The latest Hilton 100% bonus on points purchases expired on 8 March. This is one of the few points “purchase” promotions that I consider, and I ended up topping up my account quite substantially.
Generally speaking, miles and points are such bad value to buy that even with a substantial bonus on purchases, they’re still not worth it. However, a 100% bonus on buying Hilton points lets you get them for 0.5 cents each. That’s a very, very good price for buying points directly from the scheme itself.
The good news is that the 100% promotion will be back. They run regularly and so if you like what this article is telling you, be prepared to make a purchase!
The hotels at $25 a night
During the 100% purchase promotion, we noted the amazing value that could be found at a Hilton resort hotel.
However, one of the areas where Hilton Honors really comes into its own is with the lower (lowest!) scale hotels, those that used to be called “Category 1” hotels. You can stay at these hotels for a pretty incredible 5,000 points a night. If those points were bought during a 100% points promotion, that’s just $25 a night.
But you said $15 a night!
I did indeed. Via the current Hilton bonus points offer, you get 2,000 Honors points per stay. That means on a one night stay at a 5K hotel, I will pay an effective 3,000 points. In the 100% bonus sale, these points effectively cost just $15!
This is a good example of why the “fixed points” Hilton Honors promos reward low value stays so much more than high value stays. If you’re redeeming 100K points for a night, 2K is a drop in the ocean. At a 5K a night hotel, it’s 40% off.
Similarly, if you’re paying a fortune in cash for the hotel, you’d probably want to avoid a fixed points promo of 2K points, as you are likely to get much more than that from the stay. As a result, the regular double points promotions will work much better for you. If you’re paying very little, 2K bonus points is probably a great return.
The 5K Honors Point hotels
Note that rather than the 21 below, Hilton or other sites may tell you there are 23 5K points hotels. There’s not, some hotels have disappeared or revised their pricing. Our list below is tried and tested at 5K points per night.
The 5K per night hotels are as follows:
- Hampton by Hilton Ufa Russia
- Hilton Garden Inn Corlu,Tekirdag, Turkey
- Hampton by Hilton Samsun, Turkey
- Hilton Garden Inn Sanliurfa, Turkey
- Hilton Garden Inn Mardin, Turkey
- Hilton Garden Inn Konya, Turkey
- Hilton Garden Inn Erzincan, Turkey
- Hilton Garden Inn Bali Ngurah Rai Airport, Indonesia
- Hilton Garden Inn Diyarbakir, Turkey
- Hilton Garden Inn Ankara Gimat, Turkey
- Hampton by Hilton Bolu, Turkey
- Hampton by Hilton Kahramanmaras, Turkey
- Hilton Garden Inn Izmir Bayrakli, Turkey
- DoubleTree by Hilton Elazig, Turkey
- Hilton Garden Inn Kutahya, Turkey
- Hilton Garden Inn Eskisehir, Turkey
- Hampton by Hilton Bucaramanga, Colombia
- Hampton by Hilton – Yopal, Colombia
- Hampton Inn by Hilton Reynosa/Zona Industrial, Mexico
- Hilton Garden Inn Tuxtla Gutierrez, Mexico
- Hampton Inn Tampico Zona Dorado, Tampico, Mexico
I don’t want to stay on an industrial estate in North East Mexico!
I really don’t. However, this is just a good example of the extremely low prices you can find at the lower end of the Hilton scale. Double your budget to 10K points a night ($50 in points cost, or $40 for one night if you factor in the 2K points promo), and you’ll find your options somewhat increased. You can search Hilton hotels based on your points budget here.
