The best way to redeem hilton honors points?

[xenon3030]

What would be the best way to redeem the hilton honors points? Is it feasible to trasfer to airline or merge to AMEX MR points?

[wasCB14]

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@xenon3030 wrote:

What would be the best way to redeem the hilton honors points? Is it feasible to trasfer to airline or merge to AMEX MR points?

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I'm too busy with other hotel programs to really bother with Hilton, largely because so many Hilton properties offer awful point value. This view comes from someone who's stayed a few times at Hiltons and come away discouraged that some primitive stays would cost an absurd number of points, but doesn't know the program in detail.

Award prices at mid-to-high-category Hilton properties can increase with demand, making suites at some premium properties 200k+ points per night.

Though unglamorous, the value seems to be in paying with points at lower-tier properties and just getting more nights. Booking a cash and points rate is also a reasonable way to use points.

MRs can become Hilton points, but Hilton points can't become MRs. Hilton points can become miles, but I don't recall the exact transfer ratios.

[iced]

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@wasCB14 wrote:

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@xenon3030 wrote:

What would be the best way to redeem the hilton honors points? Is it feasible to trasfer to airline or merge to AMEX MR points?

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I'm too busy with other hotel programs to really bother with Hilton, largely because so many Hilton properties offer awful point value. This view comes from someone who's stayed a few times at Hiltons and come away discouraged that some primitive stays would cost an absurd number of points, but doesn't know the program in detail.

Award prices at mid-to-high-category Hilton properties can increase with demand, making suites at some premium properties 200k+ points per night.

Though unglamorous, the value seems to be in paying with points at lower-tier properties and just getting more nights. Booking a cash and points rate is also a reasonable way to use points.

MRs can become Hilton points, but Hilton points can't become MRs. Hilton points can become miles, but I don't recall the exact transfer ratios.

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I would largely agree with this. I once was a Diamond back when I stayed more at Hiltons than Marriotts, and I found that point redemption to be very poor and random overall. I still have around 500k points with them, and when I travel I'll check point redemptions on a whim to see if any hotels actually have rates where redeeming will give me more than half a cent per point in value. It usually tends to be mid-tier places for me (a random DoubleTree here or there), but it's not common.

You can transfer points to miles, but the rates aren't great. For instance, 10,000 HH points becomes 1,500 AA miles.

[Loquat]

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@wasCB14 wrote:

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@xenon3030 wrote:

What would be the best way to redeem the hilton honors points? Is it feasible to trasfer to airline or merge to AMEX MR points?

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I'm too busy with other hotel programs to really bother with Hilton, largely because so many Hilton properties offer awful point value. This view comes from someone who's stayed a few times at Hiltons and come away discouraged that some primitive stays would cost an absurd number of points, but doesn't know the program in detail.

Award prices at mid-to-high-category Hilton properties can increase with demand, making suites at some premium properties 200k+ points per night.

Though unglamorous, the value seems to be in paying with points at lower-tier properties and just getting more nights. Booking a cash and points rate is also a reasonable way to use points.

MRs can become Hilton points, but Hilton points can't become MRs. Hilton points can become miles, but I don't recall the exact transfer ratios.

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+1000  ^This!   I asked in another thread if someone knew of a better way to redeem these points to make them somewhat more valuable...but there doesn't seem to be...or at least a practical way.  It can be a struggle to get even a 1/2 cent per point.  When I used to stay at Hilton properties my place of choice was always Homewood Suites.  My last stay with them was in Little Rock, AR and if memory serves me right it was 30 thousand points/weekend night in March of last year.  My Hilton card will forver collect dust or until they decide to close it for lack of use or the point valuation gets better. 

[Peteyglad]

I am fairly lucky in this regard as I stay at lower end Hilton properties in out of the way locations. I can't imagine too many people are clamoring to go to Dothan, Alabama or Ontario, Ohio or Canton, Mississippi. Sometimes I can get a $100 room for 10,000 points which is ok on my book. It doesn't happen all the time, but I like it when it does. 

[K-in-Boston]

Hilton to Delta is 10:1 also (10,000 HHonors transfer to 1,000 SkyMiles).  Agree that Hilton's point values are low, and they seem to be the poster child for why a lot of us don't like revenue-based redemption.  One of the primary reasons I get 7 cents or more for Starwood points is because I almost exclusively stay in high tier hotels in times of peak demand, when some of the cheapest available rooms would be $1000+ a night.

(Edited to clarify that Hilton isn't technically revenue-based like Southwest Rapid Rewards (where a point has for example a fixed 1.5 cent value, and the points required depend on the cash price of the ticket), but it's not a fixed rewards system like "this category of hotel in Times Square is 45,000 points per night whether it's a Tuesday in February or New Years Eve.")

[xenon3030]

I have 200k+ HH points. Would they worth ~20$ or 200$?

[K-in-Boston]

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@xenon3030 wrote:

I have 200k+ HH points. Would they worth ~20$ or 200$?

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Converted to Delta SkyMiles that (and about $11 in taxes) is probably enough to pay for a roundtrip from NYC to LA, around $600.  I'm sure you could likely do a lot better but I do not know the Hilton program well enough to tell you how.

[wasCB14]

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@K-in-Boston wrote:

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@xenon3030 wrote:

I have 200k+ HH points. Would they worth ~20$ or 200$?

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Converted to Delta SkyMiles that (and about $11 in taxes) is probably enough to pay for a roundtrip from NYC to LA, around $600.  I'm sure you could likely do a lot better but I do not know the Hilton program well enough to tell you how.

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200k HH points at a low 0.2 cpp valuation would be worth $400. At a high 0.8 cpp valuation they would be worth $1,600.

Not that you can't do better than 0.8 or worse than 0.2...but those are the ballpark values.

[Anonymous]

Coming from a road warrior that stays an average of 3 nights a week at Hilton properties. What I say below contradicts the way a lot of people feel about Hilton point on here but this is the way Hilton points work for me. 

I only value Hilton points at a half cent but the deal is Hilton gives you a boatload of points especially after you become Diamond status. I just looked through my records and it looks like I earn on average between 6 and 9 thousand points per stay. In my travels I can normally find a decent room for 30 thousand points. So basically I get a free room every 5 nights which I value at 150 bucks. Do the math and I get a 3 free rooms every month. 

Now on for the 2nd part, paying for my Hilton stays using my Amex Surpass credit card gets me 12 points per dollar spent on top of the above paragraph which has been getting me another 30 K points per month which to me = another free night. 

So if you add it all up Hilton points to me are worth over 5 to 6 hundred bucks a month. I know that sounds crazy but I’ve done the math over and over. 

I understand that everyones scenario is different but wanted to show that Hilton points aren’t bad for everyone.