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Until October 21, 2016, you can buy Hilton HHonors points and get a 100% bonus on the points purchased.
Hilton points normally cost 1 cent each. With the 100% bonus, the price drops to 0.5 cents per point. This is the cheapest I’ve ever seen them.
The bonus only kicks in on purchases of 20,000 (+ 20,000 bonus.) Purchases of 10,000 to 19,000 points have an 80% bonus, bringing the price to 0.555 cents per point. Purchases of 9,000 points or fewer have no bonus and cost 1 cent each.
If you buy 80,000 Hilton points before October 21, you’ll receive 160,000 points for $800. With the bonus, you can buy any amount of points from 40,000 to 160,000 in 2,000 point increments during the promotion.
Here is the Hilton award chart.
When to Buy (Math)
Is buying Hilton points for 0.5 cents each a good deal?
I would not buy Hilton points speculatively for 0.5 cents each because I value them at 0.4 cents each. But if you have an immediate high value redemption in mind, buying points can be a good deal.
For instance, at these prices:
- Category 1 properties would be $25 per night (my favorite Category 1 properties)
- Category 2 properties would be $50 per night (my favorite Category 2 properties)
- Top tier Category 10 properties would be $350 to $475 per night (my favorite Category 10 properties)
For all these categories, you can get a big discount off the retail nightly rate if you travel at a peak time.
You can get an even bigger discount on five nights stays because the fifth night is free with points. That drops the per night price of Category 1 properties to $20, Category 2s to $40, and Category 10s are $380 or less.
That’s fantastic when the Category 2 DoubleTree in Kuala Lumpur is about $100 per night…
…or the Category 10 Conrad in the Maldives is almost $1,600 per night.
Check out: Only Two Good Hilton Strategies
Consult the Hilton award chart to see how many points you’d need to book the hotel you want for a night. Search the dates you’d like to stay to see the paid price. If buying the points makes sense, there is award space on your dates, and you are ready to redeem now, buy the points.
Also keep in mind, that you don’t need to buy points when you can just open Hilton branded credit cards for free stays.
Right now, the Citi® Hilton HHonor Reserve comes with Two Free Weekend Nights (Friday, Saturday, or Sunday) worldwide at top tier Hiltons after spending $2,500 in four months. The card also comes with free Hilton Gold Status (upgraded internet, breakfast) as long as you hold the card. All that more than offsets the $95 annual fee.
Buy Hilton Points with These Credit Cards
Hilton points purchases are processed by points.com, so the purchases will not code as a bonus “travel” or “hotel” purchase on any credit card. You will not earn category bonuses from the purchase of Hilton points.
That means you should make the purchase with whatever card you need to meet a minimum spending requirement on.
Bottom Line
You can buy 40,000 to 160,000 Hilton points for 0.5 cents each. That’s too high to buy speculatively, but there are a lot of immediate awards you can book where that price offers great value.
Purchase Link: buy Hilton HHonors points and get a 100% bonus
Just getting started in the world of points and miles? The Chase Sapphire Preferred is the best card for you to start with.
With a bonus of 60,000 points after $4,000 spend in the first 3 months, 5x points on travel booked through the Chase Travel℠ and 3x points on restaurants, streaming services, and online groceries (excluding Target, Walmart, and wholesale clubs), this card truly cannot be beat for getting started!
Editorial Disclaimer: The editorial content is not provided or commissioned by the credit card issuers. Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of the credit card issuers, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the credit card issuers.
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[…] Hilton points normally cost 1 cent each. With the 50% discount, the price drops to 0.5 cents per point. This is the cheapest I’ve ever seen them, and is the exact same price as Hilton’s more common “100% bonus” sales. […]