Points Reckoning
Updated June 17th, 2019
Hilton Honors is a very reliable, but otherwise low-value loyalty program. Of course, “low-value” is relative, and not necessarily as bad as the number above would lead one to believe. First, the bad. We’re only assigning an ACRV of 0.35¢ to each Hilton Honors point. However, this is offset by the fact they’re relatively easy to earn, 10-20 ppd, depending on elite status tier, for stays at most Hilton properties. Furthermore, Membership Rewards transfer at a rate of 1:2. So transfer 1000 Amex points, nets 2000 Hilton Honors points.
Compared to our last reckoning, Hilton Honors points have decreased in value by approximately 8%. This is a relatively modest decline and one small enough that we might attribute it to seasonal pricing variations. That said, compared to the massive increase in value we saw over at Choice, it’s a bit disappointing.
| Current | Previous Period | $ Change | % Change | |
| 30 Day Average | 0.30¢ | 0.39¢ | -0.09¢ | -24% |
| 90 Day Average | 0.40¢ | 0.37¢ | +0.03¢ | +8% |
| ACRV | 0.35¢ | 0.38¢ | -0.03¢ | -8% |
| 30 Day Non-Zero | 0.33¢ | 0.43¢ | -0.10¢ | -23% |
| 90 Day Non-Zero | 0.44¢ | 0.41¢ | +0.03¢ | +8% |
| Average Non-Zero | 0.39¢ | 0.42¢ | -0.03¢ | -8% |
| Award Availability | 100% | 100% | n/a | +0% |
The above bell curve represents a relatively tightly bound grouping of hypothetical award redemptions. The two lines adjacent to the average represent one standard deviation in either direction. In other words, 68% of award redemptions should occur between the rates of .23 and 54¢.
Hilton Honors Status Tiers
| wdt_ID | Perks | Member | Silver | Gold | Diamond |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Guaranteed Member Discount | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| 2 | Points Towards Free Nights | ✓ | +20% | +80% | +100% |
| 3 | No resort fees on Reward Stays | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| 4 | Digital Check-in and Choose Your Room | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| 5 | Digital Key | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| 6 | In-Room and Lobby Wi-Fi | Standard | Standard | Standard | Premium |
| 7 | Second Guest Stays Free | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| 8 | Late Check-out | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| 9 | Free Transfer of Points and Points Pooling | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| 10 | 5th Standard Reward Night Free | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Other Program Info
One really annoying quirk with Hilton’s web booking portal is the fact that one has better access to required points when not logged in to their Honors account. We’re assuming that because we keep a balance of 0 points, the system is somehow hiding award bookings. This is really annoying when one views Hilton as a potential transfer partner. In other words, how does one know how many points to transfer if the requirements are invisible?
Luckily, there’s a wonky work-around, private browsing. A quick little Ctrl+Shift+N opens an incognito window in Chrome. Frustratingly, now that Hilton doesn’t know who’s looking at their website, they display prices in both cash and points.
| Redemption Count | ||
| Exceptional | >$0.06 | 0 |
| Great | $0.04-0.06 | 0 |
| Good | $0.03-0.04 | 0 |
| Respectable | $0.02-0.03 | 0 |
| Acceptable | $0.01-0.02 | 0 |
| Terrible | <$0.01 | 20 |
| No Availability | 0 | |
The above table should be taken with a grain of salt, considering Hilton isn’t a 1:1 transfer partner. Sadly, even by doubling our ACRV, things still don’t look good. Our best for the month, was a week at the Hilton Toronto, offered for 360,000 points. The cash price was $2,557.00, providing a redemption value of 0.71¢/pt.
So, is transferring a valuable Membership Reward to Hilton Honors worth it? Maybe, but most likely no. If one were to duplicate our best redemption above, and factor in a 1:2 transfer ratio, you’d have an effective redemption of 1.42¢ on your Amex points. That’s starting to get into acceptable territory, but just barely.
Compared to Industry Peers
For more information about how we value airline/hotel and other award currencies, please visit our valuation method and changelog pages.
