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400 Small Luxury Hotels now bookable with Hilton points – deals to be had

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Back in February, Hilton announced a partnership with Small Luxury Hotels of the World.

This was to replace the SLH partnership with World of Hyatt, which had been doomed ever since Hyatt announced the acquisition of Mr & Mrs Smith.

Hilton had been very cautious about the timeframe for rolling out SLH on hilton.com but – well ahead of schedule – 400 hotels went live for booking this week. There are some good deals to be had.

Hilton Honors unveils elite benefits at Small Luxury Hotel properties

Of the 560 hotels in Small Luxury Hotels, 400 have agreed to join the Hilton partnership. This is a good sign-up rate in my view, given that the hotels have to give benefits (outlined below) to elite members of Hilton Honors.

It’s fair to say that these hotels are far more aspirational as a points redemption than 95% of Hilton’s own hotels.

What makes the SLH partnership even more interesting is that redemptions follow standard Hilton Honors rules:

  • no hotel will cost more than 150,000 points per night
  • ‘5-4-4’ will be available if you are Silver Elite or above

It turns out that there are some excellent redemption deals to be had. Even hotels which do not offer ‘outsized value’ will still get you a redemption value in line with our expected Hilton Honors value of 0.33p per point. Many are well above this.

Good value Small Luxury Hotels redemptions

I gave one example of a good value SLH deal in my article yesterday on how to get outsized value from hotel redemptions.

This 240 sq m overwater bungalow at Milaidhoo Maldives (website here) is $2,500 for cash. Redemptions are capped at 130,000 points per night, getting you 1.5p per Hilton Honors point:

Best hotel loyalty scheme

It’s actually an even better deal than it looks because Hilton does ‘5 nights for the points of 4’ on redemptions if you have Silver status or above. It is highly likely you’d want to stay at least five nights here.

Here is another example at Canaves Epitome in Santorini (website here). This rather snazzy suite with its own private plunge pool would cost you €1,235 later this month, or 140,000 points.

Canaves Epitome SLH HIlton points

You’re getting 0.75p per Hilton point, which increases to 0.93p if you booked for five nights and got one night for free.

Want more examples?

There is no point reinventing the wheel, so take a look at this article from US site Frequent Miler.

It includes fantastic properties in Mallorca (Cap Rocat), Venice (Ca Sagredo) and Lugano (THE VIEW) amongst others.

What are Hilton Honors elite benefits at SLH hotels?

Here is a reminder of the elite benefits for Hilton Honors members who book an SLH property via the Hilton website for cash or points.

These are surprisingly comprehensive, given that World of Hyatt struggled to get SLH properties to offer much during the years they held the partnership. This is what you get:

  • Member (no status): member discount, complimentary standard Wi-Fi, complimentary late checkout, bottled water, no resort fees on reward stays 
  • Silver: 20% elite tier bonus, 5th standard reward night free, all “Member” benefits 
  • Gold: 80% elite tier bonus, complimentary breakfast for two, space-available upgrades, 5th standard reward night free, all “Member” benefits 
  • Diamond: 100% elite tier bonus, complimentary breakfast for two, space-available upgrades, 5th standard reward night free, all “Member” benefits

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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 (40)

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

  • No longer Entitled says:
    12 Jul12 July 06:59

    This is a very welcome addition to HH. There are some wonderful hotels in SLH of a very high standard that hotels designed from the off to meet the big brands corporate standards cannot hope to compete with.

  • Kpworldtravels says:
    12 Jul12 July 08:20

    To sidetrack slightly from the topic, Canaves Epitome is honestly fantastic !! It’s slightly outside Oia but I think the location is perfect. Superb rooms. The one in the article above is their base category room. I had a full tour with the sales team. The owner is an amazing guy and is ‘hotelier of the year’. I had lunch by the pool and food was delicious!!

  • Grant says:
    12 Jul12 July 08:28

    Is there a list of the 400 hotels which have agreed to join anywhere?

    • Rob says:
      12 Jul12 July 08:33

      Not seen one.

    • Sip says:
      12 Jul12 July 08:45

      You can search the country you want and then hit the “SLH” filter under hotel brands to see what ones are available. Not the best method, but at least you get a “list” somewhat.

  • Paul says:
    12 Jul12 July 08:47

    Yesterday i booked a SLH in Sydney, a good deal in a stunning building, the other two Hilton options in sydney had poor reviews, so this looks exciting.

  • m says:
    12 Jul12 July 08:47

    I still don’t understand how you can make aspirational redemptions at these rates. Like it used to be a 90k cap, and now it’s 150k.

    • Rob says:
      12 Jul12 July 09:03

      Not really comparable to be fair, the 90k cap would apply to hotels as cheap as £300. These are €1000+ properties.

      Given that Hilton will be paying the hotel at least 80% of the cash rate, rather than the $100 it would pay a Conrad or Waldorf for a redemption, I’d make most of it whilst it lasts – and hoover up points cheaply when they can be bought on sale.

      • ADS says:
        12 Jul12 July 11:13

        “whilst it lasts”

        are you expecting an Avios-Nectar style exodus … and similar devaluation?!

    • HampshireHog says:
      12 Jul12 July 10:06

      Well as someone said the other day, Hilton redemptions only make sense at the top end. Buying Hilton points and redeeming on 5 for 4 has cost me half the cheapest cash price in spring at the Hilton Tokyo.

    • Guernsey Globetrotter says:
      12 Jul12 July 17:25

      Milaidhoo is £2,330 a night in March next year or 130,000 points. On the 5-4-4 basis those points nights are costing about £400 to buy. Only paying £400 to stay at a resort that would otherwise have cost well north of £2K per night seems a pretty aspirational result to me.

      • TGLoyalty says:
        12 Jul12 July 19:55

        Would you pay £11.5k for the 5 days?

        It still looks like a great deal at £400 but never fool yourself that it’s worth paying more because points like great value vs random £££ prices you would never pay.

        • Rob says:
          12 Jul12 July 23:45

          Who says they wouldn’t pay it? Many readers drop that, I see the statements from Emyr.

          • TGLoyalty says:
            13 Jul13 July 00:33

            Where did I say they wouldn’t? I’m 100% sure they they do.

            My point is the value should be based on what you’re willing to pay for what’s on offer not just what it’s being advertised for.

            Also SLH hotels are often much cheaper direct on the hotel website.

          • Rob says:
            13 Jul13 July 08:49

            That was true with Hyatt. So far we are not seeing that with Hilton. They seem to be enforcing rate parity.

  • Damien says:
    12 Jul12 July 09:15

    What date do you lose Hilton status? Is it the end of March? Trying to work out if I’d get the breakfast or not?

    • HampshireHog says:
      12 Jul12 July 10:06

      Yes? end of March.

    • Swiss Jim says:
      12 Jul12 July 10:09

      Yes, end March. Pretty sure it’s stay date not book date (though I’m sure years ago at one chain it was, bizarrely, book date – I’m guessing a systems thing). Not sure what happens if your stay bridges 31 March. Presumably you get status benefit throughout?

      • John says:
        12 Jul12 July 12:58

        You should get benefits for the whole stay unless the hotel management had nothing better to do than investigate your Hilton history.

        However you will earn points based on the downgraded status and won’t get the relevant 1000/750/250 bonus points if you chose that option

  • renwaldo says:
    12 Jul12 July 09:29

    Does anyone know a SLH that’s suitable for kids, ideally based in Europe (somewhere warm!)?

    • HampshireHog says:
      12 Jul12 July 10:03

      Oh yes, good to know where might have kids, so that we can avoid them.

    • JenT says:
      12 Jul12 July 11:28

      Might not be warm enough for you, but The Nimb in Copenhagen is fantastic for kids (free rides at Tivoli Gardens for the whole stay is great). The Margi, near Athens, is warmer – great pool and plenty of stuff to do (including good beaches) nearby.

    • JenT says:
      12 Jul12 July 11:30

      Just realised the SLH website has a Family Friendly section/search filter that might help you.

  • NorthernLass says:
    12 Jul12 July 10:11

    I probably shouldn’t shout about it too much but Carmo’s Boutique Hotel in northern Portugal looks a steal at around 55k points for a standard deluxe room – possibly a more realistic alternative to Six Senses Douro Valley?!

    I also need a hotel for 2 nights in Nassau next March and prices are beyond silly – like over $300 pn for a run down Holiday Inn or Comfort Suites. Although it would pain me not to get 5 4 4, I’m thinking 100k HH points pn for the newly-added Goldwyn Resort might be the best option as it works out at 0.8 p per point!

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

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