Some interesting facts about Hilton Honors and what they mean

When Hilton announced the changes to the Hilton Honors programme recently they included the following slide.  It contains some fascinating statistics about the scheme:

It is worth having a look at what some of these numbers mean.

60 million members is a stupidly high number – and this is still less than IHG Rewards Club which quoted 70 million last time I looked.  We are talking about managing a customer base which is basically the size of the UK population.  I’ve no idea how many people Hilton has to employ to oversee all this but it must be huge.  Even if only 1% of members had the need the contact Hilton in any particular year, that would be 600,000 calls or emails.

(For comparison, Avios has 7 million members.  There is also duplication here from people who have BA, avios.com and potentially Iberia Plus accounts and so get counted three times.)

7m award nights were redeemed in 2016.  This is huge.  Hilton has 4,700 hotels in its system.  This means that the average property is doing four reward rooms per night, every night.  In reality, those redemptions will be skewed towards specific properties in specific cities.  One of the side effects of the changes to the programme will be to make redemptions at ‘average’ properties more attractive, especially off peak.

95% of members book direct.  I am very surprised by this, because Hilton has been at the forefront of aggressively promoting direct booking versus using Expedia etc.  As members make up 55% of room nights, and 95% of that 55% is booked direct, you need to question how much of a problem indirect booking via Expedia etc really is.  Even if half of all bookings via non-members came via third party channels, that would only represent 25% of total room nights.  In reality it will be smaller as much of the business from non-HH members will be groups who contract directly.

Signing up 9m new members last year is a major achievement.  It isn’t surprising, of course, given that the Hilton website now tells you that you will get a better price if you join, but the sheer scale of this is impressive.

If you ever believe that the major hotel loyalty programmes are sideshows to their core business, think again.  As you can see from the numbers above, you are dealing with a membership base the size of a major country.

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How to earn Hilton Honors points and status from UK credit cards (March 2025)

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

There are two dedicated Hilton Honors debit cards. These are especially attractive when spending abroad due to the 0% or 0.5% FX fee, depending on card.

You also receive FREE Hilton Honors status for as long as you hold the debit cards – Gold status with the Plus card and Silver status with the basic card. This is a great reason to apply even if you rarely use it.

We reviewed the Hilton Honors Plus Debit Card here and the Hilton Honors Debit Card here.

You can apply for either card here.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 30th April 2025, the annual fee on the basic Hilton Honors debit card is halved from £60 to £30. The sign-up bonus is also easier to earn – you need to spend £1,000 either in the UK or abroad within three months. The usual bonus rule requires you to spend the full £1,000 outside the UK.

NEW: Hilton Honors Plus Debit

10,000 bonus points, Hilton Gold status and NO FX fees Read our full review

NEW: Hilton Honors Debit

2,500 bonus points, Hilton Silver status and 0.5% FX fees Read our full review

There is another way of getting Hilton Honors status, and earning Hilton Honors points, from a payment card.

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.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to a huge 80,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (80,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

The Platinum Card from American Express

80,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large fee Read our full review

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)

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on the ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 30,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (30,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

and for small business owners:

• American Express Business Gold (20,000 bonus Amex points)
• American Express Business Platinum (50,000 bonus Amex points)

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 8th April 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Business Gold is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 60,000 points. You receive 40,000 points when you spend £6,000 within three months and a further 20,000 points if you spend on the card between Month 14 and Month 17. Points convert 1:1 into Avios and many other programmes. Click here to apply.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 8th April 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Business Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to 120,000 points. You receive 80,000 points when you spend £12,000 within three months and a further 40,000 points if you spend on the card between Month 14 and Month 17. Points convert 1:1 into Avios and many other programmes. Click here to apply.

The conversion rate from American Express to Hilton points is 1:2.

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