Hilton has once again brought out a bonus for buying their Honors points.
This time the bonus is a flat 100% when you buy 5,000 or more points in one tranasction. Also the promotion
this time does see the doubling of the annual cap on buying points so
you can buy up to 160,000 points. That 160,000 cap does not include the
bonus points so if you max out this offer and buy 160,000 points you’ll
receive 320,000 into your account.
A 100% bonus means you are paying US$ 0.5 cents
per point and with the ability to redeem at values of 0.8 cents or
more you can see where buying Hilton Honors points can make sense.
The buy points offer:
Receive a 100% Bonus when you buy 5,000 or more Hilton Honors points online. Valid until Sep 18, 22 Click here to buy points
Is it worthwhile to buy points with this bonus?
It definitely can be. Let’s just take one example of a night at the always pricey Hilton Whistler Resort & Spa in September. You can redeem 80,000 points for a one night stay here:
It costs US$400 to buy 80,000 points (40,000 base + 40,000 bonus):
This works out to around C$570 including GST/HST that points.com charges on the point purchase transaction.
If you were to pay cash outright for the same stay you are looking at C$709.94:
Thus by using the buy points promotion to redeem for a reward night here you could save $130 per night on this stay. FYI you don’t pay the taxes and fees including resort fees on reward nights.
And if you happen to have The
Platinum Card® from American Express it
means you automatically have Hilton Honors Gold Elite status which
means you receive complimentary breakfast and it could lead to a free upgrade as well.
Another situation to consider buying points is if you are a few points shy of a redemption and aren’t sure if you can earn enough points organically through stays to get your desired reward.
Ultimately you’ll want to compare the points and paid rates at hotel(s)
that you are considering to see if it is worth it to buy points. For
some hotels it won’t be, for others like the example above it can be.