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Basic Guide to Earning Hilton Honors Points

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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! 

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.

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! 

Earn Hilton Honors Points on Lyft Rides

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 when dining out

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.

Breakdown of earning Hilton Honors Points for Rental Cars

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 Basic Travel Strategy for friends and family who can work together in order to stay at some of those top aspirational Hilton properties. 

Membership rewards transfer breakdown to Hilton Honors

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.

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Bonus Hilton Honors Points
Limited Time Offer: Earn 155,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points after you spend $3,000 in purchases on the Card within your first 6 months of Card Membership. Offer ends 4/17/2024†
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Limited Time Offer: Earn 155,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points after you spend $3,000 in purchases on the Card within your first 6 months of Card Membership. Offer ends 4/17/2024†
Hilton Honors Bonus Points
Earn 150,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points once you spend $4,000 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening.
Earn 150,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points once you spend $4,000 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening.

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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 earnings have a wide range of possibilities. 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 for more!

What’s your favorite strategy for earning Hilton Honors Points?

I’d love to hear in the comments below or over in our 8,200+ Member Basic Travel Facebook Group!

New to Credit Card Rewards Points? Check out the BASICS Below!

Editorial Disclaimer: Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.

The comments section below responses are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser’s responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.

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