Hilton Surpass
Hilton Aspire
Hilton Honors Business

Does Hilton have an award chart?

Hilton does not publish an official award chart with categories any longer.

Instead, they offer a form of dynamic pricing where the award prices will fluctuate throughout the year.

The old award chart can still give you an idea of how the prices are structured.

The prices still stay within a window but those price windows are even wider now for the most part.

This is good on the one hand because some prices are much lower but it’s a bit frustrating because you never really know exactly how much the cost of the award night is going to be.

Do Hilton points expire?

Yes, Hilton Honors points will expire in an account with no eligible activity in a 12-month period.

Final word

The Hilton Honors loyalty program can be very rewarding. What I like most about it is that you can get elite status so easily with credit cards and enjoy perks like free breakfast and upgrades.

Hilton changing free breakfast benefit for Gold and Diamond members

6/28/21 Update:

We already heard about the change in breakfast policy for Hilton elite members but we just got verification about the new credit amounts. Check out the helpful infographic below to help you keep track of what type of breakfast benefits will be offered to you at the various brands:

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Hilton has long been my favorite hotel brand for breakfast.

That is because it offers a complimentary breakfast to both Hilton Gold and Hilton Diamond members and I have enjoyed many free breakfast meals during my Hilton stays.

Getting the free breakfast is convenient and also it has always been a great way to capture clear (non-subjective) savings while traveling.

But it looks like Hilton is about to switch things up and this could end up being a major negative depending on how it shakes out.

Beginning in July 2021 and through the end of 2021, Hilton is going to provide a daily food and beverage credit for Gold and Diamond members.

These credits will be offered at all luxury, full-service, lifestyle, and Hilton Garden Inn properties in the U.S.

These include brands like: Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts, LXR Hotels & Resorts, Conrad Hotels & Resorts, Canopy by Hilton, Signia by Hilton, Hilton Hotels & Resorts, Curio Collection by Hilton, Tapestry Collection by Hilton, DoubleTree by Hilton and Motto by Hilton.

The benefit is that you will be able to utilize these credits at anytime of the day so you are not restricted to only breakfast. That is actually pretty helpful for people who get a really late start or people like me who sometimes venture out before breakfast is even open.

The big question is how much will this credit be?

According to Hilton, the credit will range in value depending on the property you are staying at and the location. That gives me some hope that there will be real value with these credits since the price of breakfast can vary pretty widely.

However, it’s very possible that this credit will not offer the same amount of value that you could receive before with the free breakfast. And if that is the case then Gold and Diamond status will suffer a pretty clear devaluation — at least for US stays.

Once again, we don’t know exactly how this will play out but this is definitely something to watch as the summer comes around. Hopefully things will not be as bad as some are imagining but it’s certainly setting up to be a negative.

5/21 Update: there seems to be a somewhat credible rumor that the breakfast credit will be distributed as follows:

  • $25 credit for luxury properties
  • $12 credit for full service hotels but $15 in high cost markets
  • $12 credit for lifestyle hotels but $15 in high cost markets
  • $10 credit for Garden Inn

When Should I Buy Hilton Points? (80% or 100% Bonus) [2021]

When should I buy Hilton points is a common question I see. It usually comes up when Hilton offers 80% or 100% bonuses on Hilton points and people are tempted to not miss out on a “deal.” For the most part you don’t need to feel pressure to jump on these deals but this article will walk you through when you might want to buy Hilton Honors points.

Update: Some offers are no longer available — click here for the latest deals!

Where can I buy Hilton points?

You can buy Hilton points from the official Hilton website or via written request, phone or e-mail to Hilton Reservations and Customer Care.

For online purchases, you’ll need to log-in and then you’ll see a drop down window for selecting the amount of points to purchase. If there is a special promotion going on, you should see that bonus rate in the drop down menu.

Buy Hilton Points

How many Hilton points can I buy?

According to the official Hilton Honors terms and conditions, Hilton allows you to purchase up to 80,000 points per calendar year and the points must be purchased in 1,000 point increments.

These 80,000 points do not include the additional bonus points you’re given with promotional offers. So if there’s a 100% bonus for buying 80,000 points, you can receive a total of 160,000 Hilton points from your purchase.

Also, Hilton might raise this 80,000 point cap, such as when they offer Daily Getaway packages that don’t count against that limit.

Keep in mind that you can pool your points with others so you can get around this limitation very easily by having others purchase points and just pool them with you.

When you purchase points, they should instantly show up in your Hilton account.

It’s also worth noting that new members have restrictions on purchasing points.

New members may purchase points 30 days after enrollment if the account reflects activity including a stay or earning Hilton Honors Points through a Hilton Hilton Honors Marketing Partner. After 90 days of enrollment, a new Member can purchase points regardless of their account activity.

Tip: Use the free app WalletFlo to help you travel the world for free by finding the best travel credit cards and promotions!

How much do Hilton points cost?

The cost of Hilton points will vary based on whether or not there’s an ongoing promotion.

Typically, you can purchase Hilton points at a standard rate of 1 cent per point but with promotional offers these rates vary from about .5 to .6 cent per point. 

Keep in mind the value of Hilton points is usually around .5 cent per point.

Hilton Aspire Card
Hilton Cabana Miami Beach.

When should I buy Hilton points?

Like most situations, you generally don’t want to purchase points unless you need to top-off your points for a specific redemption or there is a fantastic promotion going on. And even when there’s a promotion going on, you still want to have redemption plans.

Hilton point promotions

Hilton constantly runs promotions on purchased points throughout the year. So unless you have to receive your points ASAP, you should consider holding off until there is a promotion.

I regularly see Hilton promotions for 80% or 100% bonuses throughout the year so you should try to time your purchases with those promos if possible. With a 100% bonus, you’ll likely be purchasing points for about .5 cents per point which isn’t bad in many cases.

Know how much Hilton points are worth

You need to have a good sense of how much you value Hilton Honors points so that you can make an informed decision when it comes time to decide if you want to purchase.

Many people value Hilton Honors points at around .4 cents per point. But if you use your Hilton points for more upscale properties like the Conrad, Waldorf, Curio, etc., you’ll find that the average value is closer to .5 or .6 cents per point.

I personally don’t like to purchase points unless I’m paying for about the same or better value that I’m using points for and have a plan to use them. For example, if I purchase Hilton points for .5 cents per point and then plan to use those points at a property where I’m getting .6 or .7 cents per point in value then I’m generally a happy camper.

Topping off balances

When you need to top off your Hilton points balance it could make a lot of sense to purchase points even when the purchase rate is not ideal. For example, if you only needed 10,000 points to complete a booking for a 5 night stay and you’re paying 1 cent per point for those 10,000 points, that purchase rate is bad but it’s like paying $100 to cover your award stay and get the 5th night free so it would often be worth it in that case.

The cents per point value on the purchase is not always the deciding factor when purchasing points. Sometimes it comes down to the practical need for those points.

Of course, the alternative to purchasing points is also transferring points to Hilton. Amex recently improved the transfer ratio for Membership Rewards to Hilton Honors to 2:1. This is still not a great transfer ratio in most cases and I’d only recommend when getting decent value from topping off an account.

How long does it take to transfer points to Hilton?

The transfer time to Hilton should be instant from American Express Membership Rewards.

The Hilton Auckland.

Tip: Use WalletFlo for all your credit card needs. It’s free and will help you optimize your rewards and savings!

Buying points for redemptions

If you’re thinking about staying at a top Hilton property, it can sometimes make sense to purchase points to cover 100% of that stay due to the fact that you’ll be receiving outsized value from your points.

For example, take a look at the below cost to stay at the Hilton Conrad for one night during peak season. It’s $3,283 per night for a water villa but that can be booked with 95,000 Hilton Honors points.

Conrad Maldives prices for a water villa in January.
Conrad Maldives prices for a water villa in January.

Let’s say you wanted to cover a 5 night stay at the Conrad Maldives. You would need 380,000 points which could be purchased with three people pooling accounts. If you could purchase those for .5 cents per point, you’d be paying $1,900 for a 5 night stay that would normally cost over $16,000. 

So in some instances, it actually could make sense to purchase all of the points needed for a hotel stay when the hotel cash price is high and there’s a good promo on purchased points.

The Conrad Maldives underwater restaurant.

Final word

You generally don’t want buy Hilton points unless you have a specific redemption in mind that you need to top off points for or there is a promo going on for purchased points that allows you to maximize value on those purchased points. These promos come around all the time so if you can be patient and wait for the right time to jump on one of these deals.

Hilton Honors Dining Program (Restaurants, Rewards) [2020]

Hilton Honors Dining program is a great way to earn extra Hilton Honors points and get closer to staying in Hilton hotels for free.

But how much can you earn from this rewards program and how does it work?

I’ll highlight everything you need to know about the Hilton Dining program including how to maximize your points and find the restaurants best suited for your tastes. 

What is the Hilton Honors Dining program?

The Hilton Honors Dining is a special program that allows you to earn extra Hilton Honors points when you dine at various restaurants. It is part of the Rewards Network Dining Program that many other loyalty programs participate in.

Tip: Use a credit card like the Hilton Surpass to bolster your Hilton points and earn 6X on dining! Plus you get elite status!

How many Hilton points can you earn?

The amount of Hilton points that you will earn will depend on your membership level within the dining program. Note that these membership levels are different from the elite levels in the Hilton Honors program.

  • Members earn 2 Honors Bonus Points per $1 spent if you elect to not receive email communications from Hilton Honors Dining.
  • Online Members earn 5 Honors Bonus Points per $1 spent if you elect to receive email communications from Hilton Honors Dining.
  • Elite Members earn 8 Honors Bonus Points per $1 spent if you elect to receive email communications from Hilton Honors Dining AND have already completed 11 qualified transactions in the calendar year.

So in order for you to start earning eight points per dollar spent, you will have to complete 11 qualify to transactions in a calendar year.

Is the Hilton Dining program worth it?

Hilton Honors points are worth around .5 cents per point so 5X bonus points is like earning an additional 2.5% back on your dining which is in addition to the points earned by credit cards.

Compare that to the AAdvantage dining portal:

  • Members earn 1 AAdvantage mile per $2 spent if you elect to not receive email communications
  • Online Members earn 3 AAdvantage miles per $1 spent if you elect to receive email communications
  • VIP Members earn 5 AAdvantage miles per $1 spent if you elect to receive email communications AND have 12 or more qualified dining transactions in a calendar year.

If you value American miles at 1.4 cents per mile then you’d be earning 4.2% back (at the 3X level) compared to the 2.5% back you’d earn with Hilton Dining.

This is a major consideration to think about since the Hilton Dining program is not offering you the most lucrative deal for cash back value. 

Tip: Check out the free app WalletFlo so that you can optimize your credit card spend by seeing the best card to use! You can also track credits, annual fees, and get notifications when you’re eligible for the best cards!

How do you sign-up for the Hilton Honors Dining program?

  • You can sign up here

Make sure to  use the same name, email address, and Honors number
on file with Hilton Honors.

Screenshot of the sign-up page for the Hilton Honors Dining program.
Sign-up page for the Hilton Honors Dining program.

Be sure to check the box for receiving occasional emails if you want to maximize your points.

You must remain opted in to receive emails from Hilton Honors Dining, with a valid, deliverable email address, to remain eligible to earn any of the bonuses offered under the program.

Members who do not remain opted in to receive email only earn two Honors Bonus Points per two dollars spent dining.

Honestly this is an annoying requirement for this rewards program but if you really want to maximize your earnings with the Hilton Dining program then you might as well opt-in to emails.

You’ll then be asked in input more personal information, including your Hilton Honors number.

After that you’ll need to link your credit to your account.

How to use the Hilton Honors Dining program

How to search for restaurants

Search for dining spots by city or ZIP code with the Quick Search field, located on every page of Honorsdining.com. You can also use the Advanced Search to search by neighborhood or nearby address

Search results for Los Angeles

Here’s what came up when I searched for Los Angeles.

Filters

There are a lot of filters that you can use to help you find the restaurants that are just right for you.

Establishment

  • Bar/Club/Lounge
  • Fast Food/Quick Serve
  • Restaurant and Bar
  • Casual
  • Restaurant
  • Upscale

Neighborhoods

  • Beverly Center/Mid Wilshire
  • Greater Riverside Area
  • San Fernando Valley East of 405
  • South Bay/East County
  • Beverly Hills/West Los Angeles
  • South Bay/Long Beach/Central LA
  • And many more….

Cuisine

  • American (New)
  • Dessert/Bakery
  • Jamaican
  • Scandinavian
  • American (Traditional)
  • Diner
  • Japanese
  • And many more….

Features

  • Bistro
  • Beer and Wine
  • LGBT
  • Piano Bar
  • Sports
  • And many more….

Open for

  • Breakfast
  • Catering
  • Late-Night Dining
  • Party Packages
  • Brunch
  • Dinner
  • Lunch

Price

  • Under $10
  • Under $20
  • Under $30
  • Over $30

Proximity

You can search up to 30 miles within your location.

Tip: Use WalletFlo for all your credit card needs. It’s free and will help you optimize your rewards and savings!

Viewing your results

List view

The results will be listed in order of what closest to your destination. You’ll be able to see the name of the restaurant along with its neighborhood, Member rating, average entree price, and all of the days of the week that you’ll be eligible for rewards.

You have the option to hide locations not offering rewards if you’d like to remove them from your results.

By clicking on the restaurant you’ll be taken a page where you can get a helpful overview of the restaurant. You can check out its member rating, menu, features, and directions.

Map view

The map view is great and allows you to see exactly where the restaurants are located.

New locations

You can see which restaurants are newly enrolled into the program.

What you might like

They will provide you with options that you might like based on your preferences.

Bonuses

You’ll often be eligible for bonuses as a new member, such as:

  • 1,000 Bonus Points for your first $25 spent dining.

To locate a bonus, simply click on the bonus tab at the top of the portal.

Screenshot showing a bonus of 1000 points after spending $25 in the first 30 days
An example of a bonus for the Hilton Dining program.

Hilton Dining FAQ

How many cards can I add?

You can add up to 5 cards in your Account Center.

How much does it cost to join the program?

The program is free to join.

Do I have to give my credit card information to sign up?

Yes, you’ll be required to input your credit card information. According to Hilton, “there are no membership cards to show, coupon codes to enter, or deals to pre-register for. You just dine on a registered card and earn.”

Will my membership ever expire?

Yes, but only after 36 consecutive months of no dining activity with your registered credit or debit cards.

When do my points get added?

Hilton Honors Bonus Points will appear in your Hilton Honors Dining account as soon as the transaction is registered by the restaurant, usually within 5 days.

However, it’s going to take much longer for the points to appear in your personal Hilton account. Bonus Points earned through Hilton Honors Dining will appear in your Hilton Honors account 6-8 weeks after the transaction occurs.

How often do they run bonuses?

Hilton Honors Dining runs special bonus offers to members periodically based upon specific criteria at different times, including:

joining (new member bonus)
opting in to receive email notifications from Hilton Honors Dining
completing a survey
frequenting more restaurants
spending a specific amount per visit
adding a new card

Final word

The Hilton Honors Dining program is a great way to earn extra Hilton points but make sure that you opt-in to the emails to earn the most Hilton points.

New Hilton Honors Promotion for 2019 (2,000 Points)

Hilton is an industry leader when it comes to offering ongoing promotions. They are currently offering a promotion allowing you the ability to earn two times or even three times the points on certain stays and they just launched their new promotion for 2019 which looks to be pretty lucrative for shorter and cheaper stays.

The new promotion

The new promotion is called “Points Unlimited” and it allows you to earn the following rates:

  • 2,000 Bonus Points per stay
  • Plus 10,000 Bonus Points every 5 stays or 10 nights (whichever comes first)
  • Valid for stays January 4 to May 5

Register

  • You must register for this promotion and you can register for the promotion here. (It takes two seconds to register.)

Is this a good promotion?

I value Hilton points at half a cent per point, so this promotion would be offering about $10 in points per stay. Since the bonus amount is based on stays (and not nights) and not tied to your base points, this promo is going to be more lucrative for shorter stays and your return % will be higher for cheaper stays.

For example, if you were a Hilton Honors Diamond member you would earn 20 points per dollar spent. If you were to spend $100 on a one night stay then you would earn 2,000 Hilton Honors points. But with this promo, you would earn an additional 2,000 points so it would in effect double your earnings.

If you stayed three nights then your bonus promo points would still be 2,000 for the total stay so the return % for the bonus would drop from 100% to 33%.

Also, if you were spending more money on the stay such as $300 for the night then your additional bonus return would be much less from a percentage perspective. You’d earn 6,000 Hilton Honors points via Diamond status but the additional 2,000 points would only amount to a 33% bonus once again.

If you can hit the 5 stay threshold or 10 nights, the promo does get sweeter since it offers an additional 2,000 points per stay or 1,000 points per night. But again the shorter stays will be rewarded more here since points are per stay. 

Restrictions

Like many other Hilton promotions there are few restrictions here.

  • No limit on points earned
  • No minimum stay requirement
  • Each time a member achieves 5 stays or 10 nights, 10,000 Bonus Points will be awarded and the member’s stay/night count will reset.
  • Only Hampton by Hilton Hotels in Mainland China excluded

It’s also worth noting that reward stays count for this promotion!

Hilton Honors elite status

If you are interested in learning more about Hilton honors elite status like Gold and Diamond status I suggest checking out my recent video I published and talks about how to earn the statuses and the difference in benefits.

Final word

This is a decent promotion and easy to sign-up for so you might as well do it. If you have shorter and cheaper Hilton stays planned for next year, you should be able to cash in with some good value.

Should I Transfer Amex Membership Rewards to Hilton? [2020]

Offers contained within this article maybe expired.

Hilton is one of the few transfer partners of American Express Membership Rewards. So naturally you might be wondering if it is ever a good idea to transfer your Membership Rewards to Hilton Honors. In this article, I will talk about if it is ever worth it to transfer your AMEX points to Hilton Honors and give you some examples of when it might make sense.

Interested in finding out the hottest travel credit cards for this month? Click here to check them out! 

Transferring Membership Rewards to Hilton

In the past, the transfer ratio between American Express Membership Rewards and Hilton Honors was 1.5 Hilton points for every 1 Membership Reward. This was not a very compelling ratio from a value perspective and here’s why.

Let’s assume a value of 1.8 cents per point your American Express points and a value of .5 cent per point for your Hilton Honors points.

With the old ratio you would be exchanging 1.8 cents cents per point in value for .75 cent per point.

However, as of 2018, the ratio is 2 Hilton points for every 1 Membership Rewards point transferred. So at a valuation of .5 cent per Hilton point, you are getting at least one cent per point when you transfer your American Express points over to Hilton.

So you are still often losing value on your transfer but you are just not losing as much value. Moreover, there are certain opportunities that can make this transfer much more lucrative and valuable for you. I’ll discuss those opportunities below.

Tip: Use WalletFlo for all your credit card needs. It’s free and will help you optimize your rewards and savings!

Transfer bonuses

Sometimes you can find special bonus transfer rates from American Express to Hilton honors. For example, there is currently a special targeted offer allowing for a 50% bonus on Membership Rewards points transferred to Hilton Honors.

Such a bonus would allow you to capture a 1:3 conversion ratio of 1,000 Membership Rewards points to 3,000 Hilton Honors points.

So going back to the valuations used above, you would end up getting 1.5 cents per point of value from your Membership Rewards after you transfer them to Hilton. That is actually a very good ratio and is pretty impressive.

I’m not sure that I would transfer my points to Hilton on a speculative basis, but it honestly is pretty close to where that could make sense if you were someone who regularly stays the Hilton properties.

Outsized value

Another situation where it could definitely make sense to transfer your AMEX Membership Rewards to Hilton, is whenever you can receive outsized value for your redemptions.

Outsized value means that you are receiving more value for your points than you would normally expect. So if you value Hilton points at .5 cent per point, then you would consider outsized value to be something higher than that but usually much higher. For example, if you are getting anywhere near one cent point for your Hilton points then that would definitely be getting outsized value.

I’ve put together some articles on redemption rates that you can’t expect at top properties like Conrad properties, Waldorf properties, and the Curio Collection. The charts in these articles can show you that it is often possible to get outsized value at these top properties.

So if you were planning on staying at a property like the Hilton Conrad Maldives, then it could make sense to transfer your American Express points over because you would be getting so much value from those Hilton points.

This is especially true if you can take advantage of one of the special bonus transfer rates. If you were getting one cent per point for a top property with your Hilton points, then that would mean that you would be getting 3 cents per point with your AMEX Membership Rewards, which would be a fantastic use for your points.

Topping off redemptions

Another situation where it could make sense to transfer your Membership Rewards to Hilton would be whenever you need to top off redemptions.

Topping off just means that you don’t currently have enough points to make the full booking and you want to just transfer some points over so that you have enough points to complete your booking.

If it is a matter of being able to have a free hotel stay or not then it definitely can make sense to top off your points.

However, now that Hilton allows you to pay with cash and points, you need to think about that option and see if that makes sense or not. In some cases, you might feel that it is worth it to just pay for those points rather than use your valuable American Express Membership Rewards. But this will usually just come down to your preference and how you value your points and if you were trying to avoid using cash or not.

Final word

Transferring American Express Membership Rewards to Hilton used to almost always be a pretty bad idea. But now, with the new transfer ratio and with recurrent bonuses, it can often make sense to transfer your points over to Hilton. Just be sure to always examine your alternatives, such as purchasing points or utilizing cash plus points. And in the end, you should go with whatever benefits your travel goals the most.

Should You Apply for the New Hilton Business Credit Card?

American Express recently released a new suite of Hilton credit cards in January 2018. One of the cards, the Hilton Honors Aspire credit card is one of my favorite new credit cards with all of its new perks. But Amex also introduced the first Hilton business credit card along with these cards and introduced some cool new perks. Here’s a review of what the Hilton Honors American Express Business Card has to offer.

Update: Some offers are no longer available — click here for the latest deals!

new Hilton business credit car
The new Hilton business credit card.

Perks of the new Hilton Business Credit Card

The Hilton Honors American Express Business Card offers the following perks:

  • 75,000 Hilton Honors points after you spend $3,000 within 3 months of card opening
  • 25,000 additional Hilton Honors after you spend an additional $1,000 within 6 months of card opening
  • 12X on Hilton purchases
  • 6X on select business and air travel purchases
  • 3X everywhere else
  • Automatic Hilton Honors Gold Status
  • Upgrade to Diamond Status by spending $40,000 on eligible purchases on your Card in a calendar year
  • Free weekend night after spending $15,000 in a year
  • No foreign transaction fees
  • $95 annual fee (not waived)

You can read the official terms and conditions here.

Hilton Americas Executive Lounge.
The Hilton Americas Executive Lounge.

Hilton Business Credit Card welcome offer

  • 75,000 Hilton Honors points after you spend $3,000
  • 25,000 additional Hilton Honors after you spend an additional $1,000

In total this amounts to a 100,000 point welcome offer after spending $4,000.

For a business card minimum spend requirement, $4,000 isn’t too bad, especially since you get 6 months to hit it. 100,000 points isn’t a terrible bonus, either. This bonus is right on par with the Hilton Ascend, which is essentially the personal version of the Hilton Honors business credit card.

100,000 points will cover 1 to two nights at a solid hotel in a major city most of the time but you can definitely stretch these points in some parts of the world. And by “stretch” I don’t mean staying in crappy properties. For example, I found a Conrad in Bali that went for 20,000 per night. With the 5th night free benefit factored in, you could stay there for five nights for 100,000 points.

Hilton HHonors business credit card
Cover 5 nights at the Conrad Bali with this welcome offer

Hilton Business Credit Card bonus earning

The Hilton Honors Business credit card earns 12X on Hilton purchases and 6X on “select business and air travel purchases.”

Select business purchases

These business purchases include purchases for:

  • U.S. gas stations
  • Wireless telephone services purchases directly from U.S. service providers
  • U.S. purchases for shipping

If you value Hilton Honors points at .5 cents per point, then that’s a 3% return on gas, phone bills, and shipping. 3% back on gas is pretty competitive compare to other gas credit cards so that’s not a bad a way to use this card. 3% on phone bills and shipping, however, is outdone by a few other business cards offered by Chase and Amex so those don’t excite me as much.

Air travel purchases

The air travel purchases include purchases for:

  • U.S. restaurants
  • Flights booked directly with airlines or with AmexTravel.com
  • Car rentals booked directly from select car rental companies

So again this is a 3% return but for dining, air travel, and car rentals. Not a bad return but you can certainly do better with some other options, including other business cards offered by American Express. Find out more about those options here.

So the bonus earning is very similar to the Hilton Ascend except you get the added bonus of earning points on the business expenses. While these earning rates aren’t exactly “too good to be true,” if you’re just trying to round up Hilton Honors points, this card isn’t a horrible way to go.

United Airlines airplane
Get 3% back on air travel with the new Hilton business credit card.

Free Weekend Night Reward

  • Free Weekend Night Reward from Hilton Honors after you spend $15,000 on eligible purchases on your Card account in a calendar year.

You’ll get one free weekend night which can be used at most Hilton properties after only spending $15,000. That’s a fairly obtainable goal for a lot of people. The second free weekend night after spending $60,000 is not quite as lucrative to me since you could allocate that additional $45K worth of spend somewhere else and come out with many free nights.

Priority Pass

  • 10 Free Priority Pass Visits

Just like the Hilton Ascend, the Hilton business credit card offers 10 free visits to Priority Pass lounges. While guests are now allowed in for free, you can use your 10 passes to allow for entry of guests. For people who have no desire to shell out $450+ for airport lounge access but are interested in experiencing the “lounge life” a hand full of times each year, this type of Priority Pass can make a lot of sense to pursue.

Priority Pass MCO Lounge.

Automatic Hilton Gold status

Just like the personal version, the Hilton Honors business credit card offers you automatic Hilton Honors Gold status. Hilton Gold is a solid mid-tier elite status that will get you free internet, breakfasts, late check-out, and even get you some upgrades and lounge access at times. This is a great perk for this card and you can read more about the Hilton Gold benefits here.

Hilton breakfast
Fresh juices for breakfast at the Hilton Cabana.

Upgrade to Diamond

  • Upgrade to Diamond Status by spending $40,000 on eligible purchases on your Card in a calendar year

Personally, I would much rather achieve Hilton Honors Diamond status via the Hilton Aspire. However, that credit card is a personal card and some folks might be in need of a business credit card so that might not be an option.

Diamond status will get you a number of perks like Executive Lounge access, breakfasts, upgrades to suites, premium internet, and a few others. With that said, I wouldn’t go chasing Diamond status by spending $40K — there are much easier routes. You can read more about the perks of Diamond status here.

Eligible welcome offer

One fantastic thing about the Hilton business credit card is that it is a new product issued by American Express. This means that there won’t be any restrictions for earning the welcome offer like the ones that exist for the Hilton Ascend.

In case you weren’t aware, if you earned the welcome offer for the Hilton Surpass before you’re not supposed to eligible to earn the welcome offer for the Hilton Ascend. Read more about that here.

However, because this is a business card and a new product, you won’t be restricted if you had the Hilton Surpass card. Also, this card won’t report to your personal credit report so it won’t affect your 5/24 status, which is another major plus of the Hilton business credit card.

Final word on the Hilton business credit card

The Hilton Honors American Express Business Card was an extremely welcomed credit card because it offers a new welcome offer to people who were not eligible for the Ascend’s new bonus. It was also the first Hilton business credit card ever offered. I think overall this is a pretty solid business card. Getting 100K points, Gold Status, 10 Priority Pass entries, and decent bonus earning potential for a $95 annual fee is not a bad trade off at all.

What Waldorf Hotel Offers the Best Value for Hilton Honors Points?

Waldorf Hotels are one of Hilton’s top-tier luxury brands. These properties are known for being not only luxurious but also very pricey for both cash prices and when using points. I decided to take a look at most of the Waldorf Hotels in the US and around the world and compare their cash prices and point prices and then compute the value received with the redemption. The results are in the table below and will show what Waldorf Hotel offers the best value for Hilton Honors points. 

best value for Hilton Honors points

Collecting the data

I searched for a single night in the middle of the summer (so approximately 6 months out). Some properties did not have available nights and so I had to search for alternate weeks or months. In most cases, I was able to find availability in June or July but there were a couple of exceptions.

I was not able to include every Waldorf property due to Hilton’s website malfunctioning. (I intend on adding the handful of missing properties at a later date.)

Hotel rates for Hilton awards fluctuate and so the prices you see below in the chart might not directly correspond to your own searches. For the most part, however, they should provide you with an idea of what kind of value you can expect to receive when you use Hilton points to book a night at a Waldorf property.

The cash prices include all taxes and resort fees, since these taxes and fees don’t have to paid when booking awards, they were factored into the redemption rates.

The rates used for these calculations were the discounted Hilton Honors rates that allow for cancellations since award bookings allow for cancellations too. I did not factor in rebates earned due to points earned on stays or promotions in this calculation for the sake of simplicity. One could use this article to help them deduct their respective earning rate from the cash price if they would like.

Waldorf Hotel
Waldorf Astoria NY — Photo by Ashley Ringrose.

What Waldorf Hotel offers the best value for Hilton Honors points?

Below is a chart that shows the price in cash, price in points, and the value received in cents per point.

Waldorf Hotel LocationPrice in CashPrice in PointsCents per Point
Arizona Biltmore, A Waldorf Astoria Resort$244460000.53
Boca Beach Club, A Waldorf Astoria Resort$484800000.60
Boca Raton Resort and Club, A Waldorf Astoria Resort$376700000.53
Grand Wailea, A Waldorf Astoria Resort$745950000.78
La Quinta Resort & Club, A Waldorf Astoria Resort$212400000.53
The Reach Key West, A Waldorf Astoria Resort$401800000.50
The Roosevelt New Orleans, A Waldorf Astoria Hotel link$290530000.55
Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills$913950000.96
Waldorf Astoria Chicago$418800000.52
Waldorf Astoria Orlando$423800000.53
Waldorf Astoria Park City$444800000.55
El Conquistador, A Waldorf Astoria Resort (Puerto Rico)$267510000.52
Waldorf Astoria Bangkok$339640000.53
Waldorf Astoria Beijing$324770000.42
Waldorf Astoria Chengdu$267500000.53
Waldorf Astoria Shanghai on the Bund$380800000.47
Rome Cavalieri, Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts$580800000.72
Trianon Palace Versailles, A Waldorf Astoria Hotel$342800000.42
Waldorf Astoria Amsterdam
$623950000.66
Waldorf Astoria Berlin$309600000.51
Waldorf Astoria Edinburgh - The Caledonian$561800000.70
Waldorf Astoria Jerusalem$535950000.56
Waldorf Astoria Dubai Palm Jumeirah$317610000.52

Note: The Waldorf Astoria Amsterdam only had open awards for one year out and the Waldorf Astoria Chicago also had limited award availability during the summer. Also, the Ho’olei at Grand Wailea had no availability.

The findings

Here are the findings for the Waldorf Hotel chart:

Funny enough, the cheapest Waldorf was the La Quinta Resort & Club, A Waldorf Astoria Resort located in Palm Springs, California (and not to be confused with the La Quinta Inn). This hotel goes for $212 and only 40,000 points for a value of .5 cents per point. 

The most expensive Waldorf hotel was the Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills at $913 per night. This hotel also offers the best value for Hilton Honors points in terms of cents per point since you can redeem 95,000 points for right at almost 1 cent per point. 

It’s worth noting that only 2 Waldorf properties offered redemption rates below .5 cents per point. 

Let’s take a look at the averages.

The average Waldorf hotel property costs $425 per night and Waldorf Hotels require on average 72,696 points. This results in getting an average value of .57 cents per point when redeeming Hilton Honors points at a Waldorf property.

Average cash price:   $425.83
Average points price: 72,696
Average value per point:  0.0057

Final word on Waldorf Hotels

Keep in mind, these rates only offer a snapshot of the prices at these hotels. Depending on the time of year and different holidays, these properties could offer different pricing. It’s still nice to see that you can almost get .6 cents per point on average when redeeming Hilton Honors points for a Waldorf Hotel, though. It was also a nice surprise to see that you can get .7 cents of value or higher for some of the properties like those in Rome, Hawaii, Beverly Hills, and Amsterdam.

Obviously, what the best value for Hilton Honors points will depend on your personal travel goals, but this should give you an idea of kind of value you can get at Waldorf properties.

Cover photo of the Rome Cavalieri, Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts by duluoz cats via Flickr.

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