azepine00

I came across GLON thread which made me realize that as recently as 2003 it was possible to redeem 100K points for 6 nights in top tier property.

Now this amount will only afford you 1 (one!) top tier night or perhaps two mid-tier nights at HGI somewhere.... Even with 5th nt free your Hilton HHonors points are worth appr. 1/5 (one fifth!) of what they were 10 years ago.

An astonishing devaluation that to the best of my knowledge is unmatched (by a very wide margin) by ANY frequent flyer/guest program.

(just as astonishing as that this program seems to carry a tag of "Flyertalk Awards Winner" )

I'd like to compile in this thread all devaluations/"enhancements" (with links to threads) that Hilton ran over the recent years - I recall 4 or 5 at least...

Cheers

tmiskiew

Not only Hilton, all major Hotel chains and airlines to these nasty things. The recent devaluation effective March 28, 2013 was massive though. For the hotel I stayed at in March 2013 for 37,500 (as Gold), I would have to pay 70,000 - 80,000 now. Even when the 5-th night is free, it's still at least 60,000 point per night! Was a scam. I've used all my hilton points before the March 28 and booked my stay in Jan 2014.

After that I will no longer stay at Hilton Hotels. Hilton can keep their points.

I'm using airbnb instead. Much better overall experience and amazing bang for the buck. Why stay in a tiny and overpriced hotel room when you can book an fully equipped apartment or a house for half the money of less?

travelinfoo

Remember, points weren't as easy to come by back then either. These big sign-on bonuses and $ multipliers weren't around until recently (app past 6-7 yrs).

I got my AMEX back in 2001. The sign on bonus was 5000, I think (maybe even nothing) and I was only getting 3x points at Hilton hotels. The 500 pt AMEX booking bonus did not exist.

That said, this most recent devaluation is a big one. A poster on another thread thought it was due to the easy accrual of points. I think so, too.

BrlDsguise

That is about four months worth of points from my credit card spending - I could see where Hilton would be coming from in changing that.

mnredfox

Had anyone kept a historical record of the HH devaluations?

cblaisd

While generally true, I do remember fondly the HHonors/United "Hot Summer Nights" promotion in which for a certain period you got the same number of HHonors points as the number of United miles you flew.

I also remember fondly doing three 100K 6-night GLONs for the HHV.

harryhv

3 years ago there was a covert devaluation by reclassifying properties to a more expensive grade. Here's the official notification, of course concealing the previous category:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hilto...n-changes.html
And the FT reports:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hilto...-you-know.html

Where I stay(ed), the Parmelia Hilton Perth:
2009: 25000 points/night
2010: 40000 points/night
2013: 60000 points/night
Over 4 years that is a 140% increase. This is the last straw. Now staying at the Hyatt on certificaates instead.

chauming

I remember staying in the Conrad HK for 6 days at 70K. Can I stay 1 night for that amount today?

BearX220

To some extent all points/miles programs are subject to inflationary pressures which make the "currency" worth less over time. But managers of certain programs have made things much worse by pumping too many extra points into the system, primarily via card bonuses. Exhibit A is Delta SkyMiles and the ridiculous Amex bonuses / promos. They practically force DL customers to get the Amex cards and associated bonuses to make SM represent any kind of value. If you abstain from Amex, with SM mileage awards now so costly, the program's barely worth participating in.

Now HHonors is right up there too in the loyalty programs' value-destruction hall of fame, and it looks like a lot of more thoughtful customers are throwing in the towel. Rightly so. The weird (and perhaps thoughtless) part of this story is, you can just buy Gold for $95 via that Citi card -- less than the cost of one night's stay at most Hiltons. Why they would discourage actual customers by upping the stay requirements and making the points next to worthless, but simultaneously extend the rewards of loyal behavior to complete randoms in return for a pittance, is beyond me.

The other thing worth noting is the new redemption levels make some of the occasional short-term bonus programs look ridiculous. Citi wants me to register to score two points per dollar spent on gasoline (or whatever) for the next 60 days instead of one? A bonus that nets me maybe 200 extra points? And a Cat 7 redemption now goes for 60,000 points a night? It's not even worth the time spent reading the email.

GUWonder

Hilton HHonors is to the US hotel loyalty program industry what Delta SkyMiles is to the US airline loyalty program industry. Remember what? I remember quite well that we were getting 100k-150k Hilton points for way less than $400 total and using them for 6-night stays at just about any Hilton property of our choice back then. That was around a decade ago.

tkelvin69

Yes and no. In 2000/01 I transferred some of my Latin Pass million miles into HHonors. I think it was about 500,000 at the 1:2 ratio and thus got about 1 million HHonors points for about $1,200.

lhs323

Even more comical, I got an offer from Hilton HHonors Dining to spend $50 for an amazing 150 extra Hilton HHonors bonus points. For the first time ever, I didn't even bother registering for a dining program bonus. What an embarrassment.

"You Can Earn 150 Hilton HHonorsTM Bonus Points
Take advantage of extra earnings by April 30
You could walk away 150 HHonors Bonus Points richer! Spend $50 or more at participating Hilton HHonors Dining locations and you'll snatch up those extra earnings. Register and dine by April 30."

bldr1k

I'm currently a Hilton Diamond (have been for a decade) and a Marriott Platinum. In my opinion these changes are a slap in the face to everyone who was loyal to these brands. I guess they figure with the credit cards and rise in occupancy rates, people will fill their hotels at higher rates.

It will not be me. I have about 50 hotel nights so far this year and almost none of them are at Hilton or Marriott. I now choose the nicest hotel and never go out of my way to stay at Hilton or Marriott. I have lots of nights in Four Seasons, Fairmont and other smaller brands.

zachary

I remember the same thing. But maybe that's why those days are gone. Let's face it: the program wasn't sustainable when people were getting 6 nights anywhere after spending "way less than $400 total." Not to say that this last devaluation isn't terrible, only that the good old days had to end.

sunil

Blackstone & HH corp. couldn't care less about any of this . The only issue that will catch their attention is when we stop spending $ on nights and CC spend.