Hilton HHonors - Value of HH points + gold elite status for upcoming europe trip

Hey there...

In most blogs or forums, it is being said that the value of hh points are low compared to the other hotel rewards programs... I see that all value calculations are based on the best available revenue rate divided by the points needed...

When I put it this way.... Getting a free night award by cobrand cc spending...I kinda see a different outcome...

If $ 1 spend gets 3 points... Does it not triple the value? Make it par or better than hyatt and spg? ( even chase marriott )

chase hyatt card earns 1 point per $ 1 along with Spg amex in everyday spending... and their top category hotels are 22k in hyatt and 30-35k in spg...

Hilton's top category free night award is easier to get by cobrand cc spending...50k-60k category 7 and some waldorf astorias.. Need only 17-20k spending on the cobrand cards instead of 22k on hyatt chase or 30-35k on spg..( not considering the bonus categories or chase sapp. preferred's 1.07 earning rate )

What do you think about this?

I am thinking of getting the new hh citi reserve card... How may that help me on an upcoming europe trip? Free internet + breakfast at all properties?

Thanks.

I see that all value calculations are based on the best available revenue rate divided by the points needed...
That's not the best way. A better number to use is the lesser of the best price you could get (including any discounts) or the best price of an acceptable alternative (priceline, etc.) or the most you would actually pay before canceling the trip. If the retail price is $199, your value might be the lesser of ($189, $100, $80).

When I put it this way.... Getting a free night award by cobrand cc spending...I kinda see a different outcome...

If $ 1 spend gets 3 points... Does it not triple the value? Make it par or better than hyatt and spg? ( even chase marriott )
You're confusing value and cost. (Note exactly how I use those two words below.)

If you typically redeem 25k HH points for a room you value (using the criteria above) at $80, then the points have a value of about 1/3 of a cent each.

Your cost for those points, in the case of credit card spend, would be the value of your best alternative.

Let's say you value SPG points at 3 cents each. So, if you had the choice of the HH and SPG cards, and a 2% cashback card, your 3 points cost you the highest of 1 SPG point (3 cents) or 2% cashback (2 cents).

Thus, your cost for an HH point, in this instance, is 3 cents / 3 points = 1 cent per point.

If you typically get 1/3 of a cent of value out of an HH point, it's not a good bargain to pay 1 cent for it. Use the SPG card for 1 SPG point instead.

As stated, value and cost are two different things.

Look at how to maximize your HH points in this forum, lots of threads with different folks using different calculations.

Hilton's top category free night award is easier to get by cobrand cc spending...50k-60k category 7 and some waldorf astorias.. Need only 17-20k spending on the cobrand cards instead of 22k on hyatt chase or 30-35k on spg..( not considering the bonus categories or chase sapp. preferred's 1.07 earning rate )

What do you think about this?

First of all, you need only 1.5k of spending to get 50k:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/milesbuzz/1219687-50-000-citi-hilton-hhonors-visa.html

(And not just your first 50k; you can get this card repeatedly, in fact 2 at a time every 65 days if you can do $3000 spend every 65 days!)

I am thinking of getting the new hh citi reserve card... How may that help me on an upcoming europe trip? Free internet + breakfast at all properties?

Yes, free internet + free breakfast at all properties. You may even get upgraded to lounge access as a Gold (I did at the Hilton Madrid Airport in May), but there's no guarantee of that (just a guarantee of breakfast).

I would recommend you apply for that plus one of the 50k offers, using the two browser type trick (or clearing your Citi cache between applications) so that Citi does not confuse the two apps. Then later you can apply for more of the 50k cards. (Yes, Citi does not care how many of the same Hilton Visa card you apply for, as long as you follow their rules, primarily no more than 2 Citi card applicaitons of any kind every 65 days.)

well yeah.. it looks I am confusing the value with cost...

I was comparing the top 2 category properties of those hotel chains.. to me all are comparable...

I mostly use the cards on everyday purchases to earn points.. I don't get the sign up bonus, spend it and close the card..

I was thinking hilton cards are also giving 1 point / dollar which made me stay away..but 3 points / $ is not a bad earning rate...

for the upcoming europe trip...which two cards do you suggest? 2 browser trick on citi cards reserve and honors ?

thanks.

I look at the CC points in terms of value returned on $ spent.

I value 1 HH point at about 0.7 cents.

I value 1 MR point at about 1.2 cents.

I value 1 SPG point at about 2.5 cents.

Those are just my numbers, YMMV.

You get 1 point per dollar of ordinary spending with MR and SPG and you get 3 points per dollar of ordinary spend with HH.

So for one dollar of ordinary spend you get 1.2 cents of value from the MR credit card, 2.1 cents from the HH card, and 2.5 cents from the SPG card.

However, there are other intangibles that change the value proposition. For example, my primary card is the HH Amex because of the gold status it confers. Even though there is somewhat reduced return on spend I value the HH card more than the SPG card because HH gold is worth more to me than the SPG gold status that comes with the SPG CC. I also use the MR visa because of the elite nights credit it brings and the free night certificate every year.

This analysis is only looking at pure return on CC spend and doesn't factor in actually staying at a hotel. When you factor that in I generally find MR to deliver the best value, then SPG, then HH. A lot of that value derives from non-monetary factors such as availability of properties where I need them, availability of rates that I need, quality of properties, redemption availability, etc. so again, YMMV!

thanks for the replies. for me best use of cobrand hotel credit cards would be the elite status they give and cost of points. Value does not mean much, because for me, most us based hotel chains ( spg, hh, hyatt, marriott ) are on par in terms of quality, amenities etc. ( depending on the category of course.. )

plus, most of times I can get the hotels way cheaper on expedia, priceline or hotwire.

so I guess hh has an okay earning rate compared to spg and hyatt. I always thought hh was the worst.