Hilton HHonors Readjusts Redemption Levels
Hilton HHonors has announced an increase to its hotel rewards schedule, tweaking the categories slightly and raising the amount of points required for a free night by as much as 25%.
Here is a chart showing how the new HHonors redemption schedule stacks up against the old one, which will cease as of January 14. Note that the old terminology of "Opportunity" is being eliminated, with the category numbers adjusting accordingly (i.e. Opportunity is now Level 1, Level 1 is now Level 2, etc.).
|
Level |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
| Old |
7,500 |
10,000 |
20,000 |
25,000 |
30,000 |
35,000 |
40,000 |
| New |
7,500 |
12,500 |
25,000 |
30,000 |
35,000 |
40,000 |
50,000 |
| %Change |
0 |
25% |
25% |
20% |
17% |
14% |
25% |
| Brands | Hampton | Hampton | Hampton, Garden Inn, Doubletree, Homewood | Hampton, Garden Inn, Doubletree, Homewood, Embassy, Hilton | Hampton, Garden Inn, Doubletree, Homewood, Embassy, Hilton | Hampton, Garden Inn, Doubletree, Homewood, Embassy, Hilton | Doubletree, Embassy, Hilton, Conrad |
A Hilton spokesman says the increase is merely part of the cyclical revaluation that most hotel loyalty programs go through on a fairly regular basis. "As the costs of doing business increase, it is inevitable that point levels will eventually need to be modified. We have been able to keep our point levels constant for more than six years. Most of our competitors have long since increased point levels, and in some cases several times over."
Not surprisingly, the announcement has not gone over well with the folks over at FlyerTalk, many of whom seem to be are at least as angry over the timing of the announcement as they are with the announcement itself.
Additionally, the announcement comes nine months after Adam Burke, then the senior vice president and managing director of Hilton HHonors, all but dismissed the notion of devalued points as a result of the many bonus promotions (not just from Hilton, but most hotel companies) that were flooding the market.
When I asked Burke back in January whether HHonors members should brace for a points devaluation, this was his response: "I certainly understand why some people are concerned, but I don’t personally see it the same way – at least not as it relates to the HHonors program. We’re offering double points right now, for example, because at the beginning of the year, a lot of travelers are making choices about where to stay for the coming year. Given that, and knowing how much our members value the ability to get a free night faster, we’re looking to give our customers even more reasons to consolidate their stays with the Hilton Family of hotels."
Jeff Q. commented:
