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Hilton Honors quietly DOUBLES the price of many of its cheapest redemptions

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Hilton Honors has, with no announcement, made substantial increases to the points required to stay at many of its cheapest hotels.

These have been slipped through over the last 48 hours.

As of last week, there were seven UK hotels – I think – which cost 10,000 Hilton Honors points per night:

  • Hampton by Hilton Liverpool / John Lennon Airport
  • DoubleTree by Hilton Newcastle International Airport
  • Hampton by Hilton Newcastle
  • Hampton by Hilton Newport
  • Hampton by Hilton Corby / Kettering
  • DoubleTree by Hilton Sheffield Park
  • Hampton by Hilton Sheffield

Six of them now have a maximum price of 20,000 Hilton Honors points per night. They will be cheaper than 20,000 points on nights when the room rate is under circa £65.  Newport is the only one still showing at 10,000 points.

It isn’t clear how many of the 150 x 10,000 point hotels globally have been raised to 20,000 points, although I have found other examples such as the Hilton Salalah Resort in Oman.  This used to be 5,000 points per night until recently, but jumped to 10,000 points.  It is now 20,000 points.

I randomly checked the six hotels in Malaysia which used to be 10,000 points.   Two are now showing as 20,000 points whilst four remain at 10,000 points.

Some (many?) of the 5,000 point per night hotels globally have also been raised to 10,000 points.

Many of these hotels were, of course, disproportionately cheap at 5,000 or 10,000 points per night.  With the main Hilton in Sheffield costing 30,000 points, having the new Hampton at 10,000 points made little sense as the cash difference was certainly not 3x.

That said, keeping a few bargains in the portfolio does no harm in keeping people interested in the programme.  Giving no notice just continues to undermine trust in the programme.

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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 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:

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:

The conversion rate from American Express to Hilton Honors 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.

Category

Hilton Honors

Comments (133)

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

  • Save East Coast Rewards says:
    16 Sep16 September 04:45

    The DoubleTree NCL has been 20000 for a while now. I think it’s been that rate well over a year. When this hotel opened it was a bargain at 5k. The Hampton Newcastle @20k is definitely new, I booked it at 10k just a couple of days ago.

    • Save East Coast Rewards says:
      16 Sep16 September 05:12

      Has the Hilton in Gateshead been put up too? I’m sure it was 30k previously now it is showing as 40k.

      Seems an odd decision if they have put up the points price as the cash price is often low. It’s a nice hotel (particularly if you get a river view) but I think with a number of 4 star hotels opening on the Newcastle side of the river since the Hilton opened has meant it’s difficult to charge premium prices.

      Hint: if you stay at the Hilton in Gateshead it’s only £3 in a Uber from Newcastle Central Station. If you’re coming from the airport it’s only a short walk from Gateshead Metro – but if you want dropped off at the door Uber from the airport is usually under £15.

      • RussellH says:
        16 Sep16 September 11:15

        Hmm…
        I paid Gateshead Hilton 32 000 + £37 for last New Year’s eve, at quite short notice. We could see most of the fireworks from the hotel’s riverside terrace.
        I am amused by their address:- Bottlebank.
        The Quayside busfrom Central Station takes you to within a few yards of the door, unfortunately up a **very** steep hill. If you do not mind a walk, the best approach is across the High Level Bridge, which is just half-a-dozen steps above the level of the main entrance.
        (Cannot do Uber, and probably would not if I could).

    • TripRep says:
      16 Sep16 September 07:52

      Agreed on both counts, I always pay cash at NCL, tend to get it for around £60. It hasn’t been a 10k hotel for years, but it can be had for under 20k

      The Hampton however… I had a 10k booking there in July, great location.

    • RussellH says:
      16 Sep16 September 11:06

      Agree.

      DT at NCL was 20 000 when I booked in Feb, Hampton Newcastle and DT Sheffield Park were both 10 000 very recently. Stayed at DT Sheffield Park just a week ago, based on comments about it here.

      10 000 for the Hampton is/was ridiculously cheap, compared with the HIE at 25 000 (I am sure that that used to be cheaper too) and only about 600 yards away (but in the wrong direction).

      Just checked and the Indigo is also showing at 25 000. Stayed there two or three times, on non-refundable room only rates and always told that my rate included (a very decent) breakfast. Some IT glitches do work to one’s advantage!

    • Brian S says:
      16 Sep16 September 15:01

      Got it for 17,000 for 30/09 booking

  • John Pagani says:
    16 Sep16 September 05:16

    Hello HFP, I have just experienced this after having spent 3 x $800 (via family pooling) to book 4 nights at the Waldorf Beverly Hills. Literally within seconds on the points becoming available (I experienced a 48 hour delay) the room prices jumped from 95k to. 221k per night.
    Prior to this and due to the delay I had contacted the Diamond help desk for a reassurance I could get the 95k rate once the points hit. They told me to make a refundable, cash booking then once the points arrived, call back and they would ‘Swap’ the refundable cash booking to a points booking.
    When I called, they refused but luckily I used their chat system so the conversations were logged. I have raised a complaint via the Diamond desk and I’m told there is a 48 hour response time.
    In the meantime, I managed to find four nights at 95k that I can make work for me.
    One last thing, there is now no reward availability at the Waldorf Bevery Hills at all.
    Shame on Hilton for conning some of their most loyal customers!

    • BJ says:
      16 Sep16 September 06:53

      Unfortunately that appears to be standard versus premium pricing you refer to. By the time you booked there were no standard rooms left, just the luck of the draw. Same thing could happen wuth airline award seats, it could all change in seconds it takes to buy points needed. You could wait to see if price comes down again or book elsewhere at lower rates and have additional stays with points saved.

      • Alan says:
        16 Sep16 September 09:41

        Agreed, this isn’t a change to the top standard rate for the property, just rooms selling out. Excellent that you have a written trail via online chat, hopefully you should be fine as a result.

  • Mark2 says:
    16 Sep16 September 05:50

    I have stayed at the Hampton Liverpool @ 10,000 and it was fine at that rate. T
    Last week I had to stay in Liverpool and found that Crown Plaza at the airport was 20,000 for all rooms and I got an executive suite at that rate (perhaps because I am undeservedly Spire Elite). I was a very pleasant conversion of the original terminal building with many Art Deco features. I have also stayed at Corby and Newport (both adequate) when they were 5,000.
    The real loss in my view is Sheffield Park (which is barely in Sheffield) which is an excellent hotel on the edge of the Peak District.

    • BJ says:
      16 Sep16 September 07:05

      +1 for Sheffield Park. Stayed there last week, it was solid all round. However, what impressed me most was the staff, lovely friendly people everywhere from reception to breakfast room. They appeared to take pride in both their jobs and their hotel and it showed, full marks to all of them and the management team.

      • Cat says:
        16 Sep16 September 11:09

        +1 for Sheffield Park from me too. I was hoping to redeem for a long weekend break there with a friend who also loves hiking and spas (and can drive)!
        The room rates seem pretty reasonable though. We’ll just have to stay on cash rates.

  • Dave Barron says:
    16 Sep16 September 06:37

    Sod’s law I had wanted to book a night at Hampton Newcastle for next month using points. On Friday night I confirmed availability at 10k per night but didn’t book it. Logged back in yesterday to do it but price has jumped to 20k. Not happy and probably won’t bother now 🙁

    • Dave Barron says:
      16 Sep16 September 06:45

      And the cheapest nights at Hampton Newcastle (plus also Sheffield Park, another hotel I visit regularly) are 18k points which isn’t exactly a saving to write home about!

    • Marc says:
      16 Sep16 September 07:51

      I’ve been trying to book a Saturday night next month at Hampton Newcastle for a few weeks now and no availability. All of a sudden it’s now available now it’s doubled in points…

      • RussellH says:
        16 Sep16 September 11:21

        Not necessarily a conspiracy. Hotels do get bulk bookings which then get, at least in part, cancelled and the rooms released back to everyone else.
        Tried to book the Hampton for mid August a month beforehand – no availability at all, so we booked the Indigo instead for 25 000. Less than a week before we went I checked the Hampton again, and there was now availability at 10 000, so we booked that and cancelled the Indigo.

    • Alan says:
      16 Sep16 September 09:42

      Damn 🙁 I must say with Hilton I often just grab availability if it’s there whilst I consider options then cancel if not required given there’s no fee.

  • shd says:
    16 Sep16 September 06:40

    I’ve stayed at the Hampton by Hilton Corby at least half a dozen times, it was disproportionately cheap on points (although not nearly as much as the Hilton Salalah Resort in Oman was, where we went for an excellent Christmas holiday on points four years ago)

    DoubleTree by Hilton Sheffield Park and Hampton by Hilton Sheffield are OK, but I wouldn’t rush back to either of them.

    With every devaluation, Hilton just encourages us to book the cheapest hotel via booking.com. Should have started doing this long ago.

  • KevMc says:
    16 Sep16 September 06:56

    I was waiting for my latest Hilton Barclaycard points to post so that I could book th Conrad St James for a night over the Xmas period. This has been 65k for at least the last 2 weeks and has now jumped up to 80k, so it looks like there may have been an all round devaluation.

    • BJ says:
      16 Sep16 September 07:21

      If you can get a good points rate at DT Westminster then give it some thought. I like it better than the Conrad. Walking distance to 3 tube stations, cleanest hotel I have been in outside Asia, nice staff, large bright rooms, lounge, decent breakfast. Only downside is the lack of a large screen TV (they use iMacs). It is a steal if rate is 20k/night less than Conrad. My partner and I have our birthday on same date, hotel noticed it fell during our stay and we returned to our room to find a bottle of bubbly, full sized personalised birthday cake and a teddybear waiting for us 🙂

      • KevMc says:
        16 Sep16 September 07:31

        Thanks – I will have a look at it. What is the lounge like at the DT Westminster?

        • BJ says:
          16 Sep16 September 10:42

          The lounge is a windowless room unfoftunately. Despite that a good amount of seating and tables. It gets very popular witn a good ambiance but probably a little quieter over the holiday season. Plentiful drinks to help yourself from and staff appear with more by the trolley load when it runs low. Usually a couple of them, very pleasant and walk around offering refills. Usual hot drinks, soft drinks, beers and wines. Nibnles aldo the usual sweet and savoury suspects. In the evening extras like chicken wings, satay, meatballs, fudhsnd other stuff appears, different each night. Despite the uninspiring space it is stillan above average lounge IME,

    • Lyn says:
      16 Sep16 September 13:03

      Not necessarily a devaluation. The Conrad was 80K for the nights I was looking for in July for ages ahead of time. So I think the 65K may have been a special lower rate because they had more rooms available.

      Like the Hilton Waldorf which dropped from 80K to 65K for just one Sunday night, which I was able to book. Belated thanks to the HfP reader who recommended this hotel. I loved it, even though it was only available for one night, and was treated well as Hilton Gold.

  • Lee says:
    16 Sep16 September 07:03

    Sad that hilton did not announce it.

    That is the worst part.

    Corby was fine at 10,000, but not 20,000.

    • RussellH says:
      16 Sep16 September 11:29

      HI Corby now better value at just 15 000 – it also used to be just 10 000 until IHG’s last price increases, but the location is far better for my purposes. Mid November they have Executive Rooms for 15 000 or £165 – whenever I have been there there have always been Exec Rooms for points. And as lowly Gold, they always give me two drinks vouchers and tell me to help myself from the nibbles rack.

  • Julie says:
    16 Sep16 September 07:04

    Doubletree Newcastle was already 20000

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