Paying for a Stay: Hilton Honors Points versus Money or Cash
Dec 8, 2005, 8:46 am
#197
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I love these threads. 
My value on HH is about 0.7 cents, so 40k for a $250 room is in the ballpark. If $250 was truly the cheapest decent hotel room in that market, I'd probably pull the trigger on the HH award. I'd rather keep cash in pocket and burn the points. But that's because I have more frequent-travel points and less cash.
Last time I got about a penny a point out of HH was when ALON's were 100k. I did two of them. A decent room in Waikaloa would have been $150/nt.+tax any way you slice it, and that was when HWV gave Golds kick-butt oceanview rooms, a welcome bottle of wine, and access to a great lounge. I definitely valued that one at a little over a penny a point.
My value on HH is about 0.7 cents, so 40k for a $250 room is in the ballpark. If $250 was truly the cheapest decent hotel room in that market, I'd probably pull the trigger on the HH award. I'd rather keep cash in pocket and burn the points. But that's because I have more frequent-travel points and less cash.
Last time I got about a penny a point out of HH was when ALON's were 100k. I did two of them. A decent room in Waikaloa would have been $150/nt.+tax any way you slice it, and that was when HWV gave Golds kick-butt oceanview rooms, a welcome bottle of wine, and access to a great lounge. I definitely valued that one at a little over a penny a point.
Dec 8, 2005, 9:24 am
#198
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I agree with pinniped. I value them at .7 cents. Like others have pointed out, you get your best bang from the 4 (AXON) and 6 day (GLONP/2) awards or from single night stays in expensive cities. Don't forget to factor in the savings from not having to pay the room tax.
If you add the tax on your $250 room, you are real close to my point valuation. I could go either way on this one. Depends on whether you have plenty of points or are saving them for another opportunity.
If you add the tax on your $250 room, you are real close to my point valuation. I could go either way on this one. Depends on whether you have plenty of points or are saving them for another opportunity.
Dec 8, 2005, 5:36 pm
#199
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It seems to be a matter of where you need to stay, and when.
I'm staying in Dubai in March. At the moment the least expensive standard room I can book for the date required comes out to just over USD375 including taxes. I have made a booking at the same place on the same night for 30000 points (C401). So that's 1.25 per point.
Note that this is all well in advance; for example, if I was to be staying there next week, I can get the same type of room for ~USD190. So I will be rechecking as March gets closer. It's not a big deal to cancel the booking and get the 30K points back.
I'm staying in Dubai in March. At the moment the least expensive standard room I can book for the date required comes out to just over USD375 including taxes. I have made a booking at the same place on the same night for 30000 points (C401). So that's 1.25 per point.
Note that this is all well in advance; for example, if I was to be staying there next week, I can get the same type of room for ~USD190. So I will be rechecking as March gets closer. It's not a big deal to cancel the booking and get the 30K points back.
Dec 8, 2005, 5:46 pm
#201
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<<deleted misinformation due to my error, quoted later in this thread for the curious>>
To the valuation discussion, I'd add the following thoughts:
To the valuation discussion, I'd add the following thoughts:
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Last edited by Rut Dog; Dec 8, 2005 at 11:36 pm
Dec 8, 2005, 5:51 pm
#202
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Originally Posted by Rut Dog
Category 6 is the most expensive category at 35,000 points per night, so something is wrong with this equation.[/list]
http://hhonors.hilton.com/en/hhonors...hotel_rewards_
Dec 8, 2005, 6:04 pm
#203
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Originally Posted by Rut Dog
Category 6 is the most expensive category at 35,000 points per night, so something is wrong with this equation.
[/list]
[/list]
Dec 8, 2005, 6:39 pm
#204
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Here's another recent thread on the value of HHonors points:
Does .7 cents for a Hilton point sound like a good value?
I think the proposed award stay (40,000 points for a $250 room) is a decent, but not spectacular, redemption value. And remember that you get stay credit for award stays with HHonors! ^
Does .7 cents for a Hilton point sound like a good value?
I think the proposed award stay (40,000 points for a $250 room) is a decent, but not spectacular, redemption value. And remember that you get stay credit for award stays with HHonors! ^
Dec 8, 2005, 8:10 pm
#205
Join Date: Sep 2001
Location: Hyderabad
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There are some very nice (and expensive) category 4s out there. (The Hilton Athens can be a very good value at 25,000 points a night.) I would spend the $250 (or try to find a cheaper hotel) and save the points for a time that you can get at least a penny a point out of them.
Dec 8, 2005, 8:23 pm
#206
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I try to reach $0.01 per point when I redeem an award. Hilton sells its points at that price. I agree that $0.007 is usually a more realistic value for redemption but you can go even beyond $0.01 if you book in peak season in New York city, London and Rome.
Dec 8, 2005, 9:18 pm
#207
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Other factors to consider are:
1. How many HHonors points do you have -- tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, millions?
2. How often do you redeem HHonors awards? Rarely or frequently?
3. Are there other potential HHonors stays coming up in the next year or so out of which you might squeeze better value (especially if you don't have that big a pool of points)?
I think the advice we can give here is pretty limited unless such things are taken into consideration. And most people responding to the question posed by the OP could be making assumptions that may or may not be applicable to the OP's particular situation.
1. How many HHonors points do you have -- tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, millions?
2. How often do you redeem HHonors awards? Rarely or frequently?
3. Are there other potential HHonors stays coming up in the next year or so out of which you might squeeze better value (especially if you don't have that big a pool of points)?
I think the advice we can give here is pretty limited unless such things are taken into consideration. And most people responding to the question posed by the OP could be making assumptions that may or may not be applicable to the OP's particular situation.
Dec 8, 2005, 9:50 pm
#208
Join Date: May 2002
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Originally Posted by KathyWdrf
Other factors to consider are:
1. How many HHonors points do you have -- tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, millions?
2. How often do you redeem HHonors awards? Rarely or frequently?
3. Are there other potential HHonors stays coming up in the next year or so out of which you might squeeze better value (especially if you don't have that big a pool of points)?
1. How many HHonors points do you have -- tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, millions?
2. How often do you redeem HHonors awards? Rarely or frequently?
3. Are there other potential HHonors stays coming up in the next year or so out of which you might squeeze better value (especially if you don't have that big a pool of points)?
I recently had two hotel stays, which were part of a MR and since I spent the cash on the plane tix I spent the points on the HIs. Cat 1 ($99) and Cat 2 ($129). I definately do not think that was a good value point wise, but I just didn't want to spend any more $$ right now after spending it on the tix.
Dec 8, 2005, 11:09 pm
#209
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Originally Posted by Nomade
I try to reach $0.01 per point when I redeem an award. Hilton sells its points at that price. I agree that $0.007 is usually a more realistic value for redemption but you can go even beyond $0.01 if you book in peak season in New York city, London and Rome.
Dec 9, 2005, 1:25 am
#210
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I've had 4 stays in the past 12 months on points and that's helped me retain my diamond status ... and each time I pick up a few more points.
Like has been previously said, the points are worth nothing if you don't spend them!
Like has been previously said, the points are worth nothing if you don't spend them!