Hilton Honors has one of the more aggressive policies when it comes to when your points expire. Hilton Honors points expire after 12 months of inactivity (As of December 2021 Hilton Honors points expire after 24 months), which means you really have to stay on top of things if you don’t want your points expiring. Not only that, but I also find it interesting how Hilton Honors’ website doesn’t make it obvious when your points expire. Best I can tell, there’s not even a place on Hilton’s website that shows the points expiration date for your account, but rather you just have to deduce it based on the date of your last activity.
Up until about a week ago, Hilton didn’t have a published process for restoring expired points, though in reality they’d often offer to reinstate points that had expired, either with no strings attached, as part of a challenge, etc.
Hilton Honors now has a formal procedure in place for restoring expired points, whereby you can restore those points for 0.25 cents each. Points that have expired within the past 18 months can be reinstated, and you can reinstate up to a million points. Furthermore, you can only reinstate expired points once. You can do this directly through Hilton’s website, either by logging into your Honors account, or through this link.
Of course if you’re not eligible you’ll get a message stating so.
So, is it worth restoring Hilton Honors points for 0.25 cents each? Well, I certainly value Honors points at more than that. My personal valuation is around 0.4 cents per point, and the cheapest Hilton ever sells points is 0.5 cents per point.
Of course the issue is that if your points expired, chances are that you’re not the most engaged member in the world, and you may end up not using those points again.
However, keep in mind that earlier this year Hilton’s program went more revenue based, with the introduction of Points & Money awards. Nowadays you shouldn’t struggle at all to redeem points for at least 0.4 cents each without any sort of effort. There’s no skill required for these redemptions.
Bottom line
Hilton now has a formal policy on reinstating expired points, but it comes at a cost. 0.25 cents per point can be a significant amount to pay to reinstate points (and it certainly stings to pay in order to reinstate points that you already earned), but almost across the board it seems worthwhile to do so. You should never get less than 0.25 cents per point of value on hotel stay redemptions, but just make sure you don’t let the points expire again.
I recently had 168K points expired, even though I had a stay at a Hilton property, which went unreported somehow, in the 12 months prior to the expiration of points. After multiple emails, multiple chats, and a failed effort to use the online points restoration process, I've been advised 50% of my points will be reinstated within the next 24 hours. To get the remaining 50% I must book at least two stays in Hilton...
I recently had 168K points expired, even though I had a stay at a Hilton property, which went unreported somehow, in the 12 months prior to the expiration of points. After multiple emails, multiple chats, and a failed effort to use the online points restoration process, I've been advised 50% of my points will be reinstated within the next 24 hours. To get the remaining 50% I must book at least two stays in Hilton properties within the next 3 months.
All in all a very frustrating experience. But, I guess 50% now is better than starting back at "0" points with another rewards program...or is it?
Who did you contact to get your points back
I've acquired Diamond level status and was never informed nor indicated in any communication that they were to expire. Imagine my surprise to 0 points when trying to make a reservation now that International Travel will be granted for work. I was directed by Hilton management to complete two stays at two separate locations (during a worldwide pandemic) to not only reinstate my account but to indicate an active status to renew my expired points....
I've acquired Diamond level status and was never informed nor indicated in any communication that they were to expire. Imagine my surprise to 0 points when trying to make a reservation now that International Travel will be granted for work. I was directed by Hilton management to complete two stays at two separate locations (during a worldwide pandemic) to not only reinstate my account but to indicate an active status to renew my expired points. The guidance issued was incorrect and although it was documented, they will not honor the agreement issued by Hilton management. I cannot fathom how an international corporation can simply dismiss valued patrons especially during a time where travel is not at its greatest. Such a disappointment .
HILTON is THE WORST!!!
I feel terrible, I had over 400k points and when I checked my account they were gone. Of course the rules clearly state the expiration, but Hilton should do more effort to notify you in advance, or have a much longer grace period. I received emails but they were in the junk folder, so never saw them. Why not call me at least one week in advance? Buying a few points or creating some activity...
I feel terrible, I had over 400k points and when I checked my account they were gone. Of course the rules clearly state the expiration, but Hilton should do more effort to notify you in advance, or have a much longer grace period. I received emails but they were in the junk folder, so never saw them. Why not call me at least one week in advance? Buying a few points or creating some activity would be so easy to avoid the expiration.
This looks to me like a cheap trick to reduce the cost of the Hilton points pogram. No more Hilton stays for me, unless absolutely necessary. I know the rules are the rules, but I feel scammed, definitively the rules are designed without considering what is best for their customers.
Best regards,
Ruben
I had over 190K points but now they show expired...Why? Hilton Honors # 279455827
Does restoring points count as eligible activity to add another 12 mos. to my points expiration deadline?
@echino: you can always buy a couple of points in your account. Starting at 1000 points for $10.
@Lu, 1) Yes, any activity will keep all your points active. I don't think simply having a Hilton credit card is a qualifying activity, but using it is. Even if there aren't any categories you'd normally use your Hilton credit card for, just spend $5 every 6 months.
Or spend or earn points through the Hilton shopping portal. Both earn and spend rates are horrid, but it's better than letting the points expire.
...@Lu, 1) Yes, any activity will keep all your points active. I don't think simply having a Hilton credit card is a qualifying activity, but using it is. Even if there aren't any categories you'd normally use your Hilton credit card for, just spend $5 every 6 months.
Or spend or earn points through the Hilton shopping portal. Both earn and spend rates are horrid, but it's better than letting the points expire.
Buy magazines. I don't see how to do it through the Hilton site, but you can find it by Googling hilton points magazine.
Finally donate points. 4K points minimum, and a not horrible rate of $10 per 4000 points.
What's the cheapest way to generate activity if my Hilton points will expire soon and I have no stays planned before that and no Hilton credit card (I am in Canada)?
@Pat , who cut what slack for Hilton points? I thought Hilton point is the most hated major point program by points bloggers.
Seriously, everyone has their own preference, but Hilton point redemption normally don't give you too much surprises on the high end ( there are some very good redemption on low end, like 10K/ night on some Hampton Inns ) , but if you value them at 2 points/cent, they are one of the easiest to redeem with worthy value.
2 questions:
1) so the expiration is for all points at once right? if there are some activity during 12 months period, all point will stay alive no matter when they were earned?
2) does owning a Hilton credit card count as an activity?
Thanks
Hilton points are my least favorite currency. I don't know why people cut them so much slack, unless it's simple brand-loyalty.
I agree, Hilton and specifically Hilton Honors is the WORST. They took 200K of point from me and after 2 appeals they were so generous to offer to restore 20% (compared to Marriott and Hyatt that it took me 1 phone call). I am done with Hilton, good bye!
hi Bob, Sorry to hear about this. I am at the same situation as you. I was wondering if you were able to by back the rest(80%=160K points) of your points back after they restored 20% to your account? Thanks.
you can now buy back your expired points. Log into your hilton account and look for 'restore points'. The fee is kind of harsh. I just lost 168,658 points and they want $250.00 to restore them...but at least the $250 is the flat rate fee. Make sure you earn points every 24 months, or you will lose them for good. You can only restore then ONCE
"I also find it interesting how Hilton Honors’ website doesn’t make it obvious when your points expire. "
I find it much more than interesting - I find it INCREDIBLY annoying. I just logged in and find absolutely no indication of when my points will expire, or even of when my last points transaction was - it just tells me I have no past stays, and "All Points Activity" shows no activity. Then how did...
"I also find it interesting how Hilton Honors’ website doesn’t make it obvious when your points expire. "
I find it much more than interesting - I find it INCREDIBLY annoying. I just logged in and find absolutely no indication of when my points will expire, or even of when my last points transaction was - it just tells me I have no past stays, and "All Points Activity" shows no activity. Then how did I amass 80,000 points? And how am I supposed to determine when the 12 month expiration date is if the website won't tell me anything about what and when my last points activity was?
Beyond ridiculous.
HILTON IS THE WORST, would love to see the $M or $B that they have taken from the loyal customers or like me, Past loyal customers. SHAME ON THEM, it will bite them in the rear, but then there will be a new group of consultant advising the next group of manager. Stay with Marriot, IHG, or Hyatt!
I called Hilton early last week as my password wasn't working. I wanted to check on my points since I hadn't stayed with Hilton in a while. The agent reset my password and mentioned my about 30,000 points had expired. She proactively reinstated my points with no charge before I could even ask. I was very impressed
Thats nice to hear from you (back in 2017) but it aint the way it is any longer. Hilton is the WORST (at least in 2022).