Buy Hilton Points for 0.5 Cents Each Until December 5

This post contains references to products from one or more of our advertisers. We will receive compensation when you click on links to those products. For an explanation of our Advertiser Disclosure, and advertiser partners, such as American Express, CreditCards.com and others visit this page.

Hilton has been running promotions on points purchases frequently as of late. Just last month, they ran a 100% bonus, where you can buy Hilton points for 0.5 cents each. Well, less than a month after the last sale ended, they are back with another promotion good until December 5, 2016. Hilton is calling this one “50% off” on points purchases, but it’s really just the same deal under the hood.

50% Off Hilton Points Purchases

Under this promotion, you can save 50% off the regular price for points when you buy 10,000 or more. This means you can buy Hilton points for half a cent each. You can buy up to 160,000 points every year; if you haven’t bought points this year yet, you can maximize the promotion by buying 160,000 Hilton points for $800.

Hilton is selling their points with a 50% discount

Hilton’s properties fall into one of 10 categories. A free night reward costs between 5,000 and 95,000 points.

Current Hilton HHonors award pricing

However, if you have any elite status with Hilton, you get the 5th night free when you book a 5-night stay. Hilton statuses are easy to acquire; you can get it just by having a Hilton Honors™ Card from American Express, or the AMEX Platinum Card. For a 5-night stay, you are basically getting a 20% discount. Free nights will therefore cost 4,000 to 76,000 points a night effectively.

Award nights with Hilton are elite-qualifying, and with most hotels, they are refundable as well. With the right properties and the right cost, using points can potentially save you money and confer flexibility over the Advance Purchase rate.

Should You Buy Hilton Points for 0.5 Cents Each?

I always recommend comparing redemptions to paid rates before redeeming or buying points. There are just two things to keep in mind. You don’t pay taxes on free night awards, so make sure you factor that in your calculations. Award nights also don’t earn points, so there’s an opportunity cost you will have to account for.

I previously wrote a detailed analysis on whether you should buy points, with examples of potentially lucrative redemptions, so I won’t repeat that here. There are great savings to be had with both lower-end hotels and at high-end luxury properties. It all comes down to (1) award availability, (2) how much the paid rate is, (3) whether you can take advantage of the 5th night free benefit, and (4) how much you value a Hilton point.

If you are short of Hilton points for a stay you have in mind, and/or missed the sale last month, this might not be a and way to reach that goal. You can also transfer both American Express and Citi ThankYou points to Hilton HHonors, but the transfer rates are terrible. Even with Citi’s current promotion, you are better off buying points than transferring if you need 10,000 or more points.

You can buy Hilton points here.