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Hilton and its Hilton Honors award program is considered by award travelers to be one of the big 3 hotel programs, along with Marriott Bonvoy and World of Hyatt.
This luxury Hilton Hotels article is part of a series here at Upgraded Points, where we’re sharing the best luxury hotels to book with points. The goal of this article is to show you how to receive the best value with your Hilton Honors points.
Our valuation estimates that Hilton points are worth ~0.5 cents per point. For the hotel redemptions below, we’ll show you luxury Hilton hotels where the value exceeds 0.7 cents per point value.
When putting together this luxury Hilton hotel list, several key assumptions were made, including:
As anyone reading might imagine, the cash cost of these luxury hotels will fluctuate throughout the year. With that said, we intend to use the cash and points costs that travelers would experience if their travel occurred during peak travel dates.
With that background out of the way, let’s dive into the best luxury Hilton hotels that you can book with Hilton points. We’ll start with the most valuable properties first, on a cents-per-points basis, and then work our way down the list.
Hilton, like Marriott, continues to make changes to both its credit card portfolio and its Hilton Honors loyalty program.
American Express offers a variety of Hilton co-branded credit cards that would be ideal for those who stay at Hilton. Each card is geared to a different type of traveler by focusing on earn rates and benefits to give cardmembers value.
The upside with Hilton credit cards is that several cards offer free night certificates for a standard room. This card perk alone can make up for the credit card’s annual fee, especially when booking a hotel stay at any of the properties on this list.
With that said, below are the Hilton American Express credit cards we recommend:
Terms Apply / Rates & FeesComplimentary Hilton Honors Silver status, plus great earnings at Hilton, U.S. gas stations, U.S. supermarkets, and U.S. restaurants!
You can’t beat a comfy king-sized bed and room service. For many travelers, it’s the hotel that really makes or breaks an experience. If you’re one of those people, you’ve probably stayed at a Hilton hotel.
Whether your visits are for work or pleasure, the Hilton brand has you covered with more than 6,200 locations in 100 counties and territories.
To enjoy a host of great benefits, you may want to apply for the Hilton Honors American Express Card.
Terms Apply / Rates & FeesAn excellent high-earning Hilton credit card that comes with perks like Hilton Honors Gold status and Priority Pass lounge access.
If you’re someone who loves traveling and loves staying in Hilton hotels, adding a co-branded Hilton hotel card to your wallet is almost a no-brainer. From automatic Hilton elite status, to airport lounge access, the Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card can be a great fit for Hilton loyalists looking to up their travel game.
Terms Apply / Rates & FeesAutomatic Hilton Diamond status, an annual free night, and a travel and resort credit make this the perfect card for those who stay in Hilton hotels.
Paying hundreds of dollars for an annual fee on a co-branded hotel card might seem ridiculous, but you should know that the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card is much more than your run-of-the-mill hotel credit card.
The Hilton Aspire card is not only a phenomenal card for Hilton Honors loyalists, but even those who visit Hilton hotels just a few times a year can still get excellent value out of all the benefits that are packed into this card.
So let’s have a look at what makes the card so valuable to travelers.
Terms Apply / Rates & FeesAn excellent option for business owners and business travelers who stay at Hilton properties often and want perks like Hilton Honors elite status.
For frequent business travelers who regularly stay in Hilton hotels, The Hilton Honors American Express Business Card is a great option.
Not only will the card help you earn more points on all of your Hilton stays, but you’ll also receive automatic elite status, complimentary Priority Pass visits, travel protections, and the opportunity to earn free night certificates.
Here’s a detailed look at all the benefits this card offers so that you can determine if it’s a good fit for you.
For travelers looking to book these luxury properties, we recommend holding Hilton’s elite status. The easiest way to earn top-tier Diamond status is to hold the Hilton Aspire card, which also comes with a free night certificate.
Travelers can also earn an additional free night certificate with $15,000 spent in a calendar year on the Hilton Surpass card.
Business owners earn a free night certificate by spending $15,000 on the card in a calendar year on the Hilton Business Amex card. A second free night certificate can be earned by spending an additional $45,000 on the card in a calendar year.
For those of you looking for a deeper dive into these cards, check our Amex Hilton Honors credit card comparison article. We cover everything you need to know about each card to help you determine which Hilton credit card is right for you.
Bottom Line: Each of these Hilton credit cards will count towards your American Express 5 credit card limit. For those unfamiliar, American Express will allow you to hold 5 of its credit cards at any one time. Charge cards do not count towards this 5 credit card total.
Unlike the World of Hyatt and Marriott Bonvoy award programs, the Hilton Honors program does not have an award chart. Instead, the number of points required to book a free award night is based upon variable pricing. This means that you will need to search for your specific dates to see the number of points required.
Another way to estimate the number of Hilton points required is to use the Points Explorer tool. Simply enter your destination in the Where do you want to go? search bar and the number of points that you have in the How many Points per night are you working with? scroll bar to see how many points you will need for a hotel in that area.
If you’re looking for some of the most beautiful beaches in the world with crystal clear waters, look no further than the Maldives, which you can also fly to on points on miles.
Located just 40 minutes by boat from Malé International Airport (MLE), the Waldorf Astoria Ithaafushi Maldives has 119 villas to go along with its 11 restaurants and bars. There’s also a spa and several activities to participate in on the property.
At more than $2,000 per night during peak travel season, Waldorf Astoria Ithaafushi Maldives is the most expensive property on this list. The hotel requires from 150,000 points per night, providing travelers with nearly 1.35 cents per point in value.
Hot Tip: The speedboat round-trip transfer to the resort from Malé International Airport (MLE) is $862 per adult, $369 per child (ages 6-12 years), and complimentary for children younger than 6. The cash rate shown below does not include the transfer cost.
Points Required: From 150,000 points per night
December-April Rate: ~$2,027 per night
Points Value: 1.35 cents per point
Another Hilton property in the Maldives to check out is the Conrad Maldives Rangali Island.
Spread across 2 islands, the Conrad Maldives offers suites, villas, and the Muraka, a 2-level residence with the master bedroom located 16 feet below sea level. The property also has a spa, fitness center, yoga, pools, and activities on the water.
Travelers will need from 120,000 points per night to book the Conrad Maldives. Peak travel rates hover around $1,000 per night giving you around 0.83 cents per point in value.
Hot Tip: The speedboat transfer from Malé International Airport to the property costs $589 per adult and $295 per child under 12. The cash rates shown below do not include the resort transfer cost.
Points Required: From 120,000 points per night
December-April Rate: ~$1,039 per night
Points Value: 0.83 cents per point
Bottom Line: We recommend taking a hard look at the Conrad Maldives versus the Waldorf Astoria Maldives. Not only does the Conrad require fewer points, but travelers will also save more than $300 per person on the airport transfer cost.
For travelers who like to ski in the winter and/or experience the mountains in the summer, the Waldorf Astoria Park City, located just 35 minutes from Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC), is a points hotel to consider booking. During ski season, this hotel offers easy access to both Deer Valley Resort and Park City Mountain.
Guests at the Waldorf Astoria Park City have the option to book standard rooms or suites for their stay. Once on property, guests have access to golf, a pool, skiing, a restaurant, and a spa.
Park City Utah has summer and winter peak seasons and the summertime cash rate will be between $800 to $900 per night. For travelers with Hilton points, the Waldorf Astoria Park City can be booked from 110,000 points per night. This means the return on points will be around 0.81 cents per point in value.
Hot Tip: As part of the hotel’s commitment to sustainability, guests have access to a private shuttle that will take you to the Park City Base area, Deer Valley Resort and Historic Main Street.
Points Required: From 110,000 points per night
June-September Rate: ~$850 per night
Points Value: 0.81 cents per night
Outside of applying for Hilton credit cards, using your Hilton credit cards for your everyday spend is the most efficient way to earn Hilton points. You can earn between 3x and 14x in spending categories like airfare, grocery stores, Hilton purchases, and restaurants.
Staying at Hilton as an elite member is another way to earn Hilton Honors points. Silver members earn 20% bonus points, Gold members earn 80% bonus points, and Diamond members earn 100% bonus points.
Members can also accumulate Hilton points by transferring Amex points to Hilton or by taking Lyft rides. We do not recommend transferring Amex points to Hilton but we do recommend using Lyft to earn 3x points per $1 spent on rides.
In short, not only can you earn a boatload of Hilton points from their credit cards, hotel stays as an elite member and Lyft rides will help to pad your balance. When you combine all of these point-earning methods, you will have more than enough Hilton points to book a stay at any of the properties on this list.
From what we have seen in this series thus far, the World of Hyatt program offers the highest cents-per-point value for Hyatt luxury hotels. Marriott comes in second due to the sheer number of properties in its portfolio. With respect to luxury Hilton hotels, we are putting its value in third place with IHG luxury options coming in last place.
It’s not all doom and gloom when booking luxury Hilton hotels. The ability to receive top-tier Diamond status with a Hilton credit card alone is fantastic! Compare this to having to stay 100 nights at Marriott and 60 nights at Hyatt and can you see how much easier it is to attain Hilton Diamond status.
The information regarding The Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.
The information regarding the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.
For rates and fees of the Hilton Honors American Express Card, click here.
For rates and fees of The Hilton Honors American Express Business Card, click here.
Waldorf Astoria, LXR, and Conrad are the 3 luxury brands in the Hilton portfolio. Properties in these brands are likely to provide a top-notch experience during your stay.
The Waldorf Astoria Ithaafushi Maldives is the most expensive Hilton property that made this list. Generally speaking, luxury properties in expensive cities or hard-to-get-to island resorts will be the most expensive.
Not all Hilton hotels are 5-star hotels. The location and the brand will determine if the hotel is rated 5 stars.
Hilton and Marriott are 2 separate hotel operators. Hilton is headquartered in McLean, VA and Marriott is based in Bethesda, MD.
Chris Nassetta is President and Chief Executive Officer for Hilton.
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Born and raised in Mobile, Alabama, Michael took his first international trip in 2013 with friends to the Bahamas. Although he didn’t travel much in his younger years, on that trip, he caught the travel bug and has been hooked ever since.
Michael first caught wind of the points and miles game in 2014 while at a bar in Washington, DC where the conversation amongst friends was quickly derailed because of an alert on a friend’s phone about a mistake fare. That’s where the love affair with points and miles began.
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13 comments
HoKo
January 26, 2020
Would love to see this list expanded to encompass top 30 (or even 50 hotels)!
Michael McHugh
February 01, 2020
Hi HoKo! We are happy to send you the list if you would like.
Diana Meiergerd
February 16, 2021
I would love a copy of the list.
Carol Krick
February 22, 2021
I would love to see the list of top 30-50 too!! Please send to dckrick@cox.net Thanks!
Bahadir Mursaloglu
March 12, 2021
I would love that top 50 list too. My email is bxm1986@live.com. Thanks in advance
Will
August 25, 2022
I would definitely love to see a top 50 list
Brutus
January 28, 2020
Good luck booking the Waldorf Astoria Park City on points during ski season.
Michael McHugh
February 01, 2020
We agree! This can be a tough hotel to book during this time of year.
Gary
April 02, 2020
It looks like Hilton overhauled their website, and now it’s completely different, and much harder to find available dates. If you pick that your dates are flexible, it will show you a full month calendar, but that calendar will not show any availability. For example, for the Waldorf Maldives, most dates in October show 1,994,000 points for a room. October 1st shows “Rate not available” on the calendar view. However if you look at that day individually, it will show there is a reef villa available at 120,000 points.
Is there a way to bring up the old system of looking for dates, or another way to look for standard reward stays?
Jarrod West
April 02, 2020
Hi Gary,
Hilton has been rolling out a lot of updates to both their website and mobile app, so it seems like that might be a glitch in their IT system. As far as I know, there is not another way to bring up their old system.
Suzanne Bolling
June 30, 2021
Great article! We used points at Conrad Rangali this past April for a week – 2 adjoining rooms at 95K each and it was awesome. The rooms were super nice and right on the house reef. We considered trying the Waldorf there too, but the number of points for one night was over 1 mil!!
Eric
July 21, 2022
If you have a lot of points, use them as soon as you can. I redeemed award nights in WA maui, 2019, but you can’t use the free night certificates for there any more since the standard award nights have become 110k. If you have the Diamond member, use 440k for 5 nights, at least ~$6000.
patricia fitzpatrick
February 26, 2023
Contact Hilton regarding using certificates at higher status hotels. You can use them as long as you find a date with the STANDARD reward rate, rather than the number of miles. WA Wailea is a great place to use certificates. You can use the certificates at most luxury resorts, including Maldives Conrad and the most expensive WA Maldives.
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