5 Hotels Where the 5th-Night-Free Perk With the AMEX Hilton Cards Is a Great Deal

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Update:   One or more card offers in this post are no longer available.  Check our Hot Deals for the latest offers. 

Ready for a break?  Get more award nights with Hilton’s 5th night free perk on award stays!

With the limited-time highest ever offers on the Hilton Honors™ Card from American Express and Hilton Honors™ Surpass® Card from American Express cards, you can earn enough Hilton points for a 5-night stay worth hundreds of dollars at Hilton hotels around the world!

I’ll show you my favorites.  And how much you’ll save!

About the AMEX Hilton Card Offers

Link:   American Express Hilton Honors Surpass

Link:   American Express Hilton Honors

You can earn 100,000 Hilton points after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the 1st 3 months of opening the American Express Hilton Honors Surpass card.  The annual fee of $75 is NOT waived for the 1st year.

Here’s my review of the card.

And, you can earn 75,000 Hilton points after you spend $1,000 on purchases in the 1st 3 months of opening the American Express Hilton Honors card.  This card has NO annual fee.

Here’s my review.

These are considered different card products.  So you can earn the sign-up bonus from both!

Remember, American Express only allows folks to earn the bonus once, per person, per lifetime, on all its cards.  So if you’ve had either card in the past, you can NOT earn the bonus from that specific card again.

How the 5th Night Free Works

Hilton hotels include Conrad, Canopy, Curio, DoubleTree, Embassy Suites, Hampton Inn, Hilton, Hilton Garden Inn, Hilton Grand Vacations, Home2Suites, Homewood Suites, Tru, and Waldorf Astoria brand hotels.

You get the 5th night free on award stays if you’re a Hilton elite status member.

You’ll get Hilton Silver elite status with the American Express Hilton Honors card.  And Hilton Gold elite status with the American Express Hilton Honors Surpass card.  So by opening either one, you’ll be eligible to get the 5th night free on any award stay!

Here’s how the 5th night free is calculated according to Hilton:

The free night is calculated based on the average nightly value of the stay.  This is calculated by dividing the total point cost of all nights by the number of nights in the stay.

And here’s an example of how it works in practice.

While it may sound complex, it’s very easy if the award stay costs the same number of Hilton points each night.  In that case, simply subtract the last night.  I’ve found this happens more often than not.

And don’t worry, you don’t have to memorize any math – Hilton calculates it for you, as long as you’re logged into your Hilton account.

You can use the 5th night free benefit an unlimited number of times, but you can’t get more than 4 free nights at once (so 20 nights is the maximum for each stay).

Five Hilton Hotels Where the 5th Night Free Saves You Money AND Points!

I’ve written about how to get free nights on paid and award stays.  Now let’s look a few specific examples for Hilton hotels.

Note:   The prices in this example are based on travel in June 2016.

1.   Hampton Inn St. Louis Southwest

If you’re in St. Louis to watch a Cardinals game, visit The Arch, or participate in the 2nd-biggest Mardi Gras celebration in the country after New Orleans, you can enjoy 5 nights at the Hampton Inn St. Louis Southwest with 80,000 Hilton points.

This is a good example of Big Travel with Small Money right here at home!

Five nights would cost ~$811.  Or, because this is a Category 3 hotel, you could redeem 80,000 Hilton points.  You’ll have nearly that many points once you meet the minimum spending requirements on the American Express Hilton Honors card.  For a card with no annual fee, that’s an excellent sign-up bonus!

And at Hampton Inn you get free hot breakfasts, even without status!  This hotel also has a fitness center and outdoor pool.

2.   DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Beijing

The DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Beijing is another excellent deal for your Hilton points.  Five nights here cost ~$705.  Or 40,000 Hilton points all year-round if you can find dates that work.

This hotel is a great starting point for exploring the Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven, or Tiananmen Square in Beijing.  You could even do a day trip to see the historic Great Wall of China!

This goes to show there are many diverse ways to use your Hilton points!

3.   Hampton by Hilton Bogota – Usaquen

For a visit to Colombia, consider the Hampton by Hilton Bogota – Usaquen.  It’s in the northern part of the city, in the Usaquen neighborhood.  You’ll be easy walking distance to restaurants, cafes, shops, and nightlife.  And near downtown Bogota.

Folks on TripAdvisor gave this hotel lots of 5-star reviews.  And loved the street markets and surrounding area!

Five nights here would cost ~$496, or 40,000 Hilton points.  Again, you’ll have enough points with the American Express Hilton Honors Surpass OR American Express Hilton Honors card to get 2 five-night stays in similar Category 2 hotels.  So your sign-up bonus on either card can easily be worth over $1,000 toward Hilton stays!

And because it’s a Hampton hotel, you’ll get free breakfasts during your stay.

4.   Hilton Mexico City Reforma

The Hilton Mexico City Reforma is a 5-star hotel in downtown Mexico City.  Folks on TripAdvisor love the area because it’s walking distance to many historical sites, shopping, and restaurants.

This is a Category 4 hotel, which costs 20,000 OR 30,000 Hilton points per night depending on when you stay.  I found a room at the higher rate.  That means you get 5 nights for 120,000 Hilton points.

But depending on when you travel, you can find a 5-night stay for 80,000 Hilton points.

You’ll have at least 109,000 Hilton points after completing the minimum spending requirements on the American Express Hilton Honors Surpass card.  If you can earn more Hilton points, they’ll cover the ~$1,184 you’d pay in cash for this stay.

This hotel is ideal for a splurge at a fancier Hilton hotel.  And it’s an even better deal with the 5th night free!

5.   Hilton Pyramids Golf Resort

If you like to golf, the Hilton Pyramids Golf Resort should be on your list because it’s a great deal with Hilton points!

It’s located in Cairo, with views of the ancient Great Pyramid of Giza.  It has a pool with swim-up bar, a kids play area, and several on-site restaurants to enjoy.  And for golfers, there are 3 courses to choose from!

Even if golfing isn’t for you, this hotel is an example of the great deals you can get at Hilton Category 2 hotels with Hilton points.

A 5-night stay here out-of-pocket would cost $900.  Or you can pay 10,000 Hilton points per night.  And because the 5th night is free, you’ll only pay 40,000 Hilton points for your entire stay.  That’s a fantastic deal!

In fact, you’ll have close to 80,000 Hilton points once you meet the minimum spending requirements on the American Express Hilton Honors card.  That’s enough for 2 five-night stays at Category 2 hotels.  In this example, they’d be worth $1,800 toward your family vacation or romantic getaway.

And with the American Express Hilton Honors Surpass card, you’d still have over 20,000 Hilton points to use toward your next trip!

Need More Hilton Points?

There are lots of ways to earn Hilton points if you’re close to an award stay.

You can:

• Transfer American Express Membership Rewards points
• Transfer Citi ThankYou points
• Use sign-up bonuses from the American Express Hilton Honors, American Express Hilton Honors Surpass, or Citi Hilton HHonors Visa Signature cards
• Transfer airline miles like Hawaiian Airlines or Virgin Atlantic
• Buy Hilton points

Bottom Line

Hilton’s 5th night free perk on award stays can be your ticket to Big Travel With Small Money!  That’s because you’ll get more free nights and pay fewer points, which helps you save money and stretch your points farther.

To get this benefit, you need Hilton elite status.  You’ll get automatic Hilton Silver elite status with the American Express Hilton Honors card.  And the American Express Hilton Honors Surpass card comes with Hilton Gold elite status.

Both of these cards have highest-ever limited-time offers through May 4, 2016.  You’ll earn 100,000 Hilton points after spending $3,000 on purchases in the 1st 3 months of opening the American Express Hilton Honors Surpass card.

And 75,000 Hilton points after you spend $1,000 on purchases in the 1st 3 months of opening the American Express Hilton Honors card.

Let me know if you’ve gotten a great deal with the Hilton’s 5th night free perk!