Hilton Honors discussion

[dairyfloss]

I will look into, from my understanding I should have Diamond until Early 2026

Post automatically merged: Dec 7, 2024

Yeah used it this year in June

If you did this in June 2024, then you don't need to concern yourself with requalification until next year, for status in 2026.

 

[WilsonM]

I've never seen this before - a debit card that comes with a signup bonus and hotel status: APPLY TODAY: The new Hilton Honors payment cards are here!

It's issued in the UK - how hard would it be to get a UK bank account? The annual fee is steep for a debit card, but it also has 0% foreign transaction fees and actually earns a solid ~1.5 points per AUD (3 per GBP). Hilton Gold status is the most valuable thing here though. It's also not a timed thing - status is yours for the duration of the card.

Obviously extremely niche, but if you stay 10 nights at a Hilton in the year it seems worth it - assuming a UK bank account isn't too hard to get (not sure on that one obviously).

 

[MEL_Traveller]

For a UK bank account you need to prove your identity… not hard. But also to prove your address and residency. That means something like a UK bank statement, council tax bill, rent agreement, utility bill, etc. These have to be in your name.

 

[Daver6]

I've never seen this before - a debit card that comes with a signup bonus and hotel status: APPLY TODAY: The new Hilton Honors payment cards are here!

It's issued in the UK - how hard would it be to get a UK bank account? The annual fee is steep for a debit card, but it also has 0% foreign transaction fees and actually earns a solid ~1.5 points per AUD (3 per GBP). Hilton Gold status is the most valuable thing here though. It's also not a timed thing - status is yours for the duration of the card.

Obviously extremely niche, but if you stay 10 nights at a Hilton in the year it seems worth it - assuming a UK bank account isn't too hard to get (not sure on that one obviously).

I wonder if a UK virtual bank account like they type you can get with Wise would work? Sign-up points are quite poor though.

 

[WilsonM]

I wonder if a UK virtual bank account like they type you can get with Wise would work? Sign-up points are quite poor though.

Sign-ups in the UK are almost universally poor, so nothing out of the ordinary here. But yeah, not sure re. Wise.

 

[VPS]

I wonder if a UK virtual bank account like they type you can get with Wise would work? Sign-up points are quite poor though.

I suspect not. I still have my UK bank account and I have to keep a UK phone number current otherwise they'd probably cancel. Notoriously hard to open an account there.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

I have changed both my address and ph number to my AU ones. My uk bank doesn’t seem to mind! they send my new and replacement cards to australia. The mail just takes a while to get here! (usually about 6 weeks!)

 

[VPS]

I have changed both my address and ph number to my AU ones. My uk bank doesn’t seem to mind! they send my new and replacement cards to australia. The mail just takes a while to get here! (usually about 6 weeks!)

Interesting my friend was just asked when she was going to close her account now she was in Australia - Which bank btw

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Interesting my friend was just asked when she was going to close her account now she was in Australia - Which bank btw

Natwest.

At one stage they did want to close my credit card as I hadn’t used it for a year. I had to call them and say I still wanted it, and they issued a card for one year. This went on a few times during covid. But once I started using it when in the Uk (once or twice a year) they have gone back to the regular cycle of issuing a card valid for two years.

 

[SYD]

For the first time in decades, I’m getting close to 2yrs inactivity with HH and my residual points could expire in about 3 wks (although I don’t recall seeing anything from HH warning me…).

A mattress run isn’t practical but there appears to be a buy points promo on at the moment and I guess that’s the easiest way to keep the points active?

USD$10 = 1000 pts but USD$30 and up comes with 80% bonus

Transferring HH points to another program probably isn’t good value. Especially if the conversion is broken.

I can transfer to a friend/family for free and maybe get them back?

Unfortunately, e-Rewards isn’t a HH partner. That’s my usual go to source of points to keep other programs active.

At least IHG points don’t expire if you have status (I’m currently HH Gold and about to drop to Silver - despite no stays last year).

 

[dairyfloss]

For the first time in decades, I’m getting close to 2yrs inactivity with HH and my residual points could expire in about 3 wks (although I don’t recall seeing anything from HH warning me…).

A mattress run isn’t practical but there appears to be a buy points promo on at the moment and I guess that’s the easiest way to keep the points active?

USD$10 = 1000 pts but USD$30 and up comes with 80% bonus

Transferring HH points to another program probably isn’t good value. Especially if the conversion is broken.

I can transfer to a friend/family for free and maybe get them back?

Unfortunately, e-Rewards isn’t a HH partner. That’s my usual go to source of points to keep other programs active.

At least IHG points don’t expire if you have status (I’m currently HH Gold and about to drop to Silver - despite no stays last year).

It may not be the best use of the points, but if you can find a smaller value or digital item on Amazon (US), then you can link your HH account and pay using HH points as a currency and keep them active. I had some points on my account but not enough to use on a stay, and decided to use part of the balance to buy a baseball cap + shipping. You get U$1 for 500 HH points, which is 0.2c per point, vs 1c per point on best value / stay redemptions.

Cheers,
Matt.

 

[SeatBackForward]

do HH Points expire after 2yrs, or after 2yrs of inactivity? I have about 200k HH points, and unlikely to be spending them on stays anytime soon.. Will be dropping from Diamon to Silver at the end of this month, not sure what's best use of all these points.

EDIT: Whoops answered my own question re-reading the website - "Points expire after 24 months of inactivity."

 

[iamsuperandrew]

Not sure if its targeted, But I got a double nights on my next stay - register by 31 December 2025 and stay within 4 months of your registration

 

[SYD]

do HH Points expire after 2yrs, or after 2yrs of inactivity? I have about 200k HH points, and unlikely to be spending them on stays anytime soon.. Will be dropping from Diamon to Silver at the end of this month, not sure what's best use of all these points.

EDIT: Whoops answered my own question re-reading the website - "Points expire after 24 months of inactivity."

I splurged on an extended stay in London coming out of COVID, so I was down to a few 10s of K points. I have been planning to build up the balance but doing a lot more Accor, QF Hotels and AirBnBs for that last 2 yrs.

But if you can find something and take advantage of 5th night free, they’re still good value out there (but not as good as it used to be).

RE status, once you drop to Silver, you’ll be eligible for a Gold Fastrack / status match.

 

[oz_mark]

Not sure if its targeted, But I got a double nights on my next stay - register by 31 December 2025 and stay within 4 months of your registration

I believe this one is targetted.

 

[SYD]

I believe this one is targetted.

Yes, I signed up but still haven’t booked anything. I keep getting emails from them to book something!

 

[SeatBackForward]

RE status, once you drop to Silver, you’ll be eligible for a Gold Fastrack / status match.

Realistically, I'd struggle to get to Gold, let alone Platinum with Hilton. Most of my hotel stays are either booked by clients, so I have no say, or will be associated with whichever hotel is being used for the event I'm attending.

The Platinum, from the Velocity Status Match a couple of years ago, was fun while it lasted - especially getting the family complimentary buffet breakfasts during a one week stay, but I'm happy to just live at a silver level if that's where I land.

 

[SYD]

Realistically, I'd struggle to get to Gold, let alone Platinum with Hilton. Most of my hotel stays are either booked by clients, so I have no say, or will be associated with whichever hotel is being used for the event I'm attending.

HH Gold is actually quite decent (includes b’fast or cash credit in the US).

The Platinum, from the Velocity Status Match a couple of years ago, was fun while it lasted - especially getting the family complimentary buffet breakfasts during a one week stay, but I'm happy to just live at a silver level if that's where I land.

I was HH Gold for the last ~2yrs after I fired of the VA Gold SM on my way down before crash landing to VA PS…

 

[SeatBackForward]

before crash landing to VA PS…

Think that's where I am now too, haven't even bothered to check. VA just didn't do it for me domestically (As a QF WP there simply weren't enough differences) and they did virtually nothing for me internationally. Anyhow off-topic. HH Silver for the foreseeable future for me.