Stay at 53 Hilton Hotels for $28 per Night!

You might remember my post from last week stating that Hilton was offering an 80% bonus when purchasing points through end of day today February 8, 2016. As mentioned, sometimes purchasing points for a “free night” redemption is better then paying the best available rate directly to the hotel. You can purchase points here.

With this promotion, you are ultimately purchasing points at .56 cents per point. While many of the higher end hotel properties have a range for the number of points it requires, the lower end properties have a fixed redemption value. A category 1 hotel, for example, only requires 5,000 points for a free night. There are 53 Hilton category 1 properties which means if you purchase 5,000 points you can stay at any of those hotels at a fixed $28! That is a great opportunity and I highly doubt you’ll ever find a best available rate for that low. Also, when using points, you do not pay any extra taxes or fees. You can see all the current Hilton category 1 properties here.

Also, if you happen to have any level of status (Silver, Gold, or Diamond), you’ll get your 5th night free on ANY reward stay. So if you are planning on staying 5 nights at any of these category 1 properties, that will require a total of 20,000 points and result in you paying only $22.40 a night! Since Hilton status is relatively easy to come by, my assumption is many folks in the points and miles world have at least Silver status and are able to take advantage of the 5th night free option.

Now, if you are looking to stay at a higher category hotel, you still might find that purchasing points is the way to go. Of course the price per night is slightly higher, but could be worth it. Here are the 10 Hilton categories, their point redemption requirement, and the equivalent cost to purchase points per night.

• Category 1: 5,000 points ($28/night)
• Category 2: 10,000 points ($56/night)
• Category 3: 20,000 points ($112/night)
• Category 4: 20,000-30,000 points ($112/night-$168/night)
• Category 5: 30,000-40,000 points ($168/night-$224/night)
• Category 6: 30,000-50,000 points ($168/night-$280/night)
• Category 7: 30,000-60,000 points ($168/night-$336/night)
• Category 8: 40,000-70,000 points ($224/night-$392/night)
• Category 9: 50,000-80,000 points ($280/night-$448/night)
• Category 10: 70,000-95,000 points ($392/night-$532/night)

**Keep in mind, the above cost per points at that category does NOT take into consideration the 5th night free reduction.

Overall, if you know of an upcoming Hilton stay, make sure to do the math and see if purchasing points is a better opportunity then paying directly. For all Category 1 hotels and many category 2 hotels, you’ll find it absolutely is a better value. After that, it really does depend on the hotel. You can purchase points here.