Is double déjà vu a thing? Because this certainly feels like it.
For the third time in less than a year, Hilton raised award rates at some of its most popular properties … by as much as 50,000 points per night. At high-end properties like the Waldorf Astoria Los Cabos Pedregal and Hermitage Bay, the lowest-priced standard awards now go for a whopping 250,000 points per night!
We're still digging in to see just how bad this latest Hilton Honors devaluation is after Danny Deal Guru first flagged a handful of these increases Tuesday morning, but the damage is deep. Unsurprisingly, some of Hilton's most sought-after properties were hit hardest. For example:
- The Waldorf Astoria Maldives Ithaafushi jumped from 200,000 points per night all the way up to 250,000 points per night
- The same goes for Hermitage Bay, an all-inclusive SLH resort on the Caribbean island of Antigua, has gone from 190,000 points a night to the new rate of 250,000 points. Considering this property could be booked for as few as 130,000 points per night when it joined Hilton Honors last fall, that's a 92% increase … all in less than a year! Ouch.
- Calala Island, a prized redemption ever since it joined Hilton's portfolio through SLH: It's now 240,000 points a night, up from the previous 200,000-a-night rate.
- RiverView Ranch Retreat & Western Adventures – an all-inclusive escape in rural Montana jumped to that 220,000 points per night, up from the old 200,000 point rate.
- The Waldorf Astoria Los Cabos Pedregal is arguably the most popular redemption for Hilton aficionados, but nightly rates were just hiked from 190,000 points to the new cap of 250,000 points a night.
- Canaves Oia Suites on the Greek isle of Santorini saw a similar hike from 190,000 points to 240,000 points per night.
- South Bank, a fan-favorite SLH redemption in Turks & Caicos, jumped from 180,000 points to 210,000 points a night.
- The Conrad Maldives Rangali Island – one of the most popular Hilton options in the Maldives – went from 140,000 points a night to 180,000 points a night.
- The relatively new Waldorf Astoria Seychelles Platte Island also increased prices from the previous rate of 150,000 points a night to 200,000 nightly.
This is by no means a comprehensive list – we're still digging in just to see how far it goes.
Still, those are some nasty overnight increases without a word of warning from Hilton to its members. Worst of all, bumping the maximum nightly rate for standard award rooms from 200,000 points all the way up to 250,000 is another massive increase. Consider this: That nightly cap sat at 150,000 points less than six months ago – a 66% increase.
So far as we can tell, these hikes hit the top-dollar Hilton redemptions hardest, where you can squeeze some serious value from your Hilton Honors points – not your everyday bookings at Hilton Garden Inns or DoubleTree locations.
But unlike other recent devaluations, even second-tier properties like the Conrad Tulum went from the old rate of 90,000 points per night to a new price of 105,000 points per night.
The same goes for the Grand Hotel Victoria Concept & Spa in Lake Como, Italy. In fact, we just sent a Thrifty Traveler Premium+ hotel alert for this property last week. At that time, it was bookable for 140,000 points per night … now, the cheapest price you'll find is 170,000 points.
Like many other hotel programs, Hilton uses a dynamic pricing model … with a twist. While the points rate is typically tied to the cash price, they also have “standard awards” at a set rate for every property. That means award rates can be all over the map at many Hilton properties – sometimes as high as 1 million points a night or more.
But there’s still a lowest-and-best base rate when redeeming Hilton Honors points. Those are the ones that just got more pricey.
With the integration of SLH last year and tons of other advantages, we've been singing Hilton's praises for months … and wondering whether it could win the crown of best hotel loyalty program from Hyatt. That case is getting much harder to make now.
Hilton points remain tremendously easy to earn with a slew of co-branded credit cards, points transfers available from both American Express and Bilt, and a much greater return when paying for hotel stays than you'll find at any other hotel program. And you can stretch those points further with Hilton's fifth-night free on award stays, so long as you have Hilton Silver status or higher.
Aside from forking over even more points, it's unclear what this means for travelers looking to redeem Hilton free night certificates from cards like the Hilton Honors Aspire Card. Will they still be eligible to use at these $4,000-per-night, 250,000-point properties? Probably … but if so, how much longer will that last?
Related reading: Which Hotel Loyalty Program is Most Valuable?
Bottom Line
For the third time in under a year, Hilton has hiked award rates at many of its most coveted properties, raising the standard award cap to 250,000 points per night (up from 200,000 … and 150,000 just months ago). These price hikes hit luxury SLH properties and flagship Waldorf Astorias hardest, but even some mid-tier hotels went up in price, too.
