Thanks to superd1 for starting this thread ... I think it leads to some really interesting ideas coming up, and the discussion has been great.

Lisadiamond makes a great point -- I think this devaluation is going to come back and bite Hilton. Hard. It's tough to swallow when things like the quarterly profile update are taken away. But it's even harder -- and really instills some bitterness and anger -- when they're taken away without any notice, as many of the posts have talked about.

These ARE tough economic times, and that's why businesses more than ever have to fight harder for the fewer dollars that are in consumers' and business travelers' pockets. Pulling the plug virtually at once on numerous bonuses that have become so dear to so many is an awful risk. I don't know if it's the smartest thing to do at such a vulnerable time.

I agree that all competitors would have to do is make a rather minimal effort to snag a slew of frequent travelers. That's not good news for any HHonors devotee!