Originally Posted by
criznag
Well..you can tell I'm bitter..800k+ points I feel wasted, which, to my fault I never took advantage of so probably was only a matter of time, but still - I've been loyal, put 20k a year on the credit card (which I'm no longer using), and the hotels I really want to stay at costing double or triple..oh well.
I don't know if I dare make this comment but... In January, I made almost a million points worth of reservations for a couple of big trips later this year. I'd accumulated those points over a year and a half and I was getting jumpy to get rid of them. I know a lot of people here think of the HH points a bit like cash savings but I heard a couple of horror stories in the past that made me worry about building big balances in loyalty schemes - does anyone remember how some very loyal customers/savers lost big with Ansett a few years ago?
So, I've always burnt my "savings" as soon as possible and a few times, I've been glad I did. This is one such time - I checked out what my existing (made in late Jan/early Feb) bookings would have cost me now and its well north of 350K more after the devaluation.
Like I say, I feel bad saying this now to those who are hurting but I just wanted to say, I got my reservations made in time - not because I am wise (I didnt know in advance that a specific devaluation was imminent) but because devaluation is
always a possibility in any programme - caveat emptor.
So, this is no consolation but my opinion (which doubtless, others on here will choose to pick to shreds) is that loyalty programmes are like sunny days - they dont continue for ever - one day, its gonna rain and so you need to be prepared. the sun may (or may not) come out tomorrow but thats a completely separate discussion.
[for me, clause 4 of the Hilton honors T&Cs gave me my lead - if they only promise me 6 months, then I'm nervous exposing my "savings" to a longer risk than that...
"The Program has no predetermined termination date and may continue until such time as Hilton HHonors Worldwide, L.L.C. decides to terminate the Program, at any time, with or without notice. Members will have six months from the date Program termination is announced to accumulate and redeem a desired Reward. This means that, regardless of the amount you participate in the Program, your right to accumulate points and claim Rewards can be terminated by Hilton HHonors Worldwide, L.L.C. six months after Hilton HHonors Worldwide, L.L.C. announces Program termination."]