Sometimes I want luxury, and sometimes I want quantity.
Last week I talked about the Three Best Credit Cards for Free Nights in Luxury Hotels.
But what about going to the other end of the award chart? A lot of times when I am traveling I just need a pillow and a roof, since I plan to be out exploring the city all day. What credit card sign up would net me the most free hotel nights? (20 in all!)
Posted in Club Carlson, Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott, Priority Club, SPG
Tagged Club Carlson, Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott, Priority Club, Starwood
For me, first class flights would be out of reach without miles. I can’t spend $10,000 for a first class flight on an airline like Emirates.
Luckily I don’t need to because I have plenty of miles, and I could fly economy class in a pinch.
Fancy hotels are similar. I can’t pay $1,000 a night for a hotel like the Park Hyatt Sydney.
And luckily I don’t ever need to stay in fancy hotels. When I travel, all I need is a roof and a pillow. But for those special occasions when I want to indulge in absolute luxury, I can by opening a single credit card.
What are the three best credit cards for luxury hotel experiences?
According to this thread on FlyerTalk, Citi has announced that ThankYou Points earned from its own ThankYou Point credit cards can now be transferred to Hilton HHonors points.
There some huge pros to this announcement but also some really troubling concerns that need further clarification. Read on for my analysis.
What is the transfer ratio of ThankYouPoints to Hilton HHonors points?
According to the Hilton website, ThankYou Points (TYP) can be transferred to Hilton HHonors at a ratio of 1:1.5. The minimum number of TYP that can be transferred is 1,000. They also must be transferred in increments of 1,000.
Is this transfer ratio better or worse than other possible HHonors transfer partners?
The 1:1.5 ratio falls in line with the American Express Membership Rewards transfer ratio. Take note that until January 31, American Express is actually offering a better 1:2 transfer ratio. For more details on that, check out my post Hilton HHonors-33% Bonus on Membership Rewards Transfers.
Starwood Preferred Guest points transfer to HHonors at a 1:2.5 ratio, but it takes some legwork. In general, this is a really poor way to spend your SPG points. However, if you are desperate for HHonors points and close to topping off an aspirational award, it might make sense.
To pull this off, you will need to transfer your SPG points to either Virgin Atlantic or Hawaiian Airlines.
Starwood Points transfer to Virgin Atlantic or Hawaiian Airlines at a ratio of 1:1.25 when you transfer in increments of 20,000. For example, converting 20k SPG points will net you 25k Virgin Atlantic Flying Club miles. Virgin Atlantic miles then transfer to HHonors at a ratio of 1:2. For a step by step, check out Scott’s post Transferring Virgin Atlantic Miles to Hilton HHonors Points and Transferring Hawaiian Miles to Hilton.
In a basic example, transfer 20k SPG points to Virgin Atlantic to net 25k Flying Club miles. 25k Flying Club miles then convert to 50k HHonors points.
If the ratio isn’t that great, why is this announcement a big deal?
I’m excited about the news from Citi merely on the hope they add more transfer partners. Having just one transfer partner isn’t very exciting. It won’t tempt me to apply for the cards outright. However, if Citi can add more potential partners, especially airlines, then the value of a ThankYou Point could be mentioned in the same breath as American Express Membership Rewards and Chase Ultimate Rewards Points, two flexible point programs with many great airline and hotel transfer options.
As you know, we have a great Award Booking Service here at MileValue and love tackling all types of difficult and complex awards. When clients contact us, having flexible points like Chase or American Express gives us options. It opens up routes that wouldn’t be otherwise possible. It makes bookings much easier.
If Citi becomes the third flexible bank point currency, then more potential award redemptions are accessible to frequent flyers.
Wasn’t Citi rumored to have added some airline transfer partners last year?
Actually, yes. In March of 2012, FlyerTalk was abuzz about Citi potentially adding British Airways and Singapore Air. The supposed partnership was to take place in April but never materialized. The addition of Hilton to Citi’s portfolio hopefully rekindles some of those rumors. To read about that big letdown, check out the FlyerTalk thread here.
Do all Citi cards that earn ThankYou Points qualify for transfers?
No. According to Citi’s own terms and conditions listed below, you must have a Citi Premier or Prestige card to be eligible for transfers. Other cards that earn TYP such as the Preferred, Forward, and Standard cards, do not qualify.
Anything else worry you about the terms and conditions?
Yes! There is some real concern about T&C #3 on the list above. It appears that TYP earned through sign up bonuses are not eligible for transfers to Hilton. I can’t overstate how much of a dealbreaker this is. But I also am not sure that it’s true.
The vast majority of my Membership Rewards balance was earned through the sign up bonus. I’m sure Scott can say the same about his Ink Plus and Ink Bold cards. We simply don’t generate enough spend to accumulate the points for premium cabin redemptions. Sign up bonuses are the clear-cut best method in quickly attaining premium cabin awards.
According to this thread on FlyerTalk, the Citi Premier card was offering a 50,000 TYP sign up bonus as recently as last year. The card now as a standard 25k sign up bonus.
The possible sign up bonus exclusion from Citi TYP transfers is a massive negative for the program. The data points are still pretty scarce on FlyerTalk, so feel free to comment if the TYP earned through your sign up bonuses are eligible for transfer to Hilton.
If I can’t transfer ThankYou Points, what are they good for?
TYP can be redeemed for a variety of gift cards at a rate of $0.01/point. Citi Premier and Prestige cardholders can also redeem them for airfare at a rate of $0.0133/point. Using TYP for airline tickets gives you much more value and allows you to earn redeemable and elite qualifying miles on the trips. Citi is essentially purchasing the ticket for you.
Recap
Citi has added Hilton HHonors as a transfer partner to a select few of its ThankYou Point earning cards. The transfer ratio is not a good deal, in my opinion.
The potential for Citi to add additional transfer partners is extremely exciting. They were rumored to have an agreement with British Airways and Singapore Air, but that never materialized last year. If they were to add more hotel and airline partners, Citi could give American Express and Chase a run for their money when it comes to “Best Flexible Bank Point.”
I’m still very concerned about the language in the terms and conditions excluding sign up bonus points from transfers. If that turns out to be true, the strategic value of TYP diminishes greatly.
According to this thread on FlyerTalk, Hilton is offering up to 50% off the Best Available Rate at participating hotels and resorts in the Hilton portfolio. The maximum potential discount at each brand is listed below:
Save 50% at these participating hotels and resorts:
-Waldorf Astoria, Conrad, Hilton, DoubleTree by Hilton, Embassy Suites, and Hilton Grand Vacations
Save 30% at these participating hotels and resorts:
- Hilton Garden Inn, Hampton, Homewood Suites, and Home2 Suites
The offer page can be found here. The promotional details are listed below:
When do I have to book by?
Stays must be booked by January 7th. You must also stay between December 14th and January 7th to be eligible for this “Friends & Family” discount rate.
Will I be asked who I know at Hilton when I check in using this rate? After all, the landing page says “Exclusive Friends & Family Sale”.
No, despite the misleading name, this is not a corporate rate or something that only Hilton employees can take advantage of. The promotional name simply implies that rates are deeply discounted off the Best Available Rate. They want you to feel like you are getting a great deal when booking.
A lot of times these bargain rates are can’t be cancelled and are nonrefundable. Is that the case with this Friends & Family rate?
Surprisingly no. I have a few upcoming hotel stays in Baltimore and Atlanta for Christmas, so I wanted to check out the flexibility of this rate. I can’t stand fully prepaid rates. Plans (and hotel rates, for that matter) can change at a moment’s notice, so I hate locking myself into a price only to see it drop later. It warmed my heart to see the cancellation details below when I clicked on the Friends & Family rate:
Any blackout dates I need to be aware of?
Yes. The terms and conditions note that this Friends & Family rate isn’t available on December 31st. Hilton has excluded New Year’s Eve from the promotion.
Does this rate earn points and elite credit?
There is nowhere in the terms and conditions that states otherwise. The Friends & Family rate appears to earn HHonors points and elite status credit as normal.
Will you be taking advantage of this rate?
I actually will. As I mentioned above, I have a few stays in Atlanta and Baltimore that I need to book quickly for later in the month. This Hilton promotion came around at the perfect time. Researching some December weekend dates in Atlanta got me these nice results:
To make sure the $49 rate at the Hilton Atlanta represented actual savings off the Best Available Rate, I clicked Book a room and then checked the boxes on the left side of the screen to display the Best Available rate, the Advance Purchase rate, and the Friends & Family rate. I was pleased with the results:
That’s a cool $50 savings off the Best Available rate and $30 off the Advance Purchase rate.
I see the Any Weekend Anywhere rate is also $79. Did you write about this rate before?
I actually did in this post, Hilton HHonors Promotion: Double Stay Credit. The Any Weekend Anywhere rate could be useful for some as it rewards double stay credit for each stay of two nights or more. If you are struggling to requalify for Hilton Gold or Diamond status, the double stay perk might put you over the top.
Unfortunately, my stays in Atlanta and Baltimore are one night stays. As mentioned above, I really despise prepaid rates in case plans change suddenly. The Friends & Family rate is cheaper than the Any Weekend Anywhere price anyways. By my count, that’s three big strikes! I will be booking the Friends & Family rate without hesitation.
Atlanta and Baltimore…that’s pretty boring. Are there any other places that stand out to you?
I did some checking and found great rates at the Conrad Miami for upcoming weekend stays. The best part of the Friends & Family rate is that it applies to upgraded rooms. A suite at the Conrad was actually pretty reasonable:
I also tripped over some good prices in San Francisco close to New Year’s.
Sadly, cursory checks of Honolulu and New York yielded less encouraging results. I couldn’t find any availability in Honolulu and New York appeared to be fully booked on the weekends. I did find a pretty good weekday price in Manhattan (at the Hilton New York), though:
I don’t have any new stays planned, but some of my previously booked hotel nights would be a lot cheaper with this Hilton rate. Can I cancel and rebook?
If you booked a flexible reservation with Hilton (or any other hotel chain) then go ahead and cancel and rebook with the Friends & Family rate if it saves you money. Just remember to verify that you won’t be penalized for cancelling your old reservation!
Recap
I’m not one to get too excited about hotel promotions, but this Hilton rate has usable value. There are concrete examples showing 50% discounts on the Best Available rate. This newly announced Friends & Family rate is also fully cancellable (provided you give the hotel enough notice.) Stays booked under this rate also appear to earn normal points and elite credit. There is a lot to like here.
Check your previously booked rooms and see if the Friends & Family rate can save you money. If you were looking for a last minute December vacation, this promo could be a great incentive.
Hilton HHonors-33% Bonus on Membership Rewards Transfers
Per this thread on FlyerTalk, Hilton is offering a 33% bonus when transferring Membership Rewards into Hilton HHonors points. This offer is good for transfers through January 31st. Transfers must be made in increments of 1,000 Membership Rewards points. 1,000 Membership Rewards will convert to 2,000 HHonors points with this promotion.
The standard transfer ratio for Membership Rewards into HHonors points is 1:1.5.
Is this a good deal?
Absolutely not! Though our hotel valuations are still being discussed, the Mile Value Leaderboard values Membership Rewards at 1.79 cents. Even being extremely generous to Hilton, valuing HHonors points at 0.8 cents means this is still a poor play and loss of value.
Membership Rewards should be saved for transfers to frequent flyer programs such as British Airways Avios and Delta Skymiles. For some great redemptions using both airline programs, see Scott’s posts below:
How Much are Avios Worth? The Value of British Airways Avios
Delta Still Not Charging Surcharges on Virgin Australia Awards
If Avios are such a great transfer partner, is American Express running any transfer specials with them?
As a matter of fact, they are. Scott wrote up a quick summary of the Avios 30% transfer bonus through January 14th. For details, see Scott’s post, Avios 30% Transfer Bonus from Membership Rewards.
I really need HHonors points badly and have a stash of Membership Rewards. Is there any way to get an even better transfer ratio than 1:2?
Through December 29th, there is! Virgin America is currently offering a 35% transfer bonus for Membership Rewards. As I wrote in the AMEX/Virgin Atlantic Transfer Bonus article, you can essentially earn 2.7 HHonors points by transferring your AMEX points to Virgin Atlantic. That is ratio is still not incentive enough for a speculative transfer, but it’s certainly a better option than the direct AMEX into HHonors route. A hypothetical example is below:
15,000 Membership Rewards –> 30,000 HHonors points (with 33% bonus) OR
15,000 Membership Rewards–>20,250 Virgin Atlantic miles (with 35% bonus)
20,000 Virgin Atlantic miles–>40,000 HHonors points
Hilton Increases Qualifying Requirements for Gold/Diamond Elite Status
According to this thread on FlyerTalk, Hilton has quietly tweaked their terms and conditions to reflect new requirements to earn both Gold and Diamond elite status in the Hilton HHonors frequent guest program.
Gold elite status used to take 16 stays, 36 nights, or 60,000 base points earned in a calendar year to earn.
Diamond elite status used to take 28 stays, 60 nights, or 100,000 base points.
Per Hilton’s site, the new earning requirements are below:
I have absolutely no problem with the increases. Hotel chains will often do this in an attempt to “thin the herd,” so to speak, and cut down on the number of elite members they have. Hilton Gold and Diamond elites, in particular, receive a generous number of benefits in relation to other chains. Hilton’s mid-tier Gold members receive continental breakfast at Conrad, Hilton, and DoubleTree properties. A sampling of Hilton Gold status perks can be found below:
Starwood’s top-tier Platinum elites receive this breakfast benefit. Marriot’s top- tier Platinum elites only receive breakfast when there is no club lounge (and weekends are excluded). Priority Club’s own top-tier Platinums don’t receive breakfast at all!
These changes shouldn’t keep any of us from elite status with Hilton, which is quite easy to acquire. Both American Express and Citi offer credit cards with instant Gold status. The American Express Hilton HHonors Surpass card grants Gold status for the first year of card membership. To requalify, you need to spend $20,000 each subsequent year on the card. The American Express comes with a $75 annual fee.
The Citi Hilton HHonors Reserve Visa comes with Gold status for the life of the card without any future requalification via spend. The Citi card comes with a $95 annual fee. Both the Citi and American Express cards simply offer a far less painful way to quickly boost up to Gold status.
My real issue with this announcement, as echoed by other FlyerTalkers, is this information dropping with no notice for 2013. These last minute (or no notice) changes set a really dangerous precedent in the loyalty community. Mistrust is not a feeling that should resonate between traveler and frequent flyer/guest program.
Cornell University Study Links Hotel Reviews to Room Rates
According to this blog post on FlyerTalk, a new study by the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration links favorable hotel reviews to higher rates at those properties. Granted, this is a very common sense approach to room rates in general: the better the property, the more favorable review, the greater the demand, the higher the room rate.
However, as many of you know, sites like TripAdvisor or even Hotels.com are filled with questionable reviews from unknown sources. It would be quite easy for a hotel chain to paper its own properties with smashing reviews while panning its competitors.
I bring up this blog post because MileValue will soon begin releasing hotel point valuations and the methodology behind our numbers. Room rates are tied to redemptive value, but only if you are otherwise willing to pay the full price without points. For example, if you redeem 10,000 Starpoints for a $600/night room, you only receive 6.0 cents per point in value if you would have otherwise paid that sky-high room rate. Depending on the property, very few people I know would do so. Room rates aren’t necessarily tied to value, so tread lightly when crunching the numbers.
Recap
American Express is promoting a 33% bonus on Membership Rewards transfers to Hilton HHonors points. Making such a transfer, bonus or not, is really wasting the value of Membership Rewards especially when there is a method for an even more favorable transfer to HHonors points (via Virgin Atlantic) makes this promotion not worth your time.
Hilton also changed their elite qualification requirements for Gold and Diamond elites. The changes are relatively minor, but they come very late in the year, so many have booked travel for 2013. The adjustments weren’t announced publicly either. Poor form, Hilton. I’ll continue to maintain Hilton status through credit cards.
The FlyerTalk blog posted an interesting article from Cornell University regarding travel reviews and room rates. I’m passing it along simply to remind everyone that room rates are not always products of expected value, but a myriad of factors including location, reputation, and demand.
Posted in Forum Buzz, Hilton, Membership Rewards
Tagged Hilton, Membership Rewards, Virgin Atlantic
Virgin Atlantic-35% Bonus on Membership Rewards Transfers
According to the American Express Membership Rewards website here, Virgin Atlantic is offering a 35% bonus when transferring Membership Rewards into Virgin Atlantic Flying Club miles.
This offer is available through December 29th. Transfers must be made in increments of 1,000 Membership Rewards. The minimum transfer will yield 1,350 Flying Club miles.
Is this a good deal?
Unfortunately not. Virgin Atlantic features an incredible onboard product and great club lounges. However, they impose extremely hefty fuel surcharges on flights…so hefty that it isn’t even worth a redemption for most travelers.
Scott has actually written several articles about Virgin Atlantic’s frequent flyer program in the past. In his post, Redeem for Virgin Atlantic Upper Class without Surcharges, he detailed how you could avoid those sky high surcharges by using Hawaiian Airlines miles to book Virgin Atlantic awards instead of Virgin’s own miles! There are several ways to amass Hawaiian miles quickly, including transferring Membership Rewards. In many cases it made sense to transfer to Hawaiian instead of Virgin to save hundreds of dollars out of pocket.
Sadly, as Scott detailed in his recent post, Hawaiian’s Virgin Atlantic Chart Devalued, the substantial increase in the amount of Hawaiian miles required to book Virgin awards really turns this into a poor use of Hawaiian miles.
So I should avoid Membership Rewards transfers to Virgin altogether?
Not necessarily! Virgin Atlantic miles are still valuable. Virgin miles can be transferred to Hilton HHonors points at a ratio of 1:2. That means 1 AMEX point becomes 2.7 HHonors points during this Virgin Atlantic transfer bonus. Membership Rewards actually transfer directly to HHonors at a much worse 1:1.5 ratio.
We’ll be rolling out our hotel point valuations soon, but provisionally let’s value one Hilton point at 0.4 to 0.6 cents. At 0.4 cents, these transfers would value one Membership Rewards at 1.08 cents. That’s a pretty awful because Membership Rewards are worth much more than that.
At 0.6 cents, the the implied valuation of one Membership Reward is 1.67 cents, still too low, but getting reasonable if you are topping off for a specific AXON or GLON redemption.
For further reading, check out Scott’s post Transferring Virgin Atlantic Miles to HHonors Points. You can also read more about these transfers on Virgin Atlantic’s website here.
Keep in mind the minimum transfer is 10,000 Virgin Atlantic miles and they must be converted to HHonors in increments of 5K. If you are in desperate need of HHonors points, you will yield far more points by using Virgin Atlantic as the middle man in this transaction. Move your Membership Rewards points to Virgin Atlantic and then convert them to HHonors. Check out the math on a sample transfer below:
15,000 Membership Rewards –> 22,500 HHonors points OR
15,000 Membership Rewards–>20,250 Virgin Atlantic miles (with 35% bonus)
20,000 Virgin Atlantic miles–>40,000 HHonors points
By routing through Virgin Atlantic you net 17,500 more HHonors points! That’s a nifty 77% bonus!
How long does it take for Virgin Atlantic Miles to convert to HHonors points?
Virgin’s website states that transfers can take up to 30 days, but reports on FlyerTalk vary from a week to two weeks. If you have a specific hotel redemption in mind, be warned that this is not instantaneous!
I have tons of Membership Rewards points, where should I transfer them?
Scott actually tackled this question in a previous post, What to Do with an American Express Annual Fee Coming Up and Unused Membership Rewards. Membership Rewards are inherently valuable due to their flexibility. If you have a specific award redemption in mind, the ability to transfer to airlines such as Delta, Singapore, British Airways, or even Virgin Atlantic makes them much more useful than just holding, for example, only Delta Skymiles.
Your best option is to keep your Membership Rewards, but if you have to transfer due to an upcoming annual fee, British Airways Avios have some good sweet spot redemptions, especially on normally expensive short haul trips. For more reading, make sure to check out Scott’s posts, How Much Are Avios Worth? The Value of British Airways Avios as well his recent entry Avios Awards within South Africa.
Referencing the Mile Value Leaderboard, we value Membership Rewards at 1.79 cents. Avios are a slight step down at 1.70 cents, which is the option value lost when you transfer a flexible point to a specific program.
United Airlines to Raise Club Membership Fee By $25
According to this thread on FlyerTalk and United’s own website, United will be raising the price of all membership rates by $25, effective January 1st. Three year membership terms will also be discontinued. The new rates beginning next year are below.
As I’ve stated before, lounge access can be a huge benefit when traveling, especially in bad weather or when your flight experiencing mechanical delays or cancellations.
The fact that United is raising prices is a bit surprising. As I detailed in a previous post, Elite Status Offers for Delta/US Club Memberships, purchasing a US Airways Club membership actually allows you access to all United clubs (and vice versa). US Airways’ standard one year membership fee is $450, $25 cheaper than United’s new pricing chart. If you are looking for access to United lounges, buying a club membership with US Airways seems like an easy decision.
Recap
Virgin Atlantic is offering a 35% bonus on all Membership Rewards transfers. While this may seem like a great deal, Virgin has run transfer promotions in the past. 35% isn’t even the most generous bonus they have offered in the past, as they just wrapped up a 40% bonus in September.
Still, if you need to top off an account or potentially boost your HHonors balance, this might make sense. We aren’t advocating you transfer speculatively, though. Membership Rewards are valuable due to their flexibility–they transfer to a variety of carriers. Retaining that flexibility is important if you don’t have a specific redemption in mind at this time.
United is raising the price of their Club memberships by $25. The standard price for a one year lounge membership is $450 with the other three legacy carriers, so it will be interesting to see if they follow suit and nudge their prices upward. US Airways club membership remains $25 less expensive and includes access to United lounges as well. If you are in the market for a United Club membership, save the $25 and join up with US Airways.
Posted in American Express, Hilton, United, US Airways, Virgin Atlantic
Tagged Hilton, Membership Rewards, Virgin Atlantic
According to this blog post and this thread on FlyerTalk, Hilton has just announced their “Any Weekend, Anywhere Sale” where you receive between 15-40% off the best available room rate for weekend stays booked between now and January 31, 2013. Hotels in the Asia-Pacific region have an extended booking deadline of February 14, 2013.
Stays must be completed by December 31, 2013. Eligible weekend stays will also earn double stay credit towards Hilton elite status. With this promotion, you will be able to earn Hilton Silver status with only two weekend stays (a total of four weekend nights). You can grab Hilton Gold status with eight weekend stays (sixteen total weekend nights). Hilton elite status details can be found here.
This promotion is actually a slight tweak over last year’s “Any Weekend, Anywhere Sale” where instead of earning double elite credit, you received 1,000 Hilton HHonors points per stay.
Details of the promotion can be found here and here. Terms and conditions, along with a helpful calendar that outlines eligible weekends throughout the various regions, can be found here.
How do I book this deal?
The best way is to visit Hilton.com or HHonors.com. Plug in your destination city and the weekend that you want to book. Then click on Special Rate Code and enter “PGAWB2.” You should then see all available hotels. Click on the specific hotel to see if they are participating in the weekend promotion.
Which hotels are participating?
A list of hotels participating can be found here and is searchable by continent and region. Note that North American hotels aren’t able to be readily displayed. Hilton’s website can be buggy. I hope this is resolved quickly.
Is this a good deal?
On the surface, this looks like a very intriguing promotion. Weekends are defined as Thursday-Sunday, so you have a bit of booking flexibility in what constitutes a weekend stay.
You can also reach elite status twice as fast with this deal. I have greatly enjoyed my Hilton Gold status that came when I signed up for the American Express HHonors Surpass card. During stays at Hilton properties, I have received free internet, complimentary continental breakfast, and the occasional room upgrade. The benefits are nothing earth shattering, but it’s nice to be treated as more than just a regular walk-up guest.
However, I have to advise staying away from this promotion unless you have specific and firm plans for a future weekend stay (e.g. a destination wedding). The terms and conditions state that “full non-refundable prepayment is required at the time of booking” to take part in this promotion.
The best part about booking a hotel room in advance is the flexibility to cancel if plans change or prices in the area fall. When you lock in to a non-refundable rate, you are at the mercy of the hotel and have little recourse if you need to cancel. At MileValue, we are definitely not fans of fully prepaid hotel rates. Receiving 15% off a room rate is not enough of an incentive for me to book a prepaid rate.
Another reason to stay away is that a seven-day advance purchase is necessary. That’s not a deal breaker, but it further inhibits flexibility in finding the absolute best hotel rate.
Would you advise taking part in this promotion to earn elite status twice as fast?
Absolutely not! It’s just too easy to attain Hilton status through other means besides hotel stays. You should only book hotel stays speculatively if you are very close (within 2-4 stays) to the next elite tier. As I mentioned above, the American Express Hilton HHonors Surpass card gives Hilton Gold status for the first year of card membership and comes with a $75 annual fee. The Citi Hilton HHonors Reserve Visa comes with Hilton Gold status for the life of the card. It carries a $95 annual fee. Both cards award top-tier Diamond status for spending $40,000 on the card in a calendar year.
Though not currently available, Hilton in the past has awarded Gold elite status for simply registering your Visa Signature card and staying three times at Hilton properties. The old promotion page can be found here. Examples of Visa Signature cards include the Chase British Airways Visa and the Citi Platinum AAdvantage Visa. Both cards are actually written up in our Best Credit Card Offers by Absolute Value page.
Is this promotion stackable with any other offers?
Yes. Hilton is also running another fourth quarter promotion where you earn up to 15,000 Virgin Atlantic miles through qualifying stays through December 31st. Registration is required and can be done here. Full terms and conditions are directly below the registration page.
Why are Virgin Atlantic miles so useful? They actually transfer to HHonors points at a ratio of 1:2. The minimum transfer is 10,000 Virgin Atlantic miles and they must be done in increments of 5K. For the complete breakdown on how to do this, check out Scott’s post, Transferring Virgin Atlantic Miles to HHonors Points.
If you have a lot of upcoming Hilton stays, you can boost your HHonors balance quickly with the Virgin Atlantic promotion.
Recap
At first glance, Hilton appears very generous in offering double stay credit during 2013 weekends. However, the discount rates associated with this promotion must be prepaid, a huge negative when dealing with hotel bookings.
If you have an upcoming weekend at a Hilton property, it’s certainly in your best interest to check the promo pricing, but you should also research AAA rates and other rates that allow you to cancel and rebook if prices fall. Fully prepaid rates greatly inhibit your flexibility if travel plans change, so be careful!
Also, elite status is readily available through credit cards and the occasional Visa promotion. If your end goal is to become a Hilton Silver, Gold, or even Diamond member, there are far less expensive and time consuming ways to achieve it than speculatively booking rooms through this promotion.
Orphaned points can be the bane of your miles collecting, or they can be a way to get an incredible multiple on future spending. The basic reasoning is that orphaned miles are worthless, but they might be close to something worthwhile.
Here’s an example. I currently have 7,640 Virgin Atlantic miles. Those miles might go orphaned. But I still have my Virgin Atlantic credit card for the next few months that earns me one mile per dollar. If I spend $2,360 on it, I’ll have 10,000 miles, which is the minimum amount I can transfer to Hilton points, as I explained in Transferring Virgin Atlantic Miles to Hilton HHonors Points.
Virgin Atlantic miles transfer at a 1:2 ratio to Hilton points, so I would get 20k Hilton points for my 10k miles. That means that $2,360 would earn me 20k Hilton points. That’s more than 8 Hilton points per dollar!
Will I do this?
It’s not at the top of my list. I value Hilton points at about 0.4 cents each, so that would be 3.2 cents worth of points per dollar. That’s better than non-bonused spend generally.
But I would clear sign up bonuses first, since those often rebate 15% or more of the value of the spending.
I would hit category bonuses before going after my 8x Hilton points. I would rather have 2 Ultimate Rewards for using my Sapphire Preferred for travel or dining that 8 Hilton points for the same purchases. And this is far from the most lucrative category bonus.
How can you identity good opportunities like this?
Take a look at your mileage balances. Look for programs where you rarely earn or use the miles and points. If the balance is below a useful balance, identify the lowest useful balance you could attain. Figure out the value of attaining that balance, and what you’d have to spend to get there.
Some useful small balances that your orphan balances might be near:
Hawaiian Miles- 5,000 can be transferred to 10k Hilton points, 7,500 can get a oneway interisland award
Virgin Atlantic- 10,000 can be transferred to 20k Hilton points
Ultimate Rewards- 1,000 can be transferred to tons of airline and hotel programs, notably United, Hyatt, or Southwest
Membership Rewards- 1,000 can be transferred to tons of airline and hotel programs, notably Avios and Delta
Priority Club- 5,000 can book a PointBreaks hotel and set you up to buy more points for 0.7 cents each
Southwest- Very few points are needed for very cheap oneway awards. Here’s one from Vegas to Los Angeles for 3,060 points
United- Oneway interisland awards on Hawaiian Airlines go for 5,000 miles
If you’re very close to any of these thresholds, putting a little extra spending on a credit card or finding a mini-points promo can be a way to get an incredible multiple on a little spend. It might be a much better deal than just orphaning the miles and points.
Recap
Orphaned points are worthless. If you’re close to a threshold where the points have some value, you may be able to get an incredible number of points for a little bit of spend.
I gave a personal example, where I could get 8x Hilton points on $2,360 of spending on my Virgin Atlantic credit card. I also listed some low-points price redemptions for some programs where you might have some miles that would otherwise be orphaned.
Posted in Hawaiian Airlines, Hilton, United, Virgin Atlantic
Tagged Hawaiian, Hilton, United, Virgin Atlantic
Tropicana Las Vegas Rebranded as a DoubleTree hotel
According to this thread on FlyerTalk and this article in USA Today, the Tropicana Las Vegas is being rebranded as a DoubleTree hotel. This change finally allows Hilton HHonors members the ability to earn and redeem points while staying on the Las Vegas Strip. Previously, the only Hilton options were the Hilton Grand Vacation Suites and the Grand Vacation Suites at the Flamingo. Both of these properties are slightly off the Strip.
Hilton also has a hotel, the Elara, adjacent to the Miracle Mile and Planet Hollywood that allows guests to earn points but not to redeem them for award nights.
The Tropicana Hotel is scheduled to open as a Hilton property sometime in December and is not currently accepting reservations through Hilton’s website. I attempted to make a dummy booking to check paid and award rates but was not allowed.
Currently, neither Starwood nor Hyatt has on-Strip properties. Starwood lost Planet Hollywood in early 2010. Marriott allows redemptions at the Cosmopolitan resort for 35,000 points a night.
I mention rival chains because the DoubleTree will be a rare Vegas Strip hotel where elite status will be recognized. HHonors members should receive bonus points, complimentary internet, free breakfast, and space available upgrades depending on their status level. Gold members should receive the benefits below.
Diamond members will receive even more benefits, including breakfast and points, though it remains to be seen if this hotel will have a dedicated Executive floor.
According to the official hotel website, the DoubleTree will be assigned as a category 5 hotel, so it will take 35,000 HHonors points to redeem for one night.
The Hilton award chart is notoriously top heavy, meaning most hotels fall in the more expensive categories (4-7). There are very few properties in the lower tiers compared to the higher categories.
With rates at the Tropicana most likely falling in $70-$150 range, it will probably be best to book rooms with cash. Redeeming points even at $150 yields only 0.41 cents per point in value. I arrived at this number by dividing $150 by 36,500 (35,000 it costs for an award night plus the 1,500 base points that I forewent by not booking with cash).
Hilton has some great luxury properties, including the Hilton Bora Bora Nui resort and Conrad Koh Samui in Thailand for 50,000 points a night. Standard rooms at these properties can be over $700. Though I would never pay that much for a room, I would value rooms at these hotels at around $275/night. Using this valuation, I would be redeeming points at 0.55 cents.
When you also take into account how many great hotel deals there are in Las Vegas–mid-Strip, mid-week at Imperial Palace is usually $40–along with the aspirational properties in Hilton’s portfolio, it will probably be better to save your points for another vacation.
As loyal readers know, I am not usually big on hotel rewards programs and can usually get a better deal using Priceline. For more details on how I go about that, check out my post on the subject, Saving Hundreds on Hotels with Priceline.
Dates Announced for 2013 Frequent Traveler University
According to this thread on MilePoint, dates for the 2013 Frequent Traveler University have been set. The event will take place at the Hilton McLean Tysons Corner from April 26-28.
Frequent Traveler University (or FTU) is a great place to meet other bloggers and mingle with like-minded points and miles enthusiasts. There will be several talks and breakout sessions hosted by prominent bloggers on topics ranging from hotel elite status to mileage running tips.
I had a blast at the Chicago Seminars earlier this month and am very excited to be speaking at the Los Angeles FTU (November 30-December 2) about Three Vacations, Two Awards–free oneways on awards.
Though the Los Angeles event is sold out, you should definitely mark your calendars for the 2013 FTU in Virginia. As mentioned by Gary Leff, organizer and View from the Wing blogger, these events are great f0r picking up tips and tricks that aren’t publicized on the message boards or blogs. They also provide networking opportunities with fellow travelers and bloggers.
Recap
The Las Vegas Strip is seriously lacking properties from the major hotel chains. With Hilton’s addition of the Tropicana, travelers can now earn and redeem Hilton HHonors points while visiting Las Vegas. The ability to receive recognition as a Hilton elite member via room upgrades, late check out, and free internet only sweetens the deal.
Dates are set for the 2013 Frequent Traveler University from April 26-28 in Tysons Corner, Virginia. Though sign-up details haven’t been announced, be sure to mark your calendars now and check back here for more information. Tickets are expected to sell quickly. This is one points-and-miles meet up that you don’t want to miss!
Posted in Forum Buzz, Hilton, Meet Up
Tagged Frequent Traveler Univeristy, Hilton, Meet Up
Update: Oops, the normal Hilton card gives only Silver status. Thanks for the correction.
Here are some of the day’s hot topics being discussed on the message boards at FlyerTalk and milepoint.
50,000-60,000 HHonors Point Sign up Bonuses with American Express HHonors cards
A poster in this FlyerTalk thread has come across big-number sign up bonuses for the two different American Express Hilton credit cards. The standard Hilton American Express comes with no annual fee and a 50,000 point bonus after spending $750 in the first three months of card membership.
This is a low minimum spend given current trends, and the card also comes with complimentary Hilton Silver status for one year. Having elite status with Hilton allows access to the special GLON awards, which are discounted award bookings for all Hilton elites on stays of four nights or longer.
This card also gives access to AXON awards, which are available only to those with a Hilton co-branded American Express.
AXON awards are discounted stays of exactly four nights or multiples of four nights on category 5, 6, and 7 hotels. They must be booked by calling 800-920-5649. I made sense of this alphabet soup of discounted Hilton awards in my Anatomy of an Award post about my upcoming Hilton stay in Sydney. See Anatomy of an Award: Hilton AXON Award for Four Nights at the Sydney Hilton.
The other, very similar, AMEX Hilton card is the American Express Hilton HHonors Surpass card. It has 40,000 point bonus after first purchase and 20,000 additional points after spending $3,000 in the first three months of card membership.
With a $75 annual fee (not waived first year), the Surpass card also comes with Hilton Gold status for the first year and access to all Priority Pass lounges for $27/visit. The list of Priority Pass lounges can be found here, and also includes access to Alaska Airlines board rooms.
Lounge access is great, but paying $27/visit for the privilege makes this benefit nothing more than a throw in. You can get free lounge access with the American Express Platinum Card or by booking an international premium class award.
Both cards feature spending bonuses in several categories. The Surpass card gives 9X points for every dollar spent at Hilton family hotels, making it a great card for travelers with heavy Hilton spend. The Surpass also offers 6X points when used on gas, groceries, and cable, internet, wireless, and satellite TV purchases.
The standard Hilton card gives 6X points for spending at Hilton hotels and the same 6X bonus on gas, groceries, and internet, phone, and wireless providers. All other eligible spending on both cards earns 3 HHonors points per dollar.
Despite the big point bonuses, the best way to get Hilton points is…neither of these cards.
Both Hawaiian Miles and Virgin Atlantic miles transfer at a 1 mile to 2 Hilton points ratio, and I’ve described both processes in other posts. See Transferring Virgin Atlantic Miles to Hilton Points and Transferring Hawaiian Miles to Hilton points.
Though both Hilton cards offer access to the potentially useful AXON and GLON awards, don’t be fooled by the large sign up bonuses! I estimate the value of a HHonor point at 0.4 cents. HHonors points are easy to acquire, and rooms at premium Hilton branded properties require a large amount of points per night–50k for Category 7.
Take a look at my post on the two ways to calculate and compare credit card sign up bonuses. By using my 0.4 cents, valuation, I calculate the absolute value of the standard Hilton card and Surpass card at $200 and $165, respectively.
A brief glance at my Best Current Credit Card Offers reveals that these two Hilton cards don’t even come close to cracking the list. The sub-$400 value pales in comparison to the other cards, including the Bank of Hawaii card which offers 35,000 Hawaiian miles–miles that can be converted into 70,000 HHonors points!
I would certainly favor the Bank of America cards over either Hilton card, especially if you are in need of HHonors points quickly. As always, don’t be fooled by big sign up bonuses until you crunch the numbers to see if they stack up with other cards on the market.
If you’re really in the market for Hilton points, it is worth noting that these application links will expire on October 31st.
Air Canada announces changes to its elite program, rebranding
There has been a lot of discussion on the Air Canada forum about recent changes to their elite program.
Rebranded as Air Canada Altitude, the program will introduce two new elite tiers as well as a host of other changes. One of the adjustments getting the most buzz is the loss of Maple Leaf lounge access for 35K flyers located in international zones (e.g. London Heathrow and Paris).
The number of eUpgrade credits needed will also decrease on flights under 500 miles. The post notes that the number of eUpgrade credits needed for flights of 11,000 miles or more will increase, though the exact number has not yet been specified.
All changes will begin with the 2013 benefit year beginning on March 1, 2013. More details about the upcoming changes can be found at Air Canada’s Altitude website here.
Southwest Flight Attendants Approve Over Water Flights, Hawaii Next?
Speculation about whether Southwest will start flights to Hawaii is of special interest to me, since most of my family lives there, so I’ve been following with interest any buzz related to Southwest entering the market.
The downward pressure Southwest’s entry would put on fares, the ability to check a golf bag for free, and the possible ability to go to Hawaii for 19,200 points roundtrip all have me intrigued.
Via this Flyertalk thread, Southwest announced on Friday that their flight attendants have approved contract language permitting the Dallas-based carrier to launch over water flights.
AirTran, Southwest’s recent purchase, already serves some international destinations in the Caribbean. However, this decision is seen as paving the way for Southwest to begin routing to Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and other markets not currently served by either Southwest or AirTran.
I will definitely be keeping an eye on this story for personal and blogging reasons, and I’ll be ready to add Southwest to my list of the Cheapest Ways to Get to Hawaii should it announce service.
I’ve been seeing great fares to Hawaii all year–I jumped on a $360 fare from LAX last month for December–possibly because of increased competition from this year’s new entrant–Allegiant Air. Southwest’s entry could only help sun, sand, golf, plate lunch, and Pidgin lovers further.
Recap
Don’t get the Hilton cards unless you are desperate for Hilton points and already have the Hawaiian Airlines and Virgin Atlantic Cards. 50k points doesn’t equal 50k points doesn’t equal 50k points. HHonors points are among the least valuable currency around.
Aeroplan is rebranding. There are positive and negative changes, so whether it benefits you depends on your circumstances.
Southwest is inching closer and closer to Hawaii. That’s good news for everyone except the legacy carriers!
Posted in Air Canada, American Express, Forum Buzz, Hilton, Rapid Rewards
Tagged Aeroplan, Air Canada, American Express, Hawaii, Hilton, Southwest
I have earned millions of points, primarily though credit cards, to travel the world in first class for pennies. This blog will show you how to earn and redeem points to do the same!