How Hilton Free Weekend Certificates Work

Most people in the mid to late game of points earning should have at least a couple hotel co-branded credit cards, likely from Chase or American Express. There are two main benefits of holding a hotel card: First, if you’re a brand loyalist and travel often, you can accrue tons of points and reach elite status under your hotel chain of choice much faster. Second, most mid to high annual fee hotel credit cards come with substantial perks, one of them being a free night certificate. Hilton has four co-branded personal credit cards issued by AMEX, and you can earn free weekend night certificates by either using or holding two of their offerings. Hilton’s free weekend night certificate can be quite lucrative but also presents limitations, making it important to understand when and how to best utilize this perk.

Grand Wailea, a Waldorf Astoria Resort in Hawaii, has 40 acres of tropical gardens and a 2,000 foot-long pool. You can stay here for one night free using Hilton’s weekend night certificate! Photo credit: www.hilton.com

How Do You Earn Free Weekend Night Certificates?

American Express Hilton Aspire

The Hilton Aspire is the most expensive yet lucrative co-branded card by Hilton on the market. It is currently offering a signup bonus of 150,000 Hilton Honors points after spending $4,000 in 3 months. Be aware that since this is an American Express (AMEX) card, you’re only allowed to earn the signup bonus once per lifetime. With a valuation of 0.6 cents per point, the signup bonus is worth about $900. The annual fee is $450, but cardmembers get a weekend night certificate (redeemable on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights at non-premium hotels), $250 incidental credit towards your airline of choice, $250 resort credit usable at select Hilton resorts, and Diamond status, the highest in Hilton’s member ecosystem. If you want to earn additional free weekend night certificates, you’ll need to spend at least $60,000 in a calendar year, which I don’t recommend unless the Aspire is the workhorse card in your wallet. To lessen the burden from the pandemic, Hilton is allowing Aspire cardholders to apply the $250 resort credit towards U.S restaurants, including takeout and delivery, from June to August 2020. Additionally, both the Hilton Surpass and Aspire will earn 12X Hilton Honors points at U.S. supermarkets from May to July 2020.

The American Express Hilton Aspire is one of my favorite cards in my wallet for its benefits and perks. Photo credit: www.americanexpress.com

The Aspire earns 14X per dollar spent on Hilton hotels and resorts when directly booked through Hilton and 7X on flights booked directly with airlines or amextravel.com, car rentals booked directly with select companies, and US restaurants. All other purchases will earn 3X per dollar spent. The multiplier rises significantly for Hilton stays since cardholders automatically become Diamond members, who receive a 100% points bonus and 10 extra points per dollar spent at Hilton properties. As a result, the Aspire earns 24X per dollar spent on Hilton properties when booked directly with Hilton, yielding a phenomenal return of 14.4%. With Hilton’s frequent points promotions, you will be raking in a serious amount of Hilton Honors points in no time. Even if you don’t stay at Hilton properties often, this card is definitely worth the annual fee due to its amazing perks and benefits, and I strongly believe it’s the best hotel credit card available on the market right now. 

If you’d like to apply for the American Express Hilton Aspire Card, please consider using my referral link. It will continue to help fund my blog operations and help visitors make informed decisions to maximize their rewards. Thank you! http://refer.amex.us/EDWARSr3Jf?xl=cp01

American Express Hilton Surpass

The Hilton Surpass is the mid-tier option in the AMEX/Hilton co-branded line, with an annual fee of $95. It is currently offering a signup bonus of 150,000 Hilton Honors points after $3,000 in 3 months. As with the Aspire, Surpass cardholders are only eligible to receive this bonus once in a lifetime due to AMEX’s policies. With a valuation of 0.6 cents per point, the signup bonus is worth about $900. When I signed up for the card, AMEX was running a promotion where new members received a free weekend night certificate in addition to the points upon hitting the signup spend requirements. However, when I recently traveled and stayed at a Hilton property, the hotel’s WiFi log-in page featured a better promotion, offering two free weekend night certificates on top of the points. I personally value a weekend night certificate at about $500, so the signup bonus could be worth almost $2,000 with the right promotions. Additionally, Surpass cardholders are automatically granted Hilton Honors Gold status.

The American Express Hilton Surpass can cover a wide range of daily expenses and still comes with a great multiplier for Hilton stays. Photo credit: www.americanexpress.com

The Surpass earns 12X per dollar spent on Hilton hotels and resorts when directly booked through Hilton and 6X at U.S. restaurants, U.S. supermarkets, and U.S. gas stations. All other purchases will earn 3X per dollar spent. Because of the automatic Gold status, cardholders receive an 80% points bonus and 8 extra points per dollar spent at Hilton properties, totaling 20X per dollar spent on properties booked directly with Hilton and a return of 12%. As with the Aspire, the Hilton Surpass will earn 12X Hilton Honors points at U.S. supermarkets from May to July 2020. Unlike its higher fee sibling, cardmembers need only spend $15,000 per calendar year to earn an additional free weekend night reward. Because the Surpass is a great workhorse card for everyday purchases, this is certainly an achievable requirement. I recommend the Hilton Surpass for those who don’t want to pay a high annual fee and want a card that covers more bases for their spending.

If you’d like to apply for the American Express Hilton Surpass Card, please consider using my referral link. It will continue to help fund my blog and educate existing and potential cardholders to make the most informed decisions to maximize their rewards earnings. Thank you! http://refer.amex.us/EDWARS5A0R?XLINK=MYCP

Profitability and Limitations

Free weekend night certificates can be extremely valuable if you were to use it at luxury properties. Before I showcase successful use cases, it’s important to note three limitations of the free night rewards. First, it can only be used for weekend night stays on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights. This is usually not a problem for most travelers who align their stays with weekends, which oftentimes offer the highest nightly rates. Secondly, you can only redeem the reward certificate on a standard room rate. Currently, Hilton’s website doesn’t offer the ability to filter which nights qualify for a standard versus premium room rate; you must search for a property within a specific date range first and then analyze the search result. This can be frustrating and I hope Hilton implements a filter for standard room rates to make it easier for travelers to determine if their certificate is applicable. Lastly, you’ll have to contact Hilton over the phone and connect with a representative to book a reservation using the free night certificate. Hilton doesn’t currently allow members to redeem this perk online. Luckily, if you’re a Hilton Diamond member or Aspire cardholder, you can call the Diamond desk, which can make the reservation experience more seamless.

Conrad Tokyo overlooks the Hamarikyu Gardens and is located in the heart of Tokyo. Stay here for free using a weekend night certificate. Photo credit: www.hilton.com

So what are some instances in which the free weekend night certificate can be applied? If you were to book a king bed for a Saturday night stay at Conrad Tokyo in Japan, you may pay up to 113,926 Japanese Yen, or $1,026.25 USD, including taxes and fees if purchased with cash. This rent-sized expense can be effectively waived through the use of your certificate.

Booking a room at Conrad Tokyo could either cost over $1,000 including taxes and fees…

Photo credit: www.hilton.com

…Or one free weekend night certificate courtesy of the Hilton Surpass or Aspire. Make sure it’s a standard room reward, not a premium room!

Photo credit: www.hilton.com

Another benefit of using a free weekend night certificate is that you won’t be charged for resort fees imposed by select Hilton properties. Given that some lodgings invoice up to an additional $50 per night, combining free weekend night rewards can yield extra savings. For example, let’s take a look at Grand Wailea, A Waldorf Astoria Resort:

Booking a room at Grand Wailea, A Waldorf Astoria Resort in Hawaii, could either cost over $946 including the resort fee ($45)…

Photo credit: www.hilton.com

…Or one free weekend night certificate provided by either your Hilton Aspire or Surpass. Again, make sure it’s for a standard room reward, not a premium room.

Photo credit: www.hilton.com

Summary

As you can see, a free weekend night certificate from Hilton can be extremely lucrative if used correctly. Despite its applicability limitations to Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights, it can return amazing values to negate the often-elevated weekend rates. Hilton’s website has yet to be optimized to filter for standard room rates and certificates must be redeemed over the phone. Nonetheless, I still think it is extremely valuable and can alone justify holding the AMEX Hilton Aspire. Because of the free night benefit, the Aspire deserves a top spot in my wallet as a keeper card. Additionally, if cardholders can put at least $15,000 worth of expenses on their Hilton Surpass in a calendar year, they’ll earn two free weekend night certificates, allowing them to spend a luxurious weekend in one of the many opulent Hilton properties across the world.

If you’d like to apply for the AMEX Hilton Aspire, please consider using my referral link. It will continue to help fund my blog operations and help visitors make informed decisions to maximize their rewards. Thank you! http://refer.amex.us/EDWARSLgWl?XLINK=MYCP

If you’d like to apply for the American Express Hilton Surpass, please consider using my referral link. It will continue to help fund my blog and educate existing and potential cardholders to make the most informed decisions to maximize their rewards earnings. Thank you! http://refer.amex.us/EDWARS5A0R?XLINK=MYCP