Hilton HHonors - Hilton stays

Does an award redemption (free stay) count as a stay for future upgrades or does it have to be one in which you paid for the stay ?

Thanks.

I have been educated by the wise Beckles that as long as you charge any incidentals such as food, etc. to your room during your award stay, it will count as a stay (and of course you earn points on the incidental charges).

I have been told by the Diamond desk that yes they count as nights and stays (as long as something charged to the room that qualifies) but at the end of the year they do NOT count towards requalifying. So if have 60 nights or 28 stays and if any of them were award they won't be counted and you won't requalify.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Baze:
I have been told by the Diamond desk that yes they count as nights and stays (as long as something charged to the room that qualifies) but at the end of the year they do NOT count towards requalifying. So if have 60 nights or 28 stays and if any of them were award they won't be counted and you won't requalify.</font>

Then why have them count as stays in the first place(esp. when the 4 stays per quarter bonus has been eliminated)? Isn't the purpose of stays for requalification?

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Baze:
I have been told by the Diamond desk that yes they count as nights and stays (as long as something charged to the room that qualifies) but at the end of the year they do NOT count towards requalifying. So if have 60 nights or 28 stays and if any of them were award they won't be counted and you won't requalify.</font>

AFAIK, award stays show on your statements (both paper and online), but do not count as stays for any HHonors purposes. It could be confusing sometimes, especially if someone has several award stays in a calendar year.

What about Priceline and Expedia paid stays...

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Bourne:
What about Priceline and Expedia paid stays...</font>

I got points for an expedia stay after filling out the missing stay form online.

Mrs Mikey and I stayed at Zurich Airport Hilton after a tour of Switzerland. No charges to room. We got miles and points and credit for a night on a freebie....I was shocked

"What about Priceline and Expedia paid stays..."

If you get credit for a stay, consider an expected blessing.It's not the policy.