From Miles to Smiles Stylish travel for professionals seeking luxury at affordable prices
The crumbs of Santa’s midnight snack litter the hearth, wrapping paper is strewn all over the lounge, the reindeer are taking a well-earned rest, and the sounds of laughter and merriment echo around the house. Christmas is finally here, but once the sun sets on Christmas day and thoughts turn to those dark January and February nights, what could be better than bagging a FREE weekend away to recharge? Here is one little Christmas package that can help you do just do! The Hilton Credit card rewards you with a free night when you spend just £750 in the first 90 days.
Introducing the Hilton Honors Platinum Visa card
Before I converted to airmiles credit cards, the Hilton Honors Platinum Visa card was my first experience of travel hacking in the UK. I bagged literally tons of free nights by remaining loyal to Hilton on my work and weekend trips and by using the Hilton card to pay for almost everything. Not only that, but I received free upgrades to suites on several occasions, including a memorable stay at the Waldorf Astoria in New Orleans.
For those who think using credit cards for airmiles is just too much of a pain, then this card could be a very merry solution for you. It gives you access to a VIP lifestyle without a VIP price tag.
Benefits of the Hilton Honors Platinum Visa credit card
- Free weekend night at participating Hilton hotels worldwide when you spend £750 in the first 90 days
- Hilton Honors Gold Elite Status when you spend £10,000 in any calendar year. Definitely worthwhile as this will give you access to many club lounges, free drinks and upgraded rooms.
- You will receive an automatic upgrade to Hilton Honors Silver Elite as soon as you take out the card.
- Earn an extra 2.500 bonus points for each of your first four stays at any Hilton Hotel Worldwide in your first 12 months of card membership.
- 0% interest on balance transfers for 15 months. If you fancy booking flights to an exotic destination, and using your Hilton Honorspoints to get some free nights, you do not have to worry about paying interest.
- You will earn 3 Hilton rewards for every £1 you spent at participating Hilton hotels (plus the points you normally earn)
- You will earn 2 Hilton rewards for every £1 you spend elsewhere
How soon can I bag a FREE night?
The short answer to this is as soon as you spend £750 on your Hilton credit card. However, if you fancy a longer weekend away, then here are the points you will need for the different Hilton hotels categories.
| Category | Rewards Points |
| Category 1 | 5,000 |
| Category 2 | 10,000 |
| Category 3 | 20,000 |
| Category 4 | 20,000 to 30,000 |
| Category 5 | 30,000 to 40,000 |
| Category 6 | 30,000 to 50,000 |
| Category 7 | 30,000 to 60,000 |
| Category 8 | 40,000 to 70,000 |
| Category 9 | 50,000 to 80,000 |
| Category 10 | 70,000 to 95,000 |
Bear in mind also, that Silver, Gold and Diamond elite members receive a 5th night free on reward stays of five or more nights.
Thus, if you wanted to book the Hilton Hurghada Resort, a Category 1 hotel, it would cost just 5,000 points per night, meaning your five night stay costs you 20,000 Hilton rewards. In fact, you could even stay an extra night for nothing as you will have exceeded the minimum spend of £750. Your six night stay would be entirely free. No taxes to pay!
You can use the Hilton Points calculator to work out how many points you might need for your planned stay.
So how quickly can I earn 20,000 Hilton rewards with the Hilton card?
The table below shows some assumed spend and the Hilton rewards you will earn on your Hilton reward card.
| Rate per £1 spend | Assumed monthly spend | 2 | 3 |
| Books/Magazines | £20 | 40 | |
| Food shopping | £300 | 600 | |
| Household Bills | £100 | 200 | |
| Clothing | £100 | 200 | |
| Entertainment | £200 | 400 | |
| Car Fuel | £200 | 400 | |
| Holidays | £400 | 800 | |
| Hilton hotel night | £100 | 300 | |
| Other | £80 | 160 | |
| Total Spend | £1,400 | ||
| Total Points | 2,800 | 300 |
This spend gives you a total of 3,100 points per month, assuming you book just one night in a Hilton property each month. That stay would earn you an extra 2,500 bonus points for the first four bookings, and after just four months, you would have in excess of 20,000 points. Here’s how:
| Month | Spending points | Bonus Hilton stay Points |
| Jan | 3,100 | 2,500 |
| Feb | 3,100 | 2,500 |
| March | 3,100 | 2,500 |
| April | 3,100 | 2,500 |
| Total | 12,400 | 10,000 |
Hilton card round up
In short, you can see that if you spend £1,400 per month for the first four months, including a one night stay in a Hilton property each month, you will earn 22,400 points. This is enough to cover the cost of four free nights at the Hilton Hurghada Resort, or another category 1 hotel, plus you get your 5th night free. You will also be able to redeem your free night e-certificate and stay six nights for the price of four. Now that is what I call a Happy New Year!
Join the conversation
Maybe you have used this card, or something similiar. I would love to hear your experience so feel free to share your stories below.
We love staying at the Hilton. We just stayed in a lot of their hotels throughout Eastern Europe. I didn’t know they had a credit card though, thanks for that information!
Sounds like a good deal for Hilton is present in all the major cities. But the issue that I have with these schemes is that they do not have presence in offbeat locations, which is where a lot of us tend to go. I tried out a similar deal but found that I was at a loss.
That is when you really should consider the likes of hotel.com as it allows you to be rewarded wherever you stay
I love hotel/airmiles credit cards – It is such a great way to help you travel more! This credit card seems like a great one to have especially when you can earn a free night by spending £750 in the first 90 days! Plus, everyday purchases help you earn more points for future stay!
I know. Isn’t it just? I have earned tons of free nights with this card in the past
I’ve only stayed at a Hilton Hotel once and had a good experience. I’m thinking of signing up for the card as I like all the perks it comes with. I’ve added this to my bookmarks. Thanks for the advice 🙂
Im actually in the search for a good travel credit card that comes with good perks so this post couldn’t have come at a better time. I like how it’s easy to rack up points to earn free nights and Hilton is a nice hotel too. However, I am looking for something with car rental and flight perks as well, but I guess you can’t have everything haha.
I think if you go for the American Express platinum card (be warned, whopping £450 charge) that might have such extras. Perhaps that would be the subject of a future blog post.
I’ve never had a credit card but I can definitely see the benefits of having this one. At least your points count for something with this card. Hilton is a usually a nice place to stay anywhere in the world and what’s better than a free room?
It’s always a winner to go for a credit card that is tied up to some sort of miles! We love Hilton Hotels, they have many nice properties all over the world. Quite not many points needed too, which makes it convenient. Nothing more frustrating than accumulating miles/points and never being able to use them because you will never get enough of them!
You have given nice breakup of Hilton loyalty card. Getting free weekend night offer with this card, is really a nice offer. In 2018, I would love to have this kind of loyalty card.
I think 2018 is the year where I’ll be investing more in these types of credit cards. It’s a great incentive that you get a free weekend night for the points value. I’m glad you write these posts, as honestly I would never know of them myself!
I had a Hilton reward card at one point in time, as I was travelling a lot for work and Hilton was a preferred destination. However in my personal travels I don’t prefer it that much. On the other hand, I liked your article. It is well organised and it gives the correct information in a professional manner. I suggest explaining that it is a paid partnership, as it seems to be the case.
Hi There, if you mean the post was sponsored, it wasn’t. I have no relationship with Hilton credit cards, but if I did I would disclose it at the bottom of the post.