New to Honors-- what should I know?
I'm just now starting my adventures in HHonors after four years as a platinum IHG (on stays, mind you; I never got their status-granting credit card, and the very fact that this exists plays a role in my decision to switch).
The HHonors folks have generously agreed to let me do a status challenge-- 21 stays in 90 days, which I'll achieve easily, but my gold status came from a now defunct Amex Platinum benefit-- so I've never actually stayed in a Hilton property.
While the high end offering of all of the major loyalty chains are all very nice, I don't stay there on a regular basis due to my employer's travel policy, so the low to mid tier *ANYTHING* has got to be better than the bargain-basement Holiday Inn Express I've spent the past three months at; forget hotel bar, they didn't have hotel glassware.
I'm staying five nights at a time at an Embassy Suites for the next month or so (ES Washington Square in Oregon, if anyone cares), so I've signed up for the quadruple points promotion, and switched my earning preferences to points + points.
I'm also assuming that the points are always better than opting for a candy bar at check-in.
What else should I know to make the most of the program? I wind up collecting throughout the year, and then spending them all on a foreign trip with the wife every December...