The Hilton Honors loyalty program is unique from many other hotel loyalty programs because it allows you to combine points with family and friends — without paying a fee. As a Hilton Honors member, there are two ways to combine your points with others: By transferring Hilton points to another person or by creating a points pool.

Imagine you're traveling with a large group and want to combine points to book a trip together. Or maybe you're an engaged couple and you each have some Hilton points saved, but you’d like to combine your points to book an extravagant hotel room for your dream honeymoon. These are just a few instances when the Hilton points pooling benefit really shines.

Here’s how to pool or transfer Hilton points between accounts and the rules you need to be aware of.

But first: Earn Hilton points

Before you can transfer Hilton Honors points, you need to earn Hilton Honors points. There are a lot of ways to accumulate Hilton points including through hotel stays, sign-up bonuses, spending on Hilton-branded credit cards, and earning rewards through Hilton travel partners including Lyft.

Complimentary award nights range from 5,000 points up to 95,000 points per night for a standard room. So, combining points allows you to hit thresholds for complimentary hotel nights faster.

Here’s how to create your own Hilton Honors points collective:

Next: Pool Hilton points in one of two ways

1. Transfer Hilton points to another person

Hilton Honors members can transfer points to another member’s account at a 1:1 ratio, up to six times per calendar year. The process is quick. Sign into your Hilton Honors account, and click on “Member Home” or “Account” under your points summary. On the next page, click the “Points” tab at the top of the page and then “Transfer Points.” On the next page you will enter the number of points you want to transfer and fill in the recipient’s name, Hilton Honors number and email address.

Note: Safari sometimes blocks this window, so we recommend using a different browser like Google Chrome. Fill in the information, hit Transfer and you’re done. The points should transfer instantly but may take up to 24 hours to show up in the account.

2. Pool Hilton points with another person

Pooling points is a bit more involved than simply transferring them, but it's still not difficult.

How to pool Hilton points:

First, decide on one person in your squad to be a “pool leader,” an individual who will amass the points in his or her account. Pro-tip: assign a pool leader with the highest elite status, so when award nights are redeemed, the recipients can enjoy the status perks.

The pool leader should then email potential pool members through a link under Hilton Honors “Pool Points,” which you can find by logging into Hilton Honors and going through the “Points” tab. The leader can create a pool of anywhere from two to 11 people, including the leader.

Through the link, the leader sends emails inviting members to the pool. After members accept, the contributing members can transfer points through the pool points invitation email.

The pool leader can request points from each person in the pool, but understand that transfers are one-way to the leader: Creating a pool doesn’t constitute a joint account. So, if you're a member of the pool, only send points to a pool leader you trust.

Pooling is great in situations where larger groups of friends and families want to contribute points to a common trip, whether it’s a vacation together or a couple crowd funding for a honeymoon. For the former, it works out well when members do not have enough points individually to redeem for free nights but do when they combine points together.

Other Hilton points pooling rules

The rules for transferring and combining points are similar:

Points must be transferred in increments of 1,000, from a minimum of 1,000 points to a maximum of 500,000 points.

Between pooling and 1:1 transfers, a Hilton Honors member can receive a total of up to 2 million points per year but can send only up to 500,000 points per calendar year.

Honors Members can transfer points out of their account to another member’s account at a 1:1 ratio up to six times per calendar year and also transfer via points pooling up to six times per calendar year.

After points are transferred or pooled, they can be used to redeem award nights at properties within the greater Hilton portfolio, including Points & Money Rewards™ reservations.

Who can participate in combining points?

All active Hilton Honors members can pool, transfer or receive points, provided their account is open for at least 30 days and has at least one item of account activity posted. If the account is older than 90 days, Hilton Honors members can pool, transfer or receive points regardless of account activity. In all cases, accounts must have a minimum balance of 1,000 points to participate in points pooling.

To become a Hilton Honors member, you must be of majority age in your state of residence (18 years old in all states except Alabama and Nebraska, where the age is 19, and Mississippi, which is 21).

Final thoughts on Hilton Honors points pooling process

By following a few basic rules, Hilton Honors members can transfer points between accounts or pool points among several accounts without incurring any fees. This benefit allows members who don’t have enough points in their own respective accounts, to combine points and use that combined points balance to book award nights.