How To Earn and Use Hilton Honors Points

The Hilton family of hotels and resorts consists of over 4,600 locations worldwide across 13 distinct brands.  This post will show you how to earn and use Hilton Honors points.

Earning Base and Bonus Points

Earn 10 Base Hilton Honors Points on room rates and other eligible room charges.   There are a couple of exceptions – Hampton By Hilton and Homewood Suites by Hilton will only earn 10 base points on the room rate.  Home2 Suites by Hilton earn 5 base points on room rate only. Hampton by Hilton located China are excluded from the Hilton Honors program entirely.

Earn Bonus Hilton Honors Points or airline miles on every stay as well.  You must register for the program you would like to participate in

• POINTS & POINTS: In addition to the 10 base points you will earn, by choosing “Points and Points” you will earn an additional 5 points per dollar on your room rate only.  Home2 Suites earn 2.5 bonus points on room rate.
• POINTS & MILES: In addition to your 10 base points earned, you can earn 1 mile per dollar spent on most stays by choosing “Points & Miles”.  There is a cap of 100 bonus miles per stay at Home2 Suites By Hilton.  There are a number of participating airlines including American, Delta and United.  Link: Full list of participating airlines.

Earning Points Through Credit Cards

Credit cards are a great way to accelerate your points earning.  There are 4 Hilton co-branded cards available.

Hilton Honors Card From American Express

• 7x points per dollar spent at hotels & resorts in the Hilton portfolio
• 5x points at U.S restaurants, grocery stores and gas stations
• 3x points on all other purchases

Citi Hilton Honors Visa Signature

• 6x points per dollar spent at hotels & resorts in the Hilton portfolio
• 3x points at grocery stores, drugstores and gas stations
• 2x points on all other purchases

Citi Hilton Honors Reserve

• 10x points per dollar spent at hotels & resorts in the Hilton portfolio
• 5x points on airline tickets and car rentals
• 3x points on all other purchases

Hilton Honors Surpass From American Express

• 12x points per dollar spent at hotels & resorts in the Hilton portfolio
• 6x points at U.S restaurants, grocery stores and gas stations
• 3x points on all other purchases

Other Ways To Earn Points

• Elite Status: Once you reach an elite status with Hilton Honors, you will earn a point bonus on your base points earned.   Earn a 15% bonus once you reach Silver status, a 25% bonus once you reach Gold status, and a 50% bonus once you achieve Diamond status.
• Shopping and Dining Portals: Click through Hilton’s shopping and dining portals for bonus points on your online shopping and dining out.

Link: Hilton Honors Shopping Mall

Link: Hilton Honors Dining

How To Use Hilton Honors Points

The number of Hilton Honors points for a free night varies by hotel category.

When searching for a property, be sure to check the box that says “Hilton Honors Rewards”.  This will show you the room cost in Hilton Honors points as well as the cash prices.  Hilton Honors points are generally worth less than other hotel points.  Their value is estimated at around .5 cents per point.  While I don’t put too much value in point valuations, I do use them as a guideline.

I have found point redemptions for some properties can vary wildly.  For example, in searching for award availability at the Grand Wailea on Maui, you will see prices from 70,000 points per night to over 160,000!  There is no way I would pay 160,000 points for one night in a hotel – this is one where you would want to book when the 70,000-80,000 point rooms are available.  It pays to be flexible!

Knowing how to earn and use Hilton Honors points is the key to making them a valuable currency to have.  While they aren’t my favorite type of hotel point, I do collect them (it’s good to have some variety).   Unless you are a mega Hilton fan and have super high status,  I wouldn’t suggest collecting Hilton points as your default.  (Choose a more flexible type of point like Chase Ultimate Rewards points or American Express Membership Rewards for that).

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