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Hilton’s HHonors Honours Honors program revamp is up and running. They’ve completed the transition to a pseudo-revenue based program. They eliminated award charts, but of course they had already varied pricing of expensive hotels now they’re doing it for all hotels and allowing prices to flex down as well as up.
I didn’t get too excised about this because while Hilton remains strong for in-hotel earn as a result of frequent promotions, they eliminated outsized value for aspirational hotels four years ago.
Hilton Bora Bora Nui
Hilton has now made it possible to utilize small amounts of points with points and cash redemptions starting at 5000 points, along with readying Amazon.com (i.e. low value) redemptions (they say this will ‘unlock’ 15 billion points).
In focusing on low point values, they so far ignore the gaping hole in the program which is elite recognition. Hilton’s top tier elites are not promised upgrades to suites if available, and aren’t guaranteed late check-out. Too many hotels (such as Walford=Astoria properties) are exempted from Diamond breakfast.
While Diamond lacks value compared to Hyatt Gloablist, Starwood Platinum, and even Marriott Platinum they’ve made it possible for long-term Diamonds to extend their status one time without requalifying, and that option begins today.
The Diamond Extension benefit — the ability for a Diamond with at least 3 years at the tier plus 250 lifetime nights or 500,000 base points — can be requested only by a current Diamond member, so ask for the once in a lifetime status extension before your status expires. You can submit your request online.
I think this should be more than once in a lifetime, and that other programs should copy, a family leave benefit, someone takes off from traveling twice with new children before getting back on the road again. Why would a loyalty program want to make the customer that’s proven their value and frequency a free agent starting from zero?
Hilton’s Mark Weinstein emphasized to me in late January that as with their lifetime Diamond benefit they “want[ed] to be sure to get it right,” roll it out and tweak it. In other words this is the least generous they’re going to be, and they might get more generous with it later once they see how members take advantage of it.
Now all Diamonds need is a reason — competitive benefits — to extend their status.
Hilton Bora Bora Nui
That’s why the best Hilton strategy is to get the Hilton Honors Reserve Card. You get gold status (almost as good as Diamond, and $40,000 spend in a year earns Diamond). That way you have a ‘backup chain’ with status with a huge global footprint and can focus on a smaller chain with stronger benefits.
Terms and conditions:
A Diamond Status Extension will be awarded to select Hilton Honors members, who are current Diamond members and have earned Diamond Status for at least 3 years (consecutive or non-consecutive) and who have completed stays totaling at least 250 paid and reward nights OR who are current Diamond members and have earned Diamond Status for at least 3 years (consecutive or non-consecutive) and who have earned at least 500,000 Base Points over life of membership, pursuant to the standard Hilton Honors Terms & Conditions.To be eligible, a Hilton Honors member must meet the stated criteria and currently be a Diamond Member. Points earned via bonuses, promotions and/or co-branded credit cards do not count towards meeting the Diamond Status Extension criteria. Qualifying Hilton Honors Members may enact this benefit once throughout the lifetime of their membership. The year during which a Hilton Honors member used a status match to achieve Diamond Status will not count as one of the three years of Diamond status required to meet the criteria. If a Member elects to use this offer, their Diamond status will extend for an additional year beyond when it would have otherwise expired. At the end of the extension time period, Hilton Honors members will need to complete the requirements to maintain Diamond status pursuant to the standard Hilton Honors Terms & Conditions. If Diamond requirements are not met, Hilton Honors members will be placed in the appropriate tier pursuant to the standard Hilton Honors Terms & Conditions. Once earned, standard Hilton Honors Terms & Conditions apply.
A Diamond Status Extension is granted at the discretion of Hilton Honors Worldwide, LLC and may be ended, or amended with or without notice or compensation, at Hilton Honors’ sole discretion
Where do they show you your lifetime points and nights? All I see now is Member since: Sep 2000
“In focusing on low point values, they so far ignore the gaping hole in the program which is elite recognition.”
That’s now bordering on ridiculous when evidence all around screams for that type of made up standards to stop once and for all. Maybe if Hilton had recognized their elites like HGP and SPG did they would now have a better, more vibrant, trend-setting, and, yes, more ALIVE program? LOL!
“…bordering on THE ridiculous…”
…with the least amount of guarantees and specified benefits and innovative partnerships and luxury properties and…
Friends Don’t Let Friends Go Past Hilton Gold
I don’t understand the negative comments about this offer.
I did not see a link to click in the article. I also did not see any link on Hilton’s site.
Therefore, I telephoned Hilton (800-552-0852) and reached a very efficient representative who had all my Hilton data available. All I had to do was confirm to the agent that I acknowledge the extension of my Diamond status is a once-in-a-lifetime offer. I confirmed my choice. The representative clicked “save” and told me that her screen now shows all my Hilton activity including the date I first enrolled as well as the number of stays and that my new Diamond expiration date is March 31, 2018.
That sounds pretty good to me.
“Too many hotels (such as Walford=Astoria properties) are exempted from Diamond breakfast.”
You mean Waldorf Astoria properties? Maybe Hilton thinks they are so nice, that just being there is a feast for the senses. 🙂
You can always tell when Hilton Honors has done something terrific or revolutionary like…a bankable top elite status! The self-anointed “Thought Leader in Travel” uses the occasion to rehash all the worn out cliches and debunked canards about Hilton Honors that are completely bogus and irrelevant simply to negate anything positive about Hilton’s accomplishment the post is supposed to be about. This post provides the entire canonical list.
— “I didn’t get to excised about this because while Hilton remains strong for in-hotel earn as a result of frequent promotions, they eliminated outsized value for aspirational hotels four years ago”:
Comment: That’s in reference to Hilton Honors’ now infamous 2013 thermonuclear “devaluation”, the size of which his own modeling did not support! 😉
— “In focusing on low point values, they so far ignore the gaping hole in the program which is elite recognition”:
Comment: That’s “the Hilton elite benefits are weak” meme, except that programs (HGP, SPG) with purportedly more compelling benefits are kaput! Does the “Thought Leader” believe in reverse Darwinism or Demise of the Strongest?!!
— “I think this should be more than once in a lifetime, and that other programs should copy…”
Comment: Got that? He disparages the benefit and then says it’s so good it’s got to be repeated and other programs should copy it. Can’t make this stuff up!
— “That’s why the best Hilton strategy is to get the Hilton Honors Reserve Card….That way you have a ‘backup chain’ with status with a huge global footprint”:
Comment: Gotta love the non sequitur! Diamonds have the ability to bank their status and the benefit is so good it should be repeated and copied, that’s why the best Hilton strategy is to settle for a lower status that’s does not have this benefit and is easy to get by applying for a credit card for which I conveniently happen to have a link right here!
Just in case your forgot, this post was supposed to be about a hotel loyalty’s first: a bankable top elite status… 😉
Good luck and ‘Gday!
BTW, despite nearly every W-A outside the US ignoring the “no breakfast rule” and the ‘Thought Leader’ having been told so repeatedly, the meme about not breakfast at W-A properties persists and, of course, it had to make the ‘canonical list’!
If you’re interested in boosting your Hilton Honors points, you’ve got a couple options currently. RWM posted about this a few weeks ago.
Referral for a no annual fee AMEX has 75000 bonus points right now: https://goo.gl/EqZWBj
Referral for the 75 Dollar annual fee AMEX is giving 100,000 Hilton Honors Points! : https://goo.gl/JB9tsZ
“…I didn’t get to excised about this…”
For fuck’s sake, Gary, nobody who’s a “thought leader” would get caught again and again and again posting your misspellings, grammar mistakes, or incorrect word usage. Almost every dang post, but surely every single day!
How long will it take until you fucking proofread your posts BEFORE YOU POST?!
Or are you just that fucking stupid?!
“They’ve completed the transition to a pseudo-revenue based program. ”
Not to belabor too much the points I made earlier, there is nothing “PSEUDO” about the new REVENUE-BASED HH program, although its points currency can be referred to as “pseudo hard currency” simply because it will never achieve the status of a “real” currency. For better or worse, the program is now FULLY revenue-based, complete with the elimination of award charts, not to avoid transparency, but because award charts are meaningless in or incompatible with a revenue-based system, as I just demonstrated here:
https://goo.gl/MXgZj9
The unlimited availability of cash+points awards is also a consequence of the program going FULLY revenue-based because this enables different proportions of cash and points to be selected continuously using a slider that maintains a close correspondence between room rates in cash and in points.
How about just getting the Hilton Aspire CC from AMEX? For $450 a year you get Diamond status.
Hilton Honors Complimentary Diamond Status
You will receive complimentary Hilton Honors Diamond status with your Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card. Complimentary Diamond status benefit is only available to the Basic Card Member. If your Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card is cancelled for any reason, your complimentary Hilton Honors Diamond status provided with the Card will be cancelled. American Express reserves the right to change, modify or revoke complimentary Diamond status at any time. If your complimentary Diamond status is cancelled, you may be able to maintain your Diamond status by qualifying under the Hilton Honors Program terms. Diamond status benefits are subject to availability and vary by hotel. For more information on Diamond status benefits or how to maintain Diamond status each year with qualifying stays, nights or Hilton Honors Base Points through the Hilton Honors Program, and for complete Terms and Conditions, visit HiltonHonors.com/MemberBenefits.