Kooler

I went to my Hilton HHonors account, signed in (I kept hearing from all the customer service reps I would e-mail that all reservations need to be made by calling the closest calling area near me , so they would e-mail me a template with numbers for all over the world) So with my current summit coming up I was wondering if there was some truth to that, but I still made the reservation at the Austin Hilton and at the end of making the reservation I saw that I could reserve a rental car, an airline ticket, or a package with 2 or all 3 of the above. Some of the prices for the all 3 packages were really reasonable.
anyway, I went to just add a car fro Budget to the current reservation, all the promotions for the major car rental companies were listed but this one was 750 HHonors points 25% off each day rate or since I made one for a week, the 25% was taken off the week rate. I went forward with the reservation. It took me t the Budget website, had all the codes and coupon numbers filed in, etc. but it turned out that the main discount code had just expired so the site told me to try another code. I thought; "tr another code.." Well, this led me on a wild chase hitting all dead-ends. I did find a website fro HHonors that said, "let us get your car rental reservation for you" but we had to know the coupon code. DSG (or something like this) code and this other one that I cannot remember. I could not find any of the right codes.

does anybody know if Hilton HHonors really has a reputation for naming sound car rental reservations where HHonors points are given?

I thought I was on to something different and a bit easier since it allowed me to make it right when I finished my reservation but never got anywhere. Is Delta SkyMiles still the best way to get a rental car with miles? It sometimes nearly makes me feel like I am going to have a nervous breakdown because the miles never come through or something like that happens.

Thanks for any help. In reading some of your posts, I think to myself where did I go wrong. You people have this down to a science and really et rewarded for it (at least it seems).

OB one

Again, it takes a long time to learn all the ins and outs of loylaty programs and the decisons are made individually. Delta might be good for you , but if someone else always flies AA, getting Delta skymiles doesn't really help them. fwiw, I have perhaps done the combo hotel/car twice out of hundreds of bookings. YMMV - your miles may vary. Only you can make that decision. That said, be aware that if you have a rental car from certain companies(even if you did make your res trhough HHonors), you can get 250 points per stay by showing the rental car keys at the registration desk for HHonors stays. http://hhonors1.hilton.com/en_US/hh/.../carrentals.do

Kooler

hey thank you. One of my points about Delta was to show that they have (for the most part) a very organized skymiles section, and it can sometime include combos they get in to with other promos like Hilton, etc. I did not understand why Hilton did not have one and people wee telling me to go to the hotel you are staying at. That is the issue. half of the time I work the trip around the promos so going to a hotel, when I am not eve sure of the hotels are decent. Again, the way Delta does it, I would think is very user-friendly. Now getting your miles/point all the time is a different story.

Your comment about Delta not being good for an AA frequent flyer is funny. You missed my point using Delta.

I am curious what your abbreviations or acronyms mean? "fwiw" I tried that site you put in your post and that was the one site that you either had to know the current codes or they were expired.

thanks for your reply. I do appreciate it. I guess this forum seems to be for experts in this area communicating with other experts. However I learn a little along the way. :-)

BTW, do you know if I stay at a Hilton hotel under no promo, if they still give any points/miles in your "My Way" pot? If so, I should probably change my upcoming Austin trip for 1 week to points and points (I think it is something like this.) Since there is no flying under a promo, I should get out of the points/miles "My Way" choice in my HHonors account.

OB one

HIlton does have a page and I directed you to it. It may not be as good as Delta's in your opinion, but it exists.

Yup, a different story and probably one for another thread entirely.

not really, the point is that every program is slightly different and YOU have to make the choice of where you will concentrate your miles/points. I am in Delta now only because they took NWA over. I don't particularly like Delta and HATE their website. I find it excruciatingly slow and their skymiles requirements for a free flight are outrageous and the fact that one cannot book upgrades online is so last century, it hurts, but that is where my NWA miles went. People reevaluate their allegiances all the time.

At the very top of the page, you should see a menu that reads "Home Forum Members Extras Help" Pass your mouse over Help until the dropdown menu shows up. See the word "Glossary," click on it. Read the paragraph. Doesn't make much sense, does it? Now clcik on the highlighted acronyms, for example, the very first is fwiw. Click on it. See the meaning? fwiw, this is not just an FT term but an IBB (Internet Bulletin Board) term.

There are plenty of newbies posting here with the same questions over and over. Normally the posts get one or two replies, either a quick answer or an admonition ot search, then fade to obscurity. One cannot get up every morning in real life and ask "What color is the sky?" The sky is blue, well, unless it is not. Gold and Diamonds get upgrades on a space available basis unless they do not. The sky is not guaranteed to be blue and enither are upgrades. Most posters in the HHonors thread are pretty helpful and there is not a lot of arguing like in some other threads and may will help but it takes time to learn. Keep at it.

You are welcome. See you know some lingo already with BTW. And choosing points and points vs points and miles is a personal decision. I was in Austin last year and chose points and miles, but had just come from San Antonio where I chose points and points. Why? Austin was a one night stay, San Antonio was a four night stay. I'll leave the math to you, but for one week stay, I would likely choose points and points unless I needed the miles to keep an account alive or to reach a reward level.