HHonors Gold/Diamond for Velocity Gold/Plat

[serfty]

According to Princess Fionas experience, it doesn't matter whether it's before or after Mar 31, you'll get until Mar 2015 regardless.
...

The general content of reports from it's implementation of this in August 2011 indicated those who did it then had 2013 expiry.

I had BiB Diamond at the time and waited until it reset on 1st April 2012 before invoking my benifit.

...
My question is, how long have people left these upgrades sitting in their accounts?

I'll qual VA plat in Mar some time, but as I'm HH Diamond until Mar 2014, and IHG Plat. Amb until Jan 2014, and will requal HH diamond this year by BiB (I'm already 1/2 there) and maybe requal IHG, I'm wondering if I can leave it sit there until 2015, effectively giving me HH diamond right through to Mar. 2017. On my J reward bookings for the first half of this year, requaling VA plat will most likely happen so my dilemma seems to be the longevity of these comp offers.

I think your experience is pretty much unique and would be surprised if someone else can answer anecdotally.

 

[Princess Fiona]

So my reading between the lines is that if I trigger before 31/3, I would only have Diamond until 31/3/14, but if I trigger after 1/4, it will be until 31/3/15...

Nice . Thank you very much markis10.

No difference when you activate this year. Should still get Diamond until 2015 even if activated now IME

 

[Princess Fiona]

That does not match the general content of reports from it's implementation of this in August 2011.

AFAIK Hilton Honors does not treat those elevated by Velocity any differently to those gaining status by other methods ( with the possible exception of the 4 stays in 6 months for Diamond)
Reaching a higher level of status in Honors gives the status for the year gained, the subsequent Calendar year, expiring at the end of March in the third year.
Thus 2011 expires March 2013
2012 March 2014 etc.
I took out my VA benefit in January 2012 and have had it confirmed by HH by phone and on my HH card that expiry is March 2014

 

[Ausbt]

No difference when you activate this year.

Well, I'm one who had a Gold Exp of 03/13 and pulled the trigger on Diamond now. I haven't received my card yet so don't know the actual expiry, but my online 'Elite Status Progress' bar states To maintain Diamond status in 2014, you need 29 more stays.

So, does this suggest an expiry of 31/12/13? No real idea. I have stays in the pipeline though, but certainly not 29 of 'em!

 

[Deleted member 29185]

That does not match the general content of reports from it's implementation of this in August 2011. Those who did it then had 2013 expiry.

I think your experience is unique and no-one else can anser.

Those who received Mar 2013 expiry were those who jumped in quickly and applied for the SM in 2011. It would seem everyone who waited until 2012 to apply, received Mar 2014 and in Princess Fionas case, the date was Jan or Feb 2012 and she recieved a Mar 2014 expiry which seems to discount the concept that we have to wait until after Mar to achieve that further year.

Yes I agree my situation was a little unusual, but I am trying to gauge what is the longest time anyone has left their comp SM sitting untouched. Perhaps there are some BiB Diamonds who have not touched it yet from the Aug 2011 original offer, simply because they haven't needed to. I'd like to hear from them if that's the case.


EDIT: Princess Fiona posted whilst I was typing. Sorry for the duplication.

 

[Deleted member 29185]

my online 'Elite Status Progress' bar states To maintain Diamond status in 2014, you need 29 more stays.

So, does this suggest an expiry of 31/12/13? No real idea. I have stays in the pipeline though, but certainly not 29 of 'em!

No apparantly not. The elite status bar just purely works off the current year stays/nights/base points and gives you that information. I will make note here though, that I've also said I'll only believe the Mar 2014 card date when April rolls around and I still see diamond, as I only genuinely requaled gold last year.

 

[grubbidok]

I've just been bumped to Gold, and in all likelihood will be Platinum by the end of the year so I'd just considered holding off HHonors until then, as I didn't realise we could 'double dip'. Been glad to see the info on this thread.

We don't really get a lot of options with either Hilton or IHG through the uni (the higher end corporate discounts here are with Shangri La and Hyatt, so any Hilton would be web price only, which is a bit steep without CD to get past the beancounters too often). It may be worth getting HH Gold just to see what it's like though, even though I'll probably only be doing 1 or 2 stays over the next 6 months, and to see if it gives me a taste to go higher with Platinum.

The car rental is interesting. The uni suppliers are only Hertz, Budget and Thrifty, so for me it was kind of a no-brainer. But from the sounds of it Europcar is by far the best program. Has anyone done Hertz?

 

[Deleted member 29185]

Has anyone done Hertz?

Despite requalifying "executive" with Europcar last year, they bumped me back to club (base) level and I've been trying to get anyone there to correct it. The lady who looks after status in Oz (apparantly there's just one person) does not answer the phone, does not return calls, does not answer emails and either she is very, very busy or her nails take a lot of time to dry. In short, I've since scurried over to Hertz but my intention is to qual in the mid tier for both crowds.

You may be wise to check your uni corporate policies though, because their discounts may exclude earning of points (which give Hertz an edge) but should still allow you comp upgrades etc.

 

[grubbidok]

You may be wise to check your uni corporate policies though, because their discounts may exclude earning of points (which give Hertz an edge) but should still allow you comp upgrades etc.

Yeah, unfortunately only Thrifty offer the points on the Corporate Discount. The uni's extra insurance in their rates is the main reason I don't want to sway too much from a preferred supplier. Doing the maths in my head to see whether comp upgrades or the points are nicer! Disclosure: I own a Getz anyway. I gets driven about once every two weeks anyway so we decided we'd rather spend the money on fun travel. It does mean that any rental feels like an upgrade though

 

[markis10]

Yeah, unfortunately only Thrifty offer the points on the Corporate Discount. The uni's extra insurance in their rates is the main reason I don't want to sway too much from a preferred supplier. Doing the maths in my head to see whether comp upgrades or the points are nicer! Disclosure: I own a Getz anyway. I gets driven about once every two weeks anyway so we decided we'd rather spend the money on fun travel. It does mean that any rental feels like an upgrade though

Probably worth looking at whether its worth owning a car on that basis!

 

[QF WP]

But from the sounds of it Europcar is by far the best program. Has anyone done Hertz?

I pulled the trigger on Hertz Pres Circle today. I have no interest in Europcar and from the sounds of the experience from swanning_it, a good decision for me. YMMV.

 

[QF WP]

According to Princess Fionas experience, it doesn't matter whether it's before or after Mar 31, you'll get until Mar 2015 regardless.

No difference when you activate this year. Should still get Diamond until 2015 even if activated now IME

That is sounding positive. Time to pull the trigger on HH Diamond then

 

[bullerdude]

I pulled the trigger on Hertz Pres Circle today. I have no interest in Europcar and from the sounds of the experience from swanning_it, a good decision for me. YMMV.

Personally I think Europe car offers more than Hertz, especially the 30% off all rentals and one free weekend rental.

 

[grubbidok]

Personally I think Europe car offers more than Hertz, especially the 30% off all rentals and one free weekend rental.

Interesting. I've heard Europcar has more reasonable drop fees too (but I've also heard they have a habit of 'finding' more damage done to rentals than others). I've not actually used them before so would be completely green.

We have a trip to Europe in July and will be renting Paris-Amsterdam and Berlin-Paris. Pretty sure I want requal, but I'm thinking keep this for the leisure rentals this year and keep Thrifty BlueChip Corporate (which doesn't get me upgrades, but is the only corporate hire on which I can earn VA points). As 99% of my rentals are corporate not a whole lot of benefit otherwise. Maybe I should just get my free weekend and discount in Europe, as I won't sustain either program.

Do these benefits (upgrades etc) even apply to corporate bookings?

As odd as it may sound, I've never really been a fan of upgrades anyway, so that's not an attraction. I remember in the US being upgraded to a Hummer (!?!) when I'd booked a Chevy Aveo (US cars are too big, even the small ones are standards here). You should have seen the look on the attendants face when I refused. In fact, in the US I've found that not being offered an upgrade is the more unusual occurrence I know what I like and I order it. I prefer smaller cars in strange cities, though do appreciate the large ones on highway trips.

Looks like I have some musing to do.

 

[Deleted member 29185]

Personally I think Europe car offers more than Hertz, especially the 30% off all rentals and one free weekend rental.

Slight correction, 30% off is not all rentals. Only int. rentals are 30% off, dom is 20%.

 

[Deleted member 29185]

I've not actually used them before so would be completely green.

Europcar is as good and as bad as the others. I've had good Europcar service but customer interaction is not their strong point. I'm certainly going to continue to use them for a variety of reasons.

Since the beginning of this year, I'm Hertz No1 Gold Plus (fancy name for the base level) so I'm now working toward 5*. So far, out of my 4 Hertz rentals, I've had 3 upgrades as a base cough, so I actually wonder if the upgrade thing is just a bit of bling. Like you, I've actually been a bit annoyed at a few upgrades because I'd booked the vehicle I wanted (once in MEL, I got a Rav 4 as a so called upgrade over a Passat IIRC).

I can't compare with Thrifty as I don't use them. I just use Avis, Europcar and Hertz in no particular order. Most computer issues I've had is with Europcar, but others here have experienced differently.

 

[alister]

I was offered a Mustang in Birmingham, Alabama last year as a free upgrade (Budget) I had to decline, (and got that WTF look from the guy behind the desk) I had just arrived after travelling for over a day, tired and it was raining and I had to drive on the right. I thought to myself, just stick with the basic car and I might have a better chance of living next time they offered me a jeep as an upgrade, I took that one I just took up the europcar deal so will try it out in the states later this year for work.

 

[ozstamps]

I will make note here though, that I've also said I'll only believe the Mar 2014 card date when April rolls around and I still see diamond

Me too, but my comped Diamond card says expires March 2013 and Hilton says they too see that.

Still Virgin Plat.

Only did 10 or 12 stays with Hilton in 2012 so not sure if they will soft land me to Gold - or drop to Silver .. anyone know their usual policy?

 

[Flashback]

Me too, but my comped Diamond card says expires March 2013 and Hilton says they too see that.

Still Virgin Plat.

Only did 10 or 12 stays with Hilton in 2012 so not sure if they will soft land me to Gold - or drop to Silver .. anyone know their usual policy?

They don't do soft landing unfortunately.

 

[serfty]

They don't do soft landing unfortunately.

Yep, last year after March I dropped from Diamond to Silver (as I only had 11 stays in 2011).

I invoked my VA WP Diamond benefit immediately and the member card that eventually arrived shows a Diamond Expiry of March 2014.