We’ve previously shared information about the IHG Hotel Family and its loyalty program. The Hilton HHonors program is another hotel loyalty program we like to use. The Hilton hotel family is composed of Hilton Hotel & Resorts, Waldorf Astoria, Conrad, Canopy, Curio Collection, DoubleTree, Embassy Suites, Hilton Garden Inn, Hampton Inn, Homewood Suites, Home 2 Suites and Hilton Grand Vacations. As opposed to the IHG Hotel Family, there are lots of luxury hotels within the Hilton hotel family.
Earning Points
Points are earned while staying at any Hilton property and are calculated according to the base price of the room, excluding taxes. For most of the Hilton hotels, the base price is multiplied by 10 to determine your points for the stay; for example, a $100 per night room will give you 1000 points per night. The exception to this is Home2 Suites by Hilton, which only earn 5 HHonors points per dollar on the base price of the room.
On top of the points per dollar based on the room price, the HHonors program will give you bonus points (Points and Points) or airline miles (Points and Miles) as well. You choose one or the other when you sign up. If you choose additional points, you will receive 5 bonus points for each dollar spent on the base price of your room (except for Home 2 Suites, by Hilton, where you will get 2.5) in addition to the points listed above. If you choose airline miles, you will receive an airline mile for each dollar spent on the base price of your room. plus the points listed above.
Loyalty Levels
Hilton has four loyalty levels that you can obtain. Level increases can be earned through accumulation of nights or through points; increasing your loyalty level will increase the number of points you earn. The Blue level is the starting level and allows you to earn points as described above. The Silver level can be earned after four stays or 10 nights. Silver earns a 15% bonus for extra points on top of your base points. At the Silver level and above (Silver, Gold, and Diamond), you will also receive every 5th night free on Standard Room reward stays. The Gold level can be earned after 20 stays, 40 nights, or 75,000 base points. Gold earns a 25% bonus on top of your base points. At the Gold level and above, you will be eligible for space-available upgrades to preferred rooms. The Diamond level can be earned after 30 stays, 60 nights or 120,000 base points. Diamond members earn a 50% bonus on top of base points.
All of these benefits, plus a few more (late checkout, free fitness club access, welcome bonuses, and others) are shown on the HHonors website. It is possible to earn the Silver or Gold Levels by obtaining various credit cards.
Using Points
Using HHonors points is a simple process. Hilton properties are broken into 10 different categories.
| HOTEL CATEGORY | HHONORS POINTS REQUIRED FOR ONE FREE NIGHT |
| 1 | 5,000 Points |
| 2 | 10,000 Points |
| 3 | 20,000 Points |
| 4 | 20,000 to 30,000 Points |
| 5 | 30,000 to 40,000 Points |
| 6 | 30,000 to 50,000 Points |
| 7 | 30,000 to 60,000 Points |
| 8 | 40,000 to 70,000 Points |
| 9 | 50,000 to 80,000 Points |
| 10 | 70,000 to 95,000 Points |
The rooms can be booked online at the Hilton web site after signing into your HHonors account. Put in your search criteria for the dates, number of rooms, and location of where you would like to stay. Make sure you select “Use HHonors Points”.
The search results will show available rooms that can be booked using HHonors points and the cost for those rooms. Just select “Book a room” and finalize the reservation and the points will be removed from your account.
The reservations can be canceled later (within certain conditions) and the points will be redeposited almost immediately into your HHonors account.
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