The hits just keep coming for travelers with Hilton Honors points.
For the fourth time in just a year and change, Hilton has raised rates for the lowest priced standard reward redemptions at some of its most popular properties – as well as, it seems, even some more modestly priced hotels and resorts. Doctor of Credit was first to highlight the news, citing a Reddit thread that popped up Monday afternoon.
But it goes further. Even for its lowest “standard room reward” pricing – the nights you can also book with invaluable free night certificates – Hilton is increasingly introducing ranges for peak- and off-peak pricing. So while you might see a room bookable for 90,000 points, you may see later that same month for 110,000 or even 120,000 points – still at those standard reward rates.
These changes are relatively minor, at least compared to the gutting changes last year that pushed nightly rates as high as 250,000 points. We're still digging in, but here's a sampling of some of the properties that went up in price:
- Grand Hotel Victoria Concept & Spa Lake Como went from as low as 140,000 points per night for a standard redemption to 170,000 points
- Conrad Osaka was priced at 90,000 points per night for a standard reward – but now you'll find rates as high as 110,000 points instead
- The Art Hotel Denver, a relatively modest Curio Collection hotel, is now pricing at 65,000 points per night, up from the old rate of just 50,000 points
- Malliouhana, a Small Luxury Hotel on the island of Anguilla, went from 150,000 points per night to 160,000 points for a standard room reward
- Zemi Beach House, another hotel on the island of Anguilla, shows some standard room rewards that now cost 140,000 points per night – a mild 30,000-point bump from the old price of 110,000 points
- The amazing Grand Hotel du Palais Royal in the heart of Paris is up from 120,000 points per night to 135,000 points a night
- Grand Wailea, a Waldorf Astoria Resort on Maui was previously fixed at 110,000 points per night … until now: you'll also see rates of 130,000 or 155,000 points per night, depending on when you go
- Waldorf Astoria Punta Cacique Costa Rica opened just last year at 120,000 points per night. Now, standard redemption rates are now as high as 140,000 points per night
What's most striking about these changes is that most aren't an across-the-board increase we've grown accustomed to seeing from Hilton. While the new rates are definitely up at all these properties, some standard reward nights still price out at lower levels.
Like many other hotel programs, Hilton uses a dynamic pricing model – where the price for a free night varies, largely tied to the cash price – but they've traditionally offered “standard rewards” at a set rate for every property … as well as eye-popping “Premium Room Rewards” rates that can soar north of 1 million points. Now, even those standard rewards are pricing dynamically within a much more limited band.
Take the Conrad Osaka, for example. Hilton's new color-coded award calendar makes it easy to zero in on the cheapest standard reward rate of 90,000 points per night. But look closely, and you'll see some standard rewards now priced for 95,000 or even 110,000 points per night.
This is a relatively new wrinkle from Hilton – and one that makes saving up the right amount of points for a big redemption harder to pin down and harder to do.
You'll see the same thing at Zemi Beach House on the island of Anguilla – a property we recently stayed at and loved. Standard reward nights used to be a flat 110,000 points per night. Now, you'll see a handful of standard redemptions pricing out at 130,000 points … or 140,000 points … or even 200,000 points per night!
But whatever you do, don't call it a devaluation. Or at least Hilton's president and CEO isn't.
“In terms of devaluation, there's no news here, and we're not planning anything,” Chris Nassetta said in an interview with The Points Guy late last year, noting that inflation and rising room costs have led Hilton to “adjust” some redemption rates to keep up with the higher cost of doing business.
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, the bigger question remains: How will this impact Hilton free night certificates from cards like the *Hilton Aspire*? As Hilton continues to raise prices and introduce new dynamic pricing wrinkles, will they still be eligible at any property, so long as it's priced at the standard reward redemption level?
Probably … but if so, how much longer will that last?
Related reading: Which Hotel Loyalty Program is Most Valuable?
Bottom Line
Stop me if you've heard this before, but Hilton just raised standard reward rates at some of its most popular properties … and even a few that have largely flown under the radar.
These increases are relatively mild compared to some of the hikes we've seen over the past year (or so). But to complicate things further, Hilton is leaning into a new dynamic-pricing trend for its standard reward nights, causing prices to vary even more.
