How do you all find out about HH promotions? I see that it's not as easy as finding Marriott promos on their website.

I am just saying instead of waiting for the promo to get the exact details and doing the same analysis within minutes which will be accurate, you would rather waste your time in figuring out all the possible combination of what the promo "could be" just so you have it ready when the promo comes out? This isn't the Friday morning run after Thanksgiving.

This promo is not out yet. It was posted by a member who works for a HHonors hotel and presumably gets some advance notices on future promos or some some inside information from other sources.

Once the promo is official, it is usually available on hhonors.com

If you edit your subscriptions to let them email you offers, then you'll get them via email usually after the promotion has started.

If you're asking about finding out about future promotions, some members of FlyerTalk seem to be able to find out about promotions before they're made available to public. There are some corporate insiders who leak information here and some people have a knack for finding the websites for promotions before the website is given out to the public. There's usually advance notice or speculation about the next quarter's promotion for every FT hotel forum. It's very useful information to me because I plan all my hotel stays 30 - 60 days in advance of my actual travel.

Marriott promotions are often targeted based on the stay activity of the rewards member. If you call Marriott Rewards customer service and talk to a person, then you usually find out they have alternate offers if you don't like the one they offer you via email.

This is probably a really dumb question, but what are "welcome points" and how do I get them??

I don't think it's a waste of time, since I was able to figure out whether awards change dramatically depending on whether one has a different VIP level or a cheaper room, etc. This is going to be handy info for me to have going forward (and what card I should use to pay, which is something I generally pay close attention to.) Once I had those numbers figured out, it was a piece of cake - maybe 5, 10 minutes - to plug in the promo.

I was doing it anyway so thought I'd share with the class. If you think it's a "waste of time" to read it, most browsers have a big blue scroll button on the right side of the screen....

I'll re-do it once we know the details. Oh, and if this has all been done before, I'd like to see a link. I didn't find anything when I did a search before I posted. It'd be interesting to compare conclusions with someone else on this.

Did you include the 500-point AMEX online booking bonus in your calculations?

Is it still offered? I haven't gotten one for booking online through the Hilton site for some time.

It IS still offered. If you're not getting it, definitely call HH to follow up. You have to both book with an Amex card and then pay with it.

I did NOT include the 500 point bonus, any of the property-specific bonuses (250 for Hampton Inn, etc.) or the 1st-8-stay bonus for Surpass, etc.

Those are just really variable, and our international friends generally don't have access to the CC-related stuff.

Although I did just take a look and adding the 500 points, even to a much cheaper room (I used $75) doesn't change the fact that you should pay with WN Visa if you're earning for WN - even if you're a Diamond Hilton VIP (math avail upon request). Mostly due to the doubled spend and relatively low redemption rates associated with WN Visa as compared to HH.

(this isn't promo math, just everyday hotel spend using WN Visa vs Surpass)

3 nights set to Points and Points using Surpass: .64 RR Gold, .7 RR DIA
3 nights set to Points and Miles using Surpass: 1.03 RR Gold, 1.09 RR DIA
3 nights set to Points and Miles using Surpass, hotel hopping: 2.03 RR Gold, 2.09 RR DIA

3 nights set to P & P using WN Visa: .69 RR Gold, .75 RR DIA
3 nights set to P & M using WN Visa: 1.08 RR Gold, 1.1 RR DIA
3 nights set to P & M using WN Visa, hotel hopping: 2.08 RR Gold, 2.1 RR DIA

Yup.. I get them every single stay. You have to use your HHonors Amex each time for it to post to your account.

This is a good point.

In fact, the "HamptonInsider" actually missed by a mile for their alleged insider information for Q2. They said it would be double airline miles or something like that and then when it was annoucned it ended up being the free cert for 4 stays/10 nights.

I wish they would just continue with the certs program. If you travel as much as I do you can just keep using certs for reward stays and bank more points.

Maybe HHonors will give us multiple choice and let us choose the one we like the best!

Thank You
 

Thanks for the analysis, divemistressofthedark. Contrary to some churlish individuals, I always appreciate when someone takes the time to share their analysis on various topics on the FT boards.

Will

Don't look a "gift horse in the mouth" and s/he didn't miss it "by a mile": http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hilto...n-hhonors.html

Sorry to disagree with you but after she posted that thread, people immediately started debating whether the 10 night/free cert was worth it and the thread took off from there.

The free cert/4 stay thing was never mentioned until HHonors announced it.

So I would say that she missed it by a mile. There is a big difference between 4 and 10. Especially in this case.

So what about someone not using an affinity card
 

With regards to the posts about the upcoming Q3 promotion. What if you have to put the charges on your own credit card or a company credit card? Which is better to select then if you room rate runs $122 a night w/o taxes.