Redeeming Hilton Points for Hilton Honors Experiences

Hotel loyalty program points, while typically redeemed for free hotel stays, can be used for other redemption opportunities as well. For example, Marriott Bonvoy offers its Marriott Bonvoy Moments program in which members can redeem their Bonvoy points for once-in-a-lifetime experiences related to sports, music, and more.

Hilton Honors offers a similar redemption opportunity through its Hilton Honors Experiences program. Hilton Honors experiences aim to unlock niche experiences for loyalty program members, who can choose to redeem their Hilton Honors points to gain access to these experiences.

Let’s take a look at everything you need to know about the Hilton Honors Experiences program to see what redemption opportunities exist and if these experiences are worth considering.

Types of Hilton Honors Experiences

There are two distinct types of Hilton Honors Experiences available for purchase: limited-time auction experiences and fixed-price experiences.

Limited-Time Auction Experiences

Limited-time auction experiences are the most interesting category of Hilton Experiences, as these are very unique experiences that Hilton Honors members can bid on.

As the name implies, these experiences are added from time to time and take an auction format, meaning that the experience can be bid on for a set amount of time, with no cap as to how expensive it can be. Highly desirable experiences can easily eclipse 1,000,000 Hilton Honors points or more, and the amount of time an auction is available can vary.

These limited-time auctions can have more than one package available, which will be displayed once you click on your desired experience. If there are multiple packages available, the top however many bidders will win once the auction closes, as can be seen in a sample bid history below, where six packages are available.

Note that you should always read the terms and conditions of the package you are bidding on so you understand what is included as part of the experience. More often than not, airfare is not included, so make sure you have a plan to get to your required destination should you win.

For example, the below screenshot denotes that the winner will receive an experience at the RBC Canadian Open, some merch, a VIP parking pass, and a one-night stay at a nearby hotel.

If you are interested in the truly unique, limited-time auction experiences are usually going to be the best way to redeem for a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Fixed-Price Experiences

The other type of Hilton Experiences available are fixed-price experiences, where Hilton Honors members can redeem their points directly for an experience at a set displayed price.

The selection is typically pretty bland, offering experiences that don’t seem to have an end date for certain discounts or activities at top Hilton resorts, including the Waldorf Astoria Maldives and the Waldorf Astoria Cabo San Lucas.

It’s hard to see value in many of these experiences, as they are far less interesting and exciting than the limited-time ones. Sure, you could save a few dollars on a yacht transfer or receive a food and beverage credit, but it’s usually at a lower value than the 0.5 cents per point USD that Hilton Honors points can typically be redeemed for.

That being said, there are absolutely exceptions to this rule. I have seen concert tickets available for direct redemption, as well as other unique experiences. If you can snag one of these, this is usually a pretty reasonable redemption, all things considered.

There are even times that you will see concert tickets available as a fixed-price redemption, plus the same experience available as a limited-time auction. Typically, in these situations, the fixed price redemption is the better choice, as you know what you are paying upfront, and usually the packages are very similar (e.g. the auction version may contain a one-night hotel stay).

How to Redeem Points for a Hilton Honors Experience

Once you navigate to the Hilton Honors Experience website and select your desired experience, you can either bid or directly redeem points for the experience, depending on how it has been marketed. If you are bidding, you will most likely need to keep an eye on the auction, specifically as it gets closer to the end, to ensure you remain on top if the Hilton Honors price is still within your budget.

However, after you win the auction or redeem your points for a fixed-price experience, the steps afterwards are the same.

Within 2 days of winning or purchasing, a Hilton Honors Experiences team member will reach out to confirm your contact information. Shortly thereafter, another team member will reach out to assist with scheduling all components of your experience.

From there, you’ll need to figure out your own travel to get to the destination for your experience, should transportation not be included as part of the experience.

If you have any questions, you can always reach out to the Hilton Honors Experiences team at [email protected].

The Best Way to Earn Hilton Honors Points for Experiences

There are a few ways you can approach earning Hilton Honors points if you are interested in saving up for a Hilton Honors Experience redemption. Before we get into it, typically the best calculated value you can receive for your points is when using them for hotel redemptions, so keep that in mind.

First of all, American Express Membership Rewards in Canada can be transferred to Hilton Honors points at a ratio of 1:1. This doesn’t offer great value compared to transferring to other partners, and we would recommend against using your hard-earned Membership Rewards points in this fashion.

For American Express cardholders in the United States, Membership Rewards points can be transferred to Hilton Honors at a ratio of 1:2. This is better, especially when there is a transfer bonus, but it still might not be a great redemption depending on your points balances and upcoming travel needs. Transfers to frequent flyer programs are usually the way to go when it comes to getting the most value from your Membership Rewards points.

It is worth considering if buying Hilton Honors points makes sense, as oftentimes, bonus promotions lower the effective cost to 0.5 cents USD per point. This is the cheapest you will ever be able to buy Hilton Honors, so it might be a good opportunity if you happen upon a time period when a promotion is running.

However, the most straightforward and lucrative way to earn Hilton Honors points is via any of the four co-branded American Express Hilton Honors credit cards available in the United States.

Credit Card		Welcome Bonus
Apply Now	American Express Hilton Honors Aspire Card (US)	American Express Hilton Honors Aspire Card (US) 150,000 Hilton Honors Estimated value: $900	Apply Now
Apply Now	American Express Hilton Honors Business Card (US)	American Express Hilton Honors Business Card (US) 130,000 Hilton Honors Estimated value: $780	Apply Now
Apply Now	American Express Hilton Honors Surpass Card (US)	American Express Hilton Honors Surpass Card (US) 130,000 Hilton Honors Estimated value: $780	Apply Now
Apply Now	American Express Hilton Honors Card (US)	American Express Hilton Honors Card (US) 80,000 Hilton Honors Estimated value: $480	Apply Now

These cards all offer stellar welcome bonuses (even sometimes including a free night certificate) and benefits at Hilton properties, including statement credits and complimentary Hilton Gold or Hilton Diamond status. While these are US-issued credit cards, there is a path for Canadians who are interested; check out our US credit card guide for Canadians for more details.

Valuing a Hilton Honors Experience Redemption

Valuing Hilton Honors Experience redemptions isn’t as cut and dry as it is with other miles and points redemptions. For example, when you redeem your Hilton Honors points for a hotel stay, it’s pretty easy to calculate the value when you are redeeming a set amount of points for a hotel stay that would otherwise cost a set price.

Things are different with Hilton Honors Experiences, as it can be tough to put a price on many of the limited-time auction experiences, as these tend to lean towards the “once-in-a-lifetime” experience category. Each individual person will place a different value on each experience based on their interests and hobbies.

Finding the value within and redeeming for Hilton Honors Experiences will be subjective for each respective member. For some, it could absolutely be worth redeeming a million Hilton Honors points for a unique experience, especially if they have points to burn. For others, that could represent many hotel stays.

Conclusion

While normally I’m not the biggest fan of alternative redemptions in miles and points programs as a result of the lackluster value they provide, that isn’t the case with Hilton Honors Experiences. Instead, the program offers many unique and niche experiences that can absolutely be worth redeeming for you if you have the points balance to stomach a redemption like this.