I recently signed up for a Hilton hotel America Express surpass card due to an upcoming trip with a nearby Hilton hotel. I’ve never used credit card rewards points for travel but got a great bonus for an initial spend. I’ve read about using points and it sounds like there are some ways to extract better value when using/transferring points. Can anyone offer advice specifically to using points for a Hilton stay?

though I wasn’t credited yet the signup offer said I’d also receive one free night. Does anyone know if that free night can be upgraded to the same room I’ll be buying/using points for the other nights of my stay?