Hohum, if you're offended by devaluations, you do have a problem. You'll find your choices limited, as in recent years Hilton have been beaten to the devaluation starting blocks by IHG, SPG and Marriott, so, if you're looking to move to a worldwide hotel group with extensive inventory, but one that doesn't devalue, your choices are VERY limited...

I have to confess, I'm a Marriott Rewards member and almost always stay at their hotels when on my travels, using IHG as my second choice and Hilton in reserve. 80 nights on average each year in Marriott, 10 in IHG and 2 in Hilton.

I must admit my HH points are accumulating somewhat slowly

It is annoying to see those slowly accruing points so substantially devalued overnight, especially as I think I'll reach enough points for 1 night at a decent hotel next year, now looks as if that'll wait till 2012!!

We Marriott road warriors faced a similar points devaluation this time last year and it generated a similar reaction - if not worse as Marriott crassly announced it as an "improvement", thus challenging FT'ers to get out their dictionary!

Many posters on the Marriott group responded with "bye bye Marriott, hello Hilton" and I'd assume they must now be reconsidering their position, especially as this is a straight devaluation without any other adjustment... for instance, the Marriott devaluation was accompanied by a 15% increase in points earned by plat members, thereby wiping out much of the future effect of the devaluation for us PLT's.

The problem is the same with all these programs, devaluation is inevitable, every program has done it over recent years, and they will do it again as inflation takes its toll. The secret is to "burn as you earn" so to speak. The biggest losers here are those with 500k plus points, who will be left bearing the brunt of this change. You in Hilton do however have 2 great redemption advantages over Marriott:-

1. Much better redemption availability; and
2. Redemption nights count to status

I prefer the HH scheme, but dont think much of the hotels, so stick with Marriott. I view the points as a pleasant extra from my travels, not an essential part of them...

Finally, the commitment to take business elsewhere, make no mistake I think it will hurt Hiltons bottom line, it should be remembered that even though Diamonds may represent a very small proprtion of scheme members, they do represent a much larger proportion of staying guests at a hotel on any one night. In other words Diamond/Gold members represent cash several times their membership percentage, piss you guys off and it can represent a large decrease in turnover, right in the middle of a crippling recession, but I am guessing at the moment we regular guests dont stay as much as we did, hence right now our percentage contribution towards turnover is smaller. Thus, offending us now is probably better than waiting for the economy and business travel to improve, then offending us just when we're paying top $ for the accommodation.

Which brings us back to where we started, all have devalued so where do you take your business?