We previously wrote that SLH had ended its Hyatt partnership and was moving into the Hilton camp. After a period of integration, you can now book SLH hotels through official Hilton channels.

News: SLH switches to Hilton

Last week, SLH (Small Luxury Hotels of the World) landed on Hilton’s site in large numbers. Of about 560 hotels in the collection, more than 400 are already listed. You can browse and book them on Hilton’s website, and put points and Free Night Rewards to work.

Official booking page https://www.hilton.com/en/brands/small-luxury-hotels-slh/

⚠️ When you search by calendar month, award availability often shows as sold out across the board. Search the hotel by name, then check dates and redeem from the property page.

⚠️ Free Night Rewards can be used on Standard Room Rewards. If the hotel is only offering a high-priced Premium award, the certificate will not work.

Hilton elite benefits

Hilton elite status also applies at participating SLH hotels, including:

1️⃣ For all members:

  • Member rates
  • Points on qualifying stays
  • Complimentary Wi-Fi
  • Complimentary bottled water
  • Late checkout (subject to availability)

2️⃣ For Gold and Diamond members:

  • Complimentary breakfast
  • Room upgrades (subject to availability)

Hilton points and Free Night Rewards already deliver strong value at Hilton’s luxury brands (Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts, Conrad Hotels & Resorts, and LXR Hotels & Resorts). You can now also look at SLH. Below are cash-versus-points snapshots for a few popular regions.

1 Caribbean

Lots of resorts.

Cash rates

Points rates

2 East Asia

Points rates on the left, cash rates on the right.

  • The well-known 秋水山庄: 130,000 points, and Free Night Rewards work
  • Sowaka, the hotel in the featured image, was already gone

3 Maldives

For high cash rates and relatively few points, Milaidhoo stands out. Pair it with five-nights-for-the-price-of-four on points and the return looks even better.

4 Europe

SLH has a large European footprint, and many hotels can stretch Hilton points a long way.

In the screenshot below, Cap Rocat costs 130,000 points and Nobu Hotel Marbella costs 110,000 points.

Where do the points and Free Night Rewards come from?

1️⃣ Welcome offers

If you live outside the U.S. and still want a U.S. card, Hilton is the first place we would look, especially the keepable Amex Hilton Aspire.

  • The annual fee is high at $550, but the credits add up: $200 × 2 in resort credit and $50 × 4 in flight credit. Perks include Hilton Diamond, Priority Pass Select, and one Free Night Reward each year (that certificate alone is worth a few hundred, isn’t it?).

The three current U.S. Amex Hilton cobrand cards all have very strong welcome offers (Aspire 175,000 points, Surpass 130,000 points plus a Free Night Reward, Honors 70,000 points plus a Free Night Reward). You are welcome to apply through my referral link (you will see many cards; scroll down to the Hilton cards).

Because of current U.S. Amex rules (holding a premium card blocks the lower-tier welcome bonuses), apply for Surpass first, take the 130,000 points and the Free Night Reward, and a $1,000-plus hotel can suddenly be two nights.

Apply for Aspire later, and you can also product-change Surpass into a second Aspire and hold more than one.

2️⃣ Buying points

Hilton buy-points promotions come around fairly often, and the bonus is fairly consistent: with a 100% bonus, the cost is 0.5 cpp USD.

Follow the blog’s hotel-promotion updates so you catch the next round.