REMINDER: Last chance for higher BA Amex bonuses and 100% Hilton ‘buy points’ bonus

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A quick reminder that two decent offers are closing tomorrow (Wednesday):

Current offers on the British Airways American Express cards ending

The special sign-up bonuses on the two British Airways American Express cards are due to end on June 17th:

The Premium Plus version, with the £150 annual fee, offers 25,000 Avios instead of 18,000 Avios. You must spend £3,000 within three months to receive the bonus.

The basic, free, card offers 9,000 Avios instead of 3,000 Avios. You must spend £1,000 within three months to receive the bonus.

The representative APR on the Premium Plus card is 56.4% variable including the fee based on a £1200 credit limit. The representative APR on the free card is 15.9% variable.

My full review of the benefits of the Premium Plus card is here. Amex’s own home page is here.

My full review of the free card is here. This is actually the most improved deal jumping from 3,000 to 9,000 Avios. Amex’s own home page is here.

Remember that you can receive an even higher bonus if I refer you via the refer-a-friend programme – click the review links above for full details.

If you can’t apply now then I wouldn’t be too concerned. It is very likely that we will see this offer repeated before the end of year, judging on past form.

British Airways BA American Express Amex credit cards

100% bonus when you buy Hilton HHonors points

Hilton HHonors is currently offering a 100% bonus when you buy points – see this page.

This may or may not be a great bargain as it depends how you redeem them. At the top end, you can buy 160,000 Hilton points (80,000 plus 80,000 free) for $800. That is 0.5 cents each.

Regular readers of Head for Points will know that I tend to value Hilton points at 0.3p each, which is roughly what you are paying here.

Five star Hilton, Conrad and Waldorf-Astoria hotels typically run to 80,000 points per night. In this sale you would be paying $400 for 80,000 points which is roughly what you would be paying for a five star in a major city. This is not a bargain.

However, Hilton HHonors IS a decent deal at cheaper point levels. The Hampton by Hilton in Sheffield, for example (photo below) is 10,000 points per night. At 0.5c per point you would be paying roughly £35 per night if you bought the points. That is a 65% discount on the typical nightly rate of £100. Hampton properties include free breakfast as well.

On the other hand, the Hilton Sheffield is 30,000 points per night. You would be paying around £105 for those points which, whilst a bit less than the typical £125 cash cost, is not a fantastic deal – especially as you would earn points and miles back on the cash rate.

At the most extreme, you could buy the Hilton Salalah resort in Oman, reviewed here, for £17.50 a night. That would be the rough cost of buying 5,000 points in this promotion.

(Remember that if you have Hilton elite status, and you get Silver status just for taking out their free credit card, you get 5 redemption nights for the price of 4. That takes the Hilton Salalah resort down to under £15 per night!)

What I can say is that you shouldn’t lose money buying Hilton HHonors points at 0.5 cents. There will not be another major devaluation for a few years, given the severity of the 2013 changes, so I don’t see that as a risk.

If you just buying a handful of points to top off your account, the price per point doesn’t matter anyway. If you a few thousand short of a redemption then this is the cheapest opportunity you will ever have to buy them.

The link to buy is here. As with the BA Amex deal, the offer closes tomorrow, June 17th

How to earn Hilton Honors points and status from UK credit cards (December 2021)

There are various ways of earning Hilton Honors points from UK credit cards. Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses.

Do you know that holders of The Platinum Card from American Express receive FREE Hilton Honors Gold status for as long as they hold the card? It also comes with Marriott Bonvoy Gold, Radisson Rewards Gold and MeliaRewards Gold status. We reviewed American Express Platinum in detail here and you can apply here.

The Platinum Card from American Express

30,000 points and an unbeatable set of travel benefits – for a fee Read our full review

Did you know that the Virgin Atlantic credit cards are a great way of earning Hilton Honors points? Two Virgin Points can be converted into three Hilton Honors points. The Virgin Atlantic cards are the only Visa or Mastercard products in the UK which can indirectly earn Hilton Honors points. You can apply here.

You can also earn Hilton Honors points indirectly with American Express Gold (20,000 bonus points), the American Express Rewards Credit Card (5,000 bonus points) and – for small business owners – American Express Business Gold (20,000 bonus points) and Business Platinum (40,000 bonus points).

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which can be used to earn Hilton Honors points.

(Want to earn more hotel points? Click here to see our complete list of promotions from the major hotel chains or use the ‘Hotel Offers’ link in the menu bar at the top of the page.)

Category

British Airways American Express, Hilton Honors

This article is closed to new posts. Discussion continues in the HfP Forums.

fiona says:

16 Jun16 June 06:43

I applied for premium plus on Friday but didn’t get an instant decision. I will probably get the decision after the 17th.
- Jason says:
  
  16 Jun16 June 10:58
  
  It’s when you apply, not when the decision is made is the cut off for the bonus 🙂
  - Caroline says:
    
    16 Jun16 June 13:39
    
    Although Amex didn’t honour this for my Gold supplementary card. Running an offer of 5,000mrp is apply by 28/02. I applied just before then but card not authorised until 03/03. Amex did not honour the 5,000 points. I complained and they gave me a ‘gesture’ of 2,500 points.
Jason says:

16 Jun16 June 07:04

First query, if you use points to buy a room does it count towards status?
Second, if you have 2 gold holders in a room, with 2 children, does the free breakfast apply to 4 guests, if they are in the same room?
- James says:
  
  16 Jun16 June 08:09
  
  Yes reward nights count for status at Hilton. As for breakfast they should give it to you I would imagine, most hotels don’t follow the rules on reakfast exactly (they almost always give a full breakfast instead of the required continental breakfast for example).
  
  Personally I bought points and used them for 10 nights in a king deluxe room at the Hilton sharm dreams resort, 4000 points per night and rooms selling at $156 (summer sale rate). 40,000 points = $200, total saving $1360. Bargain!! Thanks Rob 😉
  - xcalx says:
    
    16 Jun16 June 09:21
    
    Have you completed your stay at the Hilton Dreams, if so, could you advise re upgrades, lounge? It seems to get good reviews with Hilton and mixed reviews on tripadvisor. I really want to try Sharm but need to convince mrs xcalx.
    - James says:
      
      16 Jun16 June 11:31
      
      No it is in November. To be honest I’m not expecting too much.. Probably a big standard Sharm hotel.
      
      Also I bet there is a thread on the hotel over at flyertalk which will probably have some more info?
  - Jason says:
    
    16 Jun16 June 11:04
    
    Think I may email Hilton, about it, as it is worth getting gold for the breakfasts, otherwise I’ll just take silver with the credit card.
    - YL says:
      
      16 Jun16 June 23:13
      
      Strictly speaking, the complimentary breakfast rule is only for the Gold/Diamond member who booked the room + up to one registered guest staying in the same room.
      
      However, I found most Hilton hotels are usually very accommodated and generous. I have received free breakfast for the 2nd room many times without asking. It really depends on the hotelI, but I think most of the hotel will provide your children with breakfast without the additional charge.
      
      There is certainly no harm to contact the hotel to enquire about it, so that you know what to expect.
      - Jason says:
        
        17 Jun17 June 10:46
        
        Planning to book 2 lots of 5 days, at Rangali Island, for 2 adults and 2 children.
        Both gold holders will be staying in the same room.
        Just working out the best way to attain gold at the moment.
        Does the free night with the credit card, last 6 months from when you hit the £750 spend or when you receive the voucher?
        Looking at travelling April 2017, so assume if voucher is valid from when you hit the £750 spend, I should apply April/May next year, book rooms on points asap and trigger voucher around November?
        Does that make sense to experienced Hilton card holders?
      - Rob says:
        
        17 Jun17 June 11:59
        
        It is from the date the voucher is issued, which seems to be 2-4 weeks after hitting the target. They are done in batches so it is impossible to predict. For safety, do NOT hit the £750 until you are within 6 months of your stay date.
        
        At the moment vouchers are coming with a 12 month validity but this may be a mistake as the Barclays website still stays 6 months.
Mrs_fussy says:

16 Jun16 June 08:17

Can I apply for this and still get the bonus, even if I have the Etihad card and previously held a Virgin mbna ?
- Rob says:
  
  16 Jun16 June 11:55
  
  Yes, no problem at all, this is an Amex-issued Amex and not an MBNA one so those cards have no impact.
  - Mrs_fussy says:
    
    16 Jun16 June 12:52
    
    Perfect ! Thanks, I will apply using the above link
Kevin says:

16 Jun16 June 08:33

At the risk of appearing greedy, I have had the premium card for a number of years, can I apply for the free card as well?
- Rob says:
  
  16 Jun16 June 11:55
  
  No, not allowed. You can only have one at once.
Roger says:

16 Jun16 June 12:22

My wife is HH gold until 03/16 and is unlikely to retain it next year. I am also HH gold and plan to retain it.

We have a trip next spring and we would like to use her HH points before mine. Possible stays:
1. 31.3.16 – 5 nights for 4;
2. 5.4.16 – 5 nights foe 4;
3. 10.4.16 – 5 nights for 4;
4. 15.4.16 – 5 nights for 4.
She has enough HH points for at least the first two, the others would use mine.

If anybody has been in a similar position, could they please advise:
– do Gold benefits (e.g. free breakfast) apply when booked now, on Stay 1 (only the first night as Gold) and on Stay 2?
– I would be the named 2nd person in the reservations, so would my HH Gold help?

I had thought of her gifting her points to me but that’s not cost effective.

Many thanks.
- Alex says:
  
  16 Jun16 June 12:43
  
  If your wife phones up Hilton she should be able to book a redemption in your name, and I think she could have them add your hhonors number to the booking so your hilton gold would apply to the booking. Once the booking is made you could then add you wife to the booking as a second guest through the manage your reservation page.
  - Roger says:
    
    16 Jun16 June 16:12
    
    Ingenious, Alex! Thanks very much for what looks like the answer to our situation. 🙂
high end hobo says:

16 Jun16 June 12:50

I cancelled my last BA card on December 25th (i got the bonus much before that date)
AmEx language says you have to have not ehld the card for 6 months in order to get the bonus (which would me june 25) do they Enforce that? if not i’ll apply now, please email me a referral link
Liz says:

16 Jun16 June 13:02

OT: I just checked in at BA for our USA flight tomorrow – this is an economy flight booked last year before I started collecting via this site. I noticed that we had a 2 bag allocation and not 1 as per normal! Has this changed or is it because I now have a BAPP card? I’m sure it’s not normally 2 bags for economy flights?
krys_k says:

16 Jun16 June 13:08

Re. Amex bonus – does this affect the current referral bonus? i.e. 10k for recipient and 4k for referrer
- Rob says:
  
  16 Jun16 June 13:13
  
  Usually the referral,bonus goes up too. However, Amex has messed up and has pulled the referral bonus 2 days early. The referral links are already back down to 19k and 4k which is where they should have been on Thursday.