clsgws

I'm considering joining HHonors. I have some Delta miles I can switch and will be receiving my AmerEx card that gives 5000 Pts. for activating and 2500 for 1st purchase plus pt.s for every $ spent. If I join the HH program do I have to do something to keep the account active(like stay at a Hilton once a year). Do the pts. ever expire? How far ahead do I need to ask for a reward to get what I want? I'm hoping to get hotel and car rental in Orlando some time next year.

pgupta011

Your account is active as long as you make at least one charge a year on your Hilton Optima.

Karen2

By all means, join! HHonors will also have other promos to increase your points. They have a Mutual Fund if you are married where you share an account with your spouse (so far as I know they require a marriage license - so much for significant others). Points do not expire. I have never heard anything about having to stay at Hilton to keep account going. Allow at least 3 months for an award.

My daughter and son-in-law went to Hilton Trinidad and it took a customer service rep to put the deal together in time and they allowed 2 months. One problem was accumulating all the airline points in time. American and Delta both require certificates which you then mail to Hilton. You can imagine the time involved. Some points from Continental made it quickly, others did not. The Delta certificate never did arrive and customer service reps from Delta and Hilton worked together on the phone because of the deadline. My advice is not to even think of asking for an award until all your points are transferred.

Another plus is that a year or so ago, United offered double points in transferring - 4 to 1! - as a special. The bad news is that the 2 for 1 deal for American has expired and they only offer 1 for 1 which is a really BAD deal.

The other bad news about HHonors is that they are very picky about the room rates which qualify for points. No Entertainment or Mileage Plus rates, only 500 pts for Bounceback, Seniors, and resorts. I spent a gazillion dollars at Waikoloa and only got 500 points. I know of no other plan so picky.

But, hey, it is clearly the best way to make something out of these airline accounts which carry less than a trip's worth of miles. My daughter got 6 days in Trinidad out of 5000 points here and there of hers AND her husband's (Mutual Fund!!) in both Delta and Continental. They have NEVER had a paid stay at a Hilton. They flew with points in American.

Karen2

Oh wait! I do remember that this year for the first time, my daughter received a notice that she had to pay $10/year to maintain her inactive account. Since she has over 100K in there, we paid the $10!

CharterGirl

Hilton HHonors offers a service to its members called HHonors RewardPlanner. The representatives of this service will help you with your Hilton rewards along with any other frequent flyer award. The service is relatively inexpensive, you pay for it by using HHonors points. The cost is determined by your status with the program, however it is an option to all status levels. If you need advice in getting a specific award, the reps are very knowledgeable.

pkfloyd7

In general, I suggest you join all the Rewards programs possible. This way, with a very minor activity, you can usually not have any miles expire. You can then shop whichever program has the best current promotions to earn points and redeem awards. Hilton, in particular, is a pretty good program and will probably be better with the acquisition they just made.While others may be better at different times, it never hurts when you belong.

essxjay

clsgws,

another factor in favor of joining HHonors, if you are United Mileage Plus member, is their current promo with UA whereby you get one HHonors point for each mile flown on UA from now until June 2000. no stay is necessary to earn this bonus. you must register, however, to participate in this promo. go to http://talk.flyertalk.com/forum/Foru...ML/000650.html .

cheers,

essxjay

[This message has been edited by essxjay (edited 09-20-1999).]

johna

My HHonors account was dormant for over three years (until the current UA "Mileage Plus Nights" promotion), and I haven't (yet) been asked to pay to keep it.

clsgws

I did join HiltonHonors-thanks everyone for all the info. Now i'm just waiting for my award cert. from Delta so I can switch my miles to Hilton Points.

UpperDeckJunkie

I just read the long thread regarding the dilution of the HH program ( upgrades being sold on the website etc etc). I don't currently belong to a hotel program but now that I'm doing more MRs, its time to look into them.

Given that I'd probably never make diamond, is it worth getting the AMEX HH card and signing up or would I be better off with Marriott or SPG?

santarosaflyer

I have been a member for several years. Currently diamond but gold for a couple of years before. The perks are great - I consistently get upgrades. Depending on the property, there are chocolates, bottles of wines, free cocktail hours and breakfasts that are given to the gold and diamond members.

UpperDeckJunkie

sometimes when you read these threads, the negative posts tend to overwhelm the few positive ones. So long as I keep things in perspective and don't have a coronary just because my cookies are missing then I'll enjoy any perks as that happen to come my way

rwill11

While Hilton keeps devaluing the program: they do have one thing going for them. Esp if you do MRs lots of properties esp around airports where you have a choice of 4-5 most times. weekend rates that are cheap

etch5895

Your benefits of joining far outweigh not joining. Getting Gold, which is not overly hard to do, nets some pretty good bennies in Europe, for instance (Exec. Room upgrade, free breakfast). The free breakfast is worth it in the UK, where Hilton would otherwise charge you 15 lbs. (almost $30) per person for breakfast.

Granted, I don't stay at hotels as much as some posters do, but I've had two nights in Hilton Hotels paid for completely with points in the past two years.

jgxtrav1

No doubt that it is "worth it" .... it costs nothing except a few minutes of your time .... financially, you can't do any worse than "break even" (i.e. if you end up getting nothing).

That being said, IMO, HHonors is a very good program. You can use credit cards (AmEx and/or VISA) to get some quick points and "free" silver VIP status.

I am a rewards member of Hilton, Starwood, Marriott, Priority Club, and a few others. They are all worth the effort to join and try to accumulate status/points. I would have a hard choice choosing if I could only do one but my rankings are:

1. Hilton HHonors - Use it a lot everywhere especially at the Downtown Disney Hilton in Lake Buena Vista, FL; usually lots of good choices

2. Starwood - use it a lot at the Aladdin in Las Vegas

3. Marriott - use it occasionally; usually lots of good choices

4. Priority Club (Holiday Inn, etc) - use it occasionally; usually lots of good choices

5. Any/all of the others - seldom use any except LaQuinta in Gurnee, IL for Gurnee Mills and/or Great America trips

For me it's like a hobby/game to see what I can get for the least $$$! For the last 15 years I have "churned" a lot of credit cards to get points, air miles, etc. Normally I only fly 3-4 times per year and stay in a hotel 18-24 nights per year but I usually fly/stay for free ... around 60-80% of the time.

Good Luck! Enjoy the pursuit of points/miles/status!