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Here's how Hilton’s Points Explorer tool can help you plan a better award redemption
Andrea M. Rotondo has traveled to 50+ countries using points and miles. She's a luxury, small-ship cruise expert and hotel maven who can share the not-to-be-missed spots in her adopted home state of Florida. She will also talk all day long about her ancestral homeland: Italy.
May 6, 2021 • 8 min read
The cards we feature here are from partners who compensate us when you are approved through our site, and this may impact how or where these products appear. We don't cover all available credit cards, but our analysis, reviews, and opinions are entirely from our editorial team. Terms apply to the offers listed on this page. Please view our advertising policy and product review methodology for more information.Editorial disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airline or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.
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Quick summary
Hilton's Points Explorer tool provides a historical range of points required for award stays at specific hotels, helping travelers estimate potential redemption costs.
The tool does not display real-time or future award pricing, so users must check Hilton.com for current availability and rates.
Award rates can vary significantly by season and property, with actual rates sometimes lower or higher than those shown in the tool.
The tool is most useful for initial trip planning, offering a general sense of points needed before searching specific dates.
What to consider
Points Explorer reflects past booking data, not guaranteed current or future rates, so actual redemption costs may differ.
Some properties may offer lower or higher rates than the tool suggests, especially during off-peak or peak travel periods.
Hilton Honors elites receive the fifth night free on award stays, which can further reduce the average nightly points cost.
What you'll miss from the article
Step-by-step examples comparing Points Explorer results to real-time Hilton.com searches for specific hotels and seasons.
Generated by AI with support from our editorial team.
Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.
Not that long ago, Hilton Honors decided that published award charts were a thing of the past. Thankfully, the program uses one on the back end to price awards, meaning that the points price is not simply tied directly to the cash price on any given night. But still, it's hard to plan an award trip without knowing how many points a room will cost.
Fortunately, Hilton's Points Explorer tool debuted in February 2019. With the increased Hilton card bonuses, we did some tests to see just how useful this tool might be as you sit down to plan out your next adventure.
Before the Points Explorer tool was introduced, all we knew for sure was that standard award nights could range from 5,000 to 95,000 points per night, depending on the property (or 150,000 at this resort). This tool can help make it much easier to plan an award stay and figure out how many points you should save up for it.
Hilton's Points Explorer tool reports that standard award nights at the West Hotel Sydney, Curio Collection by Hilton, go for 33,000 to 60,000 points per night. (Photo courtesy of Booking.com)
What Can the Hilton Points Explorer Tool Do?
The Points Explorer tool shows a historic range of the number of points needed for an award at a specific hotel. It doesn't show what's available right now or in the future. To see actual pricing, you still need to go to Hilton.com and search specific dates. You can also use the Flexible Dates check box to get an idea of the redemption costs on different nights of the year.
But, seeing the lowest and highest number of points that Hilton Honors members have paid for a given hotel during a recent time period can be useful. When you use the tool, you will see something like this:
Lowest Points per night that our members have booked at this hotel as of June 12, 2020. Current Points per night may vary. Maximum Points per night for a Standard Room as of June 12, 2020. Subject to change.
Visit the Points Explorer page and begin your search. You can research a specific property or see what's available in an entire city.
You can also filter by hotel brands.
You can quickly see the minimum and maximum award rates Hilton members have paid at various hotels during the prescribed time frame.
How Accurate Is the Point Explorer tool?
The Points Explorer tool shows you what award rates other Hilton Honors members have booked at hotels. It doesn't mean you can book an award at the lowest rate you see. Sometimes rooms aren't available at the lowest award rate currently, but other times, you can find rooms for fewer points than the minimum listed on the Points Explorer tool.
Here's what I learned when searching four different properties in both the Points Explorer tool and at Hilton.com. (At Hilton.com, I checked nearly 12 months of availability at each hotel on my list.)
Conrad Maldives Rangali Island
I started by searching in the Maldives, where Hilton has three properties: The Waldorf Astoria Ithaafushi, SAii Lagoon Maldives and the Conrad Maldives Rangali Island. The minimum and maximum rate at the Conrad was 95,000 points per night, which is accurate.
I checked almost 12 months of availability for the Conrad Maldives Rangali Island at Hilton.com. I didn't find one date that was bookable for less than 95,000 points.
Embassy Suites by Hilton Orlando - Lake Buena Vista Resort
This is a super-popular option for families in Orlando. It's got an on-site pool, a free shuttle to Disney World and complimentary evening reception open to all guests.
When I searched Hilton.com, I found I could book this property for fewer points a night than what was listed at the Points Explorer tool.
I found dates in September going for 21,000 points per night. That's not a huge difference from the 24,000 point minimum listed. But if your family stayed at the hotel for four nights at 21,000 points per night instead of 24,000, you'd save 12,000 Hilton Honors points.
And, of course, Hilton Honors elites get the fifth night free on award stays, so if you could book this hotel at 21,000 points per night, you'd actually pay 84,000 points for five nights instead of four. That brings the average per-night redemption rate to 16,800 points.
That said, your rate will vary depending on when you're traveling.
Canopy by Hilton Washington DC The Wharf
Next up was the Canopy by Hilton Washington DC The Wharf, where rates range from 45,000-80,000 Hilton points per night.
In this case, the current points range at Hilton.com differed greatly from what was listed on Points Explorer. When searching Hilton.com, I found much cheaper rates: as low as 25,000 Hilton points per night in February.
Doubletree Highline Vail
Next up was ski country and the DoubleTree Highline Vail.
Common sense tells you that ski season will cost more points on average than offseason in Vail. In this case, the tool shows us that Hilton Honors members have booked this hotel for as few as 32,000 points per night. In my search of almost a full 12 months, I found a better rate -- 30,000 points per night, on some dates in mid-to-late April and throughout May (aka offseason).
Expect to find the 80,000-point rate around Christmas, January, February and most of March. In the fall, rates move between 44,000 and 65,000.
Of course, playing with the Points Explorer tool and searching Hilton.com for award availability is a moot exercise if you don't have any -- or enough -- Hilton Honors points to book the trip you want. Luckily, this award currency is pretty easy to earn.
Staying at a Hilton property can certainly boost your account balance, but the easiest way to increase your Hilton Honors balance in a hurry may be to apply for one of the chain's cobranded credit cards. There are four cards from which to choose.
Hilton Honors American Express Card: Earn 70,000 Hilton Honors bonus points and a Free Night Reward after you spend $1,000 in purchases on the card in the first three months of card membership.
Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card: Earn 130,000 Hilton Honors bonus points and a Free Night Reward after you spend $2,000 in purchases on the card in the first three months of card membership.
The Hilton Honors American Express Business Card: Earn 150,000 Hilton Honors bonus points and a Free Night Reward after you spend $4,000 in purchases on the Hilton Honors Business card within the first three months of card membership.
Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card: Earn 150,000 Hilton points after you spend $4,000 on purchases within the first three months of account opening
The information for the Hilton Aspire Card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Hilton's Points Explorer website is a good tool to use when you are at the beginning stages of researching a points-paid vacation. Current and future award rates don't always line up exactly with what was available in the past, but previous rates can give you a good feel for what you might find going forward. Start with the tool and also do some cursory searches of real-time availability at Hilton.com.
All screenshots courtesy of Hilton.com
Additional reporting by Ariana Arghandewal
Comments
By commenting, you agree to our Community Guidelines to help create a positive space for conversation. The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser, our partners, or The Points Guy (“TPG”). They have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any of these parties. All responses are submitted by individual contributors, and neither the bank advertiser, our partners, nor TPG are responsible for ensuring that all posts and/or questions are answered.
