Start planning your vacation now with HHonors Points
We just got home from several days in Orlando as a family. It was a great time for us to get away, spend some time together and just relax and enjoy ourselves. Well, relax for a few days, anyway, since we did 3 days at the parks while there. We used our new Hilton HHonors™ Card from American Express (shared here) for every purchase we could while there- we earned 7x Points for both our stay and purchases we made on site at our hotel, Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek, and also 3x Points for every dollar spent which gets us closer to that $750 threshold for the bonus. This post is part of a partnership with American Express and Hilton.
By putting our daily meals, souvenirs and activities on my Card during our vacation, I was able to meet a great deal of the spend requirement and earn bonus HHonors Points towards my next trip. Nothing over the top or extraordinary in terms of spending- although certainly a week away will likely be a higher expenditure than a week at home for us. Over 22,000 Points for us!
Not big on spending? That’s ok. You can still easily earn enough to hit that bonus level- remember, it’s in the first 3 months. So use that new Card at gas stations, grocery stores or restaurants (all in the US), because you earn 6x the Points on the Surpass and 5x the Points on the base Card (which I have). We do NOT spend as much in a normal week or month as we did on our vacation, but we do use our Cards whenever possible just so that we do accrue Points towards more travel. Being able to take our family new places and experience new (and old favorite) places is important to us, so finding ways to facilitate the process and decrease the cost is something we seek to do on a regular basis. We pay utilities each month, so now we’re putting those payments on the card and just including the money for it in the payment to our Card itself. Same cost, but we earn Points toward a trip.
The HHonors program offers hundreds of ways to earn and redeem Points. Members can redeem their Points for free nights, premium merchandise, charitable contributions, or unique events through the HHonors auction platform (hhonors.com/auctions). There are more than 4,660 hotels and resorts worldwide available as options for Point redemption. You can even use Points to upgrade reservations, as long as the upgraded rooms are available during your stay. You can get a night stay with as little as 5,000 Points.
Our 4 nights at Hilton Bonnet Creek in Orlando last week earned us enough Points to have up to a 4 night stay at a Hilton property— but I’m a Silver level member so a 5th night would be free1. Silver, Gold and Diamond elite members will receive every 5th night free1 on Standard Reward Stays of 5 consecutive nights or more. That’s literally another vacation stay for us, either at a significant discount using less points or a full discount using more Points. Here’s a link to learn more about using HHonors Points for your reference.
If you check the site, you’ll see there is a bonus offer of 50,000 Points if you spend $750 in the first 3 months. Now, obviously different properties have different rates, and there may be seasonal rates to take into consideration, so do your homework!! It’s pretty easy to see what the rates will be for your dates and chosen hotel location right on the HHonors site.
The sign-up bonus Points plus the Points we just earned can bring us a whole lot of places within the Hilton properties all over the globe. It might bring us a super discounted stay at a luxury resort, all the way over to a few free nights at a more moderate hotel. It can also bring us right back to Orlando- which we’re planning to do when the Star Wars area of Hollywood Studios expands! We can stay right on property and enjoy some of the benefits of being on a Disney property but also use our Points to either have nights without paying or significantly discounted room rates at the Buena Vista Palace. Those bonus Points are going to give us some serious family vacation time to enjoy!
Are you ready to start planning your vacation with HHonors points? I sure am!
1Free night value based on the average nightly value of the stay (up to 4 free nights on a stay of 20 consecutive nights within the same stay). This benefit can be used on an unlimited number of stays annually. See HHonors Program Terms & Conditions for additional details.
This post is part of a partnership with American Express and Hilton.
Ash Sears says
I have heard of the HHonors point system before but didn’t know that they rewarded this greatly. I will have to check them out when I travel more often.
Claudia Krusch says
This sounds like a great program! I like that you can get points while using it for the first few months.
Lauren Lam says
This points program sounds great! Now it’s time to start planning for the next vacation and earn some point.
Up Run For Life says
I need to find a credit card with excellent perks likes free hotel nights. Then use it at the grocery store and immediately pay offor the balance so it doesn’t accumulate interest.
Liz Mays says
It makes one vacation work towards the next. I’m all for that kind of work!
Paige says
This sounds like a pretty awesome program – thanks for sharing your experiences!
Onica (MommyFactor) says
This sounds like a great reward program. I like that you can get major points while using first few months.
Janeane Davis says
I make it a point to stay at hotels where I earn points. It makes future trips more economical and helps make other opportunities possible.
SHELLEY R ZUREK says
Hilton is the best for rewards. They have so many great properties. That card seems perfect coupled with my membership!
Ryan Sales Escat says
Unfortunately, we don’t have this in the Ph. But the place looks great and so fun for vacation.
Racquel Bregg says
Hiltons rewards programs are great! With a large family we appreciate every savings opportunity!
Nancy at Whispered Inspirations says
I definitely need to plan my next vaca and use my points. Thanks for all the tips, really helps!
Allie D. says
My family would love to travel and visit Orlando someday. Would definitely consider the HHonors rewards program for when we travel.
Roxanne Morrison says
Some great vacation planning tips. The reward programs really help to make things more affordable & in turn lets more people travel!
Tiffany Marie Cutcliff says
Amazing tips! I love Hilton hotels. We need to vacation this year so bad. 🙂
Shauna says
Oh what a cool idea to start planning. I know we are talking about where we want to go, so I need to sign up for those rewards now! Thanks for the info
Ann Bacciaglia says
I love using points to help pay for my travel. I will have to check this out. I have a ton of places i want to go to this year.
Heather @ Kraus House Mom says
My dad travels weekly for business and he prefers to stay at a Hilton Hotel. We’re planning some family trips and he told us to stay at Embassy Suites (a Hilton property).
Travel Blogger says
I love getting rewarded for traveling, especially when it allows me to travel even more!
Patty says
Sounds like a great program. I haven’t really been able to travel much because of my goats but if I do find myself getting away I will surely keep this in mind. They don’t let you take your goats do they? heh
Jenna Wood says
I’m an Hhonors member, but I’ll be honest- I don’t really know how to utilize it. This new system seems easy to understand. I’ll have to check out Hilton for my next vacation.
Jeni Hawkins says
I could definitely go for the Honors rewards program! I love to travel, but would love to save some money while I do, too!
Melissa Lawler says
The Hilton Honors program rocks! They allow you to earn points in so many different ways!
Robin (Masshole Mommy) says
I love staying at Hilton hotels. This sounds like an awesome program.
Jeanette says
I have not been to the Hilton in quite a long time. I know a lot of hotels have a rewards program, I have to check this one out and see how well it coincides with what we do for travel.
Kathy says
I’ll have to look in to this. I may be taking a vacation this Winter with my family. Something like this would be nice to have too.
victoria says
What a beautiful place to stay for vacation I really want to go there with my family.
Emily says
I love rewards programs. I’ll have to sign up for hhonors points before traveling this summer.
Annemarie LeBlanc says
Thanks for letting me know about this. We have a lot of traveling planned for this year and it would really be great to have a rewards program like this.
ricci says
I need a vacation so bad!! I ned to sign up for the Hilton HHonors program!!
Dogvills says
What a great way to earn rewards. I’ve never heard of HHonors before, but it sounds like an awesome rewards program. I will check this out.
Jamie says
I could really use a 4 night vacation. I love Hilton and their rewards programs.
William Sweeney says
It seems like between business and personal life we are always traveling! This sounds like a great way to earn rewards for traveling!
Diana Villa says
You can get a lot for 5000 points, I have to check it out, because I’m all about saving my money. Thanks! 😀
Heather says
I am a frequent business traveler and I definitely use HHonors. They’ve gotten us many free nights when visiting my husband’s kids while he was in the military. I also love that with my AMEX Membership Rewards, if I convert them to HHonors points, Hilton does it quickly and usually DOUBLES (sometimes triples!) the points!
lisa says
This sounds like an awesome program. I love earning extra points through rewards. I will have to look into this!
Stacie @ Divine Lifestyle says
HHonors sounds like a great rewards program. I travel a lot, and when I do I always try to stay at Hilton hotels. Love it!