Complimentary Elite memberships for Platinum and Gold Members

[awilcockson]

Thus and unless I am missing something, as far as airline miles/points are concerned, there is no benefit in being plat with Priority Club!

That appears to be the case, but for those of us who collect the PC points to use towards free hotel nights, the 50% bonus is a definite advantage.

 

[anat0l]

For example, you spend $200 (before GST) in Aus and you get 2,000 PC points (spendx10); these can be converted to 400 VA or QFF points (5:1). If you are plat with PC you get 50% bonus which works out to 600 points. If you put your points direct to one of the airlines you get 600 points ($ spend x 3). Thus and unless I am missing something, as far as airline miles/points are concerned, there is no benefit in being plat with Priority Club!

In a sense you are right, although considering there are a whole plethora of Priority Club promotions which offer bonus points, that is one reason why a lot of us stick to points for earning. Promotions like double points starting with your second stay are not uncommon. There are promos released by PC that also cater for miles earning account holders, but they are more rare. You can always redeem PC points for airline miles anyway (in blocks of 10,000 PC points), at almost the same rate as that if you were a miles earning account holder in the first place. Points earning option allows you to requalify your PC status via points (60,000 in a calendar year to get Platinum) - and remember that all points earned - no matter how they arrive in your account - count towards status requalification. You can then use PC points to burn free night awards with PC (these aren't necessarily great value in Australia, but overseas where the PC properties are nicer / much more expensive, it can be beneficial).

 

[Deleted member 29185]

Points earning option allows you to requalify your PC status via points (60,000 in a calendar year to get Platinum) - and remember that all points earned - no matter how they arrive in your account - count towards status requalification.

Can these same points, used to retain/gain status, be then transfered to Velocity points (miles) rather than retained in PC?

 

[Jacques Vert]

That appears to be the case, but for those of us who collect the PC points to use towards free hotel nights, the 50% bonus is a definite advantage.

In a sense you are right, although considering there are a whole plethora of Priority Club promotions which offer bonus points, that is one reason why a lot of us stick to points for earning. Promotions like double points starting with your second stay are not uncommon. There are promos released by PC that also cater for miles earning account holders, but they are more rare. You can always redeem PC points for airline miles anyway (in blocks of 10,000 PC points), at almost the same rate as that if you were a miles earning account holder in the first place. Points earning option allows you to requalify your PC status via points (60,000 in a calendar year to get Platinum) - and remember that all points earned - no matter how they arrive in your account - count towards status requalification. You can then use PC points to burn free night awards with PC (these aren't necessarily great value in Australia, but overseas where the PC properties are nicer / much more expensive, it can be beneficial).

Thanks team,

So if I get the platinum elite via Velocity, can I choose PC points instead of miles? Or must I take the Velocity points for the 12 month promo period? Has anyone tried this?

JV

 

[markis10]

You can change your earning preference every day, so it's very flexible, for instance at ICs in Australia I always clock over to Miles because of the flat earning structure regardless of spend.

 

[serfty]

You can change your earning preference every day, so it's very flexible, for instance at ICs in Australia I always clock over to Miles because of the flat earning structure regardless of spend.

Maybe not with this Complimentary Membership via Velocity:

(VELOCITY FREQUENT FLYER COMPLIMENTARY ELITE MEMBERSHIP AND COMPLIMENTARY MEMBERSHIP TERMS AND CONDITIONS)

9.

All Velocity Frequent Flyer members enrolled in a Complimentary Elite membership or Complimentary membership will have their Velocity Frequent Flyer membership number entered and selected as their frequent flyer program of choice for the purpose of earning Points during the period of Complimentary Elite membership or Complimentary membership. Unless members contact the Program Partner and elect to nominate an alternative frequent flyer program, this nomination will continue once the period of Complimentary Elite membership or Complimentary membership has ended.

Going by these T&C's, if there are effective controls in place, one won't be able to change the earning preference away from Velocity.

 

[connieguy]

Maybe not with this Complimentary Membership via Velocity....Going by these T&C's, if there are effective controls in place, one won't be able to change the earning preference away from Velocity.

The cost of the VA Golden Handcuffs becomes more evident.

 

[awilcockson]

Going by these T&C's, if there are effective controls in place, one won't be able to change the earning preference away from Velocity.

Ouch. I don't remember the "for the term of the complimentary membership" bit when I signed up. If this is the case then they can take back the fee plat and I'll happily stay gold and earning PC points... Time for a phone call I think.

 

[Jacques Vert]

Maybe not with this Complimentary Membership via Velocity:

(VELOCITY FREQUENT FLYER COMPLIMENTARY ELITE MEMBERSHIP AND COMPLIMENTARY MEMBERSHIP TERMS AND CONDITIONS)

Going by these T&C's, if there are effective controls in place, one won't be able to change the earning preference away from Velocity.

The cost of the VA Golden Handcuffs becomes more evident.

Ouch. I don't remember the "for the term of the complimentary membership" bit when I signed up. If this is the case then they can take back the fee plat and I'll happily stay gold and earning PC points... Time for a phone call I think.

Yeah; this was my concern. I don't have a problem with the generous offer from VA and posting points to them, but it seems that IF I must take the Velocity points then I am no better off (and no worse) than I am now. On the other hand, if I can post to PC points I can still convert to Velocity later or use them for hotel stays, depending on what suits at the time.

Competition is a wonderful thing but it sure does make life more complicated!

JV

 

[Jacques Vert]

In relation to the HHonors offer; do you get a discount as an elite member and/or do Hilton have any of their less expensive brands in Aust?

Unfortunately most of my travel is domestic at present and the budget doesn't stretch to the Sydney Hilton rates.

JV

 

[straitman]

In relation to the HHonors offer; do you get a discount as an elite member and/or do Hilton have any of their less expensive brands in Aust?

Unfortunately most of my travel is domestic at present and the budget doesn't stretch to the Sydney Hilton rates.

JV

You only get a discount (20%) if you get a Hilton Macquarie CC (Hilton Premium Club Card). That discount is off everything on the bill but does not apply if you use third party bookings or even AAA rates. So the best you get is the advanced purchase rate and then rebated 20%.

 

[anat0l]

In relation to the HHonors offer; do you get a discount as an elite member and/or do Hilton have any of their less expensive brands in Aust?

Unfortunately most of my travel is domestic at present and the budget doesn't stretch to the Sydney Hilton rates.

No and no on both questions.

With Hiltons in Australia/New Zealand, the biggest culprits in my (limited) experience for being "expensive" on any given day are Sydney (because it's Sydney), Brisbane (not many other greater competitors of the same calibre around, and definitely on most corporate travel's "official" lists), Melbourne on the Park and Auckland.

Hiltons aren't necessarily overly expensive, but you do need to keep a watch out for sales. It's not unusual to grab advance purchase rooms on sale for less than $200 per night (Hilton often has such a big sale near the beginning of the calendar year). Sure, they will still be more expensive than Holiday Inn or even Crowne Plaza when those brands go on sale, but it's still not as expensive as you think. (Though of course it may just put your accommodation budget a notch up).

Consider the Diamond benefits mostly outweigh those of PC Platinum benefits. For example, Diamond will give you upgrades on your room to an Executive Room (if the hotel has Executive Rooms and one is available for you) as well as access to the Executive Lounge (again, if the hotel has one). If you don't get upgraded to an Executive Room, you should be afforded some sort of upgrade at least. You are guaranteed complimentary continental breakfast every day of your stay, as well as free high speed internet. And of course, Hilton has "double dipping", so you can earn both Hilton HHonors points and airline miles at the same time.

The only "cons" to keep in mind relate to status and burning points:

• Hilton HHonors redemptions are generally much more expensive; in the industry, possibly one of the most expensive in value. Redemption depends on the category of a hotel rather than its brand, where the category is a number from 1 to 7. The higher the "class", the more expensive the redemption cost per night. Most Australian Hiltons are "high category" hotels. For example, the Hilton Sydney is a category 7 hotel, the highest one, with a minimum redemption rate of 50,000 points per night. Compare this with a Holiday Inn which at worst will cost 25,000 points per night (though comparing a stay at both hotels is chalk and cheese); same rate as Crowne Plaza. Even Intercontinental will set you back only 40,000 per night at worst.
• Retaining Hilton Diamond is very difficult. Even retaining Hilton Gold is quite difficult and PC Platinum makes only a scratch in comparison. Hilton Diamond requires 28 stays, 60 nights or 100k base points; Gold requires 16 stays, 32 nights or 50k base points. PC Platinum requires 50 nights or 60k points. Hilton HHonors only counts base points for elite status qualification - bonus points do not count. (The ease of getting PC Platinum ironically makes it one of the lesser exclusive top tier elite levels in the world, and the "benefits" somewhat are reflective of that).

If you would like to consider another credit card, the Hilton-Macquarie card gives you a 20% discount on any rate at Hiltons in Australia, New Zealand and Fiji. You don't need to pay with the said credit card to be eligible to use the discount benefit it offers. There are also a couple of other small perks that go with the card. The annual fee for the credit card is about $300.


Hopefully that should give you enough to make a decision.

 

[Jacques Vert]

Thanks for the time & effort you have put in to assist me. JV

 

[serfty]

HHonors is better if you are into guaranteed status bennies; ICH Priority Club for free nights.

 

[Jacques Vert]

Decided to go with IHG; as pointed out on another thread HI, IC and CP are CitiBank partners so I get 4.25 points there, plus the points through Velocity, plus any bonus offers. And I have more chance of requalifying with PC then HH (where I am unlikely to make it past the 6 months - shame).

JV

 

[JohnK]

Going by these T&C's, if there are effective controls in place, one won't be able to change the earning preference away from Velocity.

What the ....? This is just getting weirder by the minute.

No way I am trading Diamond Club miles or even Flying Club miles for poxy Velocity points on my upcoming 2 Hilton stays.

And people still think that Virgin is honest and up front with everything they do and Qantas is evil....

 

[serfty]

...

And people still think that Virgin is honest and up front with everything they do and Qantas is evil....

Nothing dishonest at all - it's there in the T&C which you agree to and note that you have read and understood before accepting the offer.

FWIW, if you can change the earning program after registering, posting that here may not be helpful.

 

[JohnK]

Nothing dishonest at all - it's there in the T&C which you agree to and note that you have read and understood before accepting the offer.

Sorry but I did not bother with terms and conditions. And it is sneaky saying here is this wonderful benefit but ....

FWIW, if you can change the earning program after registering, posting that here may not be helpful.

I don't believe I suggested I was going to change the earning program.

Velocity points are useless to me. I think after about 6 years I have ~16,000 Velocity points and my father ~11,000 Velocity. Just enough to go nowhere....

 

[markis10]

Velocity points are useless to me. I think after about 6 years I have ~16,000 Velocity points and my father ~11,000 Velocity. Just enough to go nowhere....

Someone needs to be doing some more reading, 12K is enough for a return BNE-SYD in PE with a little cash, not that you fly BNE-SYD much

 

[Deleted member 29185]

If you want to talk sneaky, try having a look at Accor programme. It's mentioned everywhere that the points "NEVER EXPIRE".......'til you read the very small footnote which says only if you stay a minimum of one night a year. Not a biggie, but I'm sure many have been caught by it!