Key Points

  • Amex ran a 25 percent transfer bonus from Membership Rewards to Hilton Honors that ended September 23, 2025, lifting the standard 1:2 ratio to 1:2.5.
  • The math worked at peak-cash Conrads and Waldorfs but burned value almost everywhere else, since MR is worth roughly 2 cpp and Hilton points hover near 0.5 cpp.
  • Amex runs a Hilton bonus two or three times a year, so the next one is a question of when, not if, and FrequentMiler, AwardWallet, and View from the Wing will flag it first.

TL;DR

Amex's 25 percent MR-to-Hilton transfer bonus ended September 23, 2025. It was a value loss for most redemptions, but a clear win at peak-cash Conrads and Waldorfs. Another Hilton bonus is almost certainly coming.

What the Bonus Actually Was

For a few weeks last September, Amex Membership Rewards transferred to Hilton Honors at 1:2.5 instead of the usual 1:2. Translation: 1,000 MR points became 2,500 Hilton points instead of 2,000. The promo ran through September 23, 2025, with the standard 1,000-point transfer minimum and Amex's normal partner terms otherwise unchanged.

That extra 500 Hilton points per 1,000 MR sounds nice in isolation. The problem is that Hilton points are not very valuable, and even a 25 percent bump does not change that math very much.

Was It a Good Deal? Mostly No.

Here is the honest version.

Amex Membership Rewards points are worth roughly 2 cpp when you transfer them strategically. Hilton Honors points have hovered around 0.4 to 0.6 cpp for years, depending on which valuation you trust. So in a vacuum, you are turning roughly 2 cpp into 1.0 to 1.5 cpp the second you hit "transfer." That is a value loss on most redemptions, full stop.

The 25 percent bonus closed some of that gap, but not all of it. Even at the bonus rate, you needed to find a Hilton redemption that pulled at least 1.0 cpp on the cash-versus-points math just to break even with what your MR points would have been worth in airline transfers like Air Canada Aeroplan, Virgin Atlantic, or ANA. Most Hilton redemptions do not clear that bar. A standard Hampton or Hilton Garden Inn at 30,000 points a night against a $150 cash rate is 0.5 cpp, and the bonus does not save it.

The One Scenario Where It Made Sense

Here is where the math actually flipped: high-cash-rate Hilton luxury properties in peak season.

Conrad Maldives Rangali Island is the cleanest example. In peak weeks, the cash rate routinely lands above $1,500 per night, and the standard award rate sits around 95,000 Hilton points. Pay cash and you are out $1,500 plus tax. Pay 95,000 points and you are getting roughly 1.5 cpp.

With the 25 percent bonus, you only needed to transfer 38,000 MR to land those 95,000 Hilton points (well, 95,000 once you round; 38,000 MR transfers to 95,000 Hilton at 1:2.5). That meant your effective MR redemption rate landed somewhere around 4 cpp once the cash savings were factored in. That is genuinely strong, and stronger than most airline transfers MR can do.

The same math worked at Waldorf Astoria Maldives Ithaafushi during peak weeks, at Conrad Bora Bora Nui in the high season, and at the Waldorf Astoria Los Cabos Pedregal when oceanview suites were running $1,200 a night. Outside that narrow band of peak-rate luxury, you were better off keeping the points in MR.

Why Amex Keeps Running This Bonus

Amex and Hilton run a transfer bonus together two or three times a year on average. They have run it in the spring, the early fall, and around the holidays in past cycles. The promo serves both sides. Amex gets MR liquidated off its balance sheet (an accounting win), and Hilton gets a flood of fresh Honors balances that are likely to drive future paid stays. Neither side has a reason to stop.

The bonus rate has historically ranged from 25 to 30 percent. The 30 percent runs are the ones worth paying attention to; the 25 percent runs, like this one, work for the narrow luxury use case but do not change the fundamental math.

Where to Watch for the Next One

A few places I check first when a transfer bonus rumor starts circulating: FrequentMiler (their transfer bonus tracker is the cleanest aggregator I have found), AwardWallet (the news section catches these fast), and View from the Wing (Gary Leff posts within hours of an Amex announcement).

If you want to position yourself for the next one, here is what I would do. Park your MR balance and do not transfer to Hilton at the standard 1:2 rate unless you have a specific dated booking. Keep an eye out for a 30 percent bonus run, because that one moves the needle even on mid-tier Hilton properties. And if you have a specific peak-season Conrad or Waldorf in mind, run the cash-versus-points math now so you can pull the trigger the day a bonus drops.

The next one is coming. The only question is whether it is a 25 percent run that only works for the Maldives crowd, or a 30 percent run that opens the math up for the rest of us.

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