Bits: US flights from Manchester for £1000, 100% bonus when you buy Hilton points

News in brief:

Business class US flights from Manchester for £1,000

For reasons no-one quite understands, American Airlines is offering business class flights from Manchester to two US cities:

• San Antonio
• Little Rock (and possible other parts of Arkansas)

….. for almost exactly £1,000.

You must fly between April and September and book by 22nd March.

The flights involve a change of plane in Chicago which means you will receive 360 British Airways tier points return (140 + 40 + 40 + 140).  You will also earn Avios if you decide to credit the flights to a British Airways Executive Club account.  Hat-tip to Flyertalk.

100% bonus when you buy Hilton Honors points

Hilton Honors is offering a 100% bonus when you buy points before 3rd May.  See here for details.

This is the first bonus promotion since the new Hilton redemption process kicked in.  Under this new offering – which applies to purchases of 5,000 points or more – the cheapest price you can pay is 0.40p based on $800 for 160,000 points.

Does this still make sense under the new structure?  In theory, yes.  Or, to put it another way, it makes as much sense as it ever did.

Whilst the redemption cost of Hilton properties is now more closely linked to the prevailing cash price, there is still a cap on the points required.  The best value will generally be at properties which are selling for a very high price but where the points ‘cap’ has kicked in.

If I look at the Conrad Tokyo for a night in April when I am there, for example, it is selling for 95,000 points or £517 including tax (this is peak tourist season pricing).  That gets me 0.54p per point.  My room at the Waldorf-Astoria in Beijing the following week works out at 0.48p per point.

At both of these hotels, buying points under this offer would have been somewhat cheaper than paying cash although you should net off any points you would earn back.

One upside of the new Hilton redemption structure is that your downside for buying points is limited.  You can now use points as part-payment for any hotel at any time and you should get back at least what you pay under this offer – and hopefully more.

The link to buy is here if you’re interested.

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.)