Hilton HHonors - Why Does Hilton HHonors Think our Memory Don’t Hold?

On 10/21 we received from Hilton HHonors an email including this information:

For the first time in six years, we do have an update to point redemption amount and hotel categories

Member Jailer received from Hilton Reservations and Customer Care a similar information:
... Although Hilton HHonors has not raised reward costs since June 2003...:

Effective 6/1/06 (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hilton-hhonors/510159-effective-june-1-2006-hilton-hhonors-reward-category-changes-900-properties.html), roughly 800 or about a third of Hilton Family hotels were placed in higher HHonors hotel reward categories and just 100 in lower categories.

This change was nominally a reclassification of HHs hotels' award categories; but the overall net effect of these changes was an one-tier category increase across the Hilton brands. That averaged out to be a 5K HH points increase one award night (= average award price increase of 20% to 25%).

While I am here: Point Stretcher Dates are currently unavailable. (http://hhonors1.hilton.com/en_US/hh/rewards/pointstretcher.do)

Thanks this helps me with responding to the HGVC folks who were adament about nothing since 2003

Excellent point, Smart Shopper. I suppose Hilton knows a lot of people believe what anyone tells them. :(

I think its factually correct that they haven't raised the point requirements for hotel categories since 2003.

Hotel categories are changed every year - and I believe that takes place in every hotel chain.

Bottom line, I'm not "happy" about the price increase. But am I at all surprised? No. I expected that we were due for an increase at the top end of their hotels - ie category 5-6. I am surprised that category 2,3,4 are going up as much as they are given the economy....but thats what they are doing.

Before you get too outraged, you might want to check how Marriott told its members last year about their changes. It was simply insulting, tried to tell me that they were making the program more valuable to me....that they were making the changes based on "customer" feedback.....at least Hilton is just saying that after a number of years we are raising rates.

In comparison to how Marriott handled things last year, this is digestable.