Rundown of Hilton HHonors for Canadians (updated January 10, 2016)

The newest addition to our points portfolio is Hilton’s HHonors. So today, I am going to give a run-down of the overall program and how Canadians can take advantage of its points program.

Brands

First way to accumulate HHonors points is to stay at one of their hotels. The Hilton Worldwide offers a wide range of brands, from affordable to luxurious ones including:

Luxury

• Conrad Hotels & Resorts
• Waldorf Astoria Hotels and Resorts

Full Service

• Hilton Hotels & Resorts
• DoubleTree by Hilton
• Embassy Suites
• Curio, A Collection by Hilton

Focused Service

• Hilton Garden Inn
• Hampton Inn
• Homewood Suites by Hilton
• Home2 Suites by Hilton

Lifestyle

• Canopy by Hilton

Timeshare

• Hilton Grand Vacations

Hilton has 4,200 locations in 93 countries, of which 118 hotels are located in Canada. 

Earning Points

For every hotel stay, you have the choice between earning: 

• HHonors Base Points + HHonors Bonus Points (earn 10 points plus 5 bonus points per eligible US dollar spent on your room)
• HHonors Base Points + airline/rail miles (earn 10 points plus 1 mile per eligible US dollar spent on most stay)

There are some exceptions to keep in mind:

• Earn 10 points for every $1 USD spent at Hampton Inn and Homewood Suites by Hilton hotels, on the room rate only
• Earn 5 points + 1 mile or 2.5 bonus points (depending on which option you choose) for every $1 USD spent at Home2 Suites by Hilton hotels on the room rate only

Categories

Hotel rooms are classified by a category. The higher the category, generally the more expensive the rooms will be. Points are redeemed the same way, the higher the Category, the more points you need to redeem for a reward night. Below are the redemption rates for each category of hotel room:

HOTEL CATEGORY	HHONORS POINTS REQUIRED FOR ONE FREE NIGHT
1	5,000 Points
2	10,000 Points
3	20,000 Points
4	20,000 to 30,000 Points
5	30,000 to 40,000 Points
6	30,000 to 50,000 Points
7	30,000 to 60,000 Points
8	40,000 to 70,000 Points
9	50,000 to 80,000 Points
10	70,000 to 95,000 Points

Credit Card Options and American Express Partnership

Unfortunately there are no co-branded credit cards associated with the HHonors program in Canada. The only option is to but you can convert your American Express Membership Rewards points to HHonors points at a 1:1 transfer ratio. I value Membership Reward points at 1.8 cents a piece, while HHonors points are only valued at 0.5 cents per point, so this is a pretty dismal transfer option, so I would not do it, unless you are in a hurry to redeem for a specific reward redemption. Just keep in mind that you need to transfer a minimum of 1,000 points.

Elite Status

There are 3 levels of elite status. Below is a quick recap of the highlights of each level.

Silver

• Qualify after 4 stays or 10 nights in a calendar year
• Receive 15% bonus on HHonors Base Points
• Receive every 5th night free on when you redeem your points for 5 or more reward nights on standard rooms

Gold

• Qualify after 20 stays, 40 nights, or 75,000 base points per calendar year
• Receive 25% bonus on HHonors Base Points
• Earn 1,000 bonus points per stay at Conrad Hotels & Resorts, Hilton Hotels & Resorts, DoubleTree by Hilton, Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts and Hilton Grand Vacations
• Earn 750 bonus points per stay at Hilton Garden Inn
• Earn 500 bonus points per stay at Embassy Suites Hotels
• Earn 250 bonus points per stay at Hampton and Homewood Suites by Hilton
• Earn 100 bonus points per stay at Home2 Suites by Hilton

Diamond

• Qualify after 30 stays, 60 nights, or 120,000 base points per calendar year
• Receive 50% bonus on HHonors Base Points
• Guaranteed a room when you make a reservation at least 48 hours prior to your arrival
• Choose from certain benefits for your stays at specific hotels, including bonus points options

Conclusion

The HHonors program is really starting to grow on me because of all the bonus points options. The reward redemption is still a little steep, but nothing we can do about the devaluation from back in 2013. All we can do is move forward. So going forward, I really do hope that there will be a co-branded Hilton HHonors credit card being offered in Canada.

I don’t have a preference on which credit card company offers it, I just hope that there will be an annual fee option and a no annual fee option so that they can cover a larger market share. I definitely see an opportunity here, I am just wondering if credit card companies (offering the credit card) and consumers (signing up for it) will catch on. You can be sure that I will for sure sign up for the no annual fee version of the credit card at the very least.