TheTourVan

Great post and agree with it all. And you are dead on with ClubCarlson. Looking back, it is the one program I wish we grabbed the credit card for that didnt. Bonus is still fairly lucrative and the devalue has not really hit them as hard if at all in certain areas.

Not great for the higher end vacations we want, but perfect for the one night stop overs that occur for work.

ILovetheReds

^^^ For MR gold you have to stay at Marriott's or charge a LOT on their credit card. You don't get it for simply having their Visa.

Same with Hyatt Diamond. Hyatt Diamond is worth a lot more than Hilton Diamond but it is a lot harder to achieve, you have to actually stay at Hyatt's and not simply put $40,000 on their Visa (If you put $40K on your Hyatt visa you do get night/stay credit towards diamond status but you still have stay at their properties, they don't just simply hand you over the status).

I really hate the devaluation a lot. However when a chain gives out gold (and even diamond status) as easily as Hilton does, a lot of the "VIPs" have no reason to complain if they aren't staying at HH properties on a regular basis.

sdsearch

Furthermore, it also lies in how you EARN your points.

Hilton is the easiest program to earn lots of points without doing paid stays, because it's the only one I know of with a highly churnable credit card for oodles of points (for those based in the US, at least).

However, Hilton's promotions on paid stays are rarely great, so if you have to earn your points only on stays (say, because of business travel), then you might look at it totally differently than someone who's mostly earning their HHonors points in other ways.

VA1379

You can ask for a fast track offer to gold or platinum status. This thread covers it in detail, but basically you need 9 stays (nights are used for normal elite requirements) in 3 months to keep platinum and 6 stays for gold. I always recommend platinum for the fast track because of Marriott's policy of soft landings. If you earn platinum from fast track, it counts as earning it normally in the year when you finish the fast track. Someone who earns it in 2013 will have platinum thru February 28, 2015.

If you really want to optimize your status from a fast track, I would start one in December 2013 and finish it in January 2014. That will give you platinum status thru February 29, 2016. December is a good time for discretionary stays in the DC, Atlanta and Dallas metro areas where a lot of business hotels are half empty during the last third of December.

Marriott's lifetime status is easy to achieve for those who spend a lot of time in hotels and can get extra rollover nights, which basically makes any night over a specific elite level count twice for lifetime status and for status qualification in the following year. You cannot rollover nights more than once, but people who live in hotels can earn lifetime status really fast.

If you hit platinum 3 years in a row and fall short in a following year, you can get an extra year of platinum status. Marriott has a policy of doing a manual review of the accounts of multiyear platinum members, and they have extended status as a favor. Many people on FT have gotten the extension, and I met one guy in person (not an FT member) several years ago who got the friendly bump in status.

TheTourVan

I agree and am aware of the fast track. However again that goes back to the idea that you still have to earn that status rather than get it automatically. So even if its for the first 9 stays, you are getting Gold privilege and working towards the next one rather than trying to obtain status through a fast track and hoping you can maintain each year.

nlkm9

I earn my diamond status the old fashioned way but I still would much rather stay at a hampton than a courtyard--Im a bit irritated that along with the devaluation they increased the requirements to be a diamond by 2 nights, but it is still worth it to me.

FlyerTalker7654

Since moving to the US I have been thinking about the various Hilton credit cards and the fact that you can 'buy' status. At the end of the Hilton are in business to make money...they make money by having heads in beds....however, how much money do they also make when people spend by having their credit cards?? Point is...they are making money.....with me???? So is it a bad thing to give away status???

Happy

They also make money, in a much easier way, by selling Points to the Banks.

Airlines have been doing this for years and hotel chains finally catch on.

ILovetheReds

For people that actually stay at Hiltons, it is a bad thing. I really don't care about the points being given away, or even free wifi benefits. It is a bad thing when you stay with a hotel chain weekly and have to compete for upgrades against people that don't stay at Hilton's often.

As a BA gold, would you be ok with BA giving away gold status to their credit card holders and competing against them for upgrades?

ILovetheReds

It's not the points elites have a problem with, it's giving away status and having more completion for upgrades and not to mention dealing with more crowded lounges, etc.

Airline credit cards give away miles NOT status. Some airline cards give away elite miles, but they typically have a high fee and don't give away the status, just elite miles to help reach the status faster.

A hotel chain should not be giving away their top tier status without requiring some stays.

TheTourVan

Why? I understand that those that worked for that status may feel otherwise, but truthfully as someone that spent years traveling until becoming self employed, and stopped traveling for 6 years, I would hate to have to go through it again. This gave me the ability to get the status I enjoyed previously elsewhere.

Business wise it makes perfect sense. Get more people to realize that some of these perks are worth it and they begin to use them and refer others to use them.

For those that do not like status being done this way, there are so many programs that offer just that. I mean no offense by this, but the last post sounds quite "snobby". Now I am sure it is lack of tone through text, but it comes off as "its my lounge, your kind is not welcome". Again, just lack of tone through a message board of course.

flyer121

I feel that if you choose "points & points" as your earning preference, use the Reserve card, and are Diamond, the ability to accrue 30 points per dollar is rather extensive. $1,000 in Hilton spending = 30,000 points.

travelexpert

You nailed it.

Hilton is now the perfect chain for credit card use.

I plan to get the new Citi Card for Gold status.

This will replace my prior 120+ nights per year as Diamond, allowing me to use my earned 1 million+ points and still get the same perks.

And I shall not complain about what happens to the points I earn via the credit card--because there will not me many. It's purely for the status.

As for revenue stays--I have now switched to Marriott, Hyatt and Carlson.

Land-of-Miles

Whilst I think much can be made of the fact that if you compare earn to burn for hotel stays on a like for like basis the HH programme is still pretty good compared to Starwood (I won't compare to ICHG since it isn't an apples to apples comparison) there is surely a bigger issue?

The dramatic devaluation of almost 1 Million points in my account leaves me with little confidence going forward it wont happen again Given that I took a big hit only 2 years ago in the last major devaluation this is a big issue for me. I tend to take redemptions on big trips to special places so only make a significant redemption every 24 months on average. I no longer trust Hilton enough to accrue significant amounts of points (whether that be from a credit card or stays).

Rickers

2 stays, as I recall --- 2 nights wouldn't be so bad. Anyway, this is just symptomatic of the world in which we live -- everything is being devalued, the cost of living continues its inexorable rise, and you get less bang for your buck everywhere you turn.
Hilton is no different than any other global brand.