Hilton Honors, goodbye chance to convert points to miles from 11 companies
The Hilton Honors loyalty program has always made it possible to transform points, earned from stays at hotels belonging [...]
The Hilton Honors Loyalty Program has always made it possible to turn points, earned from stays at hotels belonging to the chain, into miles from many airlines.
In this article:
The operation is not among the most convenient, but it is useful in some cases, such as when a handful of miles are missing to get the award ticket.
What changes from June 15
As of June 15, you will no longer be able to transfer points on nearly one-third of partner airlines, the partnership ceases with:
- Aeroflot,
- Alaska Airlines,
- Avianca,
- Finnair,
- Frontier Airlines,
- Garuda Indonesia,
- Hawaiian Airlines,
- LATAM Airlines,
- Philippine Airlines,
- South African Airlines.
These carriers are also joined by Amtrak, the American railroad company.
This will reduce the number of partner airlines to 20. For us Europeans, the biggest damage is the exit of Finnair, a carrier that is also partnered with American Express and Aeroflot.
All other partners, however, remain unchanged; here are the main ones with their conversion rates:
- Aeromexico: 25,000 Hilton points = 6,500 Premier points.
- Air France/KLM: 10,000 Hilton points = 1,000 Flying Blue points.
- ANA - All Nippon Airways: 10,000 Hilton points = 1,000 Mileage Club miles.
- Asiana Airlines: 10,000 Hilton points = 1,000 Asiana miles.
- British Airways: 10,000 Hilton points = 1,000 Avios.
- Cathay Pacific: 10,000 Hilton points = 1,000 Asia miles.
- Delta Air Lines: 10,000 Hilton points = 1,000 SkyMiles.
- Emirates: 10,000 Hilton points = 1,000 Skywards points.
- Etihad Airways: 10,000 Hilton points = 1,000 Etihad Guest miles.
- Japan Airlines: 10,000 Hilton points = 1,000 MileageBank points.
- Malaysia Airlines: 10,000 Hilton points = 1,200 Enrich points.
- Qatar Airlines: 10,000 Hilton points = 1,000 Privilege Club Qmiles.
- Qantas Airways: 10,000 Hilton points = 1,500 Qantas frequent flyer points.
- Singapore Airlines: 8,000 Hilton points = 1,000 Krisflyer points.
- United Airlines: 10,000 Hilton points = 1,000 MileagePlus miles.
- Virgin Atlantic Airways: 10,000 Hilton points = 1,500 Flying Club miles.
- Virgin Australia: 10,000 Hilton points = 1,500 Velocity points.
How to transfer points to a partner
The procedure is that the user enrolled in the HHonors program first enters on his or her account the details of the various loyalty programs he or she is enrolled in.
You can then access the appropriate section by selecting the airline of your choice and indicating the number of points you want to transfer.
The transfer is NOT immediate, which means that if you are in a hurry, you have to calculate that it could take up to 30 days to see the points credited to your chosen loyalty program account.
Transfer points between friends and relatives
As is the case with numerous airlines that allow you to share points in a "family" plan, Hilton also allows for a similar operation and totally free of charge.
In fact, one can create a group of up to 10 accounts that can share accumulated points with each other.
Hilton Honors members can transfer 1,000 points to 500,000 points to another program member. Each Hilton Honors member can send no more than 500,000 points and receive 2 million points per calendar year. He or she may also make six transfers to other members' accounts and six Hilton point collection transactions per calendar year.
In conclusion
As we have said many times, points should always be used in the best way and not wasted, no matter if we are talking about Alitalia Millemiglia o Membership Rewards. As for hotels, surely the most convenient and apt choice is to use them to sleep for free in the chain's facilities.
Personally, I think it is correct to transfer to a partner in two cases:
- You want to book an award ticket with Emirates and you need a few thousand miles to detach first class
- You no longer frequent hotels in this chain and want to dispose of the remaining points that you do not plan to use otherwise
In any case, it is good to always remember that the Hilton Honors program allows points to be donated to charity: for every 10k points donated as many will be donated by Hilton to the same cause.
