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Branded and Partnered Credit Cards
Hilton Honors Credit Cards
American Express issues several Hilton co-branded cards.
Hot Tip: Check out our comparison of the benefits and perks of each Hilton Honors credit card as well as our recommended cards for Hilton Honors loyalists for more details.
American Express Membership Rewards Credit Cards
Hilton is an Amex hotel partner at a ratio of 1,000:2,000. This is not a great use of Membership Rewards points, so only do this if you’re close to having enough Hilton Honors points for an award.
Recommended Personal Cards
Business owners can also choose from a variety of Amex business credit cards.
Hilton Honors Overview
Hilton has branded its loyalty program as Hilton Honors (formerly Hilton HHonors).
Hilton Honors offers an array of customizable points earning and hotel benefits that let you choose what is important to you for each stay.
Joining Hilton Honors
Register online for a free Hilton Honors account.
How to Sign in to Your Hilton Honors Account
Sign in on the hilton.com homepage. You’ll need to enter your username (or Hilton Honors account number) and password.
Viewing Your Account Activity
Your Hilton Honors account overview page shows points activity, elite status progress, and special offers.
MyWay Hotel Benefits
if you have Gold or Diamond status, you can select MyWay Hotel Benefits.
Benefits vary by brand and elite status. Some are automatic, and some require you to make a selection. You need to make this selection prior to checking in for a stay, but you can always change your preference for the next stay.
Hot Tip: MyWay Hotel Benefits could include a choice between bonus points, complimentary continental breakfast, and a space-available room upgrade. If you won’t be eating at the hotel, consider changing to points ahead of your stay. Then change back for the next stay if you plan to eat.
Points Expiration
Hilton Honors points expire after 24 months of inactivity. Any account activity that earns or redeems points extends point expiration by 1 year.
Hilton Honors Rewards Program
Hilton Honors Elite Status
Let’s review the benefits of Hilton Honors elite status.
| Benefits | Member
0-9 nights/year | Silver
10-39 nights/year | Gold
40-59 nights/year | Diamond
60-74 nights/year |
| No resort fees on award stays | X | X | X | X |
| Late check-out | X | X | X | X |
| Free Wi-Fi | X | X | X | X |
| Fifth standard rewards night free | X | X | X | |
| 2 free bottles of water | X | X | X | |
| Elite rollover nights | X | X | X | |
| Elite tier bonus points | 20% | 80% | 100% | |
| Space available room upgrade | Up to Executive room type | Up to 1-Bedroom Suite room type | ||
| Complimentary breakfast | X | X | ||
| Milestone bonuses | X | X | ||
| Executive lounge access | X | |||
| Diamond status extension | X | |||
| 48-hour room guarantee | X | |||
| Elite status gifting | X |
Value of Hilton Honors Elite Status
Hilton Honors Silver confers minimal hotel stay benefits, but it opens up the fifth-night free benefit on award stays (which can save lots of points!).
Hilton Honors Gold is considered a “status sweet spot” because it offers the prized benefit of complimentary breakfast at most full-service properties. The breakfast benefit is only for continental breakfast, but some hotels generously choose to extend that to a full hot breakfast. Make sure to choose this benefit by brand in your MyWay Hotel Benefits in your online profile.
Those hotels with Executive Lounges sometimes upgrade Gold members to the Executive floor where they can enjoy breakfast and often evening drinks and snacks. Lounge access is not guaranteed, and Gold members must receive a room upgrade, which is subject to availability and decision by the specific hotel.
Hot Tip: If you have Executive Lounge access, many Hilton hotels will allow you the alternate option of complimentary breakfast in the hotel restaurant, which may have a wider food selection than the Executive Lounge.
Hilton Honors Diamond mainly improves upon Gold through guaranteed Executive Lounge access. This may not be important if you don’t frequent hotels with these lounges. Other improvements upon Gold include better room upgrades and better points earning.
Earning Hilton Honors Elite Status
Hilton Honors elite status is earned per calendar year. You can earn through stays, nights, or base points. Base-point qualification is useful for those travelers with fewer high-priced stays.
| Elite Tier | # of Stays | # of Nights | Base Points | Status Bonus |
| Silver | 4 stays | 10 nights | 25,000 | 20% — 12x per $1 |
| Gold | 20 stays | 40 nights | 75,000 | 80% — 18x per $1 |
| Diamond | 30 stays | 60 nights | 120,000 | 100% — 20x per $1 |
For 2022, the qualification requirements have been adjusted by half:
| Elite Tier | # of Stays | # of Nights | Base Points | Status Bonus |
| Silver | 2 stays | 5 nights | 12,500 | 20% — 12x per $1 |
| Gold | 10 stays | 20 nights | 37,500 | 80% — 18x per $1 |
| Diamond | 15 stays | 30 nights | 60,000 | 100% — 20x per $1 |
Hilton Honors offers Silver, Gold, and Diamond members the option to rollover elite nights to the next year, so if you stay 70 nights, 60 will earn you Diamond this year, and 10 will go toward your count to requalify next year.
Update: See how Hilton Honors has adjusted 2022 points and status expiration, elite qualification, free night awards, and more in our article: Coronavirus (COVID-19): Hotel Elite Status Extensions, Changes, and Updates.
Several American Express credit cards offer Hilton elite status as well:
- Hilton Honors card: Silver (spend $20,000 in a calendar year for Gold)
- Amex Platinum card: Gold (activate on your American Express card benefits page)
- Hilton Surpass card and Hilton Business Amex card: Gold (spend $40,000 in a calendar year for Diamond)
- Hilton Aspire card: Diamond
Once you have earned elite status, it is valid for the remainder of the current calendar year and through the end of the next one.
How To Earn Honors Points
There are many ways to earn Hilton Honors points, starting with hotel stays.
Earning Points on Stays
Base Points: All Hilton Honors members earn 10 base points per dollar spent for most rooms (some will only apply this to the room rate and not taxes). At Home2 Suites by Hilton and Tru by Hilton, you earn 5 points per dollar.
Elite Status Bonus: You will earn additional bonus points based on elite status — a 20%, 80%, or 100% bonus for Silver, Gold, or Diamond members respectively.
Milestone Bonuses:
- 10,000 points for every 10 nights per year, starting at 40 nights
- Extra 30,000 points for reaching 60 nights per year
Promotions: Hilton Honors typically has a promotion every quarter for bonuses such as double points on stays. Watch your email or visit the My Offers page and make sure to register before your upcoming stays.
Earning Points With Partners
Beyond hotel stays, there are many other options to earn Hilton Honors points:
- Hilton Honors Dining
- Hilton and Lyft partnership
- Travel partners
See our post on how to earn Hilton Honors points for more ideas.
Transfer Points Between Accounts
Hilton Honors offers free points transfers subject to the following limits:
- Transfer a maximum of 500,000 points per calendar year per account
- Receive a maximum of 2,000,000 points per calendar year per account
- Maximum of 6 free transfer transactions per calendar year per account
Hot Tip: Free transfers are a great way to pool points for a fifth-night free award!
How To Redeem Honors Points
Redeeming Hilton Honors points is very important! You want to make sure you get the best value for your points, and this can be confusing to figure out.
Your Hilton Honors points can be redeemed in a number of ways, including experiences, Lyft rides, online shopping, and rental cars, though the primary way to redeem points is for free nights.
Free Nights
A standard reward will start off at 5,000 points per night. However, as the caliber of property increases, so do the points… at the top tier, a room can cost up to 120,000 points per night!
A bonus offer may lower the amount needed for a stay at a particular hotel and category combination, although many bonus offers simply earn you additional points.
Using the Points & Money option, you can use a smaller number of points along with a lesser dollar amount to book a room. For instance, instead of paying 20,000 points for a room, you could pay 8,000 points and $30.
Premium room rewards are also available. However, we value these lower than other redemptions. Due to their complexity, you’ll simply have to calculate the value of your points for each reward.
Remember that you will have access to the fifth-night free option if you are a Silver member or above. When booking rewards for 5 nights, you will receive a discount based on the average room rate for the 5 nights. This makes saving your points for when you reach a higher status much more appealing!
Exchange Points
Another way to redeem points is by transferring them to one of over 30 airline or rail partners. Using these partners, you can earn a variety of miles depending on the individual exchange rate.
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The information regarding The Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.
The information regarding the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.
For rates and fees of the Hilton Honors American Express Card, click here.
For rates and fees of The Hilton Honors American Express Business Card, click here.
For rates and fees of The Platinum Card® from American Express, click here.
For rates and fees of the American Express® Gold Card, click here.
Frequently Asked Questions
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About Alex Miller
Founder and CEO of Upgraded Points, Alex is a leader in the industry and has earned and redeemed millions of points and miles. He frequently discusses the award travel industry with CNBC, Fox Business, The New York Times, and more.
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15 comments
stephen
June 07, 2018
Embassy Suites Phoenix Airport is a “Bad Dog ” hotel
This hotel is a embarrassment to Embassy Suites (Hilton).
1-I made my reservations well in advance and at check in we where told the pool is closed for the weekend due to a gay pool party event. And yes I was told ” If you would like we will see if we can find you a pool at one of our other properties for your family to use this weekend if you would like. ” Really 🙁 …” It would have been nice if they told us before we arrive.
2-At 05:30 AM my wife woke me and said I smell sewage so I got up and investigated. I went to the bathroom and the shower was filled to the rim with sewage. I contacted the front desk and they said they would send someone to take care of it. 30 minutes later no one had showed up yet. I located their maintenance manager and he said he was aware of the problem however the pool was his first priority. 3 hours later they put us in a different room.
3- The air-conditioning is so old and out of date that it never stopped running and never reached 72 degrees…even at night and the damn thing was loud.
4- I was told the Manager would to get back with me, I’m still waiting 4 days later.
This is a old ran down motel, you can put lipstick on a pig all day long, but it is still a pig. I will NEVER recommend this hotel to any of my fellow veterans or friend.
CRAIG STIFFLER
November 26, 2018
What’s the earning/cut off dates for obtaining status? Is it January 1 through December 31?
Stephen Au
November 26, 2018
Hi Craig, yes it’s by calendar year. Thanks for reading!
Natalia Wlodarz
December 16, 2018
Hello.
I have a question about remaining a gold member. How many bookings do I need this year?
Christine Krzyszton
December 16, 2018
Hi Natalia. Hilton Honors Gold Elite membership requires either 20 stays, 40 nights or 75,000 Base Points earned during any calendar year. Another option is to secure the Hilton Honors Ascend card which comes with Gold status. You can access further information on the card here: /credit-cards/reviews/hilton-honors-surpass-card-american-express/
You can find more information on Hilton Honors Gold status here: https://hiltonhonors3.hilton.com/en/terms/index.html#hilton_hhonors_membership_tiers
Julia Snelling
January 27, 2019
Is it possible to get a list of Hilton hotels or Doubletree hotels which have executive lounges? I’m interested in the USA and England only. Thanks very much.
Julia Snelling (Diamond member)
James Larounis
January 29, 2019
Hi Julia! I think this may be the best resource for you in finding out which lounges Hilton currently/does not operate: https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hilton-hilton-honors/1212329-lounge-status-hilton-family-properties.html
I hope this helps!
Garrett Hennessy
April 22, 2019
Loved my stay this past weekend at Seattle’s downtown Hilton Garden Inn – didn’t put HH# on reservation – what can I do to please get credit for stay?
Katie Seemann
April 22, 2019
Hi Garrett,
Log into your Hilton Honors Account. Go to My Account>Past Stays>Report a Missing Stay. You should be able to submit your info there to earn points for your completed stay.
Paul Janicki
May 08, 2019
As a Canadian member of Hilton Honors, I am unhappy that I am not able to apply for a Hilton Amex credit card. I would like to be able to receive the same benefits as the US residents. Marriott/SPG offers options for both Americans and Canadians with similar benefits for everyone.
Erin Miller
May 09, 2019
Hi Paul, we totally agree that this seems pretty unfair!
Please be advised we are not Hilton, nor are we affiliated with their rewards program in any way. We appreciate you sharing your thoughts here but in order for you concern to reach the appropriate party, we suggest you contact Hilton directly via their website contact or customer service line!
Dr.Lemuel Patterson
July 08, 2019
I had 16 clients to book rooms in the Hampton Inn during June 14-16. I set up the rooms and reserved on my business card until their transactions cleared. I bought a meeting room suite to host their 60 person dinner event and paid $800 for the room. With valid receipts and dates rendered, how do I get points awarded me? what are my next steps? Who do I send this to at corporate office for receiving awarded points?
Jarrod West
July 08, 2019
Hi Lemuel,
Please be advised that we are an educational website covering credit card points/miles and loyalty programs, and we have no affiliation with Hilton hotels.
I would recommend you contact the customer support for their Hilton Honors program directly. The number to do so is: 1-800-548-8690
David Shaw
September 09, 2019
Having been a Hilton Honors member since 2003 I had accumulated over 547,000 points which were going towards my wife’s retirement vacation. Over the last few years, my business trips had declined to look after my wife whose Health was failing. Imagine my surprise to find my account had been reset to 0 points due to inactivity, Hilton was not able to share at what point this happened. I supplied a statement showing my points – they were not interested. Sent message to Hilton Head of Loyalty program – no response. Sorry, Hilton, I supported you for 16 years and spent a lot of money, now I have to explain this to my wife
Justin
January 17, 2023
I also see a spa discount associated with the Silver status on Hilton’s website that doesn’t seem to show in the chart above. Has anyone utilized this offering?
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