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Making sense of Hilton reward options [UPDATED January 2017]

Old Mar 1, 2015, 7:45 pm
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For ease of navigation, the Hilton Rewards FAQ is distributed across posts 1-10 in this thread. This wiki does not duplicate that content; instead, it provides an index to the various sections of the FAQ.
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Making sense of Hilton reward options [UPDATED January 2017]

Old Feb 11, 2012, 6:44 pm
  #76  
 
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Thanks guys. I just signed up for a Hilton Amex so it looks like I might be able to save 10,000 points. As a Gold member I was looking at 300,000 points for my 8 night stay.
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Old Feb 14, 2012, 7:16 am
  #77  
 
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A couple of questions... thanks to those with the info!

Do AXON or GLON awards work on all-inclusive properties? Has anyone ever found a cash + points award for an all-inclusive property?

Do AXON or GLON awards work at W=A properties if the award is "Low Season"? The booking page has three point options regular, cash + points and low season the only point discount on four or more nights is the regular point option which is no lower then the "low season" rate.....

If the answer is yes to any of these questions what code does one tell the HHonors Rep. when booking?

Last edited by oneeye4u76; Feb 14, 2012 at 7:26 am
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Old Feb 14, 2012, 3:07 pm
  #78  
 
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Help me decide how to book upcoming stay in Bangkok

Thank you for all the info you have posted on this subject. I have gone around and around on this as I think I have confused myself, but I am doing an Asia trip as a diamond starting next week and found out about the points rebate back if booked by Jan. 31. (Found out about it on FT on Jan 31) so I made a number of reservations that would qualify, not knowing what would be the best deal. Most of my trip is all sorted except for my Bangkok part.
I will be staying in Bangkok from Feb. 29- March 6 (6 nights). With there being a Hilton and Conrad there and the fact of different guaranteed room upgrades on premium rewards with the 30% back or P&M, Maybe you could give me your advice as to what the best option is. Here is what I have booked, as you will see many are doubled up so I could choose the best deal, and I only need the one room, but here are the options:

1- all 6 nights at the Hilton in a King Exec suite PLUS room for 183,144 points -30%= 128,200 total points

2- 1st 4 nights res. at Hilton in the same King Exec Suite PLUS room for 122,096 -30% = 85,467 points
3- last 2 nights at Conrad using P&M for a standard room (hopefully upgraded) at 17,500 points x2 = 35K (-30% = 24,500 Points) Plus about $160 USD
4- Last 2 nights at Conrad in King Exec Corner Room using points. 2 x 36,447=72894 (-30% = 56,025)
5- I have also reserved the last 2 nights at the Hilton in case I was not sure if I wanted to switch to the Conrad and it was too late, so in that case, I could still have the first 4 nights at Hilton and then stay for the last 2 as well, since it is not easy to cancel a 6 night reservation midstream and re-book, especially with out the point rebate bonus. The last 2 nights at Hilton for the Same K EX Suite PLUS room is 2 x 35080 = 70,160 (- 30% = 49,112)

6- Lastly, I I guess I could also still consider paying for the last 2 nights or any of the stay as well if that made sense as well.

Would you mind giving me some advice on what you would do to maximize the points in this scenario? I am staying 3 nights in Hong Kong using 3 Q$ free certs as I thought that would be the best option possible. I am also staying in SIN for 3 nights using P&M for the first 2 at the Hilton for 20K points x2 (-30% = 28K pts total + about $175 USD) then the 3rd night at the Conrad using a be my guest cert for free.

Seems hard to put a value on getting a very nice guaranteed upgraded suite plus on the exec level with the premium room res.

I am currently tying up about 700,000 Hilton points to hold all of my options, so it would be great to get a decision and stick to it. I will also be staying at the Bangkok Conrad on Feb 28th, one day before the beginning of my 6 and 4 night scheduled reservations at the Hilton because I could not get any decent rate in SIN for the 28th, so just coming to BKK one day early. I figured, maybe I should decide then if I would want to come back to the Conrad after seeing the Conrad upon check in and before I check in to the Hilton if it was that obvious of a decision. The only thing I had thought about the Conrad is it is a bit closer to the airport for a VERY early return flight to the US, but not sure if that should play into my decision making.

Either way, if I do decide to take the option of first 4 nights at Hilton and last 2 at Conrad, not sure if it is best to take the P&M option for the standard room hoping for an upgrade or go with the Premium room in K EX Corner for the higher points.

Your help is greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance. Hopefully I can clear up some of these points.
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Old Feb 14, 2012, 3:18 pm
  #79  
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Please don't post these kinds of general requests for advice in this thread. They belong in the master discussion discussion threads (referenced in posts 1-14 above) or in their own thread. Thank you.
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Old Feb 16, 2012, 5:23 pm
  #80  
 
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Originally Posted by oneeye4u76
A couple of questions... thanks to those with the info!

Do AXON or GLON awards work on all-inclusive properties? Has anyone ever found a cash + points award for an all-inclusive property?

Do AXON or GLON awards work at W=A properties if the award is "Low Season"? The booking page has three point options regular, cash + points and low season the only point discount on four or more nights is the regular point option which is no lower then the "low season" rate.....

If the answer is yes to any of these questions what code does one tell the HHonors Rep. when booking?
The answer to all your questions is no.

1. AXON awards are ONLY for Cat 5-7 hotels. GLONs go up to Cat 7 hotels ONLY. No standard or discount award covers the all-inclusive. If you book an award at an all-inclusive resort, it is NOT as an all-inclusive but for the room only.

There are special awards for the all-inclusives which include meals. You have to look on the HHonors website for your specific hotel and see if it has one of the special point-packages.

2. No, AXON and GLONs do NOT cover W-A hotels. The max hotel level is for these discount awards is Cat 7; W-A is above that.
As you have seen, the only discount W-A awards are the low season and multi-night awards.
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Old Feb 17, 2012, 5:28 am
  #81  
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Originally Posted by travelinfoo
AXON and GLONs do NOT cover W-A hotels. The max hotel level is for these discount awards is Cat 7; W-A is above that.
As you have seen, the only discount W-A awards are the low season and multi-night awards.
When putting together the FAQ last year, I noticed -- as reflected in the W-A VIP reward entry, which links to historical award charts -- that Hilton claims there are such awards, but that current info is very hard to come by. (The phone CSR I spoke to offered a rather unconvincing statement that W-A VIP awards would still be offered.)

The HH website still has a cursory reference (at http://hhonors1.hilton.com/en_US/hh/...POnly/index.do) to W-A VIP. Is this simply a vestige of a now-discontinued redemption option?
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Old Feb 17, 2012, 7:14 am
  #82  
 
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I was under the impression that if the hotel/resort was "all inclusive" then all awards within that property include "AI" is this not so? If you do an award search for Rose Hall the basic award is 60K that must include "AI" (Cat. 7 is 50K) however the award does not mention a "AI". I'd assume premium room rewards at Rose Hall would also include "AI" and wonder what happens if you book a premium room at a rate less than 60K a night is this a "AI" award?
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Old Feb 17, 2012, 2:42 pm
  #83  
 
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Originally Posted by oneeye4u76
I was under the impression that if the hotel/resort was "all inclusive" then all awards within that property include "AI" is this not so? If you do an award search for Rose Hall the basic award is 60K that must include "AI" (Cat. 7 is 50K) however the award does not mention a "AI". I'd assume premium room rewards at Rose Hall would also include "AI" and wonder what happens if you book a premium room at a rate less than 60K a night is this a "AI" award?
It looks like the premium room changes have affected the AI positively. The AI had previously specifically stated that the awards were for room only. I don't see that written anywhere any more. Previously, you could only book a room-only award. It looks like you can book an AI award now. But some of those rates are outrageous!
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Old Mar 5, 2012, 8:56 pm
  #84  
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A reminder -

Please don't post general requests for advice in this thread. They belong in the master discussion discussion threads (referenced in posts 1-14 above) or in their own thread. Thank you.

Thanks a lot.

squeakr

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Old May 14, 2012, 1:24 pm
  #85  
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I've updated post #3 (discussing VIP/GLON awards) to take account of the bizarre change to the Hilton website -- claiming incorrectly that VIP/GLON has been discontinued -- and the resulting discussion in FT thread http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hilto...went-away.html.
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Old May 17, 2012, 4:32 pm
  #86  
 
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Originally Posted by beltway
I've updated post #3 (discussing VIP/GLON awards) to take account of the bizarre change to the Hilton website -- claiming incorrectly that VIP/GLON has been discontinued -- and the resulting discussion in FT thread http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hilto...went-away.html.
anyone can confirm?
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Old May 22, 2012, 9:12 pm
  #87  
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I've updated the entry on Points & Money rewards to reflect the latest bad news, increased cash co-pays at some properties.
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Old Jun 1, 2012, 2:42 pm
  #88  
 
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Can you use an AXON7 award on the Rome Cavalieri property because it is a Waldorf Astoria? I thought WAs were exempt from AXON awards, but am I wrong?
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Old Jun 1, 2012, 2:59 pm
  #89  
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Originally Posted by Preacher7
Can you use an AXON7 award on the Rome Cavalieri property because it is a Waldorf Astoria? I thought WAs were exempt from AXON awards, but am I wrong?
The Cavalieri, like all other W-A properties, has a separate redemption schedule & is not available for AXON awards. See post #9, which links to the hilton.com page with more details (including the award chart for the Cavalieri).
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Old Jun 9, 2012, 7:56 am
  #90  
 
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Originally Posted by beltway
Holders of the US-based Hilton American Express cards (both the regular and Surpass versions) enjoy extra benefits. In addition to receiving automatic elite status -- Gold for the Surpass card; Silver for the regular Amex -- and the corresponding VIP reward discount described above, cardholders also qualify for a separate class of discounted rewards (AXON).

AXON rewards are available for 4-night stays at hotels in categories 5 through 7, as follows:
  • Category 5: 125,000 points
  • Category 6: 125,000 points
  • Category 7: 145,000 points

As with standard and VIP rewards, AXON rewards apply only to standard rooms, and not to higher room categories. See the discussion at the end of post #1 concerning capacity controls.


Inexplicably, the AXON rate for category 5 hotels is higher than the VIP reward rate: 125K vs. 119K for a VIP reward. (Inexplicably, because anyone who qualifies for AXON is by definition a Hilton elite eligible for the VIP reward, meaning that no-one should ever need or want to use the AXON5 reward rate.) However, AXON awards provide substantial discounts at category 6 and 7 hotels, as illustrated by the following chart taken from Ric Garrido's blog post:


For a comprehensive comparison of AXON to VIP/GLON and standard awards, see the post below.

AXON awards cannot be booked online, and must instead be made by calling 1-800-920-5649, per the Hilton Amex terms and conditions. Note that this is the Diamond Desk, and the CSR will automatically ask for your Diamond number. Don't be thrown off; if you are not Diamond Elite, simply explain that you are calling to redeem an AXON reward stay.

Some members report that confirmation emails and/or online reservation records for AXON awards sometimes show the higher VIP rate instead of, or in addition to, the correct AXON point charge, although the proper amounts are deducted from their accounts. Also, as noted in the September 2011 thread http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hilto...ging-axon.html, some American Express websites list outdated AXON point costs (i.e., showing 6 as the top HHonors category).

For general discussion concerning AXON awards, see the FT thread http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hilto...ve-thread.html.
Thanks for this excellent thread - I am getting into the HH program now and was excited to read about the AXON rates - however, I checked the Surpass website today to look at the card and saw the following:


We’d like to see you more, for less.

With your Hilton HHonorsTM Surpass Card, you can redeem for less. Receive 4 HHonors reward nights at categories 5 or 6 properties within the Hilton Worldwide portfolio at a special rate exclusively for Cardmembers.13

Call 1-800-920-5649 to redeem a four night stay:

Category 5 hotels — 125,000 HHonors bonus points (normally 140,000). Mention promo code AXON5.
Category 6 hotels — 145,000 HHonors bonus points (normally 160,000). Mention promo code AXON6.


No mention of AXON7 and the AXON6 redeems at the rate you discuss for AXON7.

Am I missing something?
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