the phoenix

So first time in this forum. Used to SPG/Bonvoy.

Have to stay at a homewood for at least 2 months, possibly 3. So the manager who books it suggested my wife open a Hilton points account. Just curious, At $129 a night, how many points would we expect to earn? How many free nights could this earn us? Didn’t see any stickies about HHP. Anything I should know?

TIA and health and prosperity in 2021

pauleeepaul

HH has a limit on the spend that can earn points in one stay, it is $10,000 if memory serves. So every $10,000 of spend you need one night where the stay posts to another HH account (or indeed no HH account at all, the point is you have to reset the meter towards the $10,000 cap.) I would rather concentrate the spend/earning/elite quals in one account as described, losing the odd night every $10,000, but the other option is to have two accounts and go back and forth. In either event you will need a good relationship with a helpful and knowledgeable member of staff to pull this off without physically having to vacate the room/property for a night (if you are able to do that it is easy just leave and come back a day later.)

In terms of what you will earn HH is 10 points per dollar (excluding taxes.) Assuming you will get to Diamond pretty quickly that is double to 20 points per dollar. Using an HH credit card to pay adds another ~12 points per dollar. And HH has often promos (that are socialized here but you have to enroll in) that are on top of what is in the previous sentence. So a good rule of thumb at the Diamond level is 35-40 points per dollar of spend. So at $129 roughly 5,000 points per night at the Diamond run rate. Pre Covid I would say you needed at least 30,000 points per night for a property i would be willing to stay in, that has come down to 20,000. You will still find resorts and hot destinations that are north of 50,000.

Last point is I value HH points between 1/3 and 1/2 of a US cent (say $0.004.) Hope that helps.

the phoenix

BIg help, thank you. Hoping that my stay counts as qualifying. Looking at 60+ nights. Adn may go to 90 which would take us to $0K.. quick glance suggests we may end up as Diamond. wild.

xooz

A few comments:

• Having a HH Amex card would be helpful in garnering points. Even the no annual fee card gets you 7 points per dollar. You would become HH Silver immediately and get a point boost from that. Not sure of the current bonus point offers, but in December I got a 100K HH point sign up bonus for the free card. Other cards have fees and can get you better bonuses.
• Here is a calculator I found that you can play with. Note that you have to toggle off the "seasonal promotion" option. You can toy with the credit card type, elite status, days stayed and rates and get a point estimate. I plugged in some numbers and came up with a ballpark estimate of around 280K points for using the base Amex card as a HH Silver, then 3 30 day stays as a HH Silver, Gold, and Diamond respectively.
• While you will become Gold and then Diamond during the stay, a Homewood usually doesn't have much in the way of upgrades, but as your status increases you may be able to get better rooms as your stay(s) progress.

You need to pay attention to the stay restrictions and may need to move out for a day or two or get your spouse to reserve a room to break your stay into 2 or 3 separate stays. Bottom line, if you are committed to the stay at the property, it is a no brainer to collect the points. You could end up with more than 320-350K points, which would be a 5 day stay at a resort that charges 80k points a night (5th night free). One caveat would be whether the stay is paid directly by you or not. Some stays on a corporate account may not garner you benefits, or stays at certain corporate rates may not get points.

muzthe42nd

There is no limit to the base points that can be earned at Homewood Suites.

Also you will get points and night credit every time a payment is taken, instead of all at once when you checkout.

Mirendo

If you are really - In It To Win It - then you setup one Hilton account for yourself and one for your wife. Then you make the booking with yourself as Guest 1 on the first night, your wife the second night, yourself on the 3rd night and your wife on the 4th night and so on.

Because right now, you get 2000 Hilton points
- per stay - and another 5000 points after five nights. Both of your accounts will also reach Diamond status after 30 nights. You can then pool your points or send them from one account to another and have all points combined. The 2000 points per stay will likely be as much or more than the amount of points you earn per night. Tip the manager $100 for his or her troubles with checking you in and out every day for 60-90 days straight.

jbeckett

This is incorrect. There is no limit (there used to be a few years ago but not anymore). To the OP, I recommend that you carefully read the Honors terms and conditions before your long stay so that you know what you are getting in to..
https://www.hilton.com/en/hilton-honors/terms/

At $129 a night, you earn 1290 base points per night. You can earn bonuses based on your status (silver 20%, gold 80%, diamond 100%). You also earn bonuses based on the current promotion (2000 points per stay, 5000 points per 5 nights). As gold or diamond, you will get 250 points per stay as a MyWay benefit. There are also milestone bonuses every 10 nights after you reach 20 nights.

So once you are diamond, with the current promotion, per night you will earn 1290 base points, 1290 bonus points for being diamond, 1000 points per night for the current promotion. The milestone bonuses are worth at least 1000 points per night. You will also earn 2250 points per stay - if you want to go the alternating night route proposed by Mirendo you will maximize these points. To get an idea of what your points are worth, I suggest that you check the rates for yourself at the sort of places that you would want to stay. The most expensive standard award is 120000 points per night (or 480000 for five nights). Or use an average valuation of .4 cents per point, it is easy to find stays where your points are worth this much.

You do want to get to gold and diamond as quickly as possible for the status and MyWay bonuses, so check out after 20 nights so that you get gold, then again after 30 nights. When you check out, the next reservation should be for your wife (1 night or more, depending on your point earning strategy).

Also consider paying with a Hilton (Amex) credit card - you can get up to 14 points per dollar spent with the high end Aspire card, and somewhat less with the less costly cards. Aspire comes with Diamond status, so if you have this you'll start out with the full Diamond points, and not have to work your way up.

the phoenix

Holy cow. I’d never dream that as a possibility! Is it a huge pain in the ...? We’d get invoices everyday? Would the CC company find it unusual? Is this done a lot by people who love racking up points?

I’m amazed m my head is spinning. Going to read the link above about terms and mess w the calculator. We are staying 69 nights possibly more so the $$$ will be spent. May as well make the most of it! I really appreciate the insight( never really saw the possibilities with hotel points since we never stayed a ton of nights. ). I’m sure I’ll have more thoughts. Thank you all again

the phoenix

So been reading, Looks like In 2021, 15 stays or 30 nights can get us to Diamond.

Question about the alteration of night suggested...have a cat staying an it’s $150/stay. How’s that figure into it? Wouldn’t that screw up reservations?

jbeckett

Yes, you would need to come to an agreement with the hotel management otherwise the alternating stay idea is out.

the phoenix

Has the idea of alternating reservations like this been done for such a lengthy stay and how arduous is it for the staff?
Does one just come out and say they are doing it to garner max points? I didn’t want to open a new card but absolutely will especially if they honor our request.

aww3583

Rough calculations based on:

A. $129 room rate per night for 90 nights.
B. Single HHonors account (checking in once and staying checked in).

Total spend on room rate alone would be $11,610.
Base points: $11,610 x 10 = 116,100
Promotional award points (2k points per stay) = 2,000
Promotion award points (5k every 5th night) = 90,000
Silver bonus points (extra 2 points per dollar on nights 1-5) = 1,290
Gold bonus points (extra 8 points per dollar on nights 6-20) = 15,480
Diamond bonus points (extra 10 points per dollar on nights 21-90) = 90,300
Milestone bonus (10k points at night #40, #50, #70, #80, #90) = 50,000
Milestone bonus (40k points at night #60) = 40,000

Total = 405,170 points.

If you can get your corporate travel agency to book the trip but let you pay with your AMEX Aspire, that's an additional 14 points per dollar spent ($11,610 x 14 points = 162,540 points)

Total potential of 567,710 points.

Your mileage may vary.

Edit: I'd avoid the alternating yours/spouses reservations to spread the points amongst 2 accounts, then combine the points. Too many potential logistical issues.

400k points will get you a very nice week-long stay somewhere. HHonors is the only program that does 5th night Free on award point reservations.

2nd edit: I didn't catch the pet charge of $150 per stay. That would push me hard towards checking in once. $150 x 1 is a lot better than $150 x 90. Not that a good manager would charge that, but again, that's another logistical hurdle.

Exiled in Express

OP wasn't clear on who is paying but $129 sounds like a Best Available Rate, there is probably also a ~$124 rate for HHonors members, $5/night plus tax can add up over that many nights.

hhoope01

Just a slight correction to your post. Marriott also has a 5th night free award (and it is offered to everyone, not just elites.) IHG has a 4th night free on awards for their CC holders.

the phoenix

Actually the wife stated it’s $119 a night.

Paying for ourselves, considering Aspire!

I’ll try and Consider alternating bookings but maybe every 2 weeks. ....

Maybe would be better to do an alternate booking at the 22nd (or so) night! So we’d both be diamond in 40 days. Seems like a win win, no? A lot less work for staff and we get some decent points