Hilton is having a 100% bonus on purchased points from now till 3 June 2016. This allows you to buy points for 0.5 US cents each. This is a non-targeted promotion, so anyone regardless of status or stay history will be able to access it.
You are limited to a maximum of 160,000 purchased points (base + bonus) per year, so you max this out at US$800 and 160,000 points.
Buying points at 0.5 USÂ cents each can make sense if you have a high value redemption in mind. Here are some ideas
Idea 1: Conrad Koh Samui
In my post on how to hack the Conrad Koh Samui, I mentioned how you could save more than 50% of the listed price just by buying points.
Rooms here go at 80,000 or 95,000 points per night, depending on time of year. If you buy points at 0.5 US cents each, you’re paying US$400 or US$475 a night, quite a deal at a property where the going rate is usually double that.
If you’re seriously considering going to the Conrad Koh Samui I’d strongly advise you to read a few of the tips in the hacking article. It could save you quite a bit of money
Idea 2: Conrad Maldives
Or how about the Conrad Maldives?
Rates here can be upwards of US$900 a night, but with your 95,000 HHonors points bought at 0.5 US cents each, you’re looking at a good discount.
Idea 3: New York on New Year’s Eve
Suppose you want to be in Times Square New York over New Year’s eve. Check out those prices…
$4K+ for a hotel in Times Square! But if you use your HHonors points, the same room gets cut to US$475. Hardly a steal, but if you’re determined to be there no matter what…
Idea 4: Arbitrage at some low category HHonors properties
There’s something to be said about functionality too. If the glitz and glamor of Times Square on NY eve or a private island in the Maldives doesn’t appeal to you, you can still get a very good discount on low-tier Hhonors properties.
Here is the current Hilton award chart. Note the prices for hotels in Category 1 and 2. 5,000 points is basically US$25, and 10,000 points is US$50. These are great rates if you can find a property you intend to stay in
So what are some useful properties in these categories? The definition of “useful” will of course vary depending on your travel pattern, but here are some suggestions
- DoubleTree by Hilton Johor (Cat 2)
- DoubleTree by Hilton KL (Cat 2)
- DoubleTree by Hilton Penang (Cat 2)
- Hilton Garden Inn Hanoi (Cat 2)
- DoubleTree by Hilton Beijing (Cat 2)
- DoubleTree by Hilton Suzhou (Cat 2)
- Hilton Garden Inn Shenzhen (Cat 1)
- Virtually every Hilton in Egypt is Cat 1
- Hampton Inn Bakersfield (Cat 2- don’t laugh. It’s a useful rest stop if you’re making the drive between San Francisco and Los Angeles)
Conclusion
Remember that if you’re a top-tier elite, you can request a Hilton Diamond status match. Diamond status allows you to bypass minimum stay requirements during peak periods. Some properties may have 2 or 3 night minimum stays around New Year’s Eve or other big public holidays, but if you’re a Diamond that doesn’t affect you.
As with all promotions, I don’t recommend buying points speculatively, but if you have a trip coming up, why not see if you can make this work to your advantage?
What credit card to use to maximize the miles earning to buy the points? TY
dbs woman’s world, assuming you have not hit your cap
So it’s online purchase category yeah? That’s good. I will use that card 🙂 Just curious, when was the last time u tried and tested with this card on such purchase? Thanks a lot
ok i need to confess i have not tried it before, but i really cannot think of any reason why it would not code as online spend. the purchase is processed by points.com, not by hilton (so in case you were thinking of using dbs altitude for online hotel spend it won’t work)
Ya, I was thinking if it will be hotel category. Ok, agree, WMC seems to be the best bet. Thank u.
One more Q if I may. Will all the elite benefits be accorded as if it was revenue room for such points-reward redemption. T&Cs only mentioned that it won’t count towards elite qualifying nights, which is ok. Just hope it won’t take away any elite benefits ? Thanks.
no problem- keep the qns coming. yes, you will get elite benefits for points stays.
That’s most helpful. Really appreciate it. Will give the point purchase a try 🙂 thanks Aaron
UOB Visa Signature may probably work also.. amount is charged in USD and I don’t think points.com processes the payment in Singapore. Maybe useful if you normally max out your DBS WWMC. If you max out the promo and get US$800 worth it will hit the S$1k minimum spend.
yup, good call on that. points.com will process in the states.
Did a test buy of $10. No OTP was received after keying CC for payment. While I understand that OTP is not a fool proof method to identify as a definite online payment gateway, but it does raise suspicion if payment could be offline. ?
for what it’s worth, whenever i do lifemiles transactions I don’t get an OTP either but it processes as online. but YMMV.
Hmmm… It looks like I can buy 160,000 + 160,000 for US$1,600. Here’s what it says on my Purchase page:
“Exclusive offer just for you! We’ve raised your points purchase limit to 160,000 Points through June 3rd. “
I guess you should also buy the miles last year.
another proposal is to use CITI rewards card to buy the points, 10 points will be granted.
Have tried to redeem nights using the points but it seems all nights are not available.
Doubletree Hilton johor and Hilton singapore do not have a date for me. Did anyone have the same issue?
hi, can check if i were to use points to book a room – do i still have to pay for taxes etc or is it all inclusive? please advise.
Reach Diamond this year with 30 more stays, 60 more nights, or 120,000 more Base Points.
we buy 60k points can become Diamond Tier?
purchased points do not count towards status earning
How long is the validity of the points?
Hilton HHonors points do not expire as long as members remain active in the program. To keep an account active, members can stay at one of Hilton Worldwide’s hotels, or earn or redeem HHonors points within 12 months.