Update 01/29/18: A number of properties were missing due to some bad data. In addition it wasn’t clear what properties were excluded from using the free night weekend certificates at. We’ve updated the tables to make this clearer. We’ve also made similar changes to the Hyatt & IHG pages.
I imagine that a lot of people are going to have access to Hilton free night certificates with no category restrictions soon. The new American Express Hilton Aspire card comes with one free night certificate on card anniversary (and will possibly come with a free night sign up bonus) and there is the possibility to get two free night certificates with the Citi Hilton Reserve product change. In this post we will look at some of the best uses of these free night certificates. As we’ve stated in other posts in this series it’s always better to use your free night certificate than to try and save it for the perfect redemption (perfection is the enemy of good). In addition I don’t think it makes sense to plan trips around using this certificates, this hobby is all about leveraging miles and points to see and experience things YOU want to see and experience rather than trying to maximize the theoretical value of things like Hilton free night certificates.
Other posts in this series:
- Best Uses Of Your Chase Hyatt Free Night Certificate (Category 1-4)
- Best Uses Of Your Chase IHG Free Night Certificate
Contents
Best Uses Based On Cash Rates
Pointimize has graciously come through again and agreed to share their pricing data with us. They have a hotel award search tool that shows prices in cash, cash & points and award nights using points. The below values are based on real world searches their users have made, keep in mind that the more people that use the tool the better the data will become. It’s also worth noting that the data might not be 100% accurate as the free night certificates can only be used on standard rooms and Pointimize didn’t have the room type data (recording the lowest price of each property that day). This means that there will be some bias in these rankings, so please keep that in mind.
Best Conrad/Waldorf Astoria Properties
Conrad/Waldorf Astoria properties are often some of the nicest Hilton properties. Here is a list with the highest cash price for those properties.
Readers Suggestions
Whenever we do these sorts of posts, readers always have some good suggestions on what properties they have redeemed their certificates for before and why it was/wasn’t good value. I thought it would be a good idea to create a readers choice section to provide some other options. Feel free to add your own recommendations in the comments.
Conrad Bora Bora
This one was something a lot of readers were surprised wasn’t on the list. I’m not sure why it didn’t make it, I guess the average room rate is not high enough. The property itself looks beautiful and room rates are exceptionally high. The only issue with Bora Bora is getting there is expensive (and time consuming) and you’ll likely want to stay multiple nights to get any sort of value out of your trip. Things like food are also crazy expensive when you arrive.
Final Thoughts
These lists are by no means definitive, the idea is to give you some ideas at a glance. AwardTravel has also put together a nice data report on the value of Hilton points that I’d recommend reading here. I’m sure we are missing a lot of great properties, if that is the case then please let us know in the comments below so that I can add them to the readers section. Also feel free to discuss properties that are higher/lower than you expected and why that might be the case.
I stayed at Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills and got automatic room upgrade when I got there. Very nice hotel.
I booked the Waldorf Astoria Orlando for right after Christmas 2018. Cash prices for the room was $580 per night, so I think this will be a pretty good use of my certificate.
@William Charles
how can i redeem the free weekend night cert on the hilton website?
im being directed to the reservations phone… in which case i would have to check every night at every hotel individually, obviously not preferred.
thanks!
You do it via phone, as long as a standard room is available you should be able to book it via phone.
@William Charles
where can i find my free annual night certificate on honors website?
thanks!
not sure it shows on the website, might need to call in or check e-mails from memory.
The Hilton Key Largo has been closed since hurricane Irma hit in September of 2017, so not sure why it was still on this updated list. It was damaged and is being transformed to “Baker’s Cay Resort Key Largo, Curio Collection by Hilton” when it finally reopens.
trying booking Waldorf Amsterdam and they wouldn’t allow because all rooms are “premium”
I did stay there about 1.5 years ago using a free weekend night cert. So it is possible. Gorgeous hotel.
The Double Tree in Gainesville being $474/night has to be a mistake. I live about 30 minutes from there and it’s a nice enough hotel, but I’ve never seen it over $150 except on weekends with big football games.
^Agreed. UF alum here and there is no way Gainesville should be on this list. Small college town with the only major draw being Gator Football. Not sure how that value of over $400 came up
It’s obviously from people searching during those big football games. As mentioned previously this data is based on REAL searches. This allows us to get a sense of how much properties cost when people actually want to stay in them (e.g rather than looking at all dates it will be weighted towards peak season instead).
Honestly, the more luxurious the hotel, the more they nickel and dime you.
FYI, Whistler is still in Canada.
Will get this fixed.
Just an fyi the Ho’olei at Grand Wailea is excluded from redemption for the free night certificate. It’s one of the ones I’ve looked at for a family staycation in Hawaii from the Citi Hilton. The Embassy Suites in Waikiki is also excluded, and they’re prices can go up to $400+ a night excluding taxes. This is why I don’t like free weekend night certificates as a sign up bonus. They can only be used three nights of the week and not redeemable at all properties.
https://www.hiltonhhonors.com/processlanding/processlanding/?lp=citiparticipatingproperties
If this is true, Doc, it sounds like a lot of the properties on the list above the certs won’t work at? Worth mentioning?
It is mentioned now, properties that the certificates aren’t valid at are marked with an *
Minor suggestion, but since the font is small, the * isn’t the easiest to see.
What about background color shading to distinguish those properties instead?
I’ll see if we can make it bigger in future editions