Hilton Honors Points: What They’re Worth and How to Use Them
How much is a Hilton Honors Point worth? Depending on how you redeem your Hilton HHonors rewards, they can be worth anywhere from 0.1 cents to 1.7 cents apiece. The industry standard, as a reference point, is 1 cent. Since there are 10 different hotel chains under the Hilton umbrella, you can redeem in a number of ways, even before you factor in redeeming points for airline miles, cruises and more.
This is our in-depth calculation of just how far your points and elite status will get you. Check out our blog for an explanation of how best to use your credit card to earn Hilton Honors Points. Read on for the best credit cards to earn you those Hilton HHonors points, and the best ways to redeem them.
Hilton credit cards
The Hilton Honors Surpass is the best of the lot, giving you 9% rewards at the Hilton, 3% on groceries, drugstores, gas and some utilities purchases, and 1.5% elsewhere (percentages based on a valuation of 2 HHonors points to the penny). But aside from the rewards rate, where it stands out is the perks: 2,500 points for each stay in your first 18 months, up to 8 stays; 500 points for booking online; a 40,000-point bonus after your first purchase; airport lounge access and Gold Elite status for your first year. This makes it one of the most rewarding cards out there, and well worth the $75 annual fee.
The other Hilton credit card from American Express is less impressive. Though it has no annual fee, you only get a 20,000-point signup bonus, 2,500 points up to just 4 stays, Silver status rather than Gold, and only 3% rewards when you spend on the Hilton. Even with the difference in signup bonuses alone, you’ve made up for the Surpass’ $75 annual fee, so you might as well go with the top-tier version.
Bringing up the rear is the Citi Hilton HHonors card, which earns completely ho-hum rewards with 3% at the Hilton, 1.5% on groceries, drugstores and gas, and 1% elsewhere. Okay, sure, you get 40,000 bonus points, but where the AmEx cards give you the bonus after your first purchase, the Citi wants you to spend $1,000 in the first four months. Plus, you get Silver status rather than Gold, and it doesn’t have the nice 2,500 points per stay promotion. The only benefit is that, as a Visa, it’s easier to use outside of the US than AmEx.
Redemption options:
Two notes to keep in mind: one, we did our calculations based on only one redemption option per category. You might get a different rate if you book at, say, the Rome Cavalieri during off-peak times. Also, our calculations overestimate the value of Hilton Honors points. Points don’t cover the cost of taxes or other fees, which can cost over $50.
Hotel stays, except Waldorf: Hilton divides its hotels into 7 tiers, charging 7,500 points for a stay at a Tier 1 hotel and 50k at a Tier 7 hotel.
- Tier 1: A one-king standard room at the Hampton Inn Houston/Baytown (Tier 1) costs around $130 per night. Points are worth $130/7,500 = 1.7 cents.
- Tier 3: A similar room at the Hampton Suites in Aberdeen, South Dakota sells for $109 and costs 25k points. Points are worth $109/25,000 = 0.4 cents.
- Tier 7: A night at the Beverly Hilton (Tier 7) costs around $325 for the same room. Points are worth $325/50,000 = 0.65 cents.
Both of the AmEx cards give you a discount when you redeem your points for four nights at a Category 5 or 6 hotel: staying at a Category 5 costs 125k, down from the usual 140k, while a Category 6 stay costs 145k, down from 160k. That’s about a 10% discount – but remember, you have to stay four nights. Mention promotional code AXON5 or AXON6, for the Category 5 and 6 discounts respectively.
Hotel stay, Waldorf Astoria: Most of the Waldorf hotels cost 60k points in the high season and 50k in the low season. A night at the Waldorf Astoria Shanghai costs $386 for a King Deluxe room in high season. Points are worth $386/60,000 = 0.64 cents.
Car rentals: A week’s rental from Alamo requires 14k points and costs ~$250. Points are worth $250/14,000 = 1.78 cents.
Cruises: A $250 voucher for CruisesOnly, an American cruise only, costs 120k points. Points are worth $250/120,000 = 0.21 cents.
Entertainment parks: A three-day adult Park Hopper ticket to Disneyland costs 115k points and is worth $199. Points are worth $199/115,000 = 0.17 cents.
Points for miles: You can trade points for airline miles on one of Hilton’s many partner airlines, at different rates. You can swap 10,000 HHonors points for 1,200 Southwest Rapid Rewards points, with a cash value of just $10 in Business Select or $20 if you fly economy. Points are worth 0.1 to 0.2 cents.
How should you use your Hilton Honors Points?
HHonors points are good at any of the 10 hotel chains owned by the Hilton Hotel empire. These include the Waldorf Astoria, Conrad, Hilton, DoubleTree, Hilton Garden, Hampton Inn, Homewood Suites, Home2 Suites, and Hilton Grand Vacations. Over 3,700 hotels accept points, as of this writing. If you want to redeem for hotel stays, Hilton breaks its hotels up into 7 tiers and charges a different number of points for each tier. The Waldorf hotels are on a different point schedule entirely.
We’ll save you the math (that’s what we’re here for) and we’ll simply tell you if you’ll get a better or worse value than the industry standard 1 cent per point. If you want to check out the nitty-gritty of the calculations, and get some more information, check out our review of the Hilton Honors points program.
| Redemption Option | Value of a point (cents) | Good idea? |
|---|---|---|
| Hotel stay, Category 1 | 1.7 | Great |
| Hotel stay, Category 3 | 0.4 | Terrible |
| Hotel stay, Category 7 | 0.7 | Mediocre |
| Car rental | 1.8 | Great |
| Hotel stay, Waldorf | 0.6 | Mediocre |
| Cruises | 0.2 | Bad |
| Entertainment parks | 0.2 | Bad |
| Points for airline miles* | 0.1-0.2 | Terrible |
*Values derived from Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards points.
If you want to cash in on your Hilton Honors points, the best way is to use them for car rentals with affiliate agencies, free nights at lower-grade hotels, or trade points for miles if and only if they have a deal going on. (For example, until July 15th of 2011, Hilton will let you trade 5,000 HHonors points for 500 JetBlue TrueBlue points, making the HHonors points worth ~1.04 cents each).
Elite status tiers:
Elite status is earned through stays, nights, or base points. You have through the calendar year to accumulate enough to earn a membership level, and once you’ve got it, you need to re-qualify every year. Here’s our breakdown of the elite levels, requirements, and a summary of benefits. At the Blue and Silver levels, the benefits only apply to 2 of the 10 Hilton hotels: the Waldorf Astoria (WA) and Hilton Grand Vacations (HGV). Unless otherwise specified, the benefits apply to those two hotels. At the Gold and Diamond level, the benefits apply to most hotels.*
| Level | Qualifications | Benefits |
|---|---|---|
| Blue | Sign up online |
|
| Silver | 4 stays OR 10 nights |
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| Gold | 16 stays OR 36 nights OR 60,000 base points |
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| Diamond | 28 stays OR 60 nights OR 100,000 base points |
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*The room upgrade benefit is limited to Hilton, Conrad, and DoubleTree hotels.
Read our take on what you need to know to best choose and use your Hilton credit card.
The American Express Hilton credit cards
| Hilton Credit Card - No Fee | Hilton Credit Card | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Signing Promo | |||||||||
| 40,000 Hilton Honors Points Bonus | 60,000 Hilton Honors Points Bonus after spending $3,000 - 40,000 points with your first purchase, and 20,000 more when you spend $3,000 in the first 3 months | ||||||||
| Intro APR Promo | |||||||||
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| Annual fee | |||||||||
| $0 | $75 | ||||||||
| Details | |||||||||
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The Citi Hilton Card
| Citi® Hilton HHonors® Visa Signature® Card | |||||||||||||||||||||
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