Hotel credit cards offer all kinds of fantastic perks, ranging from elite status to free night awards. In the case of Hilton Honors, there are four co-branded American Express cards, with annual fees ranging from $0 to $550. Two of these cards offer the opportunity to earn one or more free night rewards per year.
In this post, I want to take a closer look at everything you need to know about redeeming Hilton free night reward certificates (you can read separately about how to redeem Hilton Honors points).
In this post:
Which Hilton credit cards offer free night rewards?
There are two Hilton credit cards that can potentially earn you free night rewards.
Hilton Aspire Card free night award
The Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card (review) offers up to three free night rewards every year:
- You receive one every cardmember year just for having the card, including the year in which you open the account
- You receive one when you spend $30,000 on the card in a calendar year
- You receive one when you spend $60,000 on the card in a calendar year
The information and associated card details on this page for the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card has been collected independently by OMAAT and has not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Hilton Surpass Card free night award
The Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card (review) offers a free night reward when you spend $15,000 on the card in a calendar year.
Can you earn Hilton free night certificates from multiple cards?
You sure can. In theory, you could have the two Hilton credit cards that offer free night certificates, and you could earn up to four of these for your account per year, in conjunction with qualifying spending. Note that you’re also eligible for the welcome offers on each of these cards. Sometimes there are even further promotional offers to earn free night awards.
For that matter, if you product change cards, you could even get more than one of the same card, so in theory, you could earn more than four of these per year.
How soon do free night rewards post to your account?
In all cases, free night rewards post within 8-12 weeks of when they’re earned:
- In the case of those free night rewards earned through spending, expect the certificates to be deposited in your account 8-12 weeks after the spending threshold is reached
- In the case of the Hilton Aspire Card annual certificate, expect it to post within 8-12 weeks of your anniversary (and in the first year within 8-12 weeks of when you open the card)
For what nights are free night rewards valid?
Hilton free night rewards are valid for stays any day of the week. Historically these were weekend night rewards, which is to say that they could only be redeemed for weekend nights. However, that restriction has been eliminated permanently, and they’re now valid seven days per week.
How long are free night rewards valid?
Hilton free night certificates are valid for 12 months from when they’re issued. The stay needs to be completed within that timeline, and not just booked by then. Hilton isn’t typically generous with extending the expiration of these certificates.
At which hotels can Hilton free night certificates be redeemed?
The Hilton free night certificates are valid at virtually any property where standard award redemptions are available, at properties costing up to 200,000 points per night. Specifically, Hilton free night certificates are valid at all properties except a few dozen, most of which are Hilton Vacation Club and Hilton Grand Vacation Club properties.
Hilton Honors and Small Luxury Hotels of the World (SLH) have a partnership, and you can even redeem free night awards at these properties. Just keep in mind there are more capacity controls for those hotels, so there needs to be standard room availability with points.
Most of the properties you’d want to redeem at are eligible for this certificate.
How do you view your Hilton free night certificates?
Once you earn a free night certificate you should receive an email from Hilton Honors with all the details (the email usually has the subject line “Your Free Night Reward has arrived!”). You can also view free night certificates directly in your Hilton Honors account, either through the Hilton website or app.
On the Hilton website, log into your Hilton Honors account and scroll past your basic account info, and you’ll see a section that shows your free night awards.
On the Hilton app, log into your Hilton Honors account, go to the “Status” tab, and then scroll down to the section showing free night awards.
Regardless of whether you check on the website or app, you can see how you earned the free night certificates, how long they’re valid, and what the last four digits of the certificate codes are.
How do you redeem free night certificates?
While you can view your free night rewards online, there’s no way to directly redeem these certificates online without the help of a Hilton representative.
I’d argue that the easiest way to book is to just call up Hilton at 1-800-446-6677, and provide your reward code (it’s fine if you don’t have the code when calling — the phone agents should be able to look it up based on your Hilton Honors account number). Alternatively, many report luck redeeming these using the chat feature on Hilton’s website, though I’m not sure that’s necessarily faster.
It sure would be nice if it were possible to make these bookings directly online, rather than needing to ask for help. Free night certificates with virtually all other hotel loyalty programs can be booked online (this includes IHG One Rewards, Marriott Bonvoy, and World of Hyatt). Then again, I generally find this benefit to be so generous that I’m not going to complain.
Do you receive elite benefits when redeeming free night awards?
If you have elite status with Hilton (like Hilton Gold elite or Hilton Diamond elite status), then yep, all perks also apply when redeeming points or free night certificates. This could include benefits like room upgrades, complimentary breakfast (or a food & beverage credit), late check-out, etc.
Can you redeem free night awards for others?
If you’re not able to redeem your free night certificates for yourself, it’s also possible to redeem them for someone else’s stay. You’ll still need to be the one that makes the booking, so be sure you have all their information.
Note that it’s not actually possible to transfer the certificate to someone else’s Hilton Honors account, but instead, you’d just be redeeming your certificate in someone else’s name.
But I don’t want to go to a great hotel for just one night?!
What’s the value of a single free night certificate for a redemption at a remote, aspirational property? Most people aren’t going to go to Bora Bora, the Maldives, etc., for one night… and they shouldn’t. There are a few ways to approach this.
First of all, many people have the opportunity to earn multiple of these certificates. For example, if you have the Hilton Aspire Card and are a big spender, I think an argument could be made for spending $60,000 on the card per calendar year, so that you’d earn a total of three certificates. I’d consider that to be a good return on spending, and then you’d have three certificates you could either use together or separately.
Another option is to use the free night certificates as part of a longer stay. In other words, if you’re booking a stay of a few nights at one of these properties (either using cash, points, or a combination of the two), you can add on an extra night to the stay using this certificate.
Alternatively, there are lots of good city hotels where you can redeem this certificate. This is an area where Hilton keeps getting better, as the Waldorf Astoria and Conrad portfolios keep growing.
From the Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills, to the Waldorf Astoria Amsterdam, to the Waldorf Astoria Dubai, there are so many great city hotels to choose from. Those are just a few examples. The point is, there are lots of fantastic city hotels where you can redeem a free night award that are closer to home (or closer to major cities).
Bottom line
American Express and Hilton have a great portfolio of credit cards, and the free night rewards are among my favorite perks offered:
- The Hilton Aspire Card offers one every year just for having the card, which for many people will more than justify the annual fee, in and of itself; you can also earn two additional ones with a total of $60,000 in spending
- For the Hilton Surpass Card, I think it can be worth spending $15,000 on the card each year to earn an anniversary free night certificate
These rewards can potentially be redeemed for stays at hotels retailing for $1,000+ per night, so I continue to get great value out of this benefit.
To those who have earned Hilton free night awards, what has your experience been?
The information and associated card details on this page for the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card has been collected independently by OMAAT and has not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
My experience with FNC is very positive. I don’t love that I have to call on the phone but sometimes it makes it easier for a more complicated transaction involving both points and FNCs. I called in a few weeks ago to book a 4 night pre-cruise stay in London and was able to use points plus 2 FNCs with just the one phone call. I was also able to use a soon to expire...
My experience with FNC is very positive. I don’t love that I have to call on the phone but sometimes it makes it easier for a more complicated transaction involving both points and FNCs. I called in a few weeks ago to book a 4 night pre-cruise stay in London and was able to use points plus 2 FNCs with just the one phone call. I was also able to use a soon to expire FNC right here in southern Cali at the Waldorf Astoria Monarch Beach property. Loved it so much that I may use the 2 FNCs that just hit my account to go back.
Forcing people to get on the phone to redeem the free night certificate is a blatant way of discouraging use. So is making it difficult to combine with a point redemption under many circumstances. This is similar to a certain satellite radio company that requires a long phone call to cancel service. It’s a game Hilton wants you to lose. They know we know.
If you’re willing to put up with the hassles and...
Forcing people to get on the phone to redeem the free night certificate is a blatant way of discouraging use. So is making it difficult to combine with a point redemption under many circumstances. This is similar to a certain satellite radio company that requires a long phone call to cancel service. It’s a game Hilton wants you to lose. They know we know.
If you’re willing to put up with the hassles and play the game, these certificates can make the credit cards that promise them worth the annual fees. But plenty of people simply give up because it’s not worth the extra hassle. I’ll say this much for Hilton though: at least they don’t charge hated resort fees on these free night stays. That’s one advantage over Marriott.
In practice, my FNC from spending $15k on the Hilton Surpass is available to me a couple days after meeting the spending requirement.
Also, an annoying limitation with FNCs is dealing with hotels that limit standard award availability to multi-night stays. E.g. Jan 1 might only be available as an award if you are staying at least three nights, not one night. This makes the FNC impossible to use for that night unless you...
In practice, my FNC from spending $15k on the Hilton Surpass is available to me a couple days after meeting the spending requirement.
Also, an annoying limitation with FNCs is dealing with hotels that limit standard award availability to multi-night stays. E.g. Jan 1 might only be available as an award if you are staying at least three nights, not one night. This makes the FNC impossible to use for that night unless you are combing with points to make a longer stay. This also poses a problem in two-player mode, where you each have FNCs; they can’t be combined, so there needs to be availability for two consecutive shorter reservations, which is generally harder to find than for a single longer reservation.