Hilton HHonors - Confused about how to book to be eligible for points

I'm quite new to the whole concept of maximising miles/point etc so bear with me - I have looked for the specific answer but not sure I've found it.

So I recently joined HHonors with the view to upping my Avios earnings potential. We are in the process of booking our honeymoon in the Seychelles and included in our plans is a week in the Hilton Labriz, amongst others. We have asked a specialist company to quote on an itinerary for us. It seems a little expensive versus the quoted rates on the various hotel websites/expedia etc, so we are looking into various options including DIY.

Firstly can someone confirm whether, if we go with the travel agency booking, we will be eligible for points or not? I'm not sure of the correct terminology, it's not a tour operator chain, but I guess is ostensibly a private travel agent. I would have thought it was similar to using our corporate travel agent; and I believe that would still earn points?

If we decide to do it ourselves, I know from my research if I go through the likes of expedia I won't get points. However I would get significant cashback (probably around £400) by using a cashback site. Is there a ballpark calculation I can use to work out whether the points earned would be worth more than the cashback? Or does it depend on the hotel?And if I decide the points are more valuable, do all rates available on Hilton.com apply, or only specific ones? There's a fairly competitive Dinner, Bed and Breakfast Advanced Purchase rate that we'd want to use.

Sorry for all the questions; this is obviously going to be a significant spend, so want to maximise all possibilities to make it work :)

Thanks

Hilton HHonors Terms and Conditions, specifically the part on "Accrual of Points (http://hhonors1.hilton.com/en_US/hh/terms.do#accrual_of_points)", stipulate:

3. A "stay" is defined as the total number of consecutive nights spent at the same hotel, whether or not a guest checks out and checks back in again. Specifically excluded from the definition of "stay" are the following types of ineligible stays: wholesale/tour operator packages; contracted crew rates; travel agency discount rates; Team Member Travel rates, Hilton Family Travel Rates; stays secured utilizing Hilton Grand Vacations Club and Hilton Club timeshare programs, Hilton Grand Vacations marketing packages with a sales presentation requirement; complimentary or barter rooms; Reward Stays (as defined herein); NET Group rates; Series Group or IT Group rates; contracted Entertainment or Encore rates; third party websites bookings (irrespective of rate paid); and "opaque" channel bookings where the brand may or may not be known at the time of purchase. HHonors points may not be earned (including as a My Way benefit) for or during ineligible stays, including without limitation, folio charges incurred during ineligible stays. If at least one night of the Member's stay is consumed with the use of HHonors Rewards points, the entire stay is considered a "Reward Stay" and no HHonors points may be earned, except that if Member is using Room Upgrade Rewards, any money spent on the original reservation will earn points and/or miles consistent with these Terms. Participating hotel will determine whether incidental charges incurred during either or those stays are eligible for points, except that Points will not be earned for incidental charges at Hampton Inn®, Hampton Inn & Suites®, Homewood Suites by Hilton®, and Home2 Suites by Hilton®.

If an "ostensibly a private agent" ;) books you in at a discounted, agency or package rate, it's not likely you will be able to accrue points. You can often find discounted rates of various kinds via the Hilton family websites; those are generally all able to accrue points; be sure to check the boxes for all discounted rates (and search for others, such as the MVP rates if in the USA). And sometimes you can find better rates than those quoted by a travel agent, as well.

Only you can determine whether savings offset the accrual of points; many of us do think so, others may eschew the best rates to gain stay/day credit and accrue points. With status, the right credit card and bonus, one could accrue upward of 30 points per dollar spent. Yep, written as a Yank earning and spending US dollars, not Sterling.

Thanks - I had read that but wasn't sure about the wholesale/tour operator package. As far as I am aware they haven't bought the room already, the will just book it on my behalf. I also don't think this is a travel agency discount rate as it doesn't seem that cheap ;) That's why I am not finding it clear. They aren't a company such as Thomsons in the UK (not sure of a US equivalent). That said I suspect they earn money via commission; but again I don't think those Ts&Cs say you can't use a travel agent, per se? Just the bit about discounted rates, and tour operator packages.

As with most things Hilton, you may or may not receive points. In this instance, best to assume you won't, and if you do then consider it a nice surprise.

As with most things Hilton, you may or may not receive points. In this instance, best to assume you won't, and if you do then consider it a nice surprise.

Thank you, that makes it easier actually!

If the travel agent books you on a published rate (i.e., one you can get on your own) you will get the points for the stay.

Travel agents, even "independent agents", have access to special fares that are not available to the public. The travel agent can book at their discounted rate and then charge you whatever they choose as their profit. Many agent package everything together and then arbitrarily assign a cost to the various components.

These rates are not suppose to earn points. There really is no way to know if you would get points unless booking direct with Hilton or waiting to see if points post after check-out.

Travel agents, even "independent agents", have access to special fares that are not available to the public. The travel agent can book at their discounted rate and then charge you whatever they choose as their profit. Many agent package everything together and then arbitrarily assign a cost to the various components.

These rates are not suppose to earn points. There really is no way to know if you would get points unless booking direct with Hilton or waiting to see if points post after check-out.

In general, if you pay the travel agent then don't expect to get points/credit for the stay, especially since they will be paying the hotel and you may never know what the hotel gets. But that's not to say if you do pay the hotel that you will get points/credit. TAs can negotiate special rates with hotels that would exclude program credit.

The best approach is to ask upfront and then followup after wards. Many places have cut down/off TA commissions wanting customers to use their websites to eliminate the TA. Those that like the TA relationship may pay a fee for their service or an inflated price.

I thin it would be good to check the TA offered rate vs. the various rates one could find via the Hilton websites - sometimes the rate offered by a TA can be beat, and then one can book and be sure of the points.