103. All Things Hilton Honors Program: Our Tips For Points, Perks, and Dreamy Stays
Points Talk with the Travel Mom Squad
Alex, Pam and Jess
4.9 • 734 Ratings
🗓️ 19 November 2024
⏱️ 39 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
If you’ve ever wondered whether Hilton Honors deserves a spot in your points and miles strategy, this episode is for you! We’re diving into everything you need to know about Hilton’s award program, from earning points and using free night certificates to snagging unforgettable stays like Bora Bora and Santorini—all without breaking the bank.
Why Hilton Honors is Worth a Look
We kick off the episode with Jess sharing her journey from being a Hyatt loyalist to appreciating the value Hilton brings to the table. With perks like generous free night certificates and partnerships with Small Luxury Hotels (SLH), Hilton is making waves. Alex and Pam echo these sentiments, recounting how they’ve used Hilton points to book some seriously bucket-list-worthy properties.
Earning Hilton Points Made Easy
One of the best parts of the Hilton Honors program? Their credit card lineup! Alex breaks down the personal and business options, from the no-annual-fee Hilton Honors card to the premium Aspire card with Diamond status. Whether you’re a casual traveler or all-in on Hilton, these cards make earning points a breeze. Jess also highlights a pro tip: timing your card applications to snag bonus offers with free night certificates.
Maximizing Hilton Free Night Awards
Hilton’s free night certificates are a game-changer, and we’re all in agreement—they’re the best in the business. Jess shares how she used one to stay at the Canaves Epitome in Santorini, a property where rooms go for $2,000 a night. Pam and Alex talk about combining points and free nights for five-night stays to take advantage of Hilton’s “fifth night free” benefit, a must for maximizing your points at luxury destinations.
Our Favorite Hilton Stays (and What’s Next)
From Bora Bora to Cabo, we each share our most memorable Hilton stays and what makes them so special. Pam recalls her time at the Waldorf Astoria Los Cabos Pedregal, where every room had a private plunge pool and daily guacamole delivery. Alex dreams of a future visit to the Waldorf Astoria Maldives. And Jess has some incredible city stays lined up for next year, including the Conrad Tokyo and Canopy Reykjavik.
Ready to Plan Your Dream Hilton Trip?
This episode is packed with tips for making the most of Hilton points, including using tools like MaxMyPoint for award availability and taking advantage of Amex Membership Rewards transfer bonuses. If you’re not already a Hilton fan, this deep dive might just convert you. Tune in now and start dreaming of your next unforgettable stay—on points!
Links For This Episode:
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Hilton points explorer: https://www.hilton.com/en/hilton-honors/points-explorer/
Links:
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Links For All Things Travel Mom Squad: stan.store/travelmomsquad
Episode Minute By Minute:
- 01:37 – Our Backgrounds with Hilton and First Impressions
- 06:30 – Earning Hilton Points with Credit Cards
- 12:50 – Maximizing Free Night Awards
- 18:20 – The Fifth Night Free Benefit and How to Use It
- 28:15 – Our Favorite Hilton Stays So Far
- 36:45 – Dream Hilton Destinations for the Future
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | You have a lot of options when it comes to using points and miles to stay at hotels. |
| 0:04.8 | In today's episode, we're taking a deep dive into a hotel brand that we've come to stay |
| 0:09.4 | at with more in recent years, Hilton. |
| 0:12.3 | Welcome to Points Talk with the travel mom squad. |
| 0:15.4 | We are three moms who've discovered how to leverage credit card welcome offers to get hundreds |
| 0:20.1 | of thousands of dollars of travel expenses for nearly free. We've leverage credit card welcome offers to get hundreds of thousands of dollars of travel |
| 0:21.8 | expenses for nearly free. We've used credit card points of miles to take vacations to places like |
| 0:27.1 | Hawaii, Paris, Greece, Maldives, Japan, and so much more. And the best part, we each still have |
| 0:34.0 | 800 plus credit scores. Imagine being able to take the vacation of your dreams for |
| 0:38.5 | nearly free. It's totally possible and we're here to show you how. Hey, I'm Alex and I'm Cam, Alex's mom, |
| 0:46.9 | and I'm Jess. Let's Talk Points. Y'all know that I'm a Hyatt Girl, as are most of us here at Travel Mom Squad. |
| 0:56.7 | But in the last couple of years, we've really come to find a lot of value out of the Hilton Honors program. |
| 1:03.7 | And so we wanted to discuss Hilton more today as I feel like I know I'm staying at Hilton's more often. |
| 1:12.3 | I know Pam, you have some Hilton stays coming up and even Alex is getting on board the Hilton train. I'm still |
| 1:18.3 | a Hyatt Queen and a Hyatt loyalist, but Hilton, Hilton might be catching up. So first we're |
| 1:25.3 | going to go over our background with Hilton. I personally don't |
| 1:29.6 | have a ton of background with Hilton other than my more recent stays. I, before I got into points |
| 1:35.5 | and miles, I just stayed at whatever hotel chain was cheapest. And so I was never really loyal |
| 1:41.9 | to any particular hotel chain or brand. |
| 1:46.5 | And then when I started using Points in Miles is when I became really obsessed with Hyatt |
| 1:50.2 | because of the oversized value that you can get from Hyatt's days, |
| 1:53.8 | I pretty much never stayed at Hilton until recently. |
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