Hilton Macquarie Visa Card

[JohnK]

Re: Changes to Hilton Premium Club

I received a 9 month reminder email and some other email. I may end up taking the Macquarie Platinum Card if I am offerd one for the low interest rate for 6 months. The interest I save will take care of at least the first 1-2 years membership and can review the card after this time.

Well I have been unable to book $99 rates at south wharf,MEL airport,On the park.Sydney,Brisbane,Adelaide-all multiple times.Guess I just want to travel at popular times though at Sydney couldnt get Friday to Sunday nights virtually every weekend January to March this year.

I have managed to use my $99 rate cards 3-4 times already (and each one was a qualifying stay with HHonors points and VS miles) and I also gave a couple away. Still have 2 at home somewhere but I cannot find them.

Try Sydney the night before Good Friday.

Try Melbourne Airport and Hilton of the Park for the Anzac weekend.

 

[straitman]

Re: Changes to Hilton Premium Club

Well I have been unable to book $99 rates at south wharf,MEL airport,On the park.Sydney,Brisbane,Adelaide-all multiple times.Guess I just want to travel at popular times though at Sydney couldnt get Friday to Sunday nights virtually every weekend January to March this year.

Interesting.

Auckland is often quite hard to get the $99 ($NZ113) rate but it is available for tomorrow night if we needed it. Everywhere else seems quite heavinly booked and expensive.

 

[acdc]

Re: Changes to Hilton Premium Club

I still have 2X $99 cards and was planning on using one myself and giving the other one to friends for an overnight stay we are planning to have together. I rang HPC and they told me, as expected, that the $99cards can only be used by members, but as some HPC members here have successfully given some to friends/family, I am thinking that Hilton may just accept them at check in without requesting /checking membership status and no questions asked.
I could book 1 room in my name and 1 room in my friends name or 2 rooms in my name from the HPC site using the "book a $99 room" field but I am not sure which way would be the easier/safer option.
I would not feel very good if Hilton do not accept the card and ended up charging my friends full price after I had told them it would only cost $99

Have any members friends had any problems using these $99 cards (if you have given any away)? Do Hilton not even check the details and just accepted the cards without requesting/checking HPC membership details?
I would give them a "member for a stay card" but I have already given these all away

 

[JohnK]

Re: Changes to Hilton Premium Club

As I mentioned earlier I have not had a problem using the $99 rate cards in the past. No one has ever requested to see my HPC membership. In fact most times they do not even ask for the $99 rate card.

It may well be the safer option to book the rooms in separate names as opposed to booking 2 rooms in the one name. This may attract less attention as theoretically you are supposed to use one $99 rate card per membership year. But no one checks. Well not for me anyway.

Another option could be to book a room in your name using the $99 rate card and book another room in your name and you should be able to receive 20% discount as you are a HPC member. I have not read the terms and conditions so don't know if there is a restriction on how many rooms one can book and still get a 20% discount.

 

[acdc]

Re: Changes to Hilton Premium Club

Thanks John
I like your idea of using my HPC membership for the second room and getting the 20% discount. I will call the property directly for confirmation as I know if I ring HPC they will most likely tell me that rooms must be occupied by HPC members to get the discount

 

[QF WP]

Re: Changes to Hilton Premium Club

Well, I used my Macquarie HPC card at Adelaide Hilton. Checked out up at the Executive Floor. Lisa knew about the card and had no issue about giving me my 20% discount but charging my bill to my (preferred) Amex.

 

[straitman]

Re: Changes to Hilton Premium Club

Happy for you to send this way, for me to use at Lake Taupo Hilton

Flashware,

Prompt me next week and I'll send you the email for the front desk manager of the Lake Taupo Hilton. A nice guy who will look after you.

 

[kpc]

Re: Changes to Hilton Premium Club

I got the email reminder today to join the Hilton Macquarie Platinum Card. Even with the great discount of $20 on the $295 annual membership fee, I won't be joining as I don't stay enough in domestic Hiltons to get value from this card.

As a side note, I still have 2 "member for a stay" cards. Can I use these myself later on? if so, do I need to activate them now? (and can someone point out how I do this now with Macquarie taking over the scheme? thanks)

 

[Flashback]

Re: Changes to Hilton Premium Club

I got the email reminder today to join the Hilton Macquarie Platinum Card. Even with the great discount of $20 on the $295 annual membership fee, I won't be joining as I don't stay enough in domestic Hiltons to get value from this card.

As a side note, I still have 2 "member for a stay" cards. Can I use these myself later on? if so, do I need to activate them now? (and can someone point out how I do this now with Macquarie taking over the scheme? thanks)

Yes you can use them (this is what most of us are planning to do), and no there does not appear to be any expiry on them.

 

[serfty]

Re: Changes to Hilton Premium Club

I got the email today inviting me to come on over to the Macquarie card. I noticed that with the new program there is only one $99 rate card instead of two.

It was always only 1 per year.

Ahhh, of course. I got two through Straitman's special deal but that was a two year membership.

No it wasn't.

I joined the club back in '05 when it was the "Hilton Diamond Club"; amongst other vouchers subscribers received two of these "Member for a stay".

This continued with the name change "Hilton Premium Club" in 2006 and afterward. It was only with straitman's negotiated 2 year deal the number of cards per year was reduced to one - for that deal only. If I had renewed for one year back in '08 I would have received two then and a further two with an '09 renewal.

 

[oz_mark]

Re: Changes to Hilton Premium Club

In essence you got two $99 vouchers at each renewal, rather than per year (although most memberships were per year).

Now it is one per renewal.

 

[serfty]

Oops, I was confusing "Welcome to Hilton" vouchers with "Member For a stay".

Up until Macquarie took over, upon annual renewal one would normally receive ONE $99 "Welcome to Hilton" and TWO Guest Pass "Member for a Stay".

 

[oz_mark]

Re: Changes to Hilton Premium Club

Oops, I was confusing "Welcome to Hilton" vouchers with "Member For a stay".

Up until Macquarie took over, upon annual renewal one would normally receive ONE $99 "Welcome to Hilton" and TWO Guest Pass "Member for a Stay".

Strangely that was what was written - but I always got two of each.

 

[QF WP]

Re: Changes to Hilton Premium Club

thanks lindsay
i had quick read of their Macq benefits. It seems you earm Mac reward points but cant accrue them and forward them onto another airline loyalty program (eg Virgin atlantic or Miles and more).

Correct - to me, that's the downside of this CC - thus the reason I'm only using it for the HPC benefits

For example, i am looking for a card where i can accrue points and allocate them to a big variety of airline loyalty programs, but not Qantas as i have Plat Amex Altitude for that. Would i do any better than just getting a normal Amex not assoc with any bank and accrue (is it Ascent points)? so i can have flexibility to transfer to Virgin or Miles and More or jal etc?
any ideas
thanks

Best answered by others who have more knowledge

 

[Danger]

Re: Changes to Hilton Premium Club

Can someone confirm if the Hilton Macquarie card needs to be presented at a check-in? For example, if I was to book a room for my partner and I for a couple of nights but I wasn't arriving until the second night. How is the HPC discount applied? Would my girlfriend have to present my Macquarie card?

 

[serfty]

Re: Changes to Hilton Premium Club

Can someone confirm if the Hilton Macquarie card needs to be presented at a check-in? For example, if I was to book a room for my partner and I for a couple of nights but I wasn't arriving until the second night. How is the HPC discount applied? Would my girlfriend have to present my Macquarie card?

Supposedly yes, although you don't need to actually spent on it.

 

[straitman]

Re: Changes to Hilton Premium Club

Supposedly yes, although you don't need to actually spent on it.

I had an interesting experience at Melbourne Airport Hilton a few weeks ago which I need to follow up with them.

I did my usual prepaid booking using my Amex and presented my Hilton Macquarie card at checkin to show my HPC eligability. When it came time to checkout the girl on duty was not going to refund me the HPC discount amount as I had not paid using the Hilton Macquarie card. I argued the case and she was adamant that the Hilton Macquarie card must be used for bookings. She refunded me the 20% 'on this occasion' but said that in future I must always use the Hilton Macquarie Visa. (At 0545 when I was up earlier than I prefer and she was obviously very tired at the end of her shift it was not shaping up well for a little while) I will follow up shortly.

A sideline was that at the Auckland Hilton and Lake Taupo Hilton they just looked cross eyed at the Macquarie card and wanted to know where my real HPC card was :!:

 

[anat0l]

Re: Changes to Hilton Premium Club

A sideline was that at the Auckland Hilton and Lake Taupo Hilton they just looked cross eyed at the Macquarie card and wanted to know where my real HPC card was :!:

There's still a brief period before all of the HPC member cards (let alone benefit cards, e.g. Member for a Stay and Great Rate) lapse over.

In any case, HPC changes (or the new Hilton Macquarie scheme) and the related lag of knowledge transfer aren't all that surprising. Staying at the Conrad Treasury once before they left Hilton group - and this was well into the HPC program (but well before the new Mac takeover) - there were glaring inconsistencies with respect to how the 20% discount was applied to incidentals (e.g. food). I ended up complaining and was comped a breakfast/wine voucher.

On the other hand, the Treasury did have a very generous breakfast policy (for HH Golds who chose upgrade/breakfast benefit)...

 

[serfty]

I had a call from a Hilton Macquare Sales person making a desperate effort to get me to take up the offer.

She even stated something along the lines of "you don't have to use it to get the 20%, you just have to show it".

There is NOTHING in the T&C's that indicate you have to charge the cost of the room to your Hilton MacQuarie card to get the 20% discounts.

 

[straitman]

Re: Changes to Hilton Premium Club

I had a call from a Hilton Macquare Sales person making a desperate effort to get me to take up the offer.

She even stated something along the lines of "you don't have to use it to get the 20%, you just have to show it".

There is NOTHING in the T&C's that indicate you have to charge the cost of the room to your Hilton MacQuarie card to get the 20% discounts.

That is my understanding also. I actually asked in Auckland and Lake Taupo but as I mentioned they didn't even know much about the Macquarie card at all.

I have the name of the person who I had trouble with and I will follow up and post back in the next few days.