Boasting a portfolio of over 20 cards, Jarrod has been an expert in the points and miles space for over 6 years. He earns and redeems over 1 million points per year and his work has been featured in o...
Edited by: Jessica Merritt
A long-time points and miles student, Jessica is the former Personal Finance Managing Editor at U.S. News and World Report and is passionate about helping consumers fund their travels for as little ca...
& Juan Ruiz
Juan has been involved in credit cards, loyalty, travel, and personal finance for more than 10 years. He has worked for several outlets including The Points Guy and Forbes and was previously Editor-in...
![12 Best Ways To Earn Lots of Hilton Honors Points [2023]](https://upgradedpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Waldorf-Astoria-Los-Cabos-Pedregal.webp?auto=webp&disable=upscale&width=1420&height=650&fit=crop)
40 comments
Julie
March 03, 2019
When did the Hilton Honors card start offering 5x on gas groceries and restaurants? It was 3x when I signed up for it. So no need to go for the Blue Cash Everyday that is 3x. Especially since you are not able to combine BC with HH.
Christine Krzyszton
March 05, 2019
Hi Julie. The Hilton Honors American Express Card earns 5 points per dollar spent at U.S. supermarkets, U.S. gas stations and U.S. restaurants. Here is the actual verbiage from the card’s terms and conditions: “You will receive 2 additional Hilton Honors Bonus Points, for a total of 5, for each dollar of eligible purchases at the following categories of merchants excluding superstores and warehouse clubs: restaurants located in the U.S., supermarkets located in the U.S. and on gasoline at gas stations located in the U.S.”
Julie
March 05, 2019
This was great news. So now going to scrap the plan to get the Blue Cash Everyday esp that it is only cashback and there would be no points to transfer to my HH. Maybe now if I use my HH more they will give me better offers.
Christine Krzyszton
March 05, 2019
Glad you found the information useful, Julie. Thanks for reading.
Julie
March 05, 2019
Yes. The no AF HH.
Christine Krzyszton
March 05, 2019
Thanks for confirming which card you have. That’s the one that earns 5 points/$1 on restaurants, supermarkets, and gas stations.
Mian Ali
April 04, 2019
Can I purchase Hilton Honors points on the open market. Anyone sell these?
Or anyone in the group?
Christine Krzyszton
April 05, 2019
Hi Mian. You can purchase Hilton Honors points directly from Hilton. It is not the best value but when there is a promotion, it can be a viable option for a specific redemption. I would not advise purchasing points from an individual.
John Baker
March 21, 2019
If I was already a member of Priority Pass and I am a new member of Hilton Honors, is there anyway that I could get the 10,000 free Hilton points that you get for applying to Priority Pass?
Stephen Au
March 22, 2019
Hey John,
Unfortunately, American Express will not substitute any of the perks you receive on a card with extra points.
Robert
March 24, 2019
I have stayed multiple times in Hilton Hotels. The stays do appear in my account but I am not receiving any reward points. Might there be hotels that appear in the account but are not earning points?
Christine Krzyszton
March 24, 2019
Hi Robert and thanks for your question. If you are using Hilton Honors points to book hotel stays, you may not be earning any points. Also, if you book Hilton hotels through a third party such as Orbitz, Hotels.com, etc. you will also not earn points. If you are booking paid hotel stays through the Hilton website or app and not earning points, you can call Hilton Honors and request the points. Hope this helps.
Jack
April 30, 2019
Anyone know if you can get the sign up bonus for the $95 annual fee card if you already have the no annual fee card?
Katie Seemann
May 01, 2019
Hi Jack,
Yes, you should be eligible to earn the sign up bonus on the Hilton Honors Amex Ascend Card ($95 fee) as long as you haven’t had the previous version of this card (Hilton Honors Surpass). So if you only have the no fee Hilton Honors card you should be good to go.
KC Patel
June 23, 2019
Is there any way to convert Hilton Honors Points to Amex Membership rewards?
Also, which Amex would you say is better, Hilton Amex or the Bonvoy Amex?
Thank you, your site is so helpful!
Jarrod West
June 23, 2019
KC,
Thank you for the kind words!
Unfortunately, it is not possible to transfer your Hilton Honors points to Amex Membership Rewards points.
As far as which credit card is better, that largely depends on your travel needs and hotel group you prefer to stay with.
Dee
July 08, 2019
Where can I find a list of eligible U.S. restaurants, supermarkets, and gas stations for earning Hilton Honor points? I currently have the card with no annual fee.
Christine Krzyszton
July 08, 2019
Hello Dee. There is not a list of eligible restaurants, supermarkets, or gas stations that qualify for earning Hilton Honor points. The IRS does classifies businesses by assigning merchant category codes (MCC), however, and you can use that list to get an idea of which businesses fall into which categories. American Express may assign some of its own merchant codes but the IRS will give you a general guideline. A purchase at any business that has a restaurant, supermarket, or gas station Amex merchant code will receive the appropriate amount of Hilton Honor points. https://www.dm.usda.gov/procurement/card/card_x/mcc.pdf
Fun traveling
July 29, 2019
Is it worth it to buy a hotel room option “double points”. Any recommendations as to how to judge the math on that as each property is different. Never cheat on how many points I’m getting, so not sure if say the $49 increase is worth it.
Jarrod West
July 29, 2019
Hi, Fun traveling!
In order to determine if this is a good value, you need to calculate whether the extra points you will earn are worth the additional cost you will pay per night.
To help with the math, check out our post on what points and miles are worth!
/travel/points-and-miles-valuations/
Thanks for reading!
Sheilar k Smith
September 12, 2019
I thought my points were all set. I spent several months at the Hampton Inn in Alton, Il. Now I find something must have gone wrong with my registration. My daughter had the same stay and her registration is fine. Along with her points. Is there anything I can do to get my points?
Jarrod West
September 13, 2019
Hi Sheilar,
We do not represent and have no affiliation with Hilton. We are a website that provided education travel guides. In order to get this situation resolved you will need to contact the Hilton customer service team.
Thanks for reading!
L
August 28, 2021
There is a missing stay form you can fill out on the hilton.com website. You log into your account and find the missing stays form, fill it out, and return it to Hilton in order for them to compensate you for all stays. Also, make sure you have all of your check-in and out days, as well as your Honors id number, and your stays confirmation numbers to ensure that things are fixed and handled within a timely fashion. Good luck.
Mike
November 18, 2019
If I book two properties at once (e.g. having overlap), how do they get counted?
Also if I check out and check back in, does it count as a new stay?
Thanks!
Jarrod West
November 19, 2019
Hi Mike,
Do you mean booking a night at 2 separate properties on the same day? Since you will only be able to check-in for one of those reservations, it’s likely that only 1 would be counted.
Usually, there needs to be at least 1 night in-between checking out and checking back in to qualify as 2 separate stays.
Martin
November 26, 2019
The hhonors program went downhill. Highly likely to be my last year with them, even next year I keep Diamond status, they’ve messed up so many times that it is hard to believe for me. Double charged points for one stay then claimed I stayed at that hotel twice. So-called “bonus points” when completing 40th 50th 60th night is a joke as well, always have to remind them to count it to your account, etc. After their CRM changed, if I recall something like 18 months ago, it has been one sad story.
rms
December 01, 2019
How many points will I earn by buying a Hilton Gift Card with Hilton Honors Amex card?
Jarrod West
December 02, 2019
Hi Rms,
It is likely that you will earn just 3x, as the cards T&C to earn the 7x for Hilton stays do not include gift card purchases.
Kri$tofer
January 18, 2020
Currently Amtrak points can be transferred to Hilton if the Amtrak member has a high tier membership, typically spending $2500 on train travel a year, or having the Bank of America Amtrak credit card and spending $20,000 in a calendar year. Transfer to Hilton can take upwards to 28 days.
P. Erickson
February 02, 2020
As a Hilton Diamond member, we use an American Airlines Citibank MasterCard to pay for our stays and only earn Hilton points (no AA miles). With the change coming in April 2020 (no longer cooperation between Hilton and AA to earn miles), will paying with the AA Citi credit card still give us Hilton points on our stays? Thanks for your reply.
Andrew Kunesh
February 04, 2020
Hello! Yes, you will still earn Hilton points when paying with an American Airlines co-branded credit card. Likewise, you’ll still earn Hilton points on your stay so long as you book directly with Hilton. The partnership only means that you cannot transfer miles from Hilton to American or earn American points in lieu of Hilton points.
Stephen Au
February 04, 2020
P. Erickson,
You’ll earn Hilton points regardless of what card you use to pay. The number of points you earn is broken down into 2 buckets:
1. Points for booking a reservation (credit card doesn’t matter)
2. Points for putting Hilton spending on a specific credit card
So, you’ll still earn a base amount plus your Diamond bonus, but you won’t earn any by virtue of your credit card.
NewbieBigCardRoller
February 25, 2020
New 2 card owner. I now have the Hilton Aspire card and the Chase Sapphire Reserve, I’m still confused about what would be the better point value using either card for daily things like groceries or a dinner out, dry cleaning, etc. CSR looks better in one sense, for things like travel, but what about other redemptions like gift cards? My gut says CSR day to day, due to the ton of Diamond points I will get for stays, but looking at early statement info its awesome to see “7x” and “3x” on my basic purchases like gas via the Aspire card. Thank you for answering questions and great site!
Jarrod West
February 29, 2020
Hi NewbieBigCardRoller,
We value Chase Ultimate Reward points at 1.95 cent per point, so that represents a value of 1.95% return on your spend when using the card on non-bonused spend. We value Hilton points at 0.4 cents each, representing a 1.2% return on your non-bonused spend thanks to the 3x earnings. So, in this case, you would want to use your CSR for all of your day to day spending – unless you’re trying to earn as many Hilton points as possible for a specific redemption.
JD
June 23, 2020
Vinesse ended their promo with Hilton in 2018.
Jarrod West
June 23, 2020
Hi JD,
This offer appears to still be active: https://www2.vinesse.com/offer/clubjoin.cfm?src=hiltwebex
Joe
January 01, 2021
Can I purchase Hilton points with my Amazon gift card?
Jarrod West
January 02, 2021
Hi Joe,
No, Amazon gift cards can only be used towards Amazon purchases.
Kasey
September 08, 2021
FTD.com offer is no longer valid, just FYI.
Jarrod West
September 10, 2021
Hi Kasey,
Are you sure? It seems that Hilton is still listed on the FTD partners page.
Any thoughts or questions? Comment below!
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