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I love the Hilton Honors rewards program. It’s simple and there are many ways to earn points. Plus Hilton has over 6,100 properties spread out over 118 countries. This leads to many options for redeeming Hilton Honors points at places like the Conrad Maldives and Hilton Luxor in Egypt. Learn more in the Basic Guide to Earning Hilton Honors Points!
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How to Earn Hilton Honors Points
Paid Stays at Hilton Properties
The default points earning structure for Hilton stays are 10 Points for every $1. Hilton Honors Elite members earn an additional bonus broken down below.
- Silver Members Earn 20% Bonus
- Gold Members Earn 80% Bonus
- Diamond Members Earn 100% Bonus
Exception – Tru and Home 2 Hilton properties earn one-half of the number of points listed above. These hotels typically are more budget travel friendly and offer lower-paid rates.
Paid Stays with a Points Unlimited Promotion
Every now and then Hilton Honors offers it’s members the opportunity to earn bonus points through the “Points Unlimited” promotion. It’s free to opt into and offers bonus Hilton Honors points for paid stays. The current promotion is listed below:
Visit our Top Credit Cards Page for our favorite cards!
“Now through September 7, earn 2,000 Points every stay and 10,000 Points every 10 nights, during the Points Unlimited promotion.”
Lyft Rides
Link your Hilton Honors and Lyft accounts to earn 3 Points per $1 spent on Lyft rides (economy, luxury, and extra seats). Earn 2 Points per $1 spent on shared Lyft rides. Earn up to 30,000 Points per year on $10,000 spent at Lyft. Stack the Hilton Honors Lyft promotion with the Chase Sapphire Lyft Promotion for even great value!
Hilton Honors Dining Program
Earn Hilton Honors points for eating out at restaurants throughout the United States. Simply create an account, link a credit card(s), and dine at a participating restaurant. There are three different points-earning structures listed below.
- 2 Bonus Points per $1 when you don’t opt-in for email notifications.
- 5 Bonus Points per $1 when you dine 10 or fewer times in a year, and opt-in for email notifications from Hilton Honors Dining.
- 8 Bonus Points per $1 when you dine 11 or more times in a year, and opt-in for email notifications from Hilton Honors Dining.
New members of the Hilton Honors Dining Program can earn an additional 1,000 points after spending $25 in the first 30 days at a qualifying restaurant.
Earn Hilton Honors Points with Rental Cars
Hilton Honors partners with Alamo, Enterprise, and National Rental Car Agencies.
Base Offer: Earn 500 Bonus Points for every completed Qualifying Rental as defined below. Non-US Reservations must be made 24 hours in advance.
Bonus Offer: Earn an additional 500 Bonus Points per rental day, up to 4,500 bonus points, per Qualifying Rental booked through this site (Hilton.com). Hilton Bonus Points earned are based on the length of the Qualifying Rental based on the table below. Offer valid for rentals reserved on 1/1/2020 or after and completed by 12/31/2020.
Transfer Points from Amex Membership Rewards
American Express Membership Rewards (MR) points can be transferred to the Hilton Honors program at a 1:2 ratio. For example, 10,000 Membership Rewards points will equal 20,000 Hilton Honors points. It’s easy to transfer, simply login to an Amex MR account and click transfer rewards points.
Pool and Transfer Points between Friends
Hilton Honors Members can transfer Hilton Honors Points to another Hilton Honors Member through Points Pooling or 1-to-1 transfer in increments of 1,000 Points and up to 500,000 Points. Each Hilton Honors Member is limited to sending no more than five hundred thousand (500,000) Points and receiving two million (2,000,000) Points via Points Pooling or Transfers combined per calendar year. This is a great travel hack for friends and family who can work together in order to stay at some of those top aspirational Hilton properties.
Earn Hilton Honors Points from Credit Cards
It’s easy to earn Hilton Honors points from any of the four co-branded credit cards. There are three American Express personal credit card options and one small-business card. All four options come with amazing welcome offers and opportunities to earn bonus points on daily spending. You’ll find all four options below.
AMEX Hilton Honors Credit Card
Earn 75,000 bonus miles once you spend $1,000 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening. Terms Apply. Learn More Here.
AMEX Hilton Honors Surpass Credit Card
Earn 125,000 bonus miles once you spend $3,000 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening. Learn More Here.
Hilton Honors Aspire AMEX Credit Card
Earn 150,000 bonus miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening. Terms Apply. Learn More Here.
Hilton Honors American Express Business Credit Card
Earn 125,000 Hilton Honors Points once you spend $3,000 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening. Terms Apply. Learn More Here.
Basic Breakdown
There are so many ways to earn Hilton Honors points which is why I love this brand so much. From rental cars to dining to credit card spending – Hilton Honors points earning are wide ranging. After earning comes redeeming. Hilton Honors points can be redeemed for many different things including hotel nights. Be sure to check out our Basic Guide to Redeeming Hilton Honors Points (Coming Soon) for more!
What’s your favorite strategy for earning Hilton Honors Points? I’d love to hear from you down in the comments below or over in the 4,000 + Member Basic Travel Facebook Group!
More Basic Reading
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- How to book an Overwater Bungalow at the Conrad Maldives for cheap!
- Why I paid $95 to upgrade my no-fee Hilton Credit Card (Hint Overwater Bungalow)
- Seven Travel Hacks to Save Money
Disclosure: Basic Travel Couple, LLC has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Basic Travel Couple, LLC and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers.Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
