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One of the best ways to use Hilton Honors points is the ability to get the fifth (5th) night free when you redeem Hilton Honors points for an award stay of at least 5 consecutive nights. You’ll only need enough points for 4 nights because the 5th night is complimentary.
This benefit, however, is only available to Hilton’s elite status such as Silver, Gold and Diamond members.
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How does Hilton Honors fifth (5th) night free benefit work?
If you have elite status with Hilton Honors program, only Hilton Honors Silver, Hilton Honors Gold and Hilton Honors Diamond elite members can receive 5th Night Free on points stays of five consecutive nights or more. Simply put, when you redeem Hilton points for any stay of 5 or more nights, your 5th night is free.
For instance, if you redeem 5 nights stay at the Hilton Tahiti Resort and each night requires 80,000 Hilton Honors points, your total points required for your entire 5 nights stay are 80,000 x 4 = 320,000 Hilton Honors points.
Please note that, because Hilton does not have award chart and they do use dynamic award pricing model, in that case your 5th night free is calculated based on the average of total points needed per night. See below.
How does the 5th night free work with Hilton’s dynamic award stay?
Hilton does not have fixed award chart anymore. They are using dynamic award pricing model. The amount of points needed varies based on the nightly rate. So when it is peak time, a Hilton property may require more points than when it is off-peak time.
When your 5 nights Hilton stay on points occur during peak and off-peak nights, your 5th night free benefit will still apply, but it will be calculated based on the average of total points needed per night.
For example, you are using Hilton points for a stay at a Hilton property with the following redemptions:
- 3 nights at 40,000 Hilton Honors points during peak time.
- 2 nights at 30,000 Hilton Honors points during off-peak time.
- Total number of Hilton points required for this example is 180,000 Hilton Honors points (120,000 + 60,000).
- You would use that total divides by 5 to get an average points needed per night. So 180,000/5 = 36,000 Hilton Honors points per night.
- Your 5th night free discount is equivalent to that 36,000 Hilton points. This means that, you’ll need a total of 144,000 Hilton Honors to cover your entire 5 nights stay (180,000 – 36,000).
But don’t worry. Hilton’s reservation system will automatically do the calculation for you before you finalize your booking.
Do you have to have enough points for 5 nights to use the 5th night free benefit?
No. As long as you have enough points for 4 nights, you are good to go.
Can you use the 5th night free with points and cash booking?
No. Hilton Honors 5th night free benefit can be used for bookings all on points only.
Can you combine Hilton 5th night free and Hilton free weekend night reward on one reservation?
There’s a benefit of having just one reservation. It’s easy to manage and it removes the hassles to contact the property in advance to combine the reservations for you so that you do not have to change rooms.
I put this to test.
I called Hilton Diamond desk and worked with the reservation agent to see if combing Hilton 5th night free benefit and Hilton Free Weekend Night Reward is possible. The answer is no. The agent indicated that the system does not allow her to apply the free night reward with such booking due to the 5th night free benefit. I proceeded to ask her to do 6 nights instead and the answer is still not possible to apply both benefits on a single reservation. The reservations will have to be separated by booking a total 5 nights on points and 1 night using the Hilton Free Weekend Night Reward.
Can you combine Hilton Honors points and Hilton free weekend night reward on one reservation?
While you cannot mix Hilton 5th night free with points benefit and Hilton Free Weekend Night Reward on one reservation, you can, however, combine Hilton free weekend night reward with Hilton Honors points on one reservation only if you are staying less than 5 nights. The reservation agent was able to book a 2 nights stay for me using my Hilton Honors points in conjunction with my Hilton Free Weekend Night Reward. While the reservation’s confirmation show I am paying for both nights on points, only 1 night worth of points were deducted from my Hilton Honors account.
