Here’s how much Hilton Honors points are worth — and how to get the best value from them #CashNews.co

Among Hilton’s more than 8,400 properties across the globe, you can find a wide range of hotels and resorts for any type of travel. Hilton brands include everything from luxury Waldorf Astoria and Conrad properties to budget options like Hampton and Spark by Hilton.

If you’re a member of the Hilton Honors loyalty program, you can also earn points to use toward future stays at Hilton hotels. Plus, get added perks while traveling, hotel room upgrades, on-property discounts, and more.

But before you book your next trip, it’s smart to know the value of your Hilton points and how you can use them to best maximize your travel savings.

Based on our valuations, Hilton Honors points are worth about $0.63 each. That’s an average value of around $63 for every 10,000 Hilton Honors points you earn.

Hilton Honors award bookings are dynamic, so the number of points per night varies depending on the property you choose, when you book, when you stay, and other factors.

So while around $0.60 per point is the average, you could book award nights worth $0.01 per point or more. But you’ll also see award bookings worth less than $0.30 per point compared to the cash price.

As an example, let’s say you’re planning a trip to Mexico City and booking your hotel two months in advance. You can save a lot of money by comparing different hotel options.

You could stay a single night at the Umbral, a Curio Collection by Hilton hotel in the historic city center for about $195 ($233 after tax) or 50,000 points. That puts the value of your points for this stay at around $0.47 each — under our average valuation.

Alternatively, you could stay less than a mile away at the Hilton Mexico City Reforma for about $312 ($372 after tax) or 40,000 points for the night. Your points for the same night in this hotel are worth a much higher $0.93 each.

In this case, the boutique Umbral hotel may be a great choice if you’re booking with cash. But using points, the Hilton hotel is a much better value for your rewards. Before you book any upcoming trip, compare the value of using your Hilton points at different properties to find the one that best fits your schedule and budget.

Read more: Best travel credit cards

The value of Hilton Honors points may be less than some other loyalty travel brands — and less than the $0.01 per point value we like to see from travel rewards in general — but you can also earn points relatively quickly if you’re a Hilton regular.

One of the fastest ways to collect Hilton Honors points is with a credit card.

Hilton Honors co-branded credit cards typically boost the number of points you’ll earn on paid stays as well as everyday purchases — and their sign-up bonuses can sometimes offer more than 100,000 bonus points. You can also earn Membership Rewards points with an eligible American Express travel credit card, then transfer your points to the Hilton Honors program.

Read our full reviews of American Express Membership Rewards cards:
The Platinum Card® from American Express
American Express® Gold Card

Another common way to earn Hilton Honors points is by staying at Hilton properties around the world. The points you’ll earn on hotel stays depend on the brand you choose and the region you’re in, but you can also boost your earnings as a Hilton Honors elite member.

For each elite status you achieve — whether you earn it through annual Hilton stays or with a Hilton credit card — you can earn bonus points on top of the base 10 points per dollar spent:

Earning Hilton Honors elite status can also help you maximize point redemptions. With Silver, Gold, or Diamond status, you’ll get your fifth night free on any stay booked with points. For longer vacations, this can help you increase the overall value of the points you put toward your trip.

You can also earn Hilton points on rideshares when you link your Hilton Honors account to Lyft, on dining at select restaurants through Hilton Dining, or by renting a car from Hilton partners.

These are a few of our favorite credit cards that earn points you can use toward future Hilton stays:

Why we like it: The Amex Gold card is a great option for earning Membership Rewards points at home that you can use on future travel. It has solid rewards rates on restaurants worldwide and U.S. grocery stores (up to limits) as well as on travel spending. However, you’ll only earn 2x points on hotels you book through AmexTravel.com, not directly with Hilton. When you’re ready to use your Amex points, you can transfer them to Hilton Honors points. For every 1,000 Membership Rewards points you transfer, you’ll get 2,000 Hilton Honors points.

The Amex Gold also has plenty of annual benefits that can increase your value, including an $84 Dunkin’ credit (up to $7 monthly; with enrollment), a $100 Resy credit (up to $50 semi-annually; with enrollment), a $120 dining credit at eligible locations (up to $10 monthly; with enrollment), and more.

Read our full American Express Gold Card review

Why we like it: The Hilton Honors American Express Surpass Card earns its highest rewards on Hilton spending — but you’ll get plenty of points in other categories, too. Earn 6x points at U.S. restaurants, U.S. supermarkets, and U.S. gas stations, as well as 4x points on U.S. online retail purchases. Online retail rewards isn’t a common category among travel cards, but it can be lucrative if you buy your essentials online.

In addition to rewards, the Hilton Surpass Card offers great savings when you travel and stay with Hilton. Benefits include complimentary Gold status with the ability to upgrade to Diamond after spending $40,000 on your card in a calendar year; a Free Night Award after spending $15,000 in a calendar year; up to $50 in quarterly statement credits for eligible purchases at Hilton properties; and more.

Read our full review of the Hilton Honors American Express Surpass Card

Why we like it: The Hilton Honors American Express Card has no annual fee (see rates & fees) but still offers big value for travelers who like to stay at Hilton hotels. On top of rewards for Hilton spending, you’ll earn bonus points at U.S. restaurants, U.S. gas stations, and U.S. supermarkets. With those boosted rewards in everyday categories and a baseline 3x points on all non-bonus category spending, you can quickly spend toward a free night.

Annual benefits for the Hilton Honors Amex card are light, but you will get automatic Silver status, which comes with perks like your fifth night free on award stays, two free water bottles upon arrival at Hilton hotels, a 20% bonus on the base points you earn per hotel stay, and more.

Read our full Hilton Honors American Express Card review

Using your rewards for hotel stays may be one of the best uses of your Hilton Honors points, but there are some other redemption options. You can use points from Hilton to pay for Lyft rides, redeem them for car rentals with Hilton’s partners, shop with points on Amazon or through Hilton’s online portal, and more.

You can also pool points between accounts and transfer points to friends or family members if you want to combine the points you’ve earned toward an upcoming trip.

Related: Best credit cards for hotels

To find the value of Hilton Honors points, we compared the cash rate of different Hilton hotel stays to the cost of booking with points.

We evaluated more than two dozen one-night stays booked under a year in advance (from less than one month up to nine months). The hotels for these stays are located across small U.S. cities, large U.S. cities, and international destinations. They also encompass different types of properties within Hilton’s portfolio — from mid-tier and boutique hotels to budget stays and luxury resorts. For consistency, we compared the lowest refundable standard room rates for Hilton Honors members and included taxes and fees for the cash price.

To get the best value for your Hilton points, be flexible with your dates, take time to compare different properties, and book well in advance when you can.

This article was edited by Alicia Hahn

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