We are an independent publisher. Our reporters create honest, accurate, and objective content to help you make decisions. To support our work, we are paid for providing advertising services. Many, but not all, of the offers and clickable hyperlinks (such as a “Next” button) that appear on this site are from companies that compensate us. The compensation we receive and other factors, such as your location, may impact what ads and links appear on our site, and how, where, and in what order ads and links appear. While we strive to provide a wide range of offers, our site does not include information about every product or service that may be available to you. We strive to keep our information accurate and up-to-date, but some information may not be current. So, your actual offer terms from an advertiser may be different than the offer terms on this site. And the advertised offers may be subject to additional terms and conditions of the advertiser. All information is presented without any warranty or guarantee to you.

This page may include: credit card ads that we may be paid for (“advertiser listing”); and general information about credit card products (“editorial content”). Many, but not all, of the offers and clickable hyperlinks (such as a “Apply Now” button or “Learn More” button) that appear on this site are from companies that compensate us. When you click on that hyperlink or button, you may be directed to the credit card issuer’s website where you can review the terms and conditions for your selected offer. Each advertiser is responsible for the accuracy and availability of its ad offer details, but we attempt to verify those offer details. We have partnerships with advertisers such as Brex, Capital One, Chase, Citi, Wells Fargo and Discover. We also include editorial content to educate consumers about financial products and services. Some of that content may also contain ads, including links to advertisers’ sites, and we may be paid on those ads or links.

For more information, please see How we make money.

Hilton Hotel Category Changes: What It Means for You

  • Million Mile Secrets

    • Signing up for credit cards through partner links earns us a commission. Terms apply to the offers listed on this page. Here’s our full advertising policy: How we make money.

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

    Via One Mile at a Time, Hilton is making changes to its award chart, and 54 hotels will change award category as of October 12, 2016.

    Depending on your travel plans, this could be good or bad news.  Because 33 locations will cost fewer points per night after the updates take effect, and 21 hotels will cost more Hilton points.

    Hilton periodically switches hotels between categories, based on economic factors, room rates, amenities, and the hotel’s popularity.  So if you have Hilton award stays coming up, check out the list to see if your hotel is affected.
    Planning a Leaf Tour to Upstate New York This Fall? Book Your Saratoga Hilton Award Stay After October 12, 2016, to Get a Cheaper Rate

    I’ll explain what’s changing!

    Hilton Category Changes

    Link:   Hilton Category Changes

    Link:   Hilton Award Chart

    Link:   All the Ways to Earn Hilton Points

    Considering Hilton has ~4,600 locations around the world, the 54 changing category only account for ~1% of their hotels.  So this won’t be a big deal for most folks.

    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.

    Hotels Moving to a Higher Category

    There are 21 Hilton hotels moving up a category, and all but 6 are in the US.  So you’ll pay more points per night at hotels like:

    You’ll Pay 10,000 More Hilton Points per Night for Award Stays at the DoubleTree by Hilton Beijing After the Changes Take Effect

    So if your hotel is increasing in price, book your award stays before October 12, 2016, to lock-in the lower rate.

    Hotels Moving to a Lower Category

    If you’re planning a trip to Turkey, you’ll do well with the Hilton changes.  That’s because there are 33 hotels decreasing in category, and 26 of them are in Turkey!

    And some locations are dropping by 4 categories, like the Hilton Garden Inn Istanbul Ataturk Airport and Hilton Garden Inn Erzincan. 

    Other notable reductions include:

    Save Points on Your Winter Getaway to Miami by Booking Certain Hilton Hotels After October 12, 2016

    If you have plans to stay at any of these hotels, book after October 12, 2016.  And if you’ve already booked award nights, you can almost always cancel and re-book at the lower rate.  Just be sure there are still award nights available when you cancel!

    Want More Hilton Points?

    Folks love Hilton points because they’re very easy to earn.  And if you got in on Hilton’s Diamond status match deal earlier this year, there’s even more reason to consider staying at Hilton hotels!

    There are 4 credit cards which earn Hilton points directly:

    Don’t forget, you can also transfer flexible points to Hilton from:

    You Can Move Flexible Points to Hilton From Programs Like AMEX Membership Rewards or Citi ThankYou. Or Transfer Miles From Hawaiian Airlines or Virgin Atlantic

    Check out my posts on all the ways to earn Hilton points, and which card earns the most for paid Hilton stays.

    Bottom Line

    Hilton is changing its award chart effective October 12, 2016.  There are 33 hotels moving to a lower category, and 21 locations going up in price.

    Overall, these updates won’t impact most folks, because only ~1% of Hilton hotels are increasing or decreasing in price.  But check the full list to see if your hotel award stays will be affected.

    And if you want more Hilton points, there are plenty of ways to earn them!

    Are you surprised by any of these category changes?  Will you make adjustments to your travel plans?

    Editorial Note: We're the Million Mile Secrets team. And we're proud of our content, opinions and analysis, and of our reader's comments. These haven’t been reviewed, approved or endorsed by any of the airlines, hotels, or credit card issuers which we often write about. And that’s just how we like it! :)