Maximise your Avios, air miles and hotel points

You don’t pay resort fees on Hilton Honors redemptions

Links on Head for Points may support the site by paying a commission.  See here for all partner links.

I have been in Washington this week at Hilton’s HQ to find out more about what the company is doing.  More from this trip will follow.

There was one thing I learned on Tuesday which I didn’t know, and which none of the other writers in the room knew either.  There are no resort fees to pay on a Hilton Honors redemption when you pay 100% with points.

No resort fees on Hilton Honors redemptions

As we have written about recently, ‘resort fees’ have started to appear in New York of late as well as their traditional haunts of Las Vegas and Hawaii.  If you book a Hilton Honors redemption, however, Hilton pays this fee directly to the hotel on your behalf.

Hilton has done a bad job of promoting this benefit, because it could make a real difference to your thinking when deciding whether to book a cash or reward stay.  Now you know.


How to earn Hilton Honors points and status from UK credit cards

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:

and for small business owners:

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

(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.)

Comments (75)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • Alex Sm says:

    Rob – you should definitely justify your nickname and do a raffle / ballot for these tickets, disappointing that not everyone has an equal chance to get there

  • Simon D says:

    O/T (sorry) am currently delayed in Oslo (5 hours plus and counting). Does EU 261 apply given that the flight starts outside of the EU? The SAS website mentions only compensation for food/drinks etc. Thanks in advance

  • GRIMZ says:

    OT, I have upgraded from Gold charge card to Plat, how long should I wait before adding a sup card to receive the 5k bonus?

  • Arun says:

    OT – Trying to use a Lloyds upgrade voucher on a trip to Japan in October. Best availability in business class that I can find is to Seoul, South Korea. Question – is it possible to book South Korea > Japan also on the same ticket to somehow get bags checked through to Tokyo?

  • Ben says:

    OT. My parents just booked a holiday (through Sandals) but flights with BA. Can I use Avios (in HHA) to upgrade them to WT+. FlyerTalk seems to have some people saying yes, others no.
    Appreciated.

    • Kinkell says:

      Go onto MMB ( travel agent should be able to give you BA reference) and click on upgrade with avois. Likely that a notice will pop up saying no and contact your booking agent. Booking agent can’t do this, at least mine couldn’t.
      I tried this with a booking, no joy, but TA was able to upgrade 2 WT seats to WT+ for something like £150 ….it was a no brainer! ( Sin-LHR)

      • Roland says:

        Agree with Kinkell – in MMB it said ‘contact travel agent’ or similar and when I did so they were able to upgrade WT to WT+ for £150pp MLE – LGW which I thought was well worth it!

  • EvilGazebo says:

    OT. Was just buying a birthday card in WH Smith (don’t judge me) and got a 20% off UBER gift cards till spit voucher. They are the variable load type, £30 to £150. I bought £150 which is about as much as I want to have as a balance but that’s just me. Plus 300 VS miles from the purchase as a last hurrah on the VS Black AMEX ????. The sale of the gift card generated another identical till spit voucher so I’m guessing it’s on every purchase right now. Voucher valid til 01/07/18 so assume that’s when the promo ends.

  • Ian says:

    Off Topic…

    I’m looking at booking Moscow to Manchester via Heathrow with BA. If I book a First Class ticket, will I have access to the Concorde Room at T5 during my 2hr 40min wait? The LHR-MAN flight obviously doesn’t have an F cabin, but I’ll be on a F ticket having come from Moscow in first.

  • rams1981 says:

    OT I mentioned a few days ago how Hilton agreed to extend my Be My Guest Certificates by a year. And they arrived today by DHL. Amazing service

    • KBuffett says:

      How does one avail of a few of these?

      • Rob says:

        Have a massive fight with a Hilton hotel. Get a BMG certificate. Or win two in our current Hilton competition!

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

The UK's biggest frequent flyer website uses cookies, which you can block via your browser settings. Continuing implies your consent to this policy. Our privacy policy is here.