InkUnderNails

And while you are at it Hilton, explain to me why I have been building points by staying 100+ nights a year in your properties just so I can burn them on a nice South Pacific vacation, and you keep moving the number of points needed faster than I can catch up.

luv2go

Thanks jasonvr for taking the time to write that! Eager to see what type of response you get (if any)

jasonvr

And I got a response, and I am summarily done with Hilton:

Bolding is mine. I will write back one final email telling them I am done with loyalty to Hilton. I will also inquire as to whether they believe they are violating truth in advertising laws by still advertising the FP hotels as Cat 7 when that no longer is true.

holtju2

That is utter BS. A huge devaluation of the programs and they don't utter a word in advance?

Colin

wow. without speech.

Cellisttoo

Hilton HHonors is to hotel programs as Skymiles is to airline programs. Is Jeff Robinson now working for Hilton. The "new and improved" skymiles program started off with a very similar email. "Big News!" my foot.

Mora

Wow sneaking a devaluation like this into the program seriously is bad marketing. I wonder if they'll strech this to some of the Walldorfs in NYC or Rome.

stifle

This is rather poor form. I don't care at all for resorts so this change is unlikely to affect me personally, but the way it has been communicated and managed is all wrong.

voc6

I switched to Hilton in July after deciding my honeymoon would be in FP. However, my million points are with Marriott, which doesn't help me one bit in FP. I booked the flights (with award points the day they became available) and have now run into this disaster with Hilton. I feel like I've spoken with everyone within Hilton Customer Service about this and they keep emailing the hotel but the hotel responds with, "we're sorry - Hilton did this to us by changing our point structure." I am beyond furios and have been through much frustration with Hilton. I absolutely think it is a misrepresentation if they assure that rooms will be available then then block them all out. (Though in my 15 conversations/emails with them they have never mentioned that some hotels can get rid of standard rooms).

Back to Marriott and Stawood for me! Not to mention, of all the hotel programs, I have found their customer service (on this issue) to be by far, the worst I have ever experienced.

lewende

Based on email trails I had with both Hilton BBN and DD, I am not surprised to read this reply.

divemistressofthedark

I agree, but I don't think this is going to be restricted to resorts. As soon as some of their properties are "premium only" they'll feel free to extend this garbage to other high-dollar areas like London, Hawaii etc.

I just re-upped Diamond for this year, but my SPG card is coming out of storage ASAP.

Thunderroad

Thanks for sharing this news, as lousy as it is. I have to confess, as this change was emerging over the past several months I thought it just might be a software or systems glitch that was accounting for the astronomical points charges. So much for my naivete.

Couldn't agree more. HH certainly isn't the first hotel chain (or airline) to devalue its program. And some that do so try to put lipstick on a pig in announcing the changes. But to do such a major change in such a sneaky way seems unprecedented, at least in my limited experience.

andysiz

I just sent my long email to Hilton and HHonors respectfully requesting a review of their policy change. The only thing we can do is bombard Hilton with complaints and hope that they will think twice and perhaps come to some sort of compromise. I implore people here not to rely on others to do the complaining -- we all need to voice our concern. Look at what consumer response to Netflix's planned spinoff of its DVD business caused in a short amount of time!

The question for me is not whether Hilton has the right to do what it has (T&C are written so loosely and favorably for Hilton), but whether Hilton OUGHT to do what it has, and in the way that it did it. At the VERY LEAST, I think some fair warning would have been in order; I feel very bad for people who really relied on Hilton to plan their honeymoons/anniversaries/etc.

This devaluation, by total removal of Standard room redemptions, is quite crippling for the value of Hilton points. This is orders beyond, for example, creating another category tier and upping redemption costs by say 10,000 points per night. Hilton points never returned good value on low-to-mid cost hotels (SPG is generally VASTLY superior in this respect) and I felt that their value lied in the ability to redeem at high-cost aspirational hotels at a good value.

I am thinking twice, now, about rebuilding my Hilton balance for a future trip to the Maldives.... Oh well.

toadman

Just tried to book a reward reservation for the Hilton Waikoloa in April 2012. They list several different premium room types and the points required but when I click on and "select" the premium room type, it gives me a message that the room type is not available and to select another room type. I went through and selected every single room type, and none were available! So why are the room types and corresponding point values listed if they are not bookable?!

yoyo

I just tried Hilton Los Cabos, Mexico. The axon7 seems available on line but if you select that standard reward (37.5K) type you get a message "the rate you have selected is not available" What the heck are they upto?