What do my recent Hilton redemptions say about the value of a Hilton Honors point?

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EDIT: This article was published in 2015. We published a detailed 2021 article on ‘What is a Hilton Honors point worth?’ which you can find here.

I’ve done two Hilton Honors redemption stays in the past week – my first visits to Hilton properties since our impressive stay at Hilton St Georges Park when we visited Thomas (the Tank Engine) Land last year.

I thought I would look at these two redemptions in the context the ‘0.3p per Hilton Honors point’ valuation (0.5p for ‘cash and points’) which I often quote on Head for Points. Does it stand up to scrutiny?

Hilton London Syon Park on Hilton Honors points

The first stay was last Saturday night at Hilton London Syon Park. I will write a full review of this property in a few days. We needed to get out of the house for a night due to over-running building work and I was keen to see how the hotel had changed since it was downgraded from a Waldorf-Astoria in 2013.

I need to confess something. I screwed up this reservation.

We only decided to go on the Thursday when it was clear the builders were not going anywhere. I looked on the Hilton website and saw it was still in the Summer Sale at £160 per night or 60,000 points. We needed two connecting rooms so that was £320. Using cash was a no-brainer.

However, if I paid with my Hilton credit card then I would get 2,500 bonus points (your first four stays in your first year of the credit card earn this bonus). I put off booking until I got home and could get the card number …. only to find the sale rates pulled. Disaster.

I was now looking at £240 or 60,000 Hilton Honors points per room. That works out at 0.4p per Hilton Honors point, so a little more than my 0.3p valuation.

However … some Hilton properties offer a 2nd room for children at half-price if you call. If that had been available – I didn’t ring to ask – it would have brought the total cost for two rooms to £360 or 120,000 points. That is exactly 0.3p. It would also have been 0.3p of value based on the sale rate which was pulled literally 2-3 hours before I booked.

At the end of the day, I was happy to use points for this one. There was a psychological barrier to paying £480 for a sub-24 hour stay at a hotel 7 miles from my house!

The photograph below is not the hotel. It is the conservatory in the hotel grounds.

Reichshof Hamburg, Curio Collection by Hilton on Honors points

On Tuesday night, I was in Hamburg. Being on my own, and not arriving until 5.30pm, I wasn’t keen to spend cash but I also wanted something smart. The hugely expensive refurbishment of the art deco Reichshof hotel seemed to fit the bill.

I had written about the Reichshof and the new Hilton ‘Curio Collection’ here. The opening date was meant to be May but got pushed back to August. However, I found out over the weekend that it had now opened.

Even better, ‘cash and points’ rates were showing. The best cash rate was €149 – which itself is low as the hotel has just opened and needs to attract visitors. The ‘cash and points’ rate was €47 plus 12,000 Hilton HHonors points.

This was a good result. I was getting 0.85 Eurocents per Hilton point. You can’t complain on that basis.

(0.85 Eurocents is, not coincidentally, in line with the 0.5p per Hilton point I often quote as my target on a ‘cash and points’ redemption.)

You can learn more about the Reichshof on its website here. My review is on the way.

What is a Hilton Honors point worth?

Whilst these were two totally different redemptions, they justified (roughly) my target valuations of 0.3p per Hilton Honors points for a ‘full’ redemption and 0.5p for a ‘cash and points’ redemption.

Before anyone asks ….. were my Hilton Gold benefits provided?

Syon Park– no upgrade (claimed to be busy with a wedding, but I’ve never been to a wedding where the guests booked all the expensive rooms and left the cheap ones behind!), free breakfast provided (and they do an impressive spread), 4 x £10 free drink vouchers provided (2 per room), 2pm check-out given on one of the two rooms we booked. Overall view – happy.

Reichshof – upgraded to a large room (but was told it was ‘because we not full’, my Gold status was not mentioned!) and later to a Junior Suite after some ‘issues’, free breakfast provided, 2pm check-out provided. Overall view – happy.

How to earn Hilton Honors points and status from UK credit cards (December 2021)

There are various ways of earning Hilton Honors points from UK credit cards. Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses.

Do you know that holders of The Platinum Card from American Express receive FREE Hilton Honors Gold status for as long as they hold the card? It also comes with Marriott Bonvoy Gold, Radisson Rewards Gold and MeliaRewards Gold status. We reviewed American Express Platinum in detail here and you can apply here.

The Platinum Card from American Express

30,000 points and an unbeatable set of travel benefits – for a fee Read our full review

Did you know that the Virgin Atlantic credit cards are a great way of earning Hilton Honors points? Two Virgin Points can be converted into three Hilton Honors points. The Virgin Atlantic cards are the only Visa or Mastercard products in the UK which can indirectly earn Hilton Honors points. You can apply here.

You can also earn Hilton Honors points indirectly with American Express Gold (20,000 bonus points), the American Express Rewards Credit Card (5,000 bonus points) and – for small business owners – American Express Business Gold (20,000 bonus points) and Business Platinum (40,000 bonus points).

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which can be used to earn Hilton Honors points.

(Want to earn more hotel points? Click here to see our complete list of promotions from the major hotel chains or use the ‘Hotel Offers’ link in the menu bar at the top of the page.)

Category

Hilton Honors

This article is closed to new posts. Discussion continues in the HfP Forums.

Stuart says:

25 Jul25 July 06:15

Is it possible to combine one night cash and points and one night as a reward redemption? Would have to do this on the phone as it’s not available online?

In general do both redemption options stays count towards status? Obviously not two stays on one booking but in general?
- mark2 says:
  
  25 Jul25 July 06:59
  
  You have to book a reward redemption by phone (I assume you mean from credit card).
  I have booked two reward notes and a paid night consecutively (3 nights) at a hotel and asked the call centre to put a note on the first night to avoid changing rooms. Make the paid night the first especially if better than basic room and/or you have status.
  Redemption stays do count for status.
mark2 says:

25 Jul25 July 06:54

In my very limited experience, the value of a point depends on how you obtain it and how you spend it.
In the last promotion I bought 30,000 points for USD300 (£193.74 @ 1.5485 and no FX charge on Lloyds Reward + 2 Avios per £). I received additional 30,000 points free.
We have just used those 60,000 points for seven nights in Hampton Inns (5 @ 10,000 and 2 @ 5,000 in four stays); nothing special, but quite acceptable. Because of Hilton promotions I got 5,000 points back for the first three stays in late June/early July and 2,500 per each of three stays from Barclaycard (I missed spending on one stay). So you could argue that I only bought 7,500 points; irrespective I have still got 22,500 points for further stays. Three of the stays were ‘real’ and I did go and stay the night in Newport specially.
Thanks again to Rob for all the information augmented by the other contributors.

Having got a Hilton credit card I was already Silver (thanks Rob). On advice on here I got a Gold challenge via HRG and as a result of these stays I received notification of my Gold status, ironically alongside this email from Rob.
It seems to me that in 50,000 point hotels it is barely worth buying points even on BOGOF and would not be economic at normal rate. If you earn them by spending etc. the sums are very different.
The value of a point also varies according to whether it is the first or last one you get. Points are worthless until you have enough to exchange for something; we all must have a small number of points in various schemes which will never be worth anything. The last few points to achieve a longed for flight or stay, however, are priceless.
- mark2 says:
  
  25 Jul25 July 07:42
  
  Of course, their is no benefit in having Gold status when you stay in a Hampton Inn.
  In Sep/Oct we are staying in ‘real’ Hiltons in Toronto and Quebec City and it will be interesting to see what extras, if any, we receive. Although, of course, we shall not know what we would have got as Silver.
  - Jason says:
    
    25 Jul25 July 08:25
    
    I did a similar thing, on a HRG challenge, and gold was effectively free. 4 nights, for both of us, at the Hampton Corby( 3 mattress runs and 1 stay) for 5000 pts per night, during the 5000bonus per stay.
    Intending to use the statues for free breakfasts at the Conrad Rangali next year, saving $840 in breakfasts. Would be very handy if they honoured both gold holders + 2 kids in our room 🙂
    - Mr(s) Entitled says:
      
      25 Jul25 July 09:03
      
      Awesome place. Simply the best use of points. Enjoy.
    - Dan says:
      
      25 Jul25 July 14:02
      
      Sorry if this is obvious – what’s a HRG challenge?
asjg says:

25 Jul25 July 07:25

OT, however, I spent a very pleasant 7 nights at the Hilton Salahah in Oman last week. At only 5K per night, it really is worth it. It’s a decent hotel and there’s plenty to do in the area. I hired a car for the week which I think was the best course of action. It’s only 90 minutes from Dubai or Muscat and it’s about 10°C cooler, perfect for an expat trying to escape the heat!

My next stop is Dubai in a few weeks time. I’ve gone down the route of full redemptions for the DoubleTree in Al Barsha. Not quite as glamorous as the beach front properties in Jumeirah but close to Emirates Mall and the metro line. Managed to get a studio room (with kitchen) for 30K per night.
James says:

25 Jul25 July 07:52

Recently bagged a last minute cash + points stay at the Hilton Rome airport for a solid 0.8p per point – I was very happy with that! Also got upgraded to an exec room with lounge access on arrival, result!
Kai says:

25 Jul25 July 08:19

Regarding the cc 2500 bonus: Do you have to pay with this credit cardvto get the bonus for your stays? I didn’t see it anywhere on the websites.
- mark2 says:
  
  25 Jul25 July 08:38
  
  you need to pay for something, not necessarily for the room. I paid for a snack; someone else mentioned a bag of crisps.
  I don’t think it is written anywhere, but otherwise Barclaycard do not know that you stayed. I forgot on one stay but still have one in reserve.
  - Kai says:
    
    25 Jul25 July 08:47
    
    Thanks!
  - Jason says:
    
    25 Jul25 July 09:17
    
    In theory, could you walk into a Hampton, buy a drink on your Hilton card, and get the bonus?
    - Raffles says:
      
      25 Jul25 July 11:11
      
      No, points credit with the stay points
      - Dan says:
        
        25 Jul25 July 14:04
        
        On my last couple of stays I’ve found that just handing over my Hilton cc at reception for them to preauthorise for extras was enough to trigger the 2500 point bonus
      - YL says:
        
        25 Jul25 July 14:10
        
        +1
      - Kai says:
        
        25 Jul25 July 16:19
        
        That’s a great tip, thx!
      - Rob says:
        
        25 Jul25 July 20:33
        
        Interesting. I actually handed over a different card in Hamburg as my Hilton was in my bag. Paid on the Hilton card in the end but no 2,500 points. Did get the 1,500 points bonus for staying at a Curio hotel, which ends on the 31st.
      - YL says:
        
        25 Jul25 July 23:21
        
        My 2500 points came a couple of days later than the stay points. It posted separately.
        I was surprised to see them, as my stays were prepaid and I only used the card for preauthorising any extra.
  - Richmond says:
    
    26 Jul26 July 22:15
    
    You don’t have to use Hilton credit card for your hotel booking or spending. I had 4 stays since getting the Hilton card. One stay was cash and I paid with different card I use for foreign transactions, next 3 stays were award stays and I also received bonus points. So got my 10K bonus points without using the card at Hilton.
Brian says:

25 Jul25 July 08:41

I’m not sure you can call 149 euros ‘low’ for Hamburg, particularly if you don’t have Hilton status and thereby free breakfast etc. I go to Hamburg on a regular basis and most of the other upper-end hotels in that category (Renaissance, Meridien, Sofitel) are generally under 150. Plus they have much better locations, unless you particularly want to be close to the station, in which case the Kempinski is, too, and offers views over the lake.
mark2 says:

25 Jul25 July 09:02

Slightly OT
If I book a Hilton hotel through a third party e.g. Hotels.com or as part of a holiday package I do not expect to get points but would my Gold status give me any benefit please from your experience?
- Rob says:
  
  25 Jul25 July 09:39
  
  It used to – see my review of Hilton Munich. They just changed the rules to stop this but some hotels may still allow it.
  - DW201 says:
    
    25 Jul25 July 14:23
    
    I’ve not been refused benefits as of yet and I almost live in hiltons and often book 3rd party….
mark2 says:

25 Jul25 July 09:04

If my wife (Silver) books a room and I (Gold) go with her will the stay get Gold privilege or just Silver?
- Kipto says:
  
  25 Jul25 July 09:29
  
  I did this last year. I showed my gold card at the Hilton in Palm Springs and they gave us vouchers for free breakfast. It may vary from hotel to hotel and on who you get at reception !
- Rob says:
  
  25 Jul25 July 09:38
  
  Only if hotel is feeling generous, which they often do