Do Hilton Points Expire? - NerdWallet (2024)

Hotel points are great because you can use them to book free hotel stays rather than paying cash. However the points don’t last forever. If you’re a loyal Hilton member — or even if you’ve just earned some points for the first time, you may wonder “Do Hilton points expire?” The short answer is that they do, but they don’t have to.

Hilton points expiration details

Like many reward programs, Hilton points expire after a period of inactivity. This means that if you don’t have any sort of qualifying activity, such as a hotel stay or credit card spending, your Hilton points will expire. This can obviously be frustrating, especially if you’re not a frequent traveler and are trying to save up points for a big trip. All that being said, Hilton points expire 24 months from the time of last eligible activity.

When do Hilton points expire?

Hilton points expire after 24 months of no activity.

If you haven’t been able to travel in the past two years, fear not. There are plenty of ways to keep your Hilton points from expiring. Examples of eligible activity include spending on the Hilton credit card, transferring points from another program to Hilton or shopping through the Hilton shopping portal.

Once you complete certain actions that qualify as eligible activity, the expiration clock will reset and your points will be good for another 24 months. As long as you keep doing this, your Hilton points will stay valid.

How do I see when my Hilton points expire?

To find out when your points will expire, you’ll need to log in to your Hilton Honors account. At the top of the page, select “Activity.”

Then, scroll down to the “Activity” box. This handy tool can show you several different types of activity within the past 12 months, including upcoming stays, previous stays, canceled stays and other types of activity.

Select both “Previous stays” and “Other activity.” You can also opt to adjust the time period to “Past 12 months,” but it shouldn’t affect your results. Then, hit “Update.”

Hilton will generate a list of all the activity on your account from the past 12 months.

Since Hilton points will expire after 24 months of inactivity rather than 12, this tool is a bit limited. Beyond the 12-month window, you’ll need to call Hilton to see when they’ll expire. You can reach Hilton at 800-445-8667 and you’ll need to have your account information on hand, including your Hilton Honors number and the email associated with your account.

How to keep Hilton points from expiring

Keeping track of expiration dates may sound overwhelming, especially if you’re not familiar with rewards programs. Don’t worry, there are plenty of ways to keep your points alive, even if you have no travel planned. The general rule of thumb is you’ll either need to earn or redeem points to keep your rewards from expiring.

Stay at a Hilton hotel

This may seem pretty obvious but it obviously needs to make the list. Staying at a Hilton hotel — paid or with an award stay — counts as eligible activity and will extend the life of your points.

Take surveys on Hilton's Guest Opinion Rewards

An easy way to earn points from your computer is to join Hilton’s Guest Opinion Rewards and complete one survey in your first 90 days. At the time of writing, you earn 1,250 bonus Hilton points for taking your first survey.

Donate Hilton points

If you’re feeling generous, you can opt to donate points via PointWorthy, a website that allows you to contribute to a variety of charities. The minimum amount you’ll need to donate is $10, which equals 3,500 Hilton points.

Spend on a Hilton credit card

Spending money on these cards earns you Hilton points and qualifies as eligible activity for your Hilton account.

Transfer Hilton points from AmEx

If you have an American Express card that earns AmEx Membership Rewards, you can transfer your points at a 2:1 ratio. So one AmEx point becomes two Hilton points. The minimum amount you can transfer is 1,000 points, which will put 2,000 Hilton points into your account.

However, before you take this step, consider if it's really worth it. You see, AmEx points are worth 2.8 cents per point (if you take advantage of high-value transfer partners) while Hilton points are worth 0.5 cent each. Although the transfer ratio is 2:1, you’d still be losing 50% of the value of your AmEx points.

If your points are about to expire and there’s no other way you can get a point infusion into your Hilton account, then a transfer could make sense. AmEx also runs transfer bonuses from time to time, so if you’re able to time your transfer with a bonus, you can get even more value from your Hilton points.

Purchase Hilton points

This is a pretty simple option; Hilton sells points to its members and you can opt to purchase some to extend the expiration date of your existing points.

If you buy at the right time, you may also be able to snag Hilton points on a sale. Hilton occasionally sells points with a bonus of up to 100%, which means you can purchase points at a rate of 0.5 cent each rather than the standard 1 cent per point. Keep in mind that these promotions often have a minimum purchase amount for the bonus to kick in. Otherwise, you can choose to buy 1,000 points for $10.

Ride with Lyft

Lyft and Hilton have a partnership that allows you to earn Hilton points every time you take a ride. If you haven’t already linked your accounts, you can do so and earn 250 points, plus 750 points after your first ride.

Eat with Hilton Dining Rewards

Hilton Dining Rewards gives you Hilton points when dining at participating restaurants. If you’re not already a member, you can join up and earn 500 points after you spend your first $25.

Book a rental car

Hilton’s car rental partnership allows you to book and earn Hilton points when renting a car. If you’ve already got a trip coming up, it may be worth booking via this site to get your qualifying activity.

Final thoughts on Hilton points expiration

Although Hilton gives you a 24-month window of inactivity before your points expire, there are plenty of ways to keep them alive, including a hotel stay or purchasing a few points.