LoyaltyLobby
  • News
  • Hotel Promos
    • Accor
    • Best Western
    • Radisson Rewards
    • Choice
    • Fairmont
    • Hilton
    • World of Hyatt
    • IHG Rewards
    • Marriott
    • Ritz-Carlton
    • Starwood
    • Wyndham Rewards
  • Reviews
  • Contact Us
  • Blog View
  •  
LoyaltyLobby
  • News
  • Hotel Promos
    • Accor
    • Best Western
    • Radisson Rewards
    • Choice
    • Fairmont
    • Hilton
    • World of Hyatt
    • IHG Rewards
    • Marriott
    • Ritz-Carlton
    • Starwood
    • Wyndham Rewards
  • Reviews
  • Contact Us
  • Blog View
  •  
LoyaltyLobby
No Result
View All Result
ADVERTISEMENT

Hilton Honors Program Changes 2017: New Points & Money, Award Categories Gone, Use Points On Amazon, Points Pooling & Diamond Onetime Status Extension

by John Ollila
January 31, 2017
Reading Time: 5 mins read
9

Hilton Honors is introducing changes to its program in 2017, starting with dropping one of the H letters from the name.

Hilton HHonors Changes

Hilton Honors will introduce new Points & Money awards (all the award categories are gone), members can use their points for shopping on Amazon.com, members can pool points together from 11 accounts, and Diamond members will be eligible for a one time status extension.

You can access Hilton HHonors web page for the change here.

ADVERTISEMENT

READ MORE: Hilton HHonors Rate & Bonus Points And Miles Promotions

Points & Money

Hilton HHonors Changes Points Money

Hilton Honors is introducing new Points & Money awards where members can (on a sliding scale) mix points and cash. This can be applied towards Best Flexible and Member Only Rates, but certain sale rates are excluded such as those sales in Europe and Asia. This feature will be launched late February.

Hilton HHonors Changes Points Money Examples

The fixed Points and Money awards will be discontinued when this sliding scale option is launched. Members will earn points and airline miles based on the paid portion of the rate.

Members can still redeem for full points awards and get their fifth night free.

Here’s video from Hilton how this pricing will work:

Award Categories Gone

Hilton HHonors Changes Award Categories Gone

This is actually quite a drastic change. Hilton Honors will discontinue award categories for all hotels. They will, however, introduce a Standard Rewards Pricing Tool that you can use to see the high/low number of points required for an award and the former maximum.

Hilton Honors assured during the call that the maximum number of points required for any given property is not changing. Hilton is using the maximum point requirement from the old method as the maximum price under this new Points + Money.

The illustration uses higher category properties so not sure how this will affect those category 1 and 2 that only require 5,000 to 10,000 points per night.

Hilton HHonors Award Category Changes December 30, 2014 Standard Room Rewards

You have to keep in mind that Hilton Honors made a change back in 2013 (read more here) where they introduced more variability within categories 4 to 10 per the table above.

Using Hilton HHonors Points For Amazon Purchases

Hilton HHonors Changes Amazon

Members can use their points for Amazon purchases later this year and enjoy Amazon Prime benefits.

It is unclear what value is assigned to a Hilton Honors point when used for purchases. My educated guess is one third to one quarter of a cent each.

Points Pooling

Hilton HHonors Changes Points Pooling

Member can start a pool with up to ten other members who then can transfer anywhere from 1,000 to 500,000 points. The member starting the pool can then use the points any way she or he wants. Exactly the same way the points from a single member are used.

Diamond Status Extension

Hilton HHonors Changes Diamond

Diamond members can extend their status one-time if they don’t qualify based on the base points or number of nights/stays.

This feature is available for those members that have been Diamond members more than three years and accumulated 250 nights or 500,000 base points since joining the program. This feature will be launched in March.

Conclusion

These certainly are interesting changes, and the only thing that may create some ambiguity is the new Points + Money awards due to the fact that the award categories are discontinued.

The new Points + Money awards, however, make using smaller amounts of points more feasible than before and some airlines already offer this in their programs.

Merchandise rewards are popular among members that earn way more points from their stays than they can ever use. I have always wondered why these programs don’t just use someone like Amazon to do the fulfillment. Now they use other third party providers that likely pay more for the merchandise than Amazon. The selection when using Amazon is almost limitless.

Points Pooling makes it easier to pool points from member accounts that may only have a few thousand points or those that no longer have any use for them. It is good that there is no fee to pool points.

The Diamond status extension can come handy in a year when travel drops. You must have been a Diamond member for a minimum of three years and qualify based on the spend or nights as well.

Hilton HHonors points have been the most valuable for me both at the lower end categories, and at the high end like the Category 10 Conrad Maldives or when the paid rates are throughout the roof.

I have often felt that the award prices for many properties have been out of sync. When I was booking the Hilton hotel in Rio de Janeiro, I had the option of paying $79 ($99 was the flexible rate) or 60,000 points. I hope that this new Points + Money help in a situation such as this.

I still feel bit uneasy about abolishing the award categories altogether. I prefer knowing the maximum price for any given property. You can use the soon to be launched new tool to find this out, but I am not sure how often these ranges will be changed.

Previous Post

Reader Question: Involuntary Downgraded On ETIHAD Flight Sold As Air Berlin Codeshare – Who Is Responsible?

Next Post

American Airlines Flies With A Nose Full Of Cocaine – 30 Pounds Of Drugs Discovered!

Related Articles

Arizona Biltmore (Waldorf Astoria) $350 Property Credit Through October 5, 2022

Arizona Biltmore (Waldorf Astoria) $350 Property Credit Through October 5, 2022

John Ollila
June 28, 2022
1

Arizona Biltmore Waldorf Astoria Resorts in Phoenix has a great deal through Amex Fine Hotels & Resorts (FHR) for the...

Who Is 100,000 Hilton Honors Points Giveaway Winner?

Who Is 100,000 Hilton Honors Points Giveaway Winner?

John Ollila
June 27, 2022

We randomly chose the winner of the 100,000 Hilton Honors points giveaway that ended yesterday. The person whose name is...

Another Email From Hilton: We’re upgrading your upcoming stay!

Compensation Clinic: Hilton Rotterdam

John Ollila
June 26, 2022
16

This week the Compensation Clinic visits Hilton Rotterdam, a hotel where I have stayed a few times, where a reader...

Upgrade Your Travel IQ

Make the most of your travel with our free and daily newsletter with the latest hotel and airline news and promotions.

We do not sell or share email addresses.

ADVERTISEMENT

Trending

Marriott Bonvoy Targeted Bonus Offers Through September 30, 2022 (Post Yours!)
Marriott Bonvoy

Marriott Bonvoy Targeted Bonus Offers Through September 30, 2022 (Post Yours!)

June 28, 2022
Hilton Go Employee And Friends & Family Rate Plans
Hilton Honors

Hilton Go Employee And Friends & Family Rate Plans

July 25, 2021
Lufthansa Group Warns Summer Of Hell & A380s Back To Business
Lufthansa - Miles & More

Lufthansa Group Warns Summer Of Hell & A380s Back To Business

June 28, 2022
No, This Isn’t a Joke: Deutsche Bahn (DB German Rail) To Become The Next Star Alliance Member
Deutsche Bahn Railways

No, This Isn’t a Joke: Deutsche Bahn (DB German Rail) To Become The Next Star Alliance Member

June 30, 2022
Delta Removes SkyMiles Earnings Cap & Award Ticket Status Earning Permanent
Delta Air Lines - SkyMiles

Delta Issues July 4th Holiday Travel Waiver

June 29, 2022

Top Categories

  • IHG Rewards Club
  • Marriott Bonvoy
  • Hilton Honors
  • Accor ALL
  • Airfare Of The Day
  • Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG)
  • Hyatt – World of Hyatt
  • American Airlines – AAdvantage
  • Travel News
  • United Airlines – Mileage Plus
ADVERTISEMENT

All Categories

In Case You Missed It

GOL Awards Now Available On American’s Website

GOL Awards Now Available On American’s Website

June 30, 2022
When IHG One Rewards Benefits Are Rolled Out?

READER EMAIL: Confirming: Ambassador Renewal Extended Diamond

June 26, 2022
KLM City Hopper

LAST CALL: Air France-KLM Flying Blue Buy Miles Up To 120% Bonus Until June 30, 2022

June 30, 2022
Hilton Diamond 48-Hour Guarantee: Case Emerald House Lisbon

Hilton Hotels Playing Award Availability Game: Case Emerald House (Curio Collection) Lisbon

June 24, 2022
Qatar’s Very Confusing Transit Requirements – Is PCR-RT Test Required Or Not?

Qatar Airways Privilege Club Up To 20% Off Discount Code Ex-Europe To Asia & Africa (Book By July 7, 2022)

June 27, 2022
ADVERTISEMENT

Since 2011, we have been helping millions of visitors like you untangle travel loyalty programs for free upgrades, flights and hotel nights.

Facebook Twitter Youtube Instagram

Site Navigation

  • About LoyaltyLobby
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Airfares
  • Contact Us

Hotel Promotions

  • Accor
  • Hilton
  • IHG Rewards
  • Marriott
  • World of Hyatt

Sign Up For Our Newsletter

Our free daily newsletter sends you the latest information on hotel and airline programs.

We do not share or sell email addresses.

Site & Contents ©2011-2022 LoyaltyLobby.com
Terms of Use & Privacy Policy

  • News
  • Hotel Promotions
    • Accor
    • Best Western
    • Choice
    • Fairmont
    • Hilton
    • IHG Rewards
    • Marriott
    • Radisson Rewards
    • Ritz-Carlton
    • Starwood
    • World of Hyatt
    • Wyndham Rewards
  • Reviews
  • Contact Us
  • Blog View
No Result
View All Result

© 2011–2021 LoyaltyLobby.com - Site & Contents