The Complete Guide To Earning Hilton Honors Points

Sam Kemmis
By Sam Kemmis 
Updated
Edited by Mary M. Flory

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Hilton Honors points get a bad rap thanks to their deflated value. We currently value them at 0.5 cent per point.

Yet the real value of rewards points isn’t about how much they’re worth but a combination of how much they’re worth and how many you have. Hilton hands out plenty of points through hotel stays, credit card welcome bonuses and other promotions. So even if the points aren’t worth much, it’s relatively easy to amass a horde of them.

In this article we detail all the (useful) ways to earn Hilton points, starting with hotel stays.

Nerd note: The “points” we’re talking about in this article refer to redeemable points, which are the kind that can be used to book award nights. These are not elite-qualifying points. Read our guide to Hilton elite status for more details.

Hotel stays

Members receive 10 points per dollar spent on hotel bookings in the Hilton portfolio. This includes room charges such as food and drink but does not include any taxes. So if a room costs $100 + $40 in taxes, you’ll earn 1,000 Hilton points.

However, there are some important exceptions:

  • Rooms booked through a travel agent (including sites like Hotels.com and Booking.com) do not earn points.

  • Neither do group discounted rates or award bookings.

  • Nights at Home2 Suites and Tru properties earn only 5 points per dollar.

Elite status bonus points

Hilton elite members receive extra points on top of those described above. Here’s how it shakes out:

Hilton Honors™ Silver members: 20% bonus (12 points per dollar spent, total).

Hilton Honors™ Gold members: 80% bonus (18 points per dollar spent, total).

Hilton Honors™ Diamond members: 100% bonus (20 points per dollar spent, total).

Credit cards

Hilton’s co-branded credit cards offer four ways to earn points:

  1. Welcome bonuses.

  2. Spending at Hilton properties.

  3. Spending at U.S. restaurants, supermarkets and gas stations.

  4. Other spending.

In general, #1 is the fastest way to earn a bunch of points, as you can see in the table below. Some of Hilton’s welcome bonuses get pretty eye-popping, but keep in mind the relatively low 0.5 cent-per-point value.

All Hilton cards also offer complimentary elite status to cardholders, effectively increasing the point-per-dollar return.

Annual fee

$0.

$150.

$550.

Free night certificate

N/A

Certificate can be earned after spending $15,000 in a calendar year.

Initial certificate distributed when you are approved for the card and every year on your cardmember anniversary. Earn a second night when you spend $30,000 and a third night when you spend $60,000 on the card in a calendar year.

Elite status

Hilton Honors™ Silver.

Hilton Honors™ Gold.

Hilton Honors™ Diamond.

Welcome offer

Earn 100,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points after you spend $2,000 in purchases on the Card in the first 6 months of Card Membership. Offer ends 4/17/24. Terms Apply.

Earn 155,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points after you spend $3,000 in purchases on the Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Terms Apply.

Earn 150,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points after you spend $6,000 in purchases on the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card in the first 6 months of Card Membership. Terms Apply.

Buy points directly

Like most travel rewards programs, you can buy Hilton points with cash. Hilton doesn’t publish the cost of purchasing points publicly, so you can only see them by logging into your account.

When we checked, Hilton was running a promotion for double points, meaning we could purchase 20,000 points for $100, or 0.5 cent per point.

That’s an average deal, given our 0.5 cent per point valuation. Generally we discourage purchasing points directly because the cost outweighs the benefit, but if you have a specific redemption in mind (and receive a promotion like this one), go for it.

Pool and transfer

Taking a trip with a friend or family member who also has Hilton points? Hilton lets you pool or transfer your points together for free, which is a great benefit that more reward programs should copy.

Pooling points lets you create a group of up to 10 people who can each transfer their own points to the pool. Frankly, this is more complicated than it should be.

Transferring points lets you simply move your points from one account to another. For most situations, including booking a group trip, this is likely the simpler solution.

Transfer partners

The option above lets you transfer between friends and family, but you can also convert points and miles from other programs into Hilton points. Hilton calls this “exchanging” on their website to avoid confusion.

Here are the programs you can transfer to Hilton Honors, and their transfer ratios (a 1:2 ratio means 1,000 points becomes 2,000 Hilton points).

  • American Express Membership Rewards (1:2).

  • Diner’s Club (1.25:2).

  • Hawaiian Airlines (2:3).

  • Virgin Atlantic Airways (2:3).

In general, the juice ain’t worth the squeeze on these points transfers (you can get better value elsewhere). That said, if you need a few more Hilton points for a redemption, consider dipping into these other reward points.

Other bonus points

  • Dining. You can earn bonus points by signing up for and using Hilton’s dining program. You’ll get 1,000 points the first time you use it, and a variable number of points per dollar spent after attaching a credit card to your Hilton Dining account. In general, this is a good way to double-dip on credit card points, but it’s not necessarily worth going out of your way for.

  • Events. If you’re a professional planner or organizing your own wedding at a Hilton property, don’t miss the extra point per dollar spent on events. You’ll have to reach out to Hilton directly to get the points, and not all hotels are eligible, so this only makes sense for truly dedicated points collectors or full-time planners.

  • Car rentals. Hilton partners with Alamo, National and Enterprise for car rentals. The number of bonus points varies by partner and the cost of the rental, but it might be worth attaching your Hilton account to your next road trip.

  • Lyft. You can get 3x Hilton points per dollar spent on regular Lyft rides and 2x points on Lyft shared rides when you connect your Honors account.

All information about the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card has been collected independently by NerdWallet. The Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card is no longer available through NerdWallet.

How to maximize your rewards

You want a travel credit card that prioritizes what’s important to you. Here are our picks for the best travel credit cards of 2024, including those best for:

Cards for Hilton from our Partners
Chase Sapphire Preferred Credit Card

on Chase's website

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
5.0
NerdWallet Rating
Rewards rate

1x-5x

5x on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards®, 3x on dining, select streaming services and online groceries, 2x on all other travel purchases, 1x on all other purchases.

Points

Intro offer

60,000

Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $750 toward travel when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards®.

Points
Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card

on Capital One's website

Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
4.7
NerdWallet Rating
Rewards rate

2x-5x

Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, every day. Earn 5X miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel, where you'll get Capital One's best prices on thousands of trip options.

Miles

Intro offer

75,000

Enjoy a one-time bonus of 75,000 miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within 3 months from account opening, equal to $750 in travel.

Miles
Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card

on Capital One's website

Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card
4.9
NerdWallet Rating
Rewards rate

2x-10x

Earn unlimited 10X miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel and 5X miles on flights booked through Capital One Travel, Earn unlimited 2X miles on all other purchases.

Miles

Intro offer

75,000

Earn 75,000 bonus miles when you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening, equal to $750 in travel.

Miles
See more cards for hilton
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