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If you’ve been a Hilton Honors rewards member for a while, you might remember that the program used to offer free breakfast to Diamond and Gold members. In fact, you could still get a complimentary continental breakfast during any Hilton stay back in 2020. 

Now, instead of free breakfast, these members get a food and beverage credit that can, but doesn’t have to, be used for breakfast.

Keep reading to find out more about the current breakfast credit rule at Hilton properties and why you just might prefer it to the old school system.

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Current Breakfast Rule

As of 2022, Hilton uses a credit system for food and beverages. Gold and Diamond members used to get a complimentary continental breakfast with every stay. In place of this, they now receive a daily credit that can be used toward eligible food and beverage purchases made at participating Hilton properties.

The Hilton Honors member who arranged and is paying for the booking, and one additional guest in the room, receive the daily credit. There are no restrictions on what time of day you use your credit and the credit doesn’t come out of your Hilton Honors points balance.

Hilton launched this new system in July 2021 to replace the Continental Breakfast benefit given exclusively to elite members. The credit was only going to be available through 2021, but Hilton announced in February of 2022 that it would be extended through at least the end of this year. And along with extending the offer, increased the credit value and added locations.

The value of the credit and how exactly you can use it depends on the Hilton location you’re staying at. Luxury properties tend to have a higher credit value than less premium properties. We’ll go over which hotel brands participate and the credit for each in the next section.

This change does not do away with the free continental breakfast included with every stay at many Hilton properties. If you’re staying at a hotel or resort that offers free breakfast to all guests regardless of their loyalty status, this won’t change (in other words, you won’t receive a daily credit in addition to your complimentary breakfast, but you’ll still get your free food).

A lot of Hilton rewards members are actually pleased with these changes. These credits offer a lot more flexibility in terms of how and when you eat on Hilton’s dime, and the value is usually higher than that of a continental breakfast.

Which Hotels Offer Credits?

Not every hotel under the Hilton name participates in the new credit program. Out of 18 Hilton brands, only 11 offer the credit. The brands that participate are listed below.

Hilton brands that offer the daily F&B credit:

• Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts
• LXR Hotels & Resorts
• Conrad Hotels & Resorts
• Signia by Hilton
• Hilton Hotels & Resorts
• Curio Collection by Hilton
• DoubleTree by Hilton
• Tapestry Collection by Hilton
• Canopy by Hilton
• Motto by Hilton
• Hilton Garden Inn

The Hilton Honors Daily F&B credit is not included with stays at all-inclusive properties or select discount brands that provide complimentary food and beverage to guests of any membership status. Brands that offer complimentary continental or buffet-style breakfast to all guests include Embassy Suites by Hilton, Hampton by Hilton, Tru by Hilton, Homewood Suites by Hilton, and Home2 Suites by Hilton.

📍 Conrad, LXR, and Waldorf Astoria: $25 credit value per day for each guest, up to $50 daily.

📍 Canopy, Curio Collection, DoubleTree, Hilton Hotels, Motto, Signia, and Tapestry Collection: $15 or $18 credit value per day for each guest, up to $30 or $36 daily.

These values are market dependent with the higher value being offered in big cities. These include Boston, Chicago, New York City, D.C., Key Largo, Key West, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and all properties in Hawaii. All other locations offer the $15 credit.

📍 Hilton Garden Inn: $10 credit value per day for each guest, up to $20 daily

If you will be traveling with a guest and want them to receive a credit of their own, make sure you add them to your reservation prior to your stay. The person receiving your second credit must be the same person for the entirety of your stay.

How to Use Your Food and Beverage Credit

Your credit should be applied automatically to eligible stays. If you make a covered food or beverage purchase either in your room (i.e. room service), at a restaurant, or at a kiosk or desk that offers to-go options, the total for this will be deducted from your final bill up to the daily credit value.

In other words, if you and another person are staying at a hotel with a $15 daily credit and you use the full amount each day for three days, $90 will be knocked off your bill automatically (the credit is also applied to any tax and gratuity you pay). If for some reason this doesn’t happen, you’ll need to get in touch with Hilton to fix it.

Prior to a qualifying stay, you will receive an email from Hilton letting you know that your upcoming booking will include a Daily F&B Credit and the value of that credit for you and one guest.

📍 This is important: If you don’t use your credit, it will not roll over. So you can’t stockpile credits for future stays or save them all for one night of a booking. You just forfeit whatever you don’t use. You cannot redeem the Daily F&B Credit for cash.

Note that the Hilton Honors member who qualifies for the credit must be the one paying for the booking and also staying at the property. Other people cannot use your rewards account to get the food and beverage credit. That said, there is no rule stating that the awards member must be the one eating the food purchased with their credit.

If you’re not planning to use the credit, you can actually opt to redeem it as Bonus Points for your Hilton Honors account instead if you’re in the Gold tier. Gold members are eligible to choose Bonus Points in place of their Daily Food and Beverage Credit (point value differs by the property) and Diamond members actually receive 1,000 Bonus Points in addition to their Credit.

Only Hilton Garden Inn requires Diamond members to choose between the credit and points, with up to 750 Bonus Points available instead of the food and beverage credit.

If you plan to redeem the credit for points, go into your Hilton Honors account to change your preferences for your MyWay benefit from the credit to bonus points. You won’t be able to change your selection after arriving for a stay.

Note that credits reset at the end of every day and “expire” after you checkout. There are no restrictions on when you can use your credit as long as you use it within the day it was issued.

What Can the Credit Be Used For?

The Daily F&B Credit can be used at restaurants and bars, cafes and lounges, snack bars, and buffet-style establishments. Room service and in-room dining are eligible as well. The credit also covers alcohol purchases in most states and cities.

If dining or grab-and-go food is offered inside a qualifying hotel or resort (excluding vending machines), the Daily F&B Credit can be used. You can use the credit at as many different places as you like.

Check the email you receive prior to your booking for details about a particular stay.

How to Become a Hilton Diamond or Gold Member

Not a Diamond or Gold member? No worries. You can work up through the ranks to get that Daily F&B Credit with the following activities:

• Staying at Hilton properties
• Using a Hilton credit card
• Dining at qualifying restaurants
• Purchasing points for your account

For every $1 you spend on a booking, you will earn 10 points for your Hilton Honors account (note: this is the base rate and increases with each membership tier). 

Points can be redeemed for award nights, room upgrades, Lyft rides, car rentals, award flights, and more. And the higher your membership status, the easier it is to earn even more points with exclusive milestone bonuses. Look out for member-only opportunities to accelerate your points-earning on select stays as well.

You can also earn points for your Hilton Honors account or redeem points from it with partners like Lyft, Air France Flying Blue, British Airways Executive Club, Delta SkyMiles, Qantas Frequent Flyer, United MileagePlus, and Virgin Atlantic Flying Club.

Gold status, which requires at least 28 qualifying nights, comes with an 80% points earning bonus on all stays, complimentary room upgrades when available (up to Executive Floor room types), the Daily Food and Beverage Credit, and milestone bonuses. You can also reach Gold with 21 stays of at least two consecutive nights each or 52,500 base points.

Diamond status, which requires at least 42 qualifying nights, comes with a 100% points earning bonus, executive lounge access, elite status extension, a 48-hour room guarantee, the Daily Food and Beverage Credit, and all the perks of Gold. You can also reach Diamond with 21 stays of at least two consecutive nights each or 84,000 base points.

If you’re not a member yet, sign up for free using this link to get more out of your stays with Hilton. Everyone begins at basic “Member” status and can achieve Silver status after staying for at least 7 nights. Silver members enjoy a 20% points earning bonus, a free fifth award night when you stay at least four consecutive nights, and elite rollover nights.

Is Elite Status Worth It?

And there are a lot more perks to loyalty than just free food and drinks, but is it really worth The answer to this question really depends on how often you travel and stay at Hilton properties. 

And when you do stay with Hilton, which hotel brands do you prefer? The most perks are going to come with more luxurious, full-service properties and resorts. Things like lounge access and room upgrades are best at more premium Hilton properties

We recommend that the average traveler choose and focus on one or two hotel rewards programs to achieve elite status. Hilton’s loyalty program is great in a lot of ways, but Hilton Honors Gold and Diamond status are not easy to achieve and might not be worth the trouble for you if you prefer other hotel brands.

Final Thoughts

At least until the end of 2022, Hilton Honors is a good loyalty program to be a part of if you like free food and drinks and Hilton Hotel brands. The new Daily F&B Credit program, as popular as it has been so far, might be extended again after this year or made permanent, but no one knows for sure. So take advantage while you can if you’re a Gold or Diamond rewards member.

Especially great for business or luxury travelers, as these properties offer better credits and redemption opportunities, the Daily F&B Credit is a perk to get excited about.