Staying at Hilton hotels around the world, step-by-step guide to booking using Hilton Honors points

Hilton Honors is, in my opinion, the migilor hotel chain loyalty program for an average Italian traveler. I explained in a detailed article the differences between Hilton Honors and Marriott Bonvoy and I also compared the Top level i.e. the Diamond Hilton with the Platinum Bonvoy and I remain convinced that despite everything for us Italians, Hilton still wins.

Hilton Honors what you need to know

• Accumulation of Points: Members earn a minimum of 10 points for every dollar spent during Hilton hotel stays and for all eligible expenses, such as dining and amenities. Points can be used for free nights, room upgrades, exclusive experiences and more.
• Levels of Belonging: There are four levels: Member, Silver, Gold and Diamond. Each level offers increasing benefits, such as point bonuses, room upgrades, free breakfast, and flexible check-in/check-out.
• Exclusive Offers: Access to special member-only rates, discounts on stays and exclusive promotional packages.
• Digital Check-in and Mobile Access: Members can make online check-in, choose their room via the mobile app Hilton Honors and use the phone as a digital key.
• Flexible Policy on Points: Points do not expire If the member makes an eligible transaction at least once every 24 months.

If you don't have enough points you can buy them (and save money)

The technique of buy points to save money we have explained it dozens of times and can, if implemented correctly, save thousands. For example, Joseph saved nearly $30,000.

Often Hilton Honors allows you to get a bonus of 100% If you buy points, doing so is simple. You must have a Hilton Honors account that has been active for at least 30 days or has points loaded, you can then buy (barring promotions) up to 140k points each year, points that can be used immediately to book a stay around the world.

The good thing is. you can merge the profiles of multiple users and thus accumulate points and make reservations using the common pool, which is a good strategy to get around the maximum limit of points that can be accumulated.

How to get free Hilton points

If you are an American Express customer, you can transfer the Membership Rewards points toward your Hilton Honors account. The conversion rate is 1:1 and this allows you to activate the account and renew the validity of the points in case you have not made even one stay in the last 24 months. There is no limit to the points you can transfer, and again you can merge accounts and make a reservation using the points of multiple users.

No points, then use Hilton Impresario

If you have no points, no status, but still want to book one of Hilton's most exclusive properties the world such as the Waldorf Astoria in the Maldives, the Conrad on Koh Samui, or in Los Angeles you can take advantage of the Hilton impresario and get double points, free breakfast and more, without the need to use a particular credit card and without any booking fee compared to what is the public price of the facility, indeed you often get many extra benefits and promotions if you book through this channel.

How to search and book a Hilton room using points

You need to be logged in within the Hilton website or via the official app, You will only need to search for the destination you are looking for and set the desired room feature, but will not need to select the dates of the stay sought.

After clicking on "find Hotel" a screen will open with a map and list of available facilities in the searched area. Now you will need to select "use points" to see the minimum price for each facility. Once you have located the desired facility simply click on "Select Dates"

This will take you to the calendar where, month by month, the cost of a single night at that particular facility is shown.

At this point you will be able, by clicking on "Edit Stay" enter the number of nights you want for the stay you plan to book. I remind you that if you book with points, you are entitled to the 5th night free for all stays For members who are at least Silver or higher in the Hilton Honors program.

Doing so will update the pricing calendar and show the amount of points per night you will have to pay for that stay on those specific dates, for example in the case above we have:

• If you stay from the 15th to the 20th the cost will be 40k points per night, which for 5 nights including the free night means 160k Hilton Honors points
• If you stay from the 16th to the 21st of the same month, the cost jumps to 118k points per night.
• The same example 5 nights between the 29th and 4th of the following month cost 89k points/night, while just by checking in the next day i.e. from the 30th to the 5th the cost goes back to 40k/night, i.e. saving more than the 50% of points just by choosing to arrive at the hotel one night later.

Three mistakes not to make when booking with points

#1 stay 4 nights

If you stay 4 nights using points you are entitled to one free night, so here is my advice is to aim to maximize this benefit, because not doing so is equivalent to throwing money/points away. Given that the 5th night is triggered every 4 nights paid with points this also applies to stays of 9 nights and multiples.

#2 Choose a Premium Room Reward

Always book the Standard Room Reward When booking with points. As you can see here the price difference is more than double, and this reduces the value of points immensely. You don't have to worry about upgrades or better treatment; on the contrary. Those who book with points have a better chance of being promoted to a better room than a regular customer.

#3 don't compare the cash price to the price with points

Always consider cash price and conversion rate versus points required.

It is also good not to forget that a room booked with points is flexible and cancellable, and most importantly, there are no extra charges such as taxes, surcharges such as resort fees, and other gabels that instead when you book cash are added to the price shown on the initial screen and that often significantly increase the final price of the reservation.

In conclusion

Hilton Honors points can bring great satisfaction (and savings) to those who exploit them, of course there are rules to follow and mechanisms to understand, but then once you understand the rules of the game it's a show.

• Hilton Honors