popcorndk

Thanks guys. I guess I will have enough travel plan to feed my accounts ... and saw the "expiration if no activities within 12 months" in HHonors terms and conditions .. so that means they do not keep your points and your account if there is no activities within 12 months? That's not flexible!

BearX220

Well, it is a program for frequent guests. If you can't manage at least one stay a year, I think you are not the customer the program is designed for.

popcorndk

I wasnt saying I am not able to manage my stays regularly .. comparing to the airline FQTVs, some keep your points for 5 years, some keep for unlimited time, depending on airline's own terms and conditions. What they should do is to keep the real loyal customers even if they for some reasons have not been able to travel as much during a period of one year.

On the contrary, if you frequently visit every "frequent guest" program, regardless airlines or hotels, I guess those are really not the loyal customers a business would want!

Sorry sguy to have brought your discussion so far out of topic.

BearX220

No, don't apologize, I think it's really pertinent. If a multi-year Diamond suddenly drops to two or three stays in a calendar year (perhaps he / she got laid off -- an all-too-plausible scenario these days) I think there ought to be some consideration there. Absolutely.

When customers only use Hilton once every year or two, however, then complain that the program isn't working for them, I don't see their case. The program's mission is to reward a certain degree of patronage.

What HHonors (and to be fair competing programs) is so bad at is tracking and predicting customer lifetime value over a multi-year arc, then dispending status and benefits accordingly. The program's focus is always on the here and now. It's ridiculous to comp people to Gold on the basis of nearly no loyal behavior, but knock a Diamond down to dirt level because of a probably-temporary hiccup in his travel spend. HHonors ends up with a lot of people in the mix who either don't value the status they've got, because they did nothing to earn it, or think they should be granted elite status because they might show loyalty in future, which I also disagree with.

squeakr

you can keep points alive by

buying points at HH
spending $$ on HH dining (registration required)
staying at a cheap hotel through HH, not priceline etc

but it is true - points expire after 12 mos of no activity, AND reports are that you do NOT get a "last warning."

squeakr
co mod HH

Milhous Gloriosus

Does a charge to a Hilton CC (Amex, Visa or Surpass) do it? I'm referring to non-hotel spend that accrues HH points>

sk3

YES! ANY charge on your HH CC will post new HH points into your HH account and ANY activity in your HH account will keep your points "alive". Charge one Starbucks drink PER YEAR on a HH CC and your points stay active for the next 12 months.

I find it a sin (yes, I said it) when people let perfectly good points expire. (I have a friend who gets expensed travel, earns thousands and thousands of miles and points and then lets them expire. Truly, I want to ring his neck. )

It's soooooooooo easy to keep these accounts active.

sk3

I recommend you spend $12.50 and buy 1,000 points right now online.

As mentioned above you could also get account activity through Idines, also Erewards, and by using HH's e-shopping portal for that matter. Or you could tranfer points to another HH member, or receive points from another HH member.

And you're right, the conversion ratio for points to miles is BAD.

But being that the clock is now ticking for you, I'd just consider the $12.50 your "penalty" and buy the 1,000 pts online now. Then you're set for another year - and hopefully you'll have more HH stays between now and 12 months from now, or at the least find something of value to do with the points you have during that time.

JDiver

Essentially ANY activity that changes the points total in the account is "qualifying" - earn points with a qualifying survey, purchase at a retail or travel partner (e.g. car rental), card charge, a hotel stay, points purchase, points spend, etc. It's also imperative to be sure e-mail and other data are up to date.

(Even if they close the account, often people can advocate for getting points back with stays, etc. and are often even given short cut challenges to status.)

(As for airlines - more than one has gone for 18 months of inactivity results in points loss.)

Boraxo

Let's be fair to Hilton (not that I'm a fan) but $12 and change is pretty cheap and easy for a 1-year extension. SPG requires that you earn actual points at a hotel or use an SPG Amex - which is a royal pain for those of us who don't do Amex. Then again, IC and Hyatt points never expire...

SmilingBoy

Redeeming as well? For some reason I haven't been staying much in Hiltons anymore as they are either sold out or ridiculously expensive in Europe. However, I just redeemed a stay in the US where I will be for a few days. I also waitlisted an eUpgrade. Will my spend at this stay generate any points that stop my points from expiring?

concol

My points expired in late September. Today when I called HH I was told that if by October 2011 I manage to have two qualifying stays I would have all my points re-instated. All I have to do is call them a few days after my 2nd stay and re-mind them to have my points re-instated. I think that is pretty fair.

ls

anyone got trouble using the hilton shopping mall?
I could not sign in..

gv111

HHonors dining is another easy source. I have a participating Deli restaurant nearby. Will just spend a $1 and it should be good.

Cityhawk

There should also be a soft landing, as I know many on this forum have posited well before me.