What are Hilton Honors points worth?

The Hilton Honors program features more than 6,200 properties around the globe, which makes it one of the largest hotel loyalty programs worldwide. Free night awards start at 5,000 points and go all the way up to 95,000 points for a standard room, and you can even pay for your stay with a combination of points and cash if you prefer.

But how much are Hilton Honors points worth? That really depends on when you want to travel, the Hilton property you want to stay in and additional factors that may or may not be in your control. Still, there are plenty of ways to maximize Hilton points value if you’re willing to put in some effort and be flexible with your travel plans.

Understanding Hilton Honors points value

Hilton Honors point value varies, but it is determined by looking at the per-point value for specific redemptions. Since Hilton doesn’t follow an award calendar—and since they use dynamic award pricing instead—it’s difficult to know the “average” value of points in this program without comparing the cost of reservations at various properties throughout the year.

The value listed below is based on rewards availability, the average value across several different properties and any additional fees you might have to pay if you use points.

What are Hilton points worth?

According to recent valuations from Bankrate, Hilton Honors points are worth approximately 0.6 cents each. This valuation makes them about average among popular hotel loyalty programs, although some hotel points are worth considerably more or somewhat less. For example, points in the World of Hyatt program are worth around 2.3 cents each, while IHG Rewards points are only worth 0.7 cents each.

The following chart shows the average value of hotel points right now across the top hotel rewards programs:

How to get the most value from Hilton points

Getting more than 0.6 cents per point for your Hilton Honors points is easier than you might think if you’re flexible with your travel plans. Remember, the Hilton point value we report in this guide represents the average value you can receive, but it’s possible to get more or less.

If your goal is maximizing your Hilton points value, consider these tips:

Book standard rooms in high-end luxury properties

First off, you’re more likely to get more bang for your buck if you use Hilton Honors points for luxury resorts that have exorbitant nightly rates. For example, you could book a Beach Villa at the Conrad Maldives Rangali Island for 95,000 points per night or $902 in December. Booking with points, in this case, would mean getting a Hilton Honors point value of 0.9 cents each, which is higher than average.

Get your 5th night free

Also, keep in mind that you’ll get a 5th night free when you book at least four consecutive nights and you have Hilton Honors™ Silver elite status or higher. This means you can book five nights in points for the regular price of four, which helps you stretch your Hilton Honors point value by 25 percent.

Interestingly, you don’t have to be a frequent traveler to get at least Silver status with the Hilton Honors brand. That’s because the Hilton Honors American Express Card offers automatic Silver elite status for cardholders plus other benefits with no annual fee.

You can also get complimentary Hilton Honors elite status through The Platinum Card® from American Express. This American Express card offers automatic Hilton Honors Gold Status, among many other travel benefits. The card also carries an annual fee of $695.

Be flexible with travel dates

Due to the dynamic nature of awards in the Hilton Honors program, it pays to be flexible with your travel dates. You may find the same hotel requires significantly more (or fewer) points over a small range of dates and that you can save in a big way if you’re willing to go with the flow and travel during off-peak dates.

You may also find award nights for fewer points on weekdays instead of weekends.

Hilton Honors transfer partners

While Hilton Honors points are worth more when you use them for hotel stays, you also have the option to transfer your points away from Hilton and into various frequent flyer programs. Hilton airline and rail partners include the following:

• Aeroflot
• Aeromexico
• Aeroplan
• AirAsia BIG
• Air New Zealand
• Alaska Airlines
• American Airlines
• Amtrak
• ANA All Nippon
• Asiana Airlines
• British Airways
• Cathay Pacific
• China Eastern
• Delta Air Lines
• Emirates
• Ethiopian Airlines
• Etihad Airways
• Eurowings
• EVA Air
• Finnair
• Flying Blue (Air France/KLM)
• Frontier Airways
• Garuda Indonesia
• Hainan Airlines
• Hawaiian Airlines
• Japan Airlines
• Jet Airways
• LAN
• Malaysia Airlines
• Philippine Airlines
• Qantas Airways
• Qatar Airlines
• SAS Scandinavian Airlines
• Saudi Arabian Airlines
• Singapore Airlines
• South African Airways
• Turkish Airlines
• United Airlines
• Virgin Atlantic
• Virgin Australia

Also, keep in mind that some partners let you transfer points from other programs into the Hilton Honors programs. Partners that let you transfer their points to Hilton include the following:

• American Express Membership Rewards
• Amtrak
• Hawaiian Airlines
• Virgin Atlantic Airways

How to transfer Hilton points

To transfer points from the Hilton Honors rewards program to one of its travel partners, you’ll first need to set your preferred travel partners in your Hilton Honors account. Navigate to your account preferences and choose the program you want to transfer to from the drop-down list. You’ll need to enter your account number to link your two rewards accounts together.

Once you’ve chosen your transfer partner, go to the Hilton points exchange to complete your transfer. Select your rewards partner from the list and check the exchange rate between the two programs. If you accept the rate, hit “next” to choose how many points to send to the other program and complete the exchange.

Are Hilton Honors points worth it?

Only you can decide if Hilton Honors points are worth it or not, but there are plenty of reasons this program is one of the most popular hotel loyalty programs out there. For starters, Hilton Honors points may not be worth quite as much as points in a few other hotel loyalty programs, but they’re extremely easy to earn. Not only do you earn 10 Base Points for each dollar you spend on stays in Hilton properties, but you can earn even more points on Hilton stays if you have elite status. Plus, Hilton credit cards let you earn up to 14x points per dollar spent with the brand, and you earn this on top of the base points you earn for being a member.

Hilton also makes it easier than other programs to earn their top level of elite status, known as Hilton Diamond status. In fact, you can get automatic Hilton Diamond membership just for signing up for the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Credit Card.

Also, consider the fact that Hilton boasts an array of properties all over the globe ranging from luxury resorts in far-flung destinations to Hilton Garden Inn and Homewood Suites. That makes these points useful whether you crave a high-end getaway, a road trip or anything in between.

The bottom line

Hilton Honors points may not be as valuable as some other types of rewards you can earn with a credit card, but they’re still worth pursuing if you love to stay with Hilton hotels. This is especially true if you’re willing to pick a hotel credit card from Hilton since they all offer generous welcome bonuses and points for each dollar you spend.