Hey {{first name | reader}},

Happy Friday from Madrid!

As I mentioned on Monday, I am officially on the road. I arrived in Madrid yesterday morning after flying overnight from Córdoba on Air Europa business class.

I am here for a wedding before heading to Asia next week, and I am really excited to start sharing some of the experiences from this trip.

But first, there is a points promotion I absolutely want to talk about.

This is a really interesting one.

Hilton Honors has launched a 120% bonus when purchasing points, which is the largest bonus we have seen from the program.

Normally, Hilton sells points for 1 cent each. With its frequent 100% bonuses, that price drops to $5 per 1,000 points. But with this new 120% bonus, you can buy Hilton Honors points for approximately $4.55 per 1,000 points, the lowest price we have seen.

The promotion runs through November 21, 2026, and the full bonus is available on eligible purchases of at least 5,000 points. Check your account for your specific offer.

Why I think this is such a good deal

Let me use one of my favorite hotels as an example: Waldorf Astoria Amsterdam.

I stayed there earlier this year and it is a spectacular property. It is also very expensive. Depending on the dates, cash rates can range from around €800 to €1,600 per night, sometimes reaching €2,000 or more.

But you can sometimes find standard room award availability for 150,000 Hilton Honors points per night.

At the current purchase price, those 150,000 points would cost approximately $682.

Think about that. You could potentially book a room that costs €1,500 or €2,000 per night for around $682 worth of purchased points.

Of course, award availability and pricing vary by date, so always check before buying anything.

And it gets even better with five nights

One of my favorite Hilton Honors benefits is the fifth-night-free perk. If you have Hilton Honors Silver status or higher, you get every fifth night free when booking an eligible standard room award stay entirely with points. And Silver is only the second membership tier.

Back to Waldorf Astoria Amsterdam. At 150,000 points per night, five nights would normally cost 750,000 points. But with the fifth night free, you only need 600,000 points.

At the current purchase price, that is approximately $2,727 for five nights, or $545 per night.

Compare that with five nights at €1,500 per night in cash: €7,500 versus roughly $2,727 in purchased points. That is an enormous difference.

One important note: the current annual purchase limit may prevent you from buying all 600,000 points in a single account. You would need an existing balance or another source of points to complete that example.

Still, this shows why I think the promotion is worth paying attention to.

Would I buy Hilton points at this price? Absolutely, if I had a specific luxury redemption in mind. I would not buy a huge balance without knowing where I would use them, but at $4.55 per 1,000 points, I would seriously consider it for a trip I expected to take within the next year.

My advice: search for your preferred hotel and dates, compare the points price with the cash rate, and calculate what those points would cost to purchase. You might be surprised by the savings.

I am writing this from Madrid, after flying here nonstop from Córdoba on Air Europa business class.

I will save the full review for another email because there is plenty to talk about. But here is the quick version of how I booked it and why I think it is one of the best redemptions available from Argentina.

I booked three business class tickets using Air Europa SUMA miles. Air Europa charges 64,000 miles per person for the nonstop flight between Córdoba and Madrid.

During Air Europa's better mileage sales, SUMA miles can be purchased for around €10 per 1,000 miles. At that price, the 64,000 miles required for this flight cost just €640, plus roughly €100 in taxes and fees. Total: approximately €740 per person, or around $860 at current exchange rates, for an 11-hour nonstop business class flight from Córdoba to Madrid.

I booked three seats, which is another reason I love this redemption. Finding one cheap business class award is great. Being able to book three people together on the only nonstop flight to Europe from Córdoba is far more useful.

And yes, Córdoba generally gets Air Europa's older 2-2-2 business class configuration rather than the newer 1-2-1 seat. But we are still talking about an 11-hour nonstop flight with a fully flat bed for around $860 when buying the miles at the right price.

As for the flight itself, my first impression was very positive. The crew was attentive from boarding, they hung our suits for the wedding, the new amenity kits are noticeably nicer, and the service throughout was good. Dinner was decent, I got a few hours of sleep, and we landed in Madrid at around 4 AM.

There were a few small quirks, including my espresso arriving about ten minutes after I had already finished breakfast, but I will save the details for the full review.

For now, the biggest takeaway is this: I crossed the Atlantic in a lie-flat business class seat for 64,000 miles that can sometimes be bought for only €640. That is exactly the kind of redemption I want you to be looking for.

That's it for today. Next week the trip continues, and I will have plenty more to share as I make my way toward Asia.

Catch you in the clouds,
Tomi from Points Master

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