Hilton Honors released its Points Unlimited promotion yesterday for stays January 1 – April 30, 2018. Members earn 2,000 bonus points per stay + 10,000 bonus points every 5 stays for 20,000 bonus points after 5 stays.
- 1 stay = 2,000 Bonus Points
- 2 stays = 4,000 Bonus Points
- 5 stays = 20,000 Bonus Points
- 6 stays = 22,000 Bonus Points
- 10 stays = 40,000 Bonus Points
Reward Stays Count Too
What I would normally consider a novice points collector question, “Do reward stays count?†received a surprising answer when Hilton Honors Representative responded on FlyerTalk reward stays will count for earning bonus points.
The catch is there must be points earning incidental spend for the reward stay to count for this bonus points offer.
Important caveat: Hampton Inn, Home2 Suites, Homewood Suites and Tru by Hilton brand hotels are excluded from earning points for incidental spend, so reward stays at these brands will not earn bonus points during Points Unlimited.
Will members earn Bonus Points with the “Points Unlimited†promotion for Reward Stays for this promotion?
Members will earn Bonus Points with the “Points Unlimited†promotion if they have incidental charges during a Reward Stay, provided such charges are deemed eligible folio charges.This does not apply to incidental charges for stays at Hampton by Hilton™, Tru by Hilton™, Homewood Suites by Hilton®, and Home2 Suites by Hilton®. For a complete explanation, see number 14 under Accrual of Points here.
$5.56 Hotel Reward Nights in Europe
Hilton Honors allowing reward stays to count means a one night reward stay at a category 1 hotel like DoubleTree Sighisoara, Romania is 5,000 points per reward night and earns 2,000 points back. After 5 hotel stays and 10,000 additional bonus points, the net cost for a reward night at a category 1 hotel is 1,000 Honors points.
Hilton Honors is currently selling points for $5.56 per 1,000 points when you buy 20,000 to 80,000 points through December 29.
$200 buys 36,000 Hilton Honors points = $5.56/1,000 points.
Theoretically, a couple can alternate reward stays at a hotel like DoubleTree Sighisoara, Romania over 10 nights with 5 stays each for 25,000 Hilton Honors points each. Make some incidental spend purchase like a beer or meal each stay in the hotel bar/restaurant every day and earn 20,000 bonus points each.
- Honors Member A redeem 25,000 points for April 10,12,14,16, 18 for 5 reward nights/stays at DoubleTree Sighisoara.
- Honors Member B redeem 25,000 points for April 11,13,15,17, 19 for 5 reward nights/stays at DoubleTree Sighisoara.
- Earn 20,000 Hilton Honors bonus points each after 5 nights as 5 stays.
- Net result: 25,000 points redeemed in each account and 20,000 Honors points bonus points earned in each account + incidental spend bonus points for each account.
- 10 nights at DoubleTree Sighisoara for 10,000 Hilton Honors points. Potential for a couple traveling together to score $5.56 hotel reward nights without needing to change hotels.
Bottom line:
This promotion is not too good for people who tend to book extended stays with Hilton.
There is a decent return in points for road warriors who commonly have one night stays. And there is great potential for travelers who find themselves in places with category 1 and 2 hotels who can book 5,000 and 10,000 points reward nights and ultimately earn a 4,000 points rebate.
I like the idea of staying at Hilton brand category 1 reward hotels for $5.56 per night or a category 2 hotel for $33 per night during the first four months of 2018.
Hilton Honors Category 1 hotels in Europe (24 hotels)
Hilton HHonors category 2 hotels in Asia
Hilton HHonors category 2 hotels USA and Americas 2016 list
Hilton HHonors 28 category 2 hotels in Europe, Middle East and Africa
Hilton was already in my plans for 2018 hotel stays. Points Unlimited is a promotion that makes my travel plans for Romania an even better value than I projected if I travel there by April 2018.
I’d already sold my wife on going to Krakow, Poland to make this deal happen. I originally wrote this post using Hampton Inn Krakow, then had to rewrite it after the FAQ were published about an hour ago showing reward stays at Hampton Inn don’t qualify.
Now I just have to convince my wife to go to Romania with me.
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