Hilton Honors points often get a bad rap in comparison to their competitors like Marriott and Hyatt. As per most estimates and analysts, you can get an average return of anywhere between 0.4 to 0.6 cents per point value out of your Hilton Honors points. I’ve been a Hilton loyalist for over 15 years. Over the years, I’ve booked some of my most memorable trips using Hilton points for outsized value, well over the 0.4-0.6 cents per point range. My most recent Hilton points redemption was for a booking that I just made at the Hampton By Hilton Edinburgh West End for an upcoming trip to Scotland in the summer.
Also Read: Maximizing Hilton Honors points for 8-15 free nights in India!
Also Read: My latest Hyatt points redemption: Over 4 cents per point!
Hilton Points Redemption: Yielding 0.92 cents per point!
In this particular case, I was looking to book a three night stay from June 3 to June 6. After looking around, I decided to finalize the Hampton by Hilton Edinburgh West End, since I wanted a property around the Royal Mile area.
On Hilton’s website, the property was showing up for 40,000 points per night, with a cash rate of $367 per night.
I ended up paying a total of 120,000 Hilton Honors points per night for a 3 night stay. The total cash rate for 3 nights would’ve been $1,103 had I booked the stay entirely with cash.
Getting outsized value
If you have Silver status or higher, you get the 5th night free with Hilton while booking with points. In essence, you pay with points for 4 nights and get the 5th night free. In my case, I only needed to book a 3 night stay. If I’d booked a 5 night stay, my cpp value would’ve been even higher. I would’ve paid a total of 120,000 points for a 5 night stay!
Moreover, it’s really easy to earn Silver elite status with Hilton. In fact, you can earn all the way up to top level Diamond status with Hilton quite easily. All you have to do is carry a co-branded Hilton credit card in your wallet. American Express is currently running limited time welcome bonuses on their Hilton cards. You can earn up to 175,000 points and one free night certificate from a single welcome bonus.
| Credit Card | Welcome Bonus Offer | Application Link | Complimentary Elite Status |
| Hilton Honors Card | 100,000 points | Apply Now | Silver |
| Hilton Surpass Card | 155,000 points | Apply Now | Gold |
| Hilton Aspire Card | 175,000 points + 1 free night certificate | Apply Now | Diamond |
| Hilton Business Card | 175,000 points | Apply Now | Gold |
The Pundit’s Mantra
In previous blog posts, I’ve written extensively about points valuations. They’re not the be all and end all of points redemptions. However, they serve as a decent guide for most people to understand the value they’re getting when they redeem their points.
In my opinion, Hilton Honors is still an underrated program. Yes, the redemption values are highly inflated. However, it’s also very easy to earn Hilton points. Moreover, co-branded Hilton cards help you rack up Hilton points very quickly, especially if you stay frequently at Hilton properties or spend in one of the bonus points yielding categories.
Which is your favorite hotel loyalty program? Tell us in the comments section.
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Congrats – while I typically get the standard .05-.06 per point getting that 5th night free really helps. Also, I once got almost 2 cent a point at the Hilton Imperial Dubrovnik. If you take advantage of the 5th night free and selectively pick hotels you can get great value from Hilton.
My latest redemption was a free night certificate I was able to use next Thursday at the Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills. A Hilton rep actually found a standard room (usually 120,000 points) available and booked it. Checked the rates and that room is over $1100 if I had paid for the night! Can’t wait to stay there and the quarterly $50 Surpass credit will cover most of the $70 valet bill (only charge since no resort fee, believe it or not, at that hotel)
That’s amazing. Similarly, you can get well over 2 cents per point in the Maldives as well. The price ranges are anywhere between 95k points to 150k points but the cash rates are insane, well over $2.5k per night in some cases. And as you said, 5th night free always helps in adding more value!