jbeckett

From the Hilton site, see https://hiltonhonors3.hilton.com/en/...its/terms.html

"No resort fees on Reward Stays. Reward stays booked using all Points, or for Promotional free night stays (e.g., issued by credit card partners, etc.)"

I value a Hilton point at about .4 cents, so your 300000 points are worth about $1200 at my valuation. You can get more value or less value for your points when you redeem them, but this gives you a rough idea.

Amelorn

If you want a redemption in North America, Vancouver and Whistler in British Columbia are probably the best bang for your buck. Notably, a junior suite at the YVR Hilton is a standard rate redemption (40k/nt), and that room is worth C$500 per night in the summer. The downtown Hampton is also a fortune during the summer. Likewise, the Whistler ski resort is obviously expensive in the winter.

Key West is another option, as lodging is approximately $100 per "star."

As an ex-Hawaii resident and occasional user of the Hilton properties, I consider them poor value for money/points. It's a long write-up why, but my sentiment is a tl;dr.

Bangkok is another option. You'd have enough for 10 nights possibly with points to spare, and elite treatment is generous. Alternately, you'd have enough for BKK + Phuket. or BKK + Hua Hin (i.e. city + beach). In SE Asia, you'd be able to lay on the beach for 5 days in country/province A before hopping on a 1.5-3 hour flight to country/city B for a city experience. If you were willing to not go for premier/luxe properties, you could have quite a long vacation (i.e. justify the long plane ride).

If you opt for a plush exclusive island, mind the budget for incidental spending (if applicable). Polynesian or Maldivian resort stays come with significant added costs. This may or may not be an issue. Your finances aren't my business.

Beano

That is a lot of points
You could really relax in Bali for as little as 5,000 points so that will come to 60 nights plus the bonus 5 th night ..so 75 nights .

Beano

it's really nice
from where I live (Australia) it is just a short flight

azepine00

On a related topic - can anyone recommend a good point value redemption for family of 4 - eg true one berdrooms or very large rooms in interesting locations? (aside of course from two rooms at HGI bali for 10k/nt

OATS09

Thanks for the answer on resort fees. And yes, based on general valuations, I loosely consider them worth .5 cents each with a range of 0.4 to 0.6.

I'll be staying in Honolulu for 3 nights in May 2020 (I MIGHT could be convinced to do 5 nights to get a fifth night free and potentially at a resort) and then two nights in Vancouver shortly after that. I have to pay in cash for one of these (or rather at least one night) and can use points for the rest if the math makes sense but I doubt it will).

Thanks to everyone for all the help so far. Feel free to keep the ideas coming. We're probably looking at domestic redemptions despite great value in places like Bali but I'll talk to my wife. Maybe an airline sale will happen and we can find cheap flights to Bali... you never know.

RedSun

I'd like to revive this discussion. I do not recall the last time I redeemed a single Hilton hotel stay. In my account, I've accumulated about 200,000 points even though I hardly tried to earn any Hilton points. The main thing is point value. Whenever I tried to redeem Hilton hotel stays, the point value was very low, like less than 0.4 cpp. For a $125/night room, it runs like 40,000 points. So I always used other reward points, or paid with cash and saved the Hilton points. But I really need to find place to use those points.

The places of interest are NYC, Hawaii, other major US and Canada cities. Where do you get good value from those points?

I'm Hilton Gold from AmEx Plat card.

77Pat

Do you like to ski? I have heard good things about Waldorf Park City, when they have availability for standard room redemptions. A lot of points, but also higher cash value (depending if you would ever pay the cash rate). For example Sun-Tues, mid January room rate is $750, or 80000 points/night. Early February 3rd-5th the rate is closer to $1400, but same points. Not sure if it would be worth it to blow that many points on a quick trip (depending where you're flying from).

The last time I used points, I redeemed 95000 points for a 1 night stay in Chicago, premium reward. It was nice, but for the money, I preferred the Vista room at the LondonHouse for $240 (including tax). With the one night stay, didn't take advantage of the services. So I would also consider when you are traveling. I went shoulder season (April), because the rates were less. I have seen, during certain events (March Madness, large music festivals), prices are demand driven, but points redemptions, as long as there are standard rooms remain the same.

Currently sitting at 270k and just upgraded from Ascend to Aspire for the targeted bonus. Don't have any real redemption in mind yet. Hoping I am able to take enough consecutive days off to travel to SE Asia/Islands (where I have heard Diamond goes further).

RedSun

The DoC and other bloggers value Hilton point at 0.6 cpp. I think this is way over-valued. I'll put it at 0.3 to 0.4 cpp, even below IHG.

I do not chase point value alone. But it is just bad to redeem 40,000 hilton points for a regular Hampton Inn which costs about $100+ tax. And whenever I want to redeem the points, the availability is bad.

pauleeepaul

I can relate to all of the above, and as a result have accumulated a > 4 mm HH point balance over the last 10-15 years. But this year i have started to lean in to using the points. 2 nights at the Hilton Park Lane at 80k per, saving 600 GBP, and 5 nights in Orlando for 2 rooms at 40k per (5 for 4, room rate was $220 plus resort fee) have shaved 560k points off at respectable redemption value. Between work stays and credit card charges that is about what i will earn for the year, but standing in place is better than digging in deeper.

Close2KADS

As odd is it sounds, I was just having a discussion about Hilton point valuation with the wife this evening. For years I have estimated the value of points at 200 per US$, or $0.005. I agree with other posts that the rate seems to be slipping down to around $0.004 per point. I will say that with the new earning scheme, I am accumulating them more quickly (about 500,000 since May 1).

As to where to use them, that’s a good question. I rarely spend more than 25,000 points for a single-night stay, which could be why I have so many points. The real value seems to be for the 5-night awards, when the bonus night comes into play.

RedSun

I get hotel status with Hyatt, Marriott and Hilton. It is just frustrating that whenever I want to book a expensive room, all are not available. Like right now in NYC. But it does not make sense to book a crappy room with 40,000 points.

This is why I still get those points. I'll keep trying. It has been several years.