Sleeping for free in the world's best Hilton hotel has become more expensive

On our site we try to teach readers how to get the most out of using the points you manage to painstakingly set aside.

One of the first rules we explained for the reward travel novices is to set your goals very well, especially if you do not have the opportunity to make millions of points every year. In addition, all serial accumulators of points know that sooner or later will come a devaluation, that is, a loss of value of the points, and that is what we are telling today.

In recent weeks we had explained how to be able to book in one of the best Hilton facilities in the world spending little or nothing, in any case much less than the cost normally charged.

Today, however, we bring you bad news: stay without paying in one of the most exclusive resorts in the world, and in the most expensive Hilton hotel on earth, Has become much more expensive. 

Of course, when we talk about not paying, we mean. use Hilton Honors points To settle the living room.

The Waldorf Astoria Maldives Ithaafushi

The special feature of this resort is its exclusivity: the "worst" room is a seaside villa with a pool and a resort with all amenities.

In low season periods, for the cheapest accommodation, one must spend no less than 1,500 per night. Until last week it was possible to pay a minimum of 120,000 points per night, this figure has now quietly increased to 150k.

Unlike the Marriott Bonvoy program, Hilton does not use a fixed table for the cost of award nights at its hotels, much less rank the facilities. Therefore, there is no minimum/maximum price, but the points required can vary by as much as several hundred thousand depending on the hotel's occupancy rate.

Confirmation of this increase came directly from Hilton, which stated how there will be a 25% increase for the major facilities in its catalog.

The devaluation Hilton Honors

During this pandemic period, the American chain has been the one most attentive to the needs of its loyal customers: renewed statuses, very generous promotions, loosening of cancellation policies. In short, it has been truly perfect.

Now that the U.S. market is seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, however, it appears that Hilton is moving to cash out, beginning what many see as the first hint of a major devaluation of points. Simply put, sleeping in hotels using points will require a larger outlay, as is the case with the Maldives resort.

I personally rate the Hilton Honors program the best among those accessible to us Italians, and the reasons are basically 3:

1. The gold level at Honors program Is guaranteed for holders of American Express Platinum and allows you to get room upgrade and free breakfast, an advantage worth no less than 20€ per night
2. There are so many group hotels in Italy and the rest of the world, where to stay for all kinds of vacations/spending
3. There is always a promotion that allows you to earn many bonus points during the stays

Use the points to sleep for free in Milan has a cost that is normally between 15 and 18 thousand points, although the most luxurious can cost 4 times as much. By taking advantage of the promos, however, you can easily accumulate a lot of points by spending less than 100€ per night. An example of this is my last stay at the hotel Hilton Milan, where I accumulated over 12,000 points in a single night paying a little more than 130€.

Now all that remains to be done is to wait and see whether the "devaluation," as the Americans call it, will be just a targeted operation on a small group of facilities around the world or will affect the entire portfolio.

• Hilton Honors
• depreciation