Transfer Amex Points To Hilton With 30% Bonus

The American Express Membership Rewards program has just launched a new points transfer bonus, which is one we’ve seen a few times in the past. Unfortunately I wouldn’t get too excited about this offer.

Transfer Amex points to Hilton Honors with 30% bonus

Through Thursday, March 31, 2022, the Amex Membership Rewards program in the United States is offering a 30% bonus when you transfer points to Hilton Honors.

Points ordinarily transfer at a 1:2 ratio, meaning that during this promotion points transfer at a 1:2.6 ratio. In other words, you get 2,600 Hilton Honors points for every 1,000 Amex Membership Rewards points transferred. For what it’s worth, points generally transfer instantly from Amex to Hilton.

Over the past couple of years we’ve seen a few transfer promotions from Amex to Hilton, offering anywhere from a 30-50% bonus.

With Hilton having pre-sold a billion dollars worth of Honors points to American Express in 2020, I guess Membership Rewards has some excess points to play around with.

Should you transfer Amex points to Hilton?

Personally I value Amex points at ~1.7 cents each, while I value Hilton Honors points at ~0.5 cents each. Based on my valuation of points and the 1:2.6 transfer ratio, you’re getting about 1.3 cents of value per Amex point. While not amazing, that’s also not terrible, and for many this could prove to be worthwhile.

It’s worth noting that my valuation of points is intended to be conservative, and there are always ways to get hugely outsized value by using points properly.

Hilton does often sell points for 0.5 cents each, and I’ve written about some of the best ways to redeem Hilton Honors points. If you don’t otherwise have easy ways to earn Hilton points, I think there are lots of circumstances where it could make a lot of sense to transfer Amex points to Hilton with a specific use in mind.

For example, many of Hilton’s best properties (like the Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills and Waldorf Astoria Amsterdam) can be booked for 95,000 Hilton Honors points per night, with a fifth night free. This would be the equivalent of paying ~34,000 Amex points per night, not factoring in the fifth night free.

That’s just one example. To be clear, I don’t think this offer is worth it unless you have a very specific use in mind, and the math checks out.

Earn points with Hilton Amex Cards

There are so many great uses of Amex points, so personally if at all possible I’d try to earn Hilton Honors points through other methods. In addition to being able to buy points outright, it’s worth being aware of the co-branded Hilton Amex credit cards, including the following:

• Hilton Honors American Express Card (review)
• Hilton Honors American Express Surpass^® Card (review)
• Hilton Honors American Express Business Card (review)
• Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card (review)

Those are some great ways to rack up Hilton points, especially with the bonuses currently available.

Bottom line

For the next several weeks, Amex is offering a 30% bonus when you transfer points to Hilton Honors, meaning the transfer ratio is 1:2.6. This has the potential to be a good deal with a specific use in mind, though personally I’d rather acquire Hilton points in other ways, and save my Amex points for something else.

Do you plan on transferring Amex points to Hilton with a 30% bonus?