I Didn’t Know Hilton Honors Allowed This Great Option

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When my wife, Sharon, married me, I’m not sure she realized she’d also be joining the travel hacking game as Player Two. Not only could she apply for all the credit cards I already had, but she could even open small business cards, thanks to her work as an independent contractor. A power move for points and miles, if you ask me.

Fast forward 20-something years, and it’s not unusual for both of us to have points in the same loyalty program—but not always in the same account. That becomes a challenge when you’re close to a redemption but just shy of the total needed.

That’s what happened recently with Hilton Honors, a program we’ve had an on-again, off-again relationship with. Although Hilton hadn’t been our most frequently visited hotel brand since 2019, it ended up being our most-used program in 2024, with 14 nights across three different brands (full recap here).

Still, I didn’t expect them to offer a feature that was this useful.

The Situation: I Needed Just a Few More Points

I’d earned a stash of Hilton points from work trips in 2019. When the pandemic hit, Hilton paused point expirations—but that grace period ended in late 2022. My account had been quiet for almost two years, and I would likely lose those points unless I triggered some activity.

Rather than making a low-value transaction to reset the expiration clock, I figured I’d try to use the points instead. I found a Hilton hotel in New York City that cost 80,000 points per night. With two nights to book, I had 150,000 points—and needed just 10,000 more to lock it in.

Sharon had some extra Hilton points from her Surpass AMEX. But could I access them?

Turns out: yes.

Hilton Honors Lets You Transfer Points—For Free

I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Hilton allows members to transfer or pool points with other members—and there’s no fee to do it. You can send or receive points in increments of 1,000, up to a limit of 500,000 sent and 2,000,000 received per calendar year. Each account can make six transfers and six poolings per year.

You just need the other member’s name, email address, and Hilton Honors number.

Here’s the official Hilton page with all the details: Transfer, Pool, Buy or Gift Hilton Points

In my case, I logged into Sharon’s account and sent myself the 10,000 points I needed. It was quick and painless.

About That Redemption…

While I was excited to use otherwise expiring points, the redemption itself turned out to be a little disappointing. We booked a stay at The Draper, New York – Tapestry Collection by Hilton, which looked promising but was not so great.

The two-night stay cost 160,000 points—which would have cost $882. That worked out to around 0.55 cents per point, above average for Hilton redemptions. But given the quality of the stay, it didn’t feel like a great value in the end.

Final Thought

Just because you can book a stay with points doesn’t always mean you should—but in this case, it beats letting them expire. And learning that Hilton lets you freely transfer points between accounts? That was a welcome surprise.

If you and your travel partner both earn Hilton points but tend to keep them in separate accounts, this feature could come in handy more often than you’d think. Whether you’re topping off a balance or rescuing points on the verge of expiration, having the ability to move Hilton Honors points gives you much more flexibility when planning your next trip.

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This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary