Hilton Honors selling points with largest-ever 120% bonus

Hilton has just launched its largest-ever points purchase promotion, with a 120% bonus instead of the usual 100%. This reduces the cost per point to 0.45 US cents each, and depending on where and when you’re staying, could be an opportunity to save on hotel stays when cash rates are high.

However, it’s worth noting that Hilton has carried out some major award devaluations over the past few years, and award nights at its top properties now cost a frightening 250,000 points (a significant increase from the 2024 ceiling of 150,000 points!).

There can still be value buying points in certain situations, but you should verify availability and pricing before making the purchase. Don’t buy them speculatively!

Buy Hilton Points with a 120% bonus

Buy Hilton Points with 120% bonus

From now until 22 November 2026, 11.59 a.m SGT, Hilton Honors members who buy a minimum of 5,000 points will receive a 120% bonus.

Offers may be targeted, so you’ll need to log in to your account and see what’s available to you. 

Hilton points usually cost 1 US cent apiece, so with a 120% bonus, you’ll pay 0.45 US cents per point. A maximum of 240,000 points (pre-bonus) can be purchased this year, which works out to 528,000 points with the current bonus.

If you still need more points, Hilton points can be pooled with up to 10 other members for the purposes of redemption.

Hilton points expire after 24 months of inactivity. Any earning or redemption activity will reset the clock.

What can you do with Hilton points?

Hilton no longer has a published award chart, but as a rule of thumb, free nights start from 5,000 points and max out at 250,000 points per night. That’s a very wide range, so be sure to use the Hilton Points Explorer tool to check how your preferred property prices.

Back in 2022, I was visiting Indian Wells to watch a tennis tournament, and all the hotels were charging ridiculous rates. Even the humble 3-star Homewood Suites La Quinta was asking for US$624 per night, before taxes.

But the same room was available for 50,000 points per night, and Hilton was running one of their regular 100% bonus sales, which brought the price per point down to 0.5 US cents. By buying and redeeming points, I paid just US$200 nett per night (factoring in the 5th night free on redemptions). 

That’s an example of how buying points can help save money, though obviously Hilton’s pricing will have changed significantly since 2022.

Hilton members with Silver status or higher enjoy the 5th night free on all redemptions. When comparing points redemptions to cash rates, don’t forget that points redemptions also include all taxes and fees.

You can also use Hilton points to redeem experiences like sporting events or concerts. In February 2024, Hilton unexpectedly offered 10 pairs of tickets to the Hilton Suite at the National Stadium for Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour, which cost 100,000 points per pair. This was an insane redemption, and those who had points in their account could quickly jump on it (Hilton even refunded the points afterwards!). In March 2024, Hilton offered tickets to Bruno Mars’ sold-out Singapore tour from 70,000 points per pair, which was again a great deal. 

Hopefully there’ll be more such offers to come.

What card should you use to purchase Hilton points?

Purchases of Hilton points are processed by Points.com in USD as MCC 7399 (i.e. they won’t code as hotel transactions).

Here are the best cards to maximise miles on this purchase. 

Card	Earn Rate	Remarks
Citi Rewards Card Apply	4 mpd	Cap of S$1K per s. month
DCS Imperium Card Apply	4 mpd	Min. S$4K FCY spend per c. month, otherwise 2.4 mpd
Maybank XL Rewards Apply	4 mpd	Min. S$500 per c. month, cap of S$1K per c. month
UOB Visa Signature Apply	4 mpd	Min. S$1K, max S$1.2K FCY spend per s. month
StanChart Beyond Card Apply	3-4 mpd	3 mpd for regular, 3.5 mpd for PB, 4 mpd for PP. No cap
Maybank World Mastercard Apply	3.2 mpd	Min. S$4K per c. month, no cap. Earn 2.8 mpd with min. S$800 per c. month
Maybank Visa Infinite Apply	3.2 mpd	Min. S$4K per c. month, no cap, otherwise 2 mpd
StanChart Visa Infinite Apply	3 mpd	Min. S$2K per s. month, no cap, otherwise 1 mpd
BOC Elite Miles Card Apply	2.8 mpd	No min. spend or cap
Maybank Horizon Visa Signature Apply	2.8 mpd	Min. S$800 per c. month, no cap, otherwise 1.2 mpd
S. Month= Statement Month | C. Month= Calendar Month

Remember, you can pair the Citi Rewards Card with Amaze to earn 4 mpd on Points.com purchases, while paying lower FCY fees than banks.

Avoid using the following cards for Points.com purchases:

• Chocolate Visa Card (MCC 7399 is capped at earning 300 miles per month)
• DBS Woman’s World Card (only earns 0.4 mpd for MCC 7399)
• HSBC cards & Trust Freedom Card (both exclude MCC 7399)

Conclusion

Buy Hilton Points with 120% bonus

Hilton Honors is now selling points with a 120% bonus until 22 November 2026, with members able to purchase up to 528,000 points in total.

This is the lowest price that Hilton has ever sold its points, and while it’s potentially exciting, you should still follow best practices: check availability before buying points, and don’t buy points speculatively.

(H/T: The Shutterwhale)