Hilton Honors devalues its luxury hotels, now as high as 250,000 points

Hilton Honors has quietly pushed out a devaluation of its top hotels. This is, astonishingly, the third such devaluation in the last 12 months following changes in December 2024 and May 2025.

As with the previous changes, members have not been notified.

Astonishingly, the points price of Hilton’s top properties has jumped from 50,000 points to 250,000 points over 12 years. There is an old article on HfP about the blowback when top hotels went from 50,000 points to 95,000 points per night, a price which looks a clear bargain now.

There have been no major changes in how you earn points in those 12 years, although the elite status bonus for Gold and Diamond members has increased.

There has also been a major slowing of promotions. The summer offer was exceptionally weak – just 1,000 bonus points per stay – and there is no offer at all at present. This is the first time in a long time that Hilton has not run a back-to-back offer.

What’s changed? What’s changed is the volume of free points dished out to the US credit card market, which is fuelling inflation in the system. What is really driving it is the number of free night certificates, valid anywhere, which are being issued with US Hilton credit cards.

If a US credit card holder redeems a free night certificate at Waldorf Astoria New York when the hotel is over 95% full and the cash rate is $2,000 per night, Hilton is on the hook for $2,000, give or take. It has to earn that money back somehow, and you are paying the price.

Here are a few of the changes pushed through on Tuesday:

• Waldorf Astoria Maldives – 190,000 points to 250,000 points
• Waldorf Astoria The Palm Dubai – 80,000 points to 100,000 points
• Waldorf Astoria Amsterdam – 120,000 points to 150,000 points
• Conrad Tokyo – 100,000 points to 130,000 points
• Conrad Maldives – 140,000 points to 180,000 points

To be fair, you should remember that all elite members of Hilton Honors get ‘5 nights for the points of 4’ on redemptions. This pulls down the average, although 520,000 points for five nights at Conrad Tokyo is still not a bargain if you are earning points from ‘heads in beds’.

After all, even for a Diamond Elite member, it would require $26,000 of base spending, before taxes, to earn 520,000 Hilton Honors points for five nights at Conrad Tokyo, pictured below.

On the other hand, as a poster on Loyalty Lobby said yesterday – I have edited slightly:

‘If a casual card churner like me can rack up one million Hilton points from US card sign up bonuses very quickly, approving me and my partner willy nilly even after we just freshly dumped the cards in question, and then allowing us to combine the points for free, then anyone else can also do it’

These changes are very much impacting the top end. There is the odd 5,000 and 10,000 point increase further down the brand hierarchy but nothing major. A lot of these hotels saw increases in the December 2024 and May 2025 devaluations though.

Across all 7,000 hotels, the average value of a Hilton Honors points is probably unchanged from the 0.33p we claim. However, for HfP readers who are more likely than most to redeem at luxury properties, the impact will be harder.

I genuinely struggle to understand the logic. The only reason Hilton did its deal with Small Luxury Hotels was that members were pulling stays from cheaper Hilton brands because of the lack of luxury redemption options. Those SLH properties are now so expensive that they are out of reach of anyone who earns from ‘heads in beds’ and not US card sign-ups.

What about the alternatives?

I’ve seen a few comments from people saying that ALL Accor is suddenly looking good to them. When we started HfP 13 years ago, 1 Accor point got you 2 Eurocents off a hotel room. Hilton, meanwhile, wanted 50,000 points for a Waldorf Astoria free night.

Jumping forward to 2025, 1 Accor point still gets you 2 Eurocents off a hotel room – albeit that room will be more costly than in 2012. Hilton now wants up to 250,000 points for the same Waldorf Astoria free night.

You can also redeem your Accor points for any room at any hotel on any day, albeit suites need a big balance when you only get 2 Eurocents per point. Hilton is still only allowing redemptions into base level rooms. Marriott and Hyatt got it right here, with many hotels allowing you to upgrade a reward night at the time of booking for a flat fee.

Of course, unless you are converting credit card points, a hotel loyalty programme should be considered as a whole. It’s not just about what your points will get you but also what your elite member benefits are when you stay.

Hilton’s problem is that it also falls down here. Marriott guarantees 4pm check-out to Platinum and above (resorts excluded), Hilton does not. Marriott gives Nightly Upgrade Award vouchers to Platinum and above to lock in suite upgrades, Hilton does not. Marriott offers full breakfast at most brands, whilst Hilton’s F&B credit in North America doesn’t even come close to covering the cost.

Even IHG One Rewards became a real contender when it introduced Milestone Rewards a couple of years ago. Stay 20 nights and get a suite upgrade voucher. Stay 40 nights and get free lounge access for the rest of the year and all of the following year.

Something will have to give somewhere.