Hilton HHonors - Questions from the new guy

Frequent DL, first time in Hilton. Few questions for the experts and I did find some info in other threads however the answers were not clear.

1. If I book a 2 night stay at 2 nearby Hilton locations as individual 1 night stays, does it count as 2 separate stays?

2. How does one book "The MVP rate"? I always just select AAA and Military as they both apply to me.

3. This weekend I booked at the SEA Embassy and the two room types left were a 2 queen smoking and a 2 queen non smoking. I selected the non smoking and about 20-30 minutes later I was told that the room wasn't available and that I would have to be moved to the smoking room or book at another property nearby. I was unable to take the smoking option, I'm pretty sensitive to smoke in general. Anyway, does this count as getting walked? If not, is there anything I can do? I was already on the way to the hotel and having to rebook ended up being somewhat of a hassle...

4. Does anyone actually qualify for Diamond based purely on Base Points each year? Seems crazy

Much appreciated

Frequent DL, first time in Hilton. Few questions for the experts and I did find some info in other threads however the answers were not clear.

1. If I book a 2 night stay at 2 nearby Hilton locations as individual 1 night stays, does it count as 2 separate stays?

2. How does one book "The MVP rate"? I always just select AAA and Military as they both apply to me.

3. This weekend I booked at the SEA Embassy and the two room types left were a 2 queen smoking and a 2 queen non smoking. I selected the non smoking and about 20-30 minutes later I was told that the room wasn't available and that I would have to be moved to the smoking room or book at another property nearby. I was unable to take the smoking option, I'm pretty sensitive to smoke in general. Anyway, does this count as getting walked? If not, is there anything I can do? I was already on the way to the hotel and having to rebook ended up being somewhat of a hassle...

4. Does anyone actually qualify for Diamond based purely on Base Points each year? Seems crazy

Much appreciated

1. I'm not 100% sure, but I believe this will count as two separate stays since it's not the same property. I recently did two properties in NYC, but it was a 1-night + 4-night, and I was credited for 2 stays/5 nights. They were separate brands, though, so that may make a difference, too.

2. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hilton-hhonors/932556-hilton-family-mvp-rate.html
Post #42

3. No idea, but as a Gold it might be worth a call to the HHonors line to see what they can/will do for you. I'm sure others have better advice.

4. I'm a weirdo I guess - I qualify for hotel status on base points and am going to push for DL FO on segments this year. Already hit gold and fully expect to reach diamond on base points, no tricks or short-cuts for me, as I wouldn't make the stay/nights on any of the challenges. Having 90% of your hotel stays in Manhattan helps make this possible. :)

1. If it's two different hotels then yes, counts as 2 nights
2. Use MVP website and or use code for MVP
3. No doesn't count as getting walked. I'd say what they did is pretty fair and honest
4. Some people do on points, when they spend like $300/night+

Frequent DL, first time in Hilton. Few questions for the experts and I did find some info in other threads however the answers were not clear.

1. If I book a 2 night stay at 2 nearby Hilton locations as individual 1 night stays, does it count as 2 separate stays?
Yes, two stays as long as it's at a different property


2. How does one book "The MVP rate"? I always just select AAA and Military as they both apply to me.
From the MVP site (https://www.hiltonhhonors.com/landingpages/mvp.aspx):

Once you have your HHonors account number and have selected your 90 day period Book Online to automatically receive the MVP discount. Or, you may book by calling Hilton Reservations and Customer Care at 1-866-424-4276 or by calling the hotel directly. When making reservations by phone, please identify yourself as an MVP traveler and provide the MVP corporate number for the Hilton Family brand of hotels as follows:

Hotel Name Corporate ID
Hampton®, Doubletree® and Embassy Suites® hotels
0560041604

Hilton®, Hilton Garden Inn® hotels and at select U.S. Hilton Grand Vacations Club® locations
N0041604


3. This weekend I booked at the SEA Embassy and the two room types left were a 2 queen smoking and a 2 queen non smoking. I selected the non smoking and about 20-30 minutes later I was told that the room wasn't available and that I would have to be moved to the smoking room or book at another property nearby. I was unable to take the smoking option, I'm pretty sensitive to smoke in general. Anyway, does this count as getting walked? If not, is there anything I can do? I was already on the way to the hotel and having to rebook ended up being somewhat of a hassle...

Somewhere it will say something like room type is not guaranteed. There is little you can do other than choose properties that are 100% non smoking.

4. Does anyone actually qualify for Diamond based purely on Base Points each year? Seems crazy

There are people who do it, entertaining at the hotel, bar bills, restaurant bills, it's not that hard to run that expense account up there pretty quick. I'm sure that there are more than a few people around here who have already qualified for the year on base points.

As per my question about MVP, let me get this straight:

It's always a rate I should check in conjunction with my other searches?
In the part where is says convention code... do I put anything? Is it worthwhile to plug my AAA in there too for better results?

A general primer would be appreciated

As per my question about MVP, let me get this straight:

It's always a rate I should check in conjunction with my other searches?
In the part where is says convention code... do I put anything? Is it worthwhile to plug my AAA in there too for better results?

A general primer would be appreciated

The MVP thread I linked to earlier will answer many of your questions, often with examples. IME, MVP is often lower than AAA.

In general, though, you have nothing to lose by checking different rate codes/combinations, and the Hilton site often displays multiple rate options at the same time, so why would you not check it? Worst case is that it comes up unavailable.