drsaith

https://dailygetaways.ustravel.org/O...2-9d4db8b927fd

so this comes out to roughly $1240 for the points when using an amex card. think it is worth it just to keep around, as they are under half a cent per point? just wondering what anyone's thoughts were on this.

i usually just book the cheapest 3 star hotels where ever i stay off expedia or hotels.com. is this only good for people staying the high end properties?

benzemalyonnais

I'm not a huge HHonors customer, but I know their Waldorf rooms run for 50k a night. That's 5 nights at a Waldorf. If you plan it well it will be worth $1240 rather easily.

HHonors has it's issues too, so if I was you, I would only do this if you have a specific plan/property in mind and can use the points efficiently.

travelisfree

I really thought about this one but will definitely pass.

If you had a stay at a category 7 worth $500 anyways (like Bora Bora), it's a killer deal (as it would be 50% off). However, if you don't get double the value, then your paying $1240 without getting elite night credit instead of $1240 with elite night credit and points earned. That's the thing, you also have to out do the points you would have earned. You also have to take into account any program. Because you could spend that money for Hyatt stays and earn points.
Anyways, No thanks.

But depends where you're heading too and where you would have stayed anyways.

drsaith

i'm currently a hilton gold. would that make any difference in terms of booking with points then hoping for an upgrade? sorry im not at all familiar with booking hotels via points, never done it once in my life, always been an airline guy then whatever is cheapest on expedia.

phdtomd

I was considering it, still am really. Just don't know if I want to pull the trigger on this one. I have a place I would like to go to in the future that is 50k/night. But I have this fear that they may dilute the points again.

MD/DC Flyer

You have to remember that if you have any status on Hilton those points are worth almost 7 nights in category 7 hotel. If you have Hilton Amex they are worth almost 8 nights in category 7 hotel.

You do get night credit (but not points) for award stays.

krausolany

Upgrade sometimes works when staying with points, sometimes doesn't. Depends on the property. The probability of getting an upgrade is higher with a paid stay.

jpdx

This one is borderline for me owing to the massive devaluation of HH points (most properties are overpriced on points & and the premium rewards scam makes the Diamond force worthless) ... IF you can use the 250k points to book (a) a 7 night VIP award at BOB/Tokyo/Maldives, which normally runs at >$500/nt, or (b) a cash&points booking at Conrad HK (25k+$85 vs $400/nt) or Conrad Bali (17.5k+$50 vs $300/nt), then it can be great value. But I would only buy these points if I could immediately use them (as in: I'm 99% sure about my travel plans and the dates have base room availability), not to keep them in my account. You may have a rude awakening when you find out that the dates you're interested in have no base rooms available, and the slightly better room costs 185,346 points per night.

GUWonder

That's a great summary, and it is a big part of the picture on why I won't be interested in adding to my Hilton account balance this time around.

lkar

300,000 points is enough for a 5 night stay at the Grand Wailea that would cost me about $2500, so this would work for me and save me about $1,000, minus the value of the points I would earn for a paid stay.

I still am not sure I'm going to bite, though. Even if availability is showing for my nights on the morning of the Daily Getaway sale, I would be concerned that something would happen trying to book after the points get to the account and the availability would not actually be there. I don't think there's any way to hold a reward reservation with Hilton, and getting stuck with $1500 worth of Hilton points that I don't have a present need for is not something I want to chance.

wise2u

not worth it....you can get plenty of HH points with credit card signups, and keep your cash...there are 4 or 5 cards that offer 50-70k points...most all of the offers this year are crappy from DA....including this one

DCBob

You get BOTH nights and stays credit (not just nights credit only) on award stays. Plus you get HH points on miscellaneous charges (like bar and restaurant charges) at all Hilton family hotels (except Hampton Inns and Homewood Suites). I also got 19,000 HH bonus points for a 14-night award stay using the Q1 promo for 2012 (5,000 points for one weekend plus 1,000 points per night).

DCBob

You are entitled to the same type of upgrade you would get on a paid stay. I got upgraded to a much larger king corner room as an HH Gold in February on a 14-night award stay. Now, a property doesn't have to upgrade you at all, even on a paid stay, but I have never failed to get some kind of upgrade, except when the hotel is sold out.

drsaith

might buy one of the smaller increments (100k or 150k points), as they are all the exact same price per point. thanks all.

will also have 100k x 2 btwn two virgin atlantic credit card bonuses btwn my parents, so be be rolling in the hilton points in a bit.

Stripe

You would have to use them at hotels that charge well more than $250 a night just to break even. If you have a specific trip that you will use them for, and the cash price of the rooms is well over the purchase price of the 250,000 points, AND the standard reward room is available for your desired dates, then it makes sense. Being an elite with access to the more generous multi-night reward scheme lowers the breakeven room rate a bit. However, to pay that much to just get 250K HH points to sit around in an account is very foolish.