Keyser

yes you can....it will just require more points....

nonstopski

Sorry to bring this back from the dead, but if I have 66,000 points, am going to have another 75,000 soon, it seems like I couldn't book over what I have in my account.

If I were to, how do I go about doing so? Do I book the reservation with cash and then later switch to points?

jbeckett

You can't change a reservation from points to cash or vice versa. Either wait until you have the points in hand, or book what you can with the points that you have, and later book the rest of it once you have the additional points in your account. Note that what you see available today for points may no longer be available at a later date and there is nothing that you can do about this.

nonstopski

So I actually called Hilton last night to confirm availability, and they mentioned that if I called them I could transfer a cash stay to points once they were in my account (just by calling them). I did point out to her that reward availability is more limited than cash availability, and she said, yes, but that there was a good chance I could make it work.


Diamond member, if it matters.

IBobi

My girlfriend and I each have over 100k points, but a 5-night award booking we want to make will cost 200k including the 5th night free. Is it possible to book the stay and pay out of two awards accounts, or does one of us have to transfer (at a pretty hefty $ cost) points to the other so a single account has the 200k points?

Ilseum

Unfortunately, transferring is the only option (as far as I know).

Yellowjj

A cheaper solution may be for each account to pay for 2 nights each on points and then pay for the last night in cash. Make sure it's the same room type and add each other as the second guest in the reservation. At check-in ask to keep the same room.

IBobi

Hardly a good use of the points, unfortunately. 5th night free really maximizes their value. Probably we'll end up just paying out of pocket for a room in Tokyo this trip, and saving the points for a future trip where we can use them for a 5th night once once of us has enough points for that. Thanks!

jbeckett

Another choice would be to buy the ~100k points, on sale now at .5 cents per point. Depends on the price of that Tokyo hotel.

MJMLBBtoCPH

With recent changes in the program since this last post, will Hilton now allow you to make a reservation on points even though you don't have enough points, but you will have enough by the time of the stay? (similar to the way Marriott operates?). Or, are you out of luck without the required number of points?

The Hilton website suggests you are out of luck and recommends paying with points and cash (but I can't do this if I want to take advantage of the 5th night free deal). Will calling them on the phone make a difference?

eponymous_coward

Wow, there are loyalty programs that will let Wimpy eat a hamburger today and pay them Tuesday? What happens if you don't have the points at the time of the future stay? Because this being FT, I am sure SOMEONE will try and abuse a program that has a seeming weak spot...

Anyways, I've never experienced "hey, we'll let you book an award stay while you are short points if you pinkie swear you will have the points by the time of the stay" from Hilton. And being a "hey, you have a pulse and can fog a mirror" Hilton Gold myself (like you) I don't imagine they'd bend the rules. Maybe they would for a really good Diamond customer.

Keyser

many years ago i was about 20k points short for a 7 night reservation at a property in bali....i called the diamond desk to ask them to make a 6 night points reservation & was ready to pay for the 7th night....the reason i called was to make sure they linked the reservations so that i wouldn't have to check out & then back in after the 6th day....on her own the diamond desk rep told me that i was a little short on the points requirement so hilton would be ready to loan me the points to make up the difference & the points would be taken back in the future once i earn them again....keep in mind that i was a diamond, staying over 100 nights a year so the possibility of me running away after getting these 20k points was slim at best....

MJMLBBtoCPH

Marriott actually has allowed Wimpy to do this for awhile. At any rate, the analogy you describe is not exactly equivalent. I'm not asking to consume the room before getting the points. It's only a reservation. Rarely do people pay cash for hotel reservations in advance unless its nonrefundable. The important thing is that the Marriott policy allows one to hold in place whatever award space the hotel has opened up. I was 95% sure Hilton did not have a similar policy. I checked their terms on the Hilton website as best I could, but I wasn't sure if I had missed something. So, I was wondering if by some chance it was possible in a round-about way. I figured the Hilton forum was a good place to confirm my answer. With the Marriott/Starwood merger, would be great if Hilton (perhaps now their main competitor) decided to adopt such a policy.

Here is the langauge on Marriott's website: https://www.marriott.com/rewards/hotel-rewards/faq.mi

What if I don’t have the points for a hotel reward when I book my stay?What if I don't have enough points at the time of my reservation to redeem my hotel reward?
If you have the required amount of points when you first make your reward reservation or later modify it, your points will automatically be deducted from your account when you submit your new or modified reservation.

If you do not have enough points, you can still reserve your room. When you make your reservation, you must select "Use Marriott Rewards Points". Your room will be reserved, yet your reward redemption will not be processed. Instead, you’ll receive an email confirmation of your room reservation only.

Before your stay, you’ll either need to purchase points (maximum 50,000 points per account per year), or make additional stays to earn enough points to cover the difference.

Once you have enough points for your stay, you can order your reward online. Then look up your reservations and use the link to order your reward certificate.

Your points will be redeemed for your stay, and you’ll receive an email confirmation of your reward order along with a reminder of your reservation information.

Please note that e-Certificates are automatically sent to your hotel only and will be available at check-in"

MasterGeek

So, is this doable with Hilton nowadays or not ?

delinquentwoody

The Hilton app a few months ago let me book an 80000 point award stay, despite having only 78000 points in my account, and my balance temporarily went negative until another stay I had repaid those points. I suspect this may have been a glitch however, as when I try to replicate a similar scenario it doesn't let me make the booking.