From now till 1 October 2021, 11.59 a.m SGT, Hilton is offering a 100% bonus on points purchases with the maximum purchase cap doubled from 80,000 to 160,000 points (pre-bonus).
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| Buy Hilton Points with a 100% bonus |
A minimum of 15,000 points must be purchased to trigger the 100% bonus. Hilton points usually cost 1 US cent apiece, so a 100% bonus means buying points at 0.5 US cents each, the lowest price we ever see available.
Hilton points expire after 15 months of inactivity, but due to COVID-19, Hilton has temporarily paused the expiration of all points scheduled to expire between now and 31 December 2021. Earning or redeeming even a single point resets the clock, so a simple way to renew your balance is to make and cancel a fully-refundable points booking.
Should you buy Hilton points for the Germany VTL?
With the upcoming Germany VTL, is it worth buying points for hotel stays?
| Hotel | Sample Rate | Points |
| HGI Frankfurt City Centre | €71/ US$83 |
22,000 |
| HGI Frankfurt Airport | €120/ US$141 | 37,000 |
| Hilton Frankfurt Airport | €144/ US$169 | 44,000 |
| Hilton Frankfurt City Centre | €165/ US$193 | 51,000 |
| HGI Munich City West | €94/ US$110 | 25,000 |
| Hilton Munich Park | €117/ US$137 | 36,000 |
| Hilton Munich City | €128/ US$150 | 36,000 |
| Hilton Munich Airport | €158/ US$185 | 56,000 |
Not really. Since hotel rates are so low right now, you’d be better off paying the cash rates instead. The best value points redemptions tend to be for the uberluxe properties (see below), and Germany doesn’t really have those.
Should you buy Hilton points for staycations?
Nope. Of the three Hilton properties in Singapore, Hilton Singapore and Conrad Centennial have been approved for staycation guests, but the latter has reverted to a dedicated SHN facility for the time being.
Even if they were available, here’s how much it’d normally cost to redeem them:
When comparing these prices to the cash rates, I don’t think it’s worth buying points to redeem stays (especially when you factor in staycation package inclusions like breakfast or late check-out).
What else can you do with Hilton points?
So when would you buy Hilton points then?
The classic use case for buying Hilton points is to snag a stay at a luxurious property for much less. Take for instance the Conrad Maldives where an award night at goes for 95,000 Hilton Honors points. Paid rates can cost as much as US$990+ a night before tax.
If you purchase Hilton Honors points at a 100% bonus during this sale and use them at the Conrad Maldives, you’ll effectively be paying only US$475 a night. Remember that if you’re a Silver member or above, you get the 5th night free on awards, reducing the overall cost to US$380 a night. Hilton Honors Silver status is offered to all AMEX KrisFlyer Ascend cardholders.
What’s even better is that using Hilton Honors points to book your stay gives you a flexible reservation, compared to paying the lowest available rate which is usually a non-refundable rate.
Another idea is to try your luck booking the Waldorf Astoria Maldives, which costs 120,000 points a night. That’s a hefty US$600, but this is a property that charges upwards of US$1.5K a night, plus the 5th night free benefit (if you can find a stretch of five nights in a row) would reduce your average cost to US$480. Do note that award space has been severely restricted of late, but it’s possible to find availability in February and May 2022.
It’s something to think about if/when the Maldives becomes a realistic option for Singapore residents.
What card should I use to purchase Hilton points?
Hilton points purchases are processed by Points.com and charged in USD. You should use the following cards to maximize your returns from buying Hilton Honors points:
| Card | Earn Rate | Remarks |
 Citi RewardsApply here |
4 mpd | Cap of S$1K per s. month |
 UOB Visa SignatureApply here |
4 mpd | Min S$1K Max S$2K FCY spend per s. month |
 SCB Visa InfiniteApply here |
3 mpd | Min S$2K spend per s. month |
 UOB PRVI MilesApply here |
2.4 mpd | No cap |
| S. Month= Statement Month | C. Month= Calendar Month | ||
I don’t recommend using the DBS Woman’s World Card for Points.com purchases, as many people have reported issues with getting the bonus points credited.
Conclusion
A 100% bonus sale is business-as-usual for Hilton, meaning you should never pay full price for Hilton points.
Don’t buy these for staycations or VTL travel, but do keep it at the back of your mind should travel to luxury resort type destinations open up.
Not forgetting the other use which is to top up airline points.
One of the few methods for a Singapore based traveller to top up an Asiana account to use their excellent value 55k J fare to Europe.
At 10k HH points for 1K 0Z points you will be paying around S$70 for every 1000 points so it’s not a value play but can be useful if you are 90% of the way to an award and want to book sooner rather later before asiana are swallowed forever by the Korean air behemoth ….
Waldorf Astoria Berlin saves you a whopping 10% (plus better cancellation rules). 331EUR for the rock bottom room vs 70k points.
maybe it’s the dates I’m looking at, but when i did a cursory search for september i saw the rates as low as 234 euros for WA Berlin
You’re right. I wasn’t using the calendar function but just looked at “my” week (12-19).
Rates range from 234EUR to 436EUR in the month of September with the latter being a solid use case for points (e.g. September 29). Not exactly Conrad Maldives territory though 😉
does asia have any points buying site? Still got quite a bit of points left but don’t forsee myself travelling to countries with more hilton properties yet
Does Hilton points purchase renew/extend points expiry?