Using Hilton HHonors ‘points and money’ to maximise value
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Hilton HHonors underwent a major devaluation in 2013 which severely impacted the ‘aspirational’ elements of the programme. A top-end property in London or New York will now cost you up to 80,000 points per night, compared with just 60,000 points for an InterContinental redemption with IHG Rewards Club.
I currently value Hilton HHonors point at £3 per 1,000 when used for top-end properties, based on 80,000 points for a £250 room.
Luckily, Hilton’s ‘points and money’ rewards were not hit so hard.
‘Points and money’ rewards let you book a room for just 40% of the cost of a normal award night, plus a cash sum. You don’t need to be a maths genius to realise that, as long as this cash sum is less than 60% of the normal room rate for the hotel, you will be getting better value for your points.
Unfortunately, ‘points and money’ rewards are not always available. Because they are basically a way for a hotel to discount the cost of redemption nights, they tend to be held back for quiet periods. However, they can still offer value.
Today I want to take a more detailed look at the Doubletree London Victoria as an example of ‘points and money’ availability.
For Saturday 11th September:
Cancellable Hilton HHonors cash rate: £242
‘All points’ redemption: 60,000 points
‘Points and money’ redemption: 24,000 points + £65
The ‘all points’ redemption gets you £4.03 per 1,000 points – better than my 0.3p per point benchmark. ‘Points and money’ gets you £4.91 per 1,000, which is 20% better and near my benchmark of 0.5p.
Because the cash element is fixed, you can find even more extreme examples on days where standard room rates are very high and where ‘points and money’ is showing. If you can find availability, it does offer better value for your Hilton HHonors points.
How to earn Hilton Honors points and status from UK credit cards (April 2024)
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 Premium and MeliaRewards Gold status. We reviewed American Express Platinum in detail here and you can apply here.
The Platinum Card from American Express
40,000 bonus points and a huge range of valuable 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 Amex points)
- American Express Rewards Credit Card (10,000 bonus Amex points)
and for small business owners:
- American Express Business Gold (20,000 bonus Amex points)
- American Express Business Platinum (40,000 bonus Amex points)
The conversion rate from American Express to Hilton points is 1:2.
(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.)
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