The Hilton Honors Loyalty Program
Hilton’s loyalty program is called Hilton Honors. With three levels of elite status, it offers some great benefits when staying at any of Hilton’s 6,000+ hotels in over 100 countries.
Note: Hilton has announced tier and qualification updates beginning January 1, 2026, including the addition of a Diamond Reserve tier and updated status requirements.
As a Hilton Diamond member, I have extracted some great value out of the program over the years and I love how easy it is to earn a lot of Hilton points and top tier status (Gold and Diamond).
This in-depth guide will provide a complete overview of the program benefits and some great tips for how to earn more points, how to easily “earn” elite status, and how to maximize your Hilton Honors point redemption’s.
Hilton Honors Membership Tiers & Benefits
The Hilton Honors program has historically had three levels of elite status: Silver, Gold and Diamond. In 2026, they established a new tier called Diamond Reserve.
When you sign up for the program you will receive Hilton Member status. This will give you the ability to earn Hilton points, free Wi-Fi and mobile check in, plus a few other things.
Join the Hilton Honors program here….
Silver Benefits
The first level of Hilton Honors elite status is Silver, which you will earn after 10 nights or 4 stays or $2,500 USD in eligible spend.
Silver status provides the following benefits:
- 20% bonus points on Base Points earned on stays
- Two free bottles of water at check-in (select hotels)
- Fifth Night Free on standard room reward stays booked entirely with points
- Elite Rollover Nights (rollover extra nights toward next year’s status)
- 15% off spa services at Hilton All-Inclusive resorts
Gold Benefits
Hilton’s mid-tier elite status is Gold, which is awarded after 15 stays, 25 nights, or $6,000 USD in eligible spend.
Gold status provides all the benefits of Silver, plus the following
- 80% bonus points on Base Points earned on stays
- Space-available room upgrades
- Daily Food & Beverage Credit (U.S.) or continental breakfast (outside the U.S.) (brand/region dependent)
- Milestone Bonuses (earned based on annual night thresholds; structure and caps are outlined by Hilton)
Diamond Benefits
Hilton’s 2nd-highest level of elite status is Diamond, which is awarded after 25 stays, 50 nights, or $11,500 USD in eligible spend.
Diamond status provides all the benefits of Gold, plus the following:
- 100% bonus points on Base Points earned on stays
- Executive lounge access (where available)
- 48-hour room guarantee
- Premium Wi-Fi
- Additional Diamond benefits, such as elite status gifting and Diamond status extension (per Hilton’s published tier details)
Lifetime Diamond Status
Lifetime Diamond is awarded to members who have earned Diamond status for 10 (non-consecutive) years and complete one additional milestone. Hilton lists the milestone as either:
Starting January 1, 2026, the Base Points milestone changes to $200,000 USD in eligible spend.
1,000 paid and reward nights, or 2 million Base Points (through December 31, 2025)
Diamond Reserve Benefits
Diamond Reserve (starting January 1, 2026) is a new tier above Diamond and requires 80 nights or 40 stays plus $18,000 in eligible spend.
Diamond Reserve status provides all the benefits of Diamond, plus the following:
- 120% Bonus Points on stays
- Premium Wi-Fi
- 48-hour room guarantee
- Executive lounge and premium club access (where available)
- Elite status gifting
- Diamond status extension
- Guaranteed late checkout (4pm)
- Confirmable Upgrade Reward
How to Earn Hilton Honors Points
There are a bunch of ways to earn Hilton Honors points, many of which don’t even involve staying at a Hilton property. Naturally, you will earn points from staying at their hotels, but you can also earn points from the wide variety of their partners including airlines, rental cars, credit cards, restaurants, shopping and wine clubs.
1. Earn Hilton Honors points from Hotel Stays
The most popular way to earn points, especially for business travelers, is by staying at Hilton Hotels. When you stay at a hotel or resort within the Hilton Worldwide portfolio, you will earn 10 Base Points for every US dollar spent on your room rate and other eligible room charges, including telephone calls and room service.
When you reach elite status, you will automatically receive extra Honors Bonus Points on all the Base Points you earn. You will get a 20% bonus with Silver status, an 80% bonus with Gold status, and a 100% bonus with Diamond status.
However, some exceptions apply:
- At Tru, Homewood Suites, Spark and Home2 Suites, you will earn 5 Base Points for every US dollar spent on your room rate only. This is half the earning rate of other Hilton properties. LivSmart Studios is even less and earns 3 points per dollar spent.
2. Bonus Points from Hilton Honors Promotions
Hilton offers regular promotions that let you earn additional bonus points with your stays. Make sure you register for the latest Hilton promotion, or you will miss out on an excellent opportunity to earn free nights at Hilton much faster!
Hilton promotions change frequently, so always confirm the current offer and register before your stay. Here is the current Hilton Honors Promotion:
Earn 1,500 Hilton Honors Points on every stay between October 1 and December 31, 2025.
Registration is required.
3. Credit Cards that earn Hilton Honors Points
Credit Cards are one way to quickly earn Hilton Honors points and get elite status. There are quite a few card options including both co-branded Hilton American Express cards and cards that transfer to the Hilton rewards program including American Express cards that earn Membership Rewards.
Hilton Co-Branded Credit Cards:
When you earn points through a Hilton Co-Branded credit card, they automatically post to your Honors account each month – no transfer required. I have the Hilton Aspire card and keep it every year to maintain my Hilton Diamond status. There is no easier way to earn the highest level of status with Hilton!
- The Hilton Aspire Card from American Express (referral link)
- The Hilton Surpass from American Express
- Hilton Honors Card from American Express
- The Business Hilton Honors Card from American Express (referral link)
You can really rack up the points on your stays when you use a Hilton Co-Branded Credit Card to pay for your hotel bill. For example, if you use the Hilton Honors Aspire Card (which provides automatic Diamond Status) to pay for your stay at a Hilton Hotel you will receive:
- 10x base points per dollar
- 10x bonus points for having Diamond Status (which comes with the Aspire Card)
- 14x bonus points from paying with the Hilton Aspire Credit Card
- That’s 34 points for every dollar spent at a Hilton hotel!
American Express Cards with Hilton Honors Transfer Option:
In addition to their Hilton co-branded credit cards, American Express Membership Rewards Points transfer to Hilton Honors at a ratio of 2,000 Honors Bonus Points for Every 1,000 Membership Rewards Points (transfer ratio’s vary by country; this is the US rate).
(While this transfer option is nice if you need to move over a small number of points to top off your points to book an award stay, transferring Membership Rewards points to Hilton is not the best use of MR points.)
Transfer ratios and occasional transfer bonuses can change, so confirm the current rate before moving points.
4. Earn with Rental Car Companies
You can earn Hilton Honors points when you rent with National, Enterprise and Alamo Car Rental
- Alamo – earn 500 Honors points with each rental
- Enterprise – earn 500 Honors points with each rental
- National – earn 500 Honors points with each rental
5. Hilton Honors Dining – Earn Hilton Points at Restaurants
You can earn Honors Bonus Points at thousands of participating restaurants across the United States. When you join Hilton Honors Dining, you automatically earn Honors points when you pay with a registered credit card at a participating establishment.
- Earn up to 8 Honors Bonus Points per US dollar spent dining at one of 10,000+ locations in the Hilton Honors Dining program. Membership levels vary based on how many times you have dined at the participating restaurants. The base amount is 2 points per dollar spent with a registered card. Once you have dined at a participating restaurant 12 times and paid with a registered credit card you will earn 8 points per dollar spent
I occasionally use this feature to avoid losing my Hilton points due to inactivity. The Honors program has a tight rule where you lose all points if you have not had activity on your account for 12 months. Any activity counts, so if I buy 1 pizza a year from my local pizza joint that participates in the program, I don’t have to worry about my points expiring. I have a lot of Hilton points, but don’t stay at their properties much, so this is an easy way to make sure you don’t lose them!
6. Pool your Points with a Family Member
Hilton now allows you to “pool your points” with family and friends. With this perk, a Member (and up to 10 others) will now be able to combine their Points. For example, if a group of friends are taking a trip together and individually don’t have enough Points to cover their entire stay, they will now be able to combine their Points, free of charge, into one account to unlock new redemption opportunities.
How to Use Hilton Honors Points
There are a bunch of ways you can use your Hilton Points ranging from free nights and upgrades to frequent flyer miles, experiences, and much more.
1. Using Hilton Points for Free Nights
Hilton offers the ability to use your points anytime with no blackout dates. The amount of points required to redeem Standard Room Rewards varies by hotel, room, booking, and stay date (Peak vs Off-Peak Times). They no longer publish an award chart but you can go to their points explorer tool to find out how many points are typically needed for a stay.
You can use your points for:
- Free standard room bookings
- Free Premium rooms and suite bookings
- Booking standard rooms using a combination of Honors Points and money, and/or
- Upgrades to premium rooms and suites on existing paid reservations
Silver, Gold, and Diamond elite members will receive every 5th night free on Standard Reward Stays of 5 consecutive nights or more.
My two favorite Hilton points bookings are:
How to book an Honors Reward Night online:
Sign into your Hilton Honors Account. In the reservations form, check the box labeled “Use Honors Points.”
- Fill in all the required fields.
- Click the “Find” button to view hotel availability. Each room listing shows the amount of Honors Points required for a free night, as well as the regular room rate. If premium rooms are available for points, they will show as well.
- Complete your reservation.
2. Exchanging Hilton Points for Airline Miles
You can exchange Honors points for airline miles, rail points, or other loyalty points earned through partners that participate in the Hilton points exchange program.
The miles per Hilton point will vary by airline, but most offer 1,000 miles for 10,000 Hilton Honors points.
This also works in reverse – if you need more Hilton points, you can exchange the other way — from a partner account to your Honors account.
3. Experiences – Using Hilton Points for unique Experiences
Hilton offers an Experience Redemption offer like Marriott Bonvoy’s Moments, which allows you to use points for unique music, sporting, food, and cultural experiences.
There are two ways to take advantage of these redemption experiences:
1. Instantly Redeem Your Honors Points
Instantly redeem your points on ‘Redeem Now’ experiences at a fixed-point price. The quantity available is limited, so you will need to redeem before they sell out and you win!
2. Bid Your Honors Points
‘Bid’ experiences are won by the highest bidder. Place your bid, keep an eye on your prize, and make sure your bid stays on top. When the auction closes, the person who has placed the highest bid gets to PLAY.
Is Hilton Honors Right for You?
Now that we have covered the basics of the Hilton Honors program, let’s go over the important things to think about when considering what hotel program is best for you.
1. Number of hotels in the portfolio to earn and use points
Hilton is in good shape here. They have 6,000 hotels, across 17 brands in 100 countries. Finding a Hilton property nearby is very easy
2. Luxury hotel and resort options in the portfolio
Hilton has three luxury brands – Waldorf Astoria, Conrad Hotels & Resorts, and LXR. Curio is Hilton’s boutique hotel brand and has some great hotels and resorts as well. Finally, there are Hilton resorts, which for the most part are not great, but there are some hidden gems like the Hilton Seychelles or Hilton Moorea. Overall, they are a good selection of luxury hotels and resorts to choose from.
3. Ability to earn points
It’s very easy to earn Hilton Honors points through hotel stays, promotions, credit cards, and partners. Hilton is one of the easiest programs to earn points with.
4. Ability to use points
Hilton no longer offers a published award chart so knowing how many points you will need for a stay can be a bit tricky. They do have a Points Explorer tool which highlights to high and low points range for a given property.
5. Ease of earning elite status
Hilton is without question the easiest hotel program to earn elite status. All you have to do is apply for the Hilton Aspire card (referral link) to have Hilton’s top-tier Diamond status or the Hilton Surpass card for complimentary Gold status. There are annual fees with these cards, but the benefits can easily outweigh the fees if you use them properly.
6. Benefits of elite status
Hilton has some pretty good benefits for having top-tier elite status. The 100% points bonus for stays is great as is the fifth-night free option for award stays. On top of that, there are room upgrades and free breakfast. Naturally, the benefits are more valuable then you are staying at Hilton high-end properties, vs the mid-tier options.
7. Credit Card option for earning points
Hilton credit cards are the best in terms of elite status and availability. Hilton has several co-branded credit cards with American Express, including both personal and business options. They also are a transfer partner of membership rewards so there are a ton of ways you can earn Hilton points from your credit card spend.
More Content for Hilton Honors Fans:
If you like what you are reading now, here are some more great articles every Hilton Honors member should check out!
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