Get a 50% bonus on American Express transfers to Hilton Honors – but is it worth it?

Links on Head for Points may pay us an affiliate commission. A list of partners is here.

American Express emailed a lot of HfP readers yesterday with an attractive transfer bonus.

Between 21st November and 21st December, they will receive a 50% bonus on Membership Rewards transfers to Hilton Honors. The rate increases from 1:2 to 1:3.

This is very good. I value a Hilton Honors point at 0.33p. Because you can use Hilton points to part-pay cash bookings at roughly this level, even if you can’t get a standard redemption room, there is a floor beyond which the value won’t fall.

With the transfer bonus, you are getting around 1p per Amex Membership Rewards point. This is as good as it gets, and puts Hilton Honors transfers on a par with Radisson Rewards (usually 1:3 with a similar 0.33p per point value) and frequent flyer mile transfers (assuming 1p per mile of value).

The bad news is that the offer appears to be targeted. I didn’t get it (I have transferred to Hilton Honors before) and neither did my wife (no previous Hilton transfers). I have done a speculative 200 point transfer and will report back, but if you didn’t get the email you should assume that you are not getting the bonus.

If you DID get the email then it is well worth considering. It isn’t a knockout deal – as I said, it simply moves Hilton onto equal footing with Radisson and the airlines – but it is also as good as you’ll see for an Amex redemption.

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

American Express Membership Rewards, Hilton Honors

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

Mike Weatherall says:

22 Nov22 November 08:15

I have picked up 20k Amex points on Gold card and received Hilton offer
Not a Hilton Honors member but am a BA exec club holder . Should I sen to Avios only or some to Hilton? Grateful for advice
- Genghis says:
  
  22 Nov22 November 08:32
  
  Firstly think about your travel goals and which points you need to achieve them. In terms of pure value, I value HH a bit higher than Rob at about 0.4p so with this offer it’d be 1.2p vs 1p with avios.
  - Alan says:
    
    22 Nov22 November 08:55
    
    Indeed – 1.2p vs 0.75p (Avios) for me.
- Anna says:
  
  22 Nov22 November 08:41
  
  It depends on whether the Hilton points would work for you. You’d also need to join HH first!
- guesswho2000 says:
  
  22 Nov22 November 08:43
  
  Depends what you’re trying to achieve. Personally I value airline miles higher, because I’d put a higher price in being in comfort on a flight for an extended period of time, but if you’re just going to use them on short haul economy flights, then maybe they’re not as valuable.
  
  If your goal with Hilton is to redeem for uber expensive properties (such as Conrad Rangali Island, Conrad Tokyo, etc.) then you may well realise more than 0.33p/point value (1p per MR with the bonus), but bear in mind that, with a say 95,000 point hotel room requiring 31,667 MR points, the cash price of the room would need to be >£315 for you to be ahead (not difficult with the properties listed above, but the Hampton in Corby may not be such a worthwhile redemption, for example!).
  - Genghis says:
    
    22 Nov22 November 09:36
    
    Interesting thought process – IMO “cheap” pricing doesn’t necessarily mean poor value. I see using avios for short haul economy flights as even more useful than long haul due to the potential cash savings. Also redeeming for a cheap 10k HH night or whatever might actually be really good “value” in cash terms. But I would never value for something for more than I can buy the points for – otherwise I would just buy the points…
    - guesswho2000 says:
      
      22 Nov22 November 10:10
      
      I do agree, and it’s been often said on here that the “value” you get is only based on what you’d spend – yes a first class flight is great, but if you wouldn’t spend £10k on it to start with, you’re not saving £10k…fair point.
      
      I’ve often used points on short flights or cheap hotel rooms, where the cash outlay would be moderate, but the points value is massive. To clarify, I wouldn’t use points on long haul Y generally, as their value on long haul J/F is much greater to me, for the distances involved (I’d pay cash for J, but not F, under many circumstances, so J represents actual value, whereas F is aspirational, which I also place a ‘value’ on, EK F for example being a great use of QF points, which I’d never use on short haul flights – I book my short haul QF flights with Avios!).
      
      As for valuing things above the cost of the points, I have, and probably will again, purchased points in order to make redemptions – I do the sums, as it’s mostly not worthwhile, but sometimes if does work out (during bonus points or discount promos). Hilton points on low category stays are a prime example of where this makes sense, or buying Avios for J flights on QF around Australia, given the high cash prices and some of the distances involved (and flat beds on certain routes – the 45% promo is being highlighted over here at the moment for exactly that reason).
      
      No such thing as a bad redemption, if it works for the person redeeming!
Martin says:

22 Nov22 November 08:16

OT: Looking for Avios reward availability using Amex 241 from London to Sydney. The flight stops over at Singapore. In the BA website I can find availability from LON-SIN and from SIN-SYD, but when I look for LON-SYD it’s showing no availability.

Can anyone shed light? Do I need to ask call centre to make this booking? Thank you!
- guesswho2000 says:
  
  22 Nov22 November 08:39
  
  In what class? Definitely the same flight (BA15)? They might be blocking redemptions for the straight through, but I’d try calling them to check.
  
  Good luck finding availability on that route, it’s rare as, but as I said it’s worth a try, if you get it you’ve struck gold!
  - Martin says:
    
    25 Nov25 November 21:13
    
    In WT. Different flight. BA11 from LHR-SIN then BA15 from SIN-SYD. I went through call centre and all is good. These guys are awesome!
Mark says:

22 Nov22 November 08:18

I thought the first row of all E190s only contains 2 seats, hence the 6 (eg TAP). Getting proper business seats seems like quite a leap of faith
- Rob says:
  
  22 Nov22 November 09:08
  
  There are filed seat plans showing 3 seats per row.
Thywillbedone says:

22 Nov22 November 08:22

O/T
I’ve been offered 3,000 MR points by Amex for the first approved supplementary cardholder on my Amex Gold. If I get a supplementary card for my wife I assume this doesn’t mean she can’t apply for her own Gold card as and when the six months have expired since her last gold card was cancelled? Ie she will still be entitled to sign up bonus.
Thanks.
- Genghis says:
  
  22 Nov22 November 08:35
  
  The supplementary card would be on your account. Supps have no impact on own personal sign up bonuses. Bonuses are on accounts (primary cards), not supps.
- Alan says:
  
  22 Nov22 November 08:54
  
  MR points earned by supp go into main cardholder account therefore still eligible for their own sign-up offer.
- Rob says:
  
  22 Nov22 November 09:07
  
  Makes no difference, order away!
- Thywillbedone says:
  
  22 Nov22 November 15:13
  
  Thanks for the replies – as I suspected but wanted to be certain.
ROBERT FREUDMANN says:

22 Nov22 November 08:38

No offer for me neither, which is a shame as I would have gone for it. With no BA bonus offer in years (think it’s been what? 7-8 years or so?) I haven’t seen a decent transfer offer in a very long time.
Oh Matron! says:

22 Nov22 November 08:44

Speaking of Hilton, despite their poor IT implementation, both points and the underlying activity were updated on my account the very next day. Vast improvement
- Alan says:
  
  22 Nov22 November 08:58
  
  Ah is it finally sorted? Was taking about a week longer than usual for me a fortnight ago for things to post!
Ben says:

22 Nov22 November 09:11

O/T

What’s the best Priority Pass lounge to use at Gatwick North Terminal?
- Genghis says:
  
  22 Nov22 November 09:36
  
  No1 – if you can get in.
- Lumma says:
  
  22 Nov22 November 09:38
  
  If you can get in, number 1 traveller. But they might say they’re full and send you to the MyLounge if you don’t pay £5 to pre book
  - Mark says:
    
    22 Nov22 November 10:01
    
    I always prefer club rooms, I know its £20 but I have at least 3 glasses of champagne and a good meal so consider it money well spent.
Alan says:

22 Nov22 November 09:19

OT. Did anyone get the AMEX PayPal offer? If so, have you had the credit added to your account yet? My wife did hers 3 weeks ago, no email and no credit showing.
- Simon says:
  
  22 Nov22 November 09:28
  
  Yes I did. No credit after two paypal transactions also a few weeks ago
  - Alan says:
    
    22 Nov22 November 09:35
    
    OK cheers Simon
- Lee says:
  
  22 Nov22 November 09:58
  
  Got that on my 3 cards.
  Spent £30 + on 2, credit promptly. No credit for the other one with separate transactions.
- Jay says:
  
  22 Nov22 November 12:32
  
  Likewise still no credit showing – asked on chat if transaction was eligible and told yes but given usual jargon of wait up to 90 days.