Hilton Honors Slashes Points Earnings at 2 Popular Brands

Hilton is shaking things up … again.

The hotel chain recently teased a new top-tier elite status, and as part of that marketing campaign, leaked an upcoming change to the earning rate at 2 popular Hilton brands. Soon, Homewood Suites by Hilton and Spark by Hilton will get a 50% cut of base points earnings for every $1 spent.

With multiple recent devaluations and walkbacks, Hilton seems to be constantly adjusting how members earn and redeem their points. Let’s take a look at the latest change to see what it means for you.

Homewood Suites and Spark Cuts

Last week, a rumor circulated that Hilton Honors would introduce a new elite status above its current top-tier status, Diamond.

Instead of hiding from the rumors, Hilton leaned into it with social media posts and a tier updates webpage outlining the upcoming Diamond Reserve status.

As of now, the only benefit we know Diamond Reserve members will receive is 22x points with Hilton (10x base points and another 12x as a Diamond Reserve member). On the now-removed page, there was another update to earning rates: Homewood Suites and Spark will drop from 10x base points per $1 to 5x per $1, a 50% cut.

Homewood Suites by Hilton is an extended stay brand, and Spark by Hilton is a budget brand that falls into Hilton’s Premium Economy category, so it shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise to see these earning rates fall in line with similar properties.

This update will match the earning rates of Tru and Home2 Suites at 5x points per $1. Not ideal, but still better than the 3x per $1 at LivSmart Studios.

What This Means for Members

There has been no official announcement of when and why these cuts are being made, but don’t be surprised if we see them rolled out in early 2026.

That being said, travelers should be more focused than ever on using the right card for their Hilton stays.

Using a co-branded card could mean earning up to 14x points per $1 on Hilton purchases, which would make it easy to overlook the rate cuts.

Final Thoughts

Homewood Suites by Hilton and Spark by Hilton will soon earn 5x points per $1, a 50% reduction from the current 10x base points.

This is obviously not great news for Homewood and Spark guests. Earning fewer points for the same amount of spend is never ideal, especially when we constantly see the award price increase, making it very difficult for a guest to earn an award stay simply by staying at one of these hotels.