One appealing aspect of the Hilton Honors program is redeeming points for upgraded room types. Hilton premium room rewards mean you can secure the room type you want — or need — when booking. For example, if you want a room with a specific view, you can book it with points. Likewise, if you want to book a room that provides club lounge access, you can do that.
The downside is that premium room types often cost a disproportionate amount more when redeeming Hilton points. Plus, even when booking Hilton premium room rewards, some room types aren’t bookable with points. Here’s what you need to know.
What are Hilton premium room rewards?
Hilton premium room rewards let you redeem Hilton points for elevated room types, including better views, corner rooms, specialty rooms, club-level rooms and suites.
You can’t use the fifth-night-free benefit offered to members with Hilton elite status when redeeming points for premium room rewards. Combined with the disproportionate points cost you’ll often find when redeeming for elevated room types, booking premium room rewards usually won’t provide good value.
In the above example, a Hilton Honors elite member could redeem 160,000 points after the fifth-night-free perk for a standard reward or pay $910.77 for a five-night stay in a king guest room. Meanwhile, a deluxe king room with a view would cost 415,000 points or $1,018.30 for the five-night stay. Booking the premium room reward would drop your redemption rate from a decent 0.57 cents per point to a terrible 0.25 cents per point.
Related: How (and why) to calculate award redemption values
Additionally, some room types aren’t bookable with points even when they’re bookable with money. For example, although an overwater pool villa is available via cash for slightly more per night than a beach villa for the following stay at the Hilton Maldives Amingiri Resort & Spa, it’s unavailable on points.
So, if I want to redeem Hilton points for the above stay, I’d have to choose between booking a beach pool villa for 120,000 points per night or an overwater suite with a pool for a much higher 329,000 points per night.
Related: Maximize your rewards by getting a fourth or fifth night free on award stays
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How to book Hilton premium room rewards
The process for booking Hilton premium room rewards is the same as booking standard rewards. Once you select a property, you’ll see rates for each room type.
Click to see more rates for your preferred room type. You’ll see the points rate and paid rates with varying cancellation policies and inclusions.
You can book reward stays using a combination of points and money. To do so, move the sliding bar to select the points-and-cash rate you prefer when booking. You must redeem at least 5,000 points, but you can otherwise choose any points amount in increments of 1,000.
You may boost your redemption rate by redeeming fewer points and paying more money. However, saving your Hilton points for standard reward stays will usually get the best value.
Related: The 21 best Hilton hotels in the world
Alternates to booking Hilton premium room rewards
It’s frustrating that Hilton premium room rewards rates often don’t scale similarly to paid rates and aren’t eligible for the fifth-night-free reward perk. I’ve never booked a Hilton premium room reward for these two reasons — as well as the fact that I often get upgrades to suites or rooms with a view due to my Hilton Diamond elite status.
However, confirming a suite or premium room type when booking is appealing. So, if you want to secure a premium room type but don’t want to book a premium room reward, you have three primary options: hope for a complimentary upgrade, select a paid upgrade offer or book a paid rate for the room type you want. The paid upgrade options will usually appear in the Hilton Honors app before your stay, although some properties may also send upgrade options via email.
Related: 11 best Hilton all-inclusive resorts
How to earn Hilton points
Whether you want to redeem Hilton points for standard or premium room rewards, you’ll need to earn points before you can redeem them. You can earn Hilton points in many ways, including through Hilton Honors promotions on stays and by buying Hilton points. I choose to earn most of my points via Hilton credit cards. Here’s a look at options you could add to your wallet.
| Card | Welcome offer | Earning rates | Annual fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card | Earn 130,000 Hilton Honors bonus points plus a free night reward after spending $3,000 on purchases within the first six months of card membership. This offer ends April 29. | 12 points per dollar for eligible purchases made directly with hotels and resorts within the Hilton portfolio
6 points per dollar spent on dining at U.S. restaurants (including takeout and delivery), groceries at U.S. supermarkets and gas at U.S. gas stations 4 points per dollar spent on U.S. online retail purchases 3 points per dollar spent on other eligible purchases |
$150 (see rates and fees) |
| The Hilton Honors American Express Business Card | Earn 175,000 Hilton Honors bonus points after spending $8,000 on eligible purchases in the first six months of card membership. This offer expires April 29. | 12 points per dollar for purchases made directly with hotels and resorts in the Hilton portfolio
5 points per dollar spent on the first $100,000 of other eligible purchases per calendar year (then 3 points per dollar thereafter) |
$195 (see rates and fees) |
| Hilton Honors American Express Card | Earn 70,000 Hilton Honors bonus points plus a free night reward after spending $2,000 on purchases in the first six months of card membership. This offer ends April 29. |
7 points per dollar for eligible purchases made directly with hotels and resorts in the Hilton portfolio
5 points per dollar spent on dining at U.S. restaurants (including takeout and delivery), groceries at U.S. supermarkets and gas at U.S. gas stations 3 points per dollar spent on other eligible purchases |
No annual fee (see rates and fees) |
| Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card | Earn 175,000 Hilton Honors bonus points after spending $6,000 on purchases within the first six months of card membership. This offer ends April 29. | 14 points per dollar for eligible purchases made directly with hotels and resorts in the Hilton portfolio
7 points per dollar spent on select travel, including flights booked directly with airlines or on amextravel.com and car rentals booked directly with select car rental companies 7 points per dollar spent on dining at U.S. restaurants, including takeout and delivery 3 points per dollar spent on other eligible purchases |
$550 |
I have the Hilton Aspire Card, which offers many valuable perks ranging from complimentary Diamond status to an annual free night reward. I love my Hilton Aspire and believe it offers excellent value, but suppose you won’t consistently use the up to $400 Hilton resort credit (up to $200 semiannually) and the up to $200 flight credit (up to $50 quarterly). In that case, another Hilton credit card is likely better for you.
The information for the Hilton Aspire Card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Related: Hilton Surpass vs. Hilton Aspire: Do you want Gold or Diamond status?
Bottom line
Having the option to redeem Hilton points for premium room types is nice. But in practice, the high reward rates and inability to get a fifth night free mean Hilton premium room rewards are rarely useful. Instead of booking a premium room reward, it’s often better to book the room type you want with money or book a standard reward stay with points and accept a paid upgrade offer.
For rates and fees of the Hilton Surpass Card, click here.
For rates and fees of the Hilton Amex Business Card, click here.
For rates and fees of the Hilton Amex Card, click here.
