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Conrad Maldives is a top-tier Hilton property that requires 120,000 Hilton points per night on its standard rooms (as of January 2023).

I visited the property in April 2021, when it required 95,000 Hilton points per night. Nightly paid rates range from $600 to over $1,000 per night.

Hence, it is not a financially viable option if you are a frugal tourist like myself. I’d rather invest that cash towards retirement versus splurge on an experience that only provides a momentary high.

Fortunately, staying at luxury resorts in the middle of nowhere is possible without creating a massive dent in our wallets. Thanks to travel miles and points!

If you are new to using miles and points to travel for free and want to determine if this is a compatible hobby for you, please read my beginner’s guide. 

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The Bucket-List Goal

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In this blog post, I will go over the steps to book 5 nights at the Conrad Maldives – Rangali Island using Hilton points on your next vacation. 

The strategy I will outline here will not only save you a lot of money, but it is also relatively easy to replicate.

It just requires advanced planning and a few manageable steps, which I will list for you in this article.

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Hilton 5th-Night Free Benefit

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Arguably, the best use of Hilton Honors points is taking advantage of their generous 5th-night free benefit when booking stays using points.

This perk is available to all Hilton elite members.

And having Hilton’s elite status can be easily attained by owning one of Hilton’s co-branded American Express credit cards.

If you have a Hilton co-branded credit card, you are eligible to receive the fifth-night free every time you book five nights using points, as long as there is standard room availability.

This tactic can save anyone a considerable amount of points, particularly when staying in expensive resorts like the Conrad Bora Bora Nui or Conrad Maldives Rangali Island.

Thus, I go to great lengths to maximize this benefit every time I redeem my Hilton points.

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The Steps

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Step 1: Determine How Many Hilton Points You Need to Accumulate 

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Since Conrad Rangali Island charged 95K per night for a standard room when we stayed in April 2021, we needed a total of 475,000 Hilton points to cover five nights.

But with the 5th-night free perk, I only needed to shell out 380,000 Hilton points, effectively reducing the nightly rate to 76,000 Hilton points per night. That is a substantial discount!

You are probably intimidated by the number of points required to stay in this idyllic property. Don’t fret.

Hilton points are extremely easy to earn, and I will go over several methods to effortlessly accumulate them yourself.

As of January 2023, the Conrad Rangali Island will require 120,000 per night for a standard room.

If you book five nights at 120,000 Hilton Honors per night, the total amount of points you need to accumluate is 600,000 points. But with the 5th-night free benefit, you will only need to shell out 480,000 points.

Heads Up: It is necessary to have this entire amount in your account before you can have the ability to book 5 nights at this resort.

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What If I Want To Stay In Another Property?

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If you plan to stay in other properties, the same rules apply.

Whether you book five nights using points at Waldorf Astoria Rome or Conrad Koh Samui, you will get the 5th night free.

Hilton has a user-friendly Explorer Tool that shows the range of points other properties require.

This is incredibly helpful as it provides real-time availability on the dates you enter in the tool.

In the example below, the tool reveals 4 Hilton properties in the Maldives, and all except one are available as a standard room reward.

Heads Up: This property has a finite number of standard rooms. So, if all standard rooms are booked during your preferred dates, the number of points required for the other room types can increase astronomically. Thus, I recommend booking as early as possible. 

No matter where you want to stay, the 5th-night free benefit will always be granted as long as a standard room is available for five consecutive nights.

Other Notable Luxury Hilton Properties Worldwide (standard room):

• Waldorf Astoria Los Cabos (150,000 Hilton points/night)
• Waldorf Astoria Maldives (150,000 Hilton points/night)
• Conrad Bora Bora (85,000 Hilton points/night)
• Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills (95,000 Hilton points/night)
• Waldorf Astoria Amsterdam (95,000 Hilton points/night)
• Grand Wailea Maui (95,000 Hilton points/night)

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Step 2: Recruit a Player 2 (P2) and/or a Player 3 (P3) to Help You Accumulate The Points Needed

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Whether your P2 is your spouse or a friend, this goal can be surprisingly simple to execute if at least two people are actively collecting Hilton points.

Since Hilton allows transfers of points between accounts for free, you can pool all of your family’s / friends’ points together in one primary account.

Up to 10 people can pool points together for free, with a cap of 500,000 Hilton points transferred between each account. 

Ideally, you would want to divert all points to the person with Diamond status – Hilton’s top-tier elite – so you’re guaranteed to receive additional perks during your stay.

The Conrad Maldives was booked from my account since I presently have Diamond status from the Hilton Aspire American Express® Credit Card.

This provided us various freebies, including breakfast, happy hour, room upgrades, and late check-out.

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My Friends Were My P2 and P3

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Since Conrad Maldives allows 3 adults in each room, I invited 2 friends to join me on this trip. 

One friend took care of 190K and I took care of the other 190K, giving us 5 free nights at the Conrad. 

My third friend booked 2 nights at the brand new Radisson Blu-Maldives, located about 15 minutes by speedboat from the Conrad, using his points as well. 

Overall, it was an incredible deal because I only paid for 2 nights using points but got to stay in two island resorts in the Maldives for an entire week.

So, what are you waiting for? Round up your friends or convince your significant other to start stockpiling Hilton points as early as now.

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Step 3: Strategize Your Hilton Points Accumulation Game Plan

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While there are several ways to accrue Hilton points, I’ll focus on three primary strategies for generating Hilton points fast.

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Hilton Honors Credit Cards

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Currently, 4 Hilton Credit Cards are available today, all offered by American Express.

Hilton Aspire American Express® Credit Card – Despite the steep annual fee of $450, this credit card offers many benefits and credits that the annual fee eventually pays for itself.

• Gives a bonus of 150,000 Hilton points after meeting the spending requirement ($4,000 within three months)
• $250 Airline Credit
• $250 Hilton Resort Credit
• One Free Weekend Night (up to 95K, which can have a value of over $500 if redeemed at the Conrad Maldives for a 6th night)
• Diamond Status: this perk gave us access to Free Breakfast for 2, Happy Hour, and Suite Upgrades (breakfast was $35/person, so it saved us $70/night X 5 = $350)
• Earns 14 points per dollar at Hilton properties
• Fifth Night Free when booking points
• Priority Pass Select Membership (Unlimited) for you and up to 2 guests
• No foreign transaction fees
• A second free weekend night certificate after spending $60,000 within a calendar year

Related: Read More About the Hilton Aspire American Express ® Credit Card Here

Hilton Surpass American Express® Credit Card 

• $95 annual fee
• 130,000 Hilton points after spending $2,000 in 3 months
• Hilton Gold Status: gives free breakfast for 2 and complimentary upgrades
• Fifth Night Free when booking points
• Priority Pass Select Membership (10 visits annually)
• No foreign transaction fees
• Free weekend night certificate after spending $15,000 within a calendar year
• Earns 12 points per dollar at Hilton properties
• Earns 6 points per dollar on gas, groceries, and restaurants

Read More: Earn 130,000 Hilton Points with the American Express Surpass® Credit Card

Hilton Business American Express® Credit Card

• $95 annual fee
• 130,000 Hilton points after spending $3,000 in 3 months
• Hilton Gold Status: gives free breakfast for 2 and complimentary upgrades
• Fifth Night Free when booking points
• Priority Pass Select Membership (10 visits annually)
• No foreign transaction fees
• Free weekend night certificate after spending $15,000 within a calendar year
• Earns 12 points per dollar at Hilton properties
• Earns 6 points per dollar on gas, shipping, wireless, restaurants, airfare, and car rental

Read More: Current Offer of the American Express Hilton Business® Credit Card

Hilton Honors

• No annual fee
• 80,000 Hilton points after spending $1,000 in 3 months
• 7 points per dollar at Hilton properties
• 5 points per dollar at dining, groceries, and gas
• Hilton Silver Status 
• No foreign transaction fees

Read More: Earn 80,000 Hilton Points from the No-Fee Hilton Honors American Express® Credit Card

If P1, P2, and P3 apply for one Hilton card each and then combine all points together, you can conceivably book this exact vacation using points, too.

I will review examples of several scenarios on how to accrue 380,000 points later in this article so you can select which option is preferable.

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Buy Hilton Points When They Are On Sale

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Hilton periodically runs sales that give up to a 100% bonus on purchased points.

This approach was actually how my friend came up with 190K Hilton points.

Despite my encouragement to apply for a Hilton credit card to save money, she opted to buy discounted Hilton points instead.

Typically, Hilton sells points for 1 dollar apiece. But in their usual promotion Hilton sells points for 50 cents apiece.

Thus, my friend shelled out $950 to purchase 190,000 Hilton points. 

She still emerged ahead as each night at the Conrad was at least $1000/night. 

At the end of the day, the $950 she forked out took care of her entire seven days in paradise. 

I hope she’ll consider applying for a Hilton credit card after this trip, as it saved us an extraordinary amount of money. 

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Transfer American Membership Rewards to Hilton Honors When There is a Promotion

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In most cases, it is normally not a good idea to transfer American Express Membership Rewards points to Hilton.

But if you need to top off your Hilton account to capitalize on the 5th-night free benefit, then by all means, crunch your numbers to see if the math works to your advantage.

Nonetheless, I would not suggest transferring American Express Membership Rewards points to Hilton unless a transfer bonus promotion occurs. 

Usually, the conversion rate is 1 American Express Membership Reward point = 2 Hilton Honors points.

But when there is a transfer bonus, it usually becomes 1 AMEX = 2.5+ Hilton points.

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Step 4: Initiate Your Search and Book Your Stay

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When you gather all your points in one account, it’s time to jumpstart your searches.

Flexibility is key when using miles and points.

Although not set in stone, booking months in advance usually yields more availability and increases the likelihood of success.

Search for standard room availability costing 120K/night for five consecutive nights. Once you’ve found gold, book it. 

Hilton’s system will automatically deduct the points required for the 5th night.

By the way, make sure you book nights that can be canceled. I do not want you to forfeit all of your points by inadvertently booking a non-refundable rate. 

Lastly, reserve the rooms from the account with the highest status – preferably Diamond – so you’re assured of receiving the best perks during your stay.

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Step 5: It is Not Really All Completely Free

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Sea Plane

Of course, nothing is completely free in this hobby.

Getting to the Conrad Maldives will require an international flight to Male, the capital of the Maldives.

I redeemed miles/points to fly to Male, so if you have a stash of points available, you can certainly use it here too.

On my first visit to the Maldives back in 2014, I redeemed United miles to fly with Singapore Airlines and All Nippon Airways. 

This year, I redeemed American Airlines points for the opportunity to fly Qatar’s well-lauded Q Suites.

Once in Male, you need to board a 35-minute seaplane flight to get to Conrad.

The hotel will book this for you, and it will cost around $270 each way.

Since I have the $250 Hilton resort credit from my Hilton Aspire American Express® Credit Card, I only had to fork out the remaining $20.

My friends do not have the Aspire, so they both had to pay for the seaplane. However, I am not exempt from paying the fare on the return leg from the Radisson Blu back to Male.

The speedboat that ferried us from the Conrad to the Radisson costs $170 for 3 people, so it is not all bad when compared to the costs involved if we had flown back to Male to board another seaplane to the Radisson.

Meals

Since I carry the Hilton Aspire American Express® Credit Card, my breakfast and one of my friends are taken care of.

While this is not common practice, the hotel also extended the free breakfast benefit to my other friend – the third person in our party. This saved us approximately $50/night.

We tried to eat breakfast late, thus making it brunch. We then ate our next meal during Happy Hour, again offered for free for Diamond and Gold members.

Before the trip, we agreed to minimize dining out since it is insanely expensive to eat out nightly. 

We also brought snacks to tide us over when the hunger pangs became too much to bear.

Tipping

We each prepared several $1, $5, and $10 bills so we could tip generously during the trip.

Even though we skimped on other expenses, this is one aspect of any trip that we never cut back on. 

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Read More About the Current Offer for the Hilton Honors Business Credit Card

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Scenarios

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In most of the sample scenarios below, it is recommended that one person holds the Hilton Aspire American Express® Credit Card to gain access to all the benefits associated with having Diamond status – free breakfast, room upgrades, and the $250 Hilton resort credit that can offset almost the entire one-way cost of the seaplane fare.

Also, the Hilton Aspire American Express® Credit Card card gives a free weekend night certificate that can be added to your 5-night stay, extending your stay to 6 free nights!

Scenario 1: What We Did

Player	Points Contributed	Source
P1	190,000 Hilton for 2 nights	Hilton Aspire Bonus + spend
P2	190,000 Hilton for 2 nights (+ 1 free night)	Purchased Points with Bonus ($950 = 190,000)
P3	170,000 Radisson Blu for 2 nights	Club Carlson Credit Card

Scenario 2: If you are a couple and currently at or above Chase’s 5/24

Not familiar with Chase’s 5/24 rule? Here’s a guide.

Player & Day	Points Contributed	Source of Points
P1 (Day 1, 2)	150,000 Hilton	Hilton Aspire for Diamond Benefits + Free Night
P1 (Day 3)	130,000 Hilton	Hilton Business
P2 (Day 4)	130,000 Hilton	Hilton Business
Day 5	FREE NIGHT	Total points: 410,000 More than enough of the required 380,000 points for 5 nights
Day 6	Free Weekend Certificate	Hilton Aspire

Scenario 3: If you are a couple and below 5/24

Player & Day	Points Contributed	Source of Points
		
P1 (Day 1, 2)	150,000 Hilton	Hilton Aspire for Diamond Benefits + Free Night
		
P1 (Day 3)	130,000 Hilton	Hilton Surpass or Business
		
P2 (Day 4)	130,000 Hilton	Hilton Surpass or Business
		
Day 5	FREE NIGHT	Total points: 410,000 More than enough of the required 380,000 points for 5 nights
		
Day 6	Free Weekend Certificate	Hilton Aspire

Scenario 4: No Credit Card (Transfer from American Express)

Player & Day	Points Contributed	Source of Points
		
P1	380,000	Transfer 147,000 American Express Membership Rewards to Hilton when there is a 30% or more Bonus Promotion

Scenario 5: No Credit Card (Purchase Points)

Player & Day	Points Contributed	Source of Points
		
P1	320,000	Purchase Points when they give 100% bonuses ($1,600 = 320,000). Cap per Hilton account per year = 320,000
		
P2	60,000	Purchase Points when they give 100% bonuses ($300 = 60,000)

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Final Thoughts

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Luxurious properties used to be unattainable to frugal tourists like myself.

With the increased popularity of travel miles and points, even the most unaffordable hotels are now within reach as long as you are familiar with the techniques involved.

I hope that the methods I’ve outlined in this post made the process of booking a top-tier Hilton property a bit easier to comprehend, and, thus less overwhelming to implement

Above all, I hope you consider maximizing Hilton’s generous benefit of a 5th-night free when using points.

As with all things related to this hobby, I am not sure when will this rewarding perk be phased out, so take advantage of it now while it’s still being offered.

Good luck with your future vacation plans at the Conrad Maldives! Please feel free to reach out for any questions about this post.

EDITORIAL DISCLOSURE – Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. The content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.”