Free if you are a Plat.

There isnt, by VA I meant Virgin Atlantic.

So I just need to create a VA account, change 'my preferences' in HH to miles, sign up for the HH VA miles promo.....from there is there any way for me to xfer the VA miles I earned back to HH or something (as I do not fly VA enough for the VA miles to matter to me)???

Agreed. I just reached out to Marriott to see if they will do a match/challenge. Months ago I qualified for Diamond so I have no status motivation with Hilton for the remainder of the year.

When I can earn 3 free days from Marriott by the end of the year or gain enough from the HH promo to be 2/3 way to one stay at Hampton, the scales have starkly tipped to Marriott. Obviously Hilton is free to do what they want and they are making a business decision (as am I), yet I wonder if the benefit will outweigh the business they will lose. My guess is Diamonds and others may get a targeted promo if/when Hilton feels the pain of such a extremely flimsy Q4 Promo.
Seriously, would it have killed Hilton to at least give the 1k bonus for every night stayed???

You need to create VA account, choose HHpoints and Virgin atlantic miles. after 5 stays you get 20 000 miles (if staying at all but hampton inn and home2suites chains). 20 000 miles you can transfer back to hilton for 40 000 Hilton honors points. Free.

Thanks Alex!
Now the question is, is 40k points + 15k I'll earn through Hilton's Q4 "promo" valuable enough to continue with Hilton for Q4? Or should I go for the 3 free days at Marriott (assuming Marriott will offer me the challenge)? (of course how many less points will I earn going points + miles versus points + points??)
I'll have about 8 stays before 1/1/13.

Agree with almost all the posts--this is a very, very weak promo.

And HH is now following Marriott's "lead" with skipping months (nothing for October), thinking loyalists won't notice.

And what's with the reward for weekend, but nothing for those of us on business midweek paying double rates or higher compared to weekend?

Since I have earned Diamond for next year--it's definitely time to seek out greener pastures elsewhere...

Even the pitiful Marriott Megabonus is more rewarding, with approximately 2,000 bonus points per night, any night! (25 nights gets 50K bonus points).

do you have status with spg????i just stayed here last week....plats gets free breakfast in the lounge....the choices were plenty & the food was good....

it really depends on how long your stays are, how much the rate is etc.
cheap one nighters are ideal for hilton promo. if rate is under $300, its better do fixed miles.
points+points? well, you can do that too, if you dont want 40K bonus points at all. lol
Cheap one night stays are ideal for marriott as well. lol
without knowing the details, it's hard to say which would be better - calculator should be of great help here :)

Want the best value? do one night stays, if rate is the same.

One word. Lame. As many others have mentioned there are better offers out there so I won't be seen much at Hilton's in Q4.

No, I want the promo!:D I meant the 40k VA promo is not 40,000 additional net points (because I won't get the my preference=miles 50% bonus).

I'd guess my average stay is around $200 base. I'll do about 25 nights/8 stays (unless I do some hopping) between Nov 1 and Dec 31. So the VA promo will net me 27,500 points plus the Q4 promo which will be at most 15k = 42k in 'promo' points (if I do my stays at Hilton).
With Marriott if I do 9 stays I am looking at 3 certs.

I work like a dog when I am on the road -- so hopping usually ain't something I am up for or have the motivation to do (I have for the free certs promos of the past).
It's a tough call but with Diamond for 2013 already in the bag and no hopping needed to get the 3 free certs with Marriott (or maybe 1 hop), I'm probably (though not definitely) going with Marriott for the rest of this year.

Thanks again Alex....

Ouch.....This hurt. I have expensive booking at Conrad Bali. SPG are the best for Q4 2012?

You need a VS account, not VA. You need to give your VS number at check in. You can transfer VS miles to HH at 1:2 over the telephone only, minimum transfer 10,000 and increments of 5,000 thereafter.

Correction. You need your VS number on your hhonors account. It does not matter if you give it at check in or not. It must be on the hhonors account and a miles selection on your double dip earning style to earn miles.

Putting the number on your hhonors account tells them where to send your miles.

Has anyone registered for this (the 1000 point Q4) promotion yet?