I don't know what is your experience with HH, but after a few months of being a member I find HH absolutely the worst hotel program EVER. For one I find it impossible to book a hotel room using HH points. There is no availability anywhere anytime. Also the amount of points required to stay in a half-decent property is outrageously high. I am also elite with Marriot Rewards and SPG and in my opinion there is just no comparison - MR and SPG win hands down in terms of availability and number of points required for awards. Now I am just looking for a chance to unload all of my HH point and never again step foot in a Hilton property.

What is your status level with HH, SPG, and MR?

I guess I will have to disagree ... having been MR Plat for years and being given HH Diamond originally and requalified for the last 3 years I have to say HH is a much better program for me ... I am treated better and I think have a wider range of properties ... but as intimated above ... your status at HH can have a direct bearing on this ...

Good luck moving forward.

--

PB - enjoyer of bulkhead seats down to Fort Lauderdale shortly

My guess is we are dealing with ignorance compounded with rookie mistakes? But, we need more info first.

I also disagree.

IMHO, HH is one of the better programs. Lots of properties to choose from, unlike SPG and Marriott, or at least in the areas I frequent. Hilton also has wallet-friendlier rates.

HH also Double Dips. I get both the miles and the hotel points. Not so elsewhere.

I have not booked many reward stays, and I am Diamond, but I do not have a problem finding properties and nights for award stays. I wish I had the points to enjoy them all.

If my positive experience is based on status, it is not difficult to obtain Gold, and I would suggest you do so.
Perhaps, your search for award stays has been limited to a few places or dates. In forum after forum on FT, you will be told that the key to successful reward redemption is flexibility.

I don't mean to sound like a Pollyanna, but your rant is rather extreme. If you are concerned with the high cost of reward stays try Scandic in Europe or Hampton Inn in the US. You will find properties as low as 7500 points a night. Not on the beach or in Manhattan, of course, but decent places to spend the night. If you're looking for a 5 star resort for 10,000 points a night, please tell me the program where you find it so I can dump HH and join you.

Now, remembering what has been said here, go back and try again.

Ever!

Does not give the poster lots of credibility.

Need more info regarding your circumstances.

I'm a Diamond, but I have made award reservations this year at my first choice of property without needing the Diamond Desk's intervention at some serious peak properties:

- Tempe AZ during Spring Training
- Anchorage duing early August

Last year, I got rooms in Milan and Vienna without any Diamond Desk intervention.

I've used 162,500 HHonors points in the last twelve months. To pay for those rooms would have cost me $1300+tax (say 11% to be conservative). Even as a general member, that would be an 8.8% ROI program, which is on a par with using airline miles from most non-mileage-runs in lieu of discounted (Z/I class) overseas business class flights.

HHonors is not so bad at all. The worst hotel program is Best Western's Gold Club thing, not HHonors.

Any reason besides having to pay to stay at Best Westerns in order to earn free nights at Best Westerns?

I was very disappointed after Hilton devaluated the value of its points a while ago.

I do use them when necessary, but I dropped my Hilton Visa card in a hurry. Not worth keeping.

I still have 25,000 points with them, and I just slowly keep gathering, no longer aggressively pursue them

Sheer necessity or exhaustion.

That said, I will also disagree with the OP's post, in that I also have had very little problem redeeming points for stays. The notable exception was for several Scandic stays I was looking at (during my $20 BA WT+ trip in early 2003), but my locations and times were not flexible enough to get exactly what I wanted. All of those stays were otherwise booked into other locations that had award availability.

I estimate that, in the 10 or so times I've redeemed a stay award, I've been able to get my first choice of hotel, on the dates I wanted, 7 times. On the occasion of the other times, I got my second choice with no problem.

Mike

Well, I'm HH Gold and Hyatt Platinum (same as HH gold), and I find Hilton's award nights VERY expensive. I just booked two nights at Hyatt Embarcadero for Memorial Day for 30,000 points total. SF Hilton wanted 40,000 for ONE night at the decidedly inferior SF Hilton. Points are more or less equally earned at both chains.

Having said that, HH Gold perks are far better than Hyatt Plat, with a much wider choice of hotels.

I've never had a problem getting award stays where I want and when I want. HH has always been good to me. I did a fast track to gold early last year and have been treated well everywhere.

Does Hyatt have a Hampton Inn line to earn points easier? Reason I ask - I don't think points are earned equally when one hotel chain has....2x? 5x? the hotels at different price points in which to earn them.