How to Use Quarterly Hilton Hotel Credits

Tips On Using Quarterly Hilton Hotel Credits

American Express has multiple credits cards that work more like coupon books when it comes to benefits. You need to remember to use credits monthly, quarterly, semi-annually or annually.

Three of those credit cards offer quarterly credits for purchases at Hilton hotels around the globe. Paying for a stay is the sure way of using these credits, but you would have to at Hilton properties quite frequently is order to use every credit. Thankfully, there are ways to use these credits even without being a guest at a Hilton hotel. 

Cards with Quarterly Hilton Credits

Credit cards that offer quarterly Hilton credits include:

The Hilton Aspire card also offers up to $400 in annual credits ($200 January through June and another $200 July through December), but those credit only work at participating participating Hilton Resorts.

How to Use Quarterly Hilton Credits

Now that you know which credit cards offer quarterly credits for Hilton hotels, let’s go over how to actually use them in order to maximize benefits and justify the annual fee on these products.

Pay for Hilton Stays

The most obvious use of these credits is by paying for your Hilton stay with one of the three eligible credit cards. 

Buy Hilton Gift Cards

This was one of the more popular options until early January, when Hilton gift cards were no longer available for sale on Hilton’s website at buyhiltongiftcards.com. The website now says that they are “expecting replenished inventory to be available within the next eight weeks”.

Dining at Hilton Hotels

Dining at restaurants within Hilton hotels will easily trigger the quarterly credit if you are staying at the hotel. But did you know that it will also likely work even when not checked in as a guest?

That’s right! You can have a nice dinner, or drinks at a restaurant or bar of a Hilton hotel nearby, and it could trigger the quarterly credits on one of the three credit cards mentioned above.

The only issue with this method is that you first need to figure out if a specific on-property restaurant will trigger the credit. This spreadsheet is a limited but very helpful tool that has been updated continuously in the last few weeks. It lists restaurants by state and city and it tells you if it triggers the credits or not. 

If a property is not listed in that spreadsheet, you can also test it out yourself. You can grab a drink at that restaurant or bar first and see if you get the credit. Once you are sure that it will trigger the credit, you can then have a nice dinner, and split it on 2-3 cards also if it gets pricey.

I did just that at Conrad NY Downtown (ATRIO Wine Bar & Restaurant) and Graduate Roosevelt Island (Anything At All). The latter was just a few days ago and I still don’t see a credit. If that happens, you can also chat with Amex through chat, and there’s a good chance that they will credit it manually if the charge shows the Hilton hotel name.

Buy Snacks/Drinks at Hilton Convenience Stores

Some Hilton properties have small convenience stores or gift stores that sell snacks, drinks and other items. These stores are usually located in or near the hotel lobby. You can walk into one of these properties and just make small purchases without needing to stay there. Most likely you will be overpaying for these items, but if you don’t have any other options, it’s better than letting these credits expire.

You should still test it out with a small purchase first.

Starbucks 

Some Hilton properties have Starbucks locations inside. If you have one of these locations on your way to work, you can grab your morning coffee there, or you can buy any other items sold at Starbucks stores.

Similarly to dining and buying snacks, you should test it out first and see if that location triggers the quarterly credits.

Book Hilton Timeshare Deals

I usually write about timeshare offers here on the site, and Hilton is one of the more popular ones. Currently they have a deal that will get you 100K bonus points when you book a three night stay for $149 and sit through a two hour presentation.

That’s a good deal on its own. But the purchase of these packages will also trigger the quarterly Hilton credits.

Do you have any other tips about using quarterly Hilton hotel credits? Let us know in the comments or join the discussion in out Facebook Group!