bousquet

thank for your answer, FT Wannabe.
Concerning the free HH Visa or AmEx card, it's not possible if you are a French resident

onedog

HH points may expire according to the HHonors terms and rules, but I don't know if they really enforce this policy.

Before I started traveling heavily for work way back when, I stayed at the Hilton WDW. I signed up for HHonors and earned ~5,000 HHonors points. I didn't stay at a HHonors property for another 5 years of so and forgot that I had signed up for HHonors. A couple of years ago I started traveling and tried to sign up for HHonors. The friendly HHonors CSR informed me that I was already a HHonors member and pleasantly surprised me that I even had ~5k points still in my account.

johnsmith

I just received an email from HH that my account was going to be closed b/c I haven't had any activity in 12 months. Any recent ideas on how to keep it active or suggestions for a good use of about 12k points?

Rut Dog

Apply for a free Visa or MC.

Transfer miles from an airline.

Issue a reward cert and redeposit it.

holland

My wife and I both have HHonors accounts. We'd been taking advantage of the profile update bonus points quarterly. She has 14,000 points and I have 132,400 points in my account. We just got email notices that our points will expire in November due to lack of activity (our last bonus update was October 2002).

We both participated in the 500-point bonus survey, but neither account has received the points.

I can purchase 1,000 points for $12.50. Is it worthwhile to pay $25 to keep both accounts active for another year hoping they bring back the 2x/quarter profile update bonus points? Or should I combine the two accounts into one? If I combine the accounts, do I still need something to post there to keep it active past November?

Alternatively, I have lots of FF miles in CO & NW, a few in DL, and 45,000 or so in AA that I could transfer. I'd like to minimize how many points I transfer to HHonors as I'm no longer Diamond so have trouble using the awards. I'd hate to lose the ~150K points now though as at some point in the next few years, I'm likely to be diamond again and could use 'em.

Advice?

PaulGQ

yes, the $25 is well worth it, plus you even get some points so its really only like giving them $15.

If I were you , take 15k or 20k points and pack your bags to the nearest cat3-4 propertpy and enjoy an evening out with your wife.

Or earn a paid evening for like $79 somewhere. This way you are paying into a future vacation.

Shareholder

The quarterly update bonus was done away with for just this abusive reason. Given your balance, I am quite pleased to see you did not redeem your points earlier this year when they would have been worth 30% more. You might just as well let your devalued accounts lapse, given your interest in making any use of the points. In a whole year, it is curious that you've not been able to make a single stay at a Hilton. I hope this does not indicate you are ill and have not been in good enough health to venture beyond your home. However, just curious why you ever bothered to amass all these points if you have no interest in using them, or staying at Hiltons?

Rut Dog

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum57/HTML/006200.html

You certainly don't need to spend any money.

holland

Why would that pleas you?

I ammased those points by staying in Hilton properties while traveling for business. The past year I've had a long term project so got an apartment rather than checking in and out of the same hotel for 8 months every week, getting a different room every week, etc. Since I've been traveling to the same location the whole time, having an apartment to relax in (and spend an occasional weekend in), and laundry facilities, etc. far outweights any points I might earn....

I think it's obvious that if I had no interest in using them, I wouldn't have posted my questions. The fact is that I *do* have an interest in using them. The three times I tried to use them after losing diamond status I was told the hotel in question didn't have any rooms available to book with points (capacity controls). This is one thing that's kept me in Starwood properties when they're available and not tremendously more inconvenient than Hilton.

But I have had occastion to stay at Hilton properties enough in the past, and will likely do so in the future. Unfortunately work is keeping me too busy to take a vacation and will likely continue to be this way through April, which is past the point when the points will expire....

corrad

could always enroll in e-rewards and see if you can rack up enough points to transfer to Hilton.

relaxedPax

Sign-up for My Points and get 500 HHonors points.

http://www.mypoints.com/mp/dmp?objec...anding.default

Or if you're already a member, transfer 1000 my points to your HHonors account.

Stefan Daystrom

Well, I can't answer for the original poster, but I know someone who's in a similar situation, except there the factors are:

1. He used to travel on business while stationed in the US. Both on business and on vacations it was mostly suburban locations, so Hampton and sometimes HGI.

2. Now he's been transferred to Europe. He no longer travels on business. On vacations it's suburban locations, where (due to lack of Hamptons or HGI or any equivalent; he's not in Scandic territory btw) there are no Hilton family hotels for him to stay in. Furthermore, he can't get the Visa because he's not in the US. And he's going to be in Europe several years. His points are only around 100kish, and he did try burning them before moving, but ran into availability problems so just paid for his last stay in the US (thus instead of burning he earned!).

Any suggestions for someone like that?

(FYI, I am HHonors Gold myself, usually staying just at or slightly over 16 stays a year, similarly mostly Hampton or HGI because mostly suburban and on my own dimes. But fortunately I'm not in work where being transferred overseas is a likelihood.)

Xyzzy

Does the issuance of a reward certificate count as activity that would keep an account from expiring? I'd guess so but I'm not sure. Does anyone know?

blackjack-21

A few years ago, after I hadn't stayed at Hilton for over a year, I received a letter from HHonors that may points would expire in 60 days. I called HHonors, and the CSR said that I could keep my account active, without the points expiry, by requesting a replacement HHonors membership card. He had a new card mailed to me, and the points stayed in my account for another year. Don't know if that method still works, but it worked then, for me. Worth a try though, just ask.

bj-21.

chix

You are DEAD wrong. I know first hand of a good friend who did not stay @ Hilton for 14 months and they closed down his account of 100,000 + points.

He argued and argued and they would not re-deposit.