Update: Select Hilton Honors free night certificates extended six months

Nov. 23, 2021

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6 min read

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Hilton has extended the expiration of select free weekend nights certificates, including those you earn with certain Hilton co-branded credit cards, through July 1, 2022, giving Hilton Honors members a little more time to take advantage of them for future trips.

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Free weekend night certificate expiration extended

As TPG reported last week, Hilton loyalists can finally see what free night certificates they have available, when they expire, and where they've redeemed prior ones right on the Hilton Honors website.

As of this week, Hilton has also extended the validity of unused free night certificates issued before May 1, 2020, through July 1, 2022. Previously, the extension had only been through Jan. 3, 2022, so this represents nearly six extra months.

If you're keeping track, Hilton's free weekend night certificate expiration dates are as follows, based on when they were issued:

Free weekend night rewards issued through June 30, 2020, expire July 1, 2022.
Free weekend night rewards issued between July 1 – Dec. 31, 2020, expire 24 months from date of issuance.
Free weekend night rewards issued between January 1 – Dec. 31, 2021, expire Dec. 31, 2022.
Free weekend night rewards issued between January 1 – Dec. 31, 2022, expire 12 months from the date of issuance.

What are Hilton free night certificates?

You can earn free weekend night certificates with a Hilton cobranded credit card. For instance, the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card rewards cardmembers with a free weekend night certificate each year after their account anniversary and renewal, and folks with the card can earn a second one after spending $60,000 in purchases on the card in a calendar year.

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.

Those with either the Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card or The Hilton Honors American Express Business Card can earn a free weekend night certificate by spending $15,000 on purchases with their card in a calendar year, and those with the business card can earn a second one by hitting $60,000 in purchases in a calendar year.

Hilton's free night certificates are considered one of the most valuable perks of any major hotel loyalty program since they can be redeemed at nearly any Hilton property, including top-tier Waldorf Astoria and Conrad hotels and resorts that regularly cost over $1,000 or 120,000 points per night.

With that in mind, it makes sense why it’s a big deal that people with certificates can now easily access them right in their Hilton Honors account online, though they don’t appear to be available yet on the Hilton Honors app.

Until now, the lucky folks who earned a certificate were simply sent an email letting them know one had been issued — and that’s about it. Unless you remembered you had the coveted reward sitting in your inbox, there was no way to track them, and to use one you’d have to call to book, as the certificates can’t be redeemed online.

Now, when Honors members with certificates log into their Hilton account, they’ll be able to see exactly how many certificates have been earned, how they were earned and when they expire by scrolling down on the website, as shown below.

Unfortunately, for now, it still seems that free night certificates can’t be redeemed online and require picking up the phone to actually book, which is not the norm for similar certificates across most hotel loyalty programs. Stay tuned to see if that eventually changes to a more convenient online booking system.

Members can also access their previously used certificates, as shown below, to see when and where they were used.

Uses for Hilton free night certificates

Free night certificates can make a huge difference in the way we travel, considering they allow you to stay in nearly any Hilton hotel around the world. Earlier this year, TPG senior writer Katie Genter shared with readers that she planned to use one certificate at the Waldorf Astoria Las Vegas and had already used one for a free night at the Conrad New York Midtown.

They can even get you a free night at the Conrad Bora Bora, a resort that another TPG staffer said was the best use of her Hilton Honors points ever.

That's what makes these certificates so special -- they present Honors members with practically unlimited potential to use and maximize them, even at some of the world's most expensive hotels.

Conrad New York Midtown (Photo by Summer Hull / The Points Guy)

Bottom line

Hilton Honor’s free night certificates are one of the most valuable perks of the program, as long as you know how to earn and maximize them. Making the certificates fully transparent online and with clear expiration dates is a handy update for people to keep track of these valuable perks.

We hope this is just the first step and that Hilton soon integrates them into the online booking system so the entire process can be a seamless experience.

Additional reporting by Caroline Tanner.

Featured image by Kai Kanno

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.