Hilton scrapping ‘points and fixed miles’ earning from January
Links on Head for Points may support the site by paying a commission. See here for all partner links.
Hilton lost a lot of friends back in February when it unveiled a massive devaluation of the Hilton HHonors programme. Prices of rooms at top properties jumped from 50,000 points to a maximum of 95,000 points!
Add in other recent changes – some hotels starting to offer a reduced level of free breakfast to Gold card holders, the reduced food and drink offering in UK executive lounges this year, and the way that some hotels used the introduction of ‘premium rewards’ to reduce standard room reward availability – and you might think they would have had enough.
But no!
An email arrives:
On January 6, 2014, we will discontinue the Points & Fixed Miles Earning Style. At this time, you will automatically start to earn variable miles, or 10 HHonors Base Points plus one airline mile (or kilometer) per eligible US dollar spent for most stays. This will appear as Points & Miles in your HHonors account profile.
This was one of the few redeeming features of the Hilton HHonors programme. Although, if I’m honest, it was disproportionately generous and therefore was always on life support.
At present, if you choose ‘points and fixed miles’, you will earn (per Hilton stay) Hilton HHonors points plus 500 Avios points (in BA), 750 Avios points (in Iberia Plus) or 1,000 Virgin Flying Club miles. (Back in the old BMI days, you get a ludicrous 1,000 BMI miles per night!).
Under the new structure, you will earn 1 airline mile per $1 spent (2 per $1 with Virgin). This means that, for stays costing less than about £475, you will be worse off if you collect Avios. For Virgin miles, you are worse off on stays under £325.
This is not the end of the world – Hilton remains, after all, the only programme where you can collect points and airline miles. You also have the option to not take any airline miles at all and earn a larger number of Hilton points instead, although since they were devalued it is debatable if you want to build up those too much.
PS. If you are not a regular Head for Points visitor, why not sign up for our FREE weekly or daily newsletters? They are full of the latest Avios, airline, hotel and credit card points news and will help you travel better. To join our 65,000 free subscribers, click the button below or visit this page of the site to find out more. Thank you.

How to earn Hilton Honors points and status from UK credit cards (April 2025)
There are various ways of earning Hilton Honors points from UK credit and debit cards. Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses.
There are two dedicated Hilton Honors debit cards. These are especially attractive when spending abroad due to the 0% or 0.5% FX fee, depending on card.
You also receive FREE Hilton Honors status for as long as you hold the debit cards – Gold status with the Plus card and Silver status with the basic card. This is a great reason to apply even if you rarely use it.
We reviewed the Hilton Honors Plus Debit Card here and the Hilton Honors Debit Card here.
You can apply for either card here.
SPECIAL OFFER: Until 30th April 2025, the annual fee on the basic Hilton Honors debit card is halved from £60 to £30. The sign-up bonus is also easier to earn – you need to spend £1,000 either in the UK or abroad within three months. The usual bonus rule requires you to spend the full £1,000 outside the UK.

NEW: Hilton Honors Plus Debit
10,000 bonus points, Hilton Gold status and NO FX fees Read our full review

NEW: Hilton Honors Debit
2,500 bonus points, Hilton Silver status and 0.5% FX fees Read our full review
There is another way of getting Hilton Honors status, and earning Hilton Honors points, from a payment card.
Holders of The Platinum Card from American Express receive FREE Hilton Honors Gold status for as long as they hold the card. It also comes with Marriott Bonvoy Gold, Radisson Rewards Premium and MeliaRewards Gold status.
We reviewed American Express Platinum in detail here and you can apply here.
SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to a huge 80,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (80,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

The Platinum Card from American Express
80,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large fee Read our full review
You can also earn Hilton Honors points indirectly with:
- American Express Gold (20,000 bonus Amex points)
- American Express Rewards Credit Card (10,000 bonus Amex points)
SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on the ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 30,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (30,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.
and for small business owners:
- American Express Business Gold (20,000 bonus Amex points)
- American Express Business Platinum (50,000 bonus Amex points)
The conversion rate from American Express to Hilton Honors points is 1:2.
Comments (14)