Get a 100% bonus buying Hilton Honors points – is it a good deal?

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If you are currently planning your post-corona travel, Hilton Honors is currently running another promotion offering a 100% bonus when you purchase 10,000+ points.

The Hilton ‘buy points’ page is here. You have until 27th May to buy.

Regular readers of Head for Points will know that I tend to value Hilton points at 0.33p each. You are paying 0.40p (0.5 cents) here so the maths in general doesn’t work.

HOWEVER ….. there ARE real bargains to be had at peak periods. Conrad Maldives at 95,000 points per night, the new Waldorf Astoria Maldives at 120,000 points, the ‘all suite’ Conrad New York Downtown or Conrad New York Midtown at 95,000 points etc are places where you will usually save a lot of money by buying points instead of paying cash.

This is especially true if you have Hilton status and can get ‘5 nights for the points of 4’ on a longer stay. If you don’t have status, this article shows you how to get a Hilton Honors status match.

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

Rooms booked on points are also fully refundable, except on some rare occasions such as New Years Eve in key cities. This gives you extra certainty if you want to book but are worried about, for example, future quarantine restrictions at your destination which mean you can’t travel.

You can buy points via this link. The offer ends on 27th May.

Category

Hilton Honors

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

JAMES says:

13 Apr13 April 05:04

Surely we should expect to see huge devaluations of our Hilton (and all other) points later this year ?
- The Original David says:
  
  13 Apr13 April 05:18
  
  Why?
- Genghis says:
  
  13 Apr13 April 06:56
  
  There are a number of different lenses to view this, mv = pq, cash inflation, supply and demand etc. In short though, it’s a certainty that reward schemes devalue over time. Whether now is the time, only the scheme providers know. All you can do is to try to mitigate your risk through earn and burn.
  @Rob This might make a good article for HfP?
  - roberto says:
    
    13 Apr13 April 07:59
    
    I agree ,total income will still equal total expenditure so I cant see much changing net net . But t inflation/deflation will affect the value of your holdings and unlike many assets the long term value of an avios will always be on the downward slope albeit slowly as the airlines seek ways to eak profit from every avenue
    - TGLoyalty says:
      
      13 Apr13 April 08:11
      
      Anywhere that charges room rates in USD just because a better deal via Hilton points (If you already have them not buying in deal mentioned)
  - Tom H says:
    
    13 Apr13 April 07:59
    
    I ve been thinking about this, lots of cancellations etc mean more points back in circulation, alone i have had 450000 Avios returned and 720000 Hilton points returned.
    
    So I wander what the strategy of the big chains going forward will be. Keep the charts the same in the short term so there are people flying and staying generating some revenue through fees and F&B spend etc, or see it as to much of a negative on their balance sheets and so devalue acutely
    - Rob says:
      
      13 Apr13 April 09:24
      
      Rooms will be empty, award nights will be easy to come by. Hotels will want reward guests due to incidental spending.
    - BJ says:
      
      13 Apr13 April 15:20
      
      I don’t really care what their medium to long term strategy is, we have to play and live with that whatever it may be so there is no point worrying about it. We should be much more focussed on our own individual strategies and mine is to sink avios and a 241 into First to TYO and back from HKG, and Hilton points into hotels come July for the Olympics next year. More avios will go on TYO-BKK-HKG in J with JAL and hopefully Sri Lankan. Bonvoy points on Courtyard Inverness, and IHG points someplace in HKG. Hopefully all at current rates, and hopefully the self-limiying nature of viruses means the whole thing will be trouble-free by then.
      - Doogie says:
        
        13 Apr13 April 17:42
        
        I take it you’re redeeming the TYO First on JAL as well since BA have dropped First from Summer 20 (and KIX completely from mid March 21)
        
        How do you find the value and availability of that redemption?
        
        We’re in the process of rebooking our missed Tokyo 2-4-1 for 2021 but are having to book CW as First no longer available on the route.
      - meta says:
        
        13 Apr13 April 19:23
        
        Personally, I’ve rebooked in J to Haneda next year which will probably be Club Suite, so really doesn’t matter it is not F, although I’d prefer it.
      - BJ says:
        
        13 Apr13 April 19:55
        
        Thanks Doogie /Meta, I had not heard about F so J will have to do, a bonus if it means we get to try Club Suite. Using a 241 so has to be BA not JAL. I had not heard about KIX either. If I can snag seats in time for Olympics then valud is certain to be good. Usually we depart INV these days so that helps on value.
      - BJ says:
        
        13 Apr13 April 20:02
        
        Availabilith to TYO has generally been good, better than thd othef big Asian destinations. I think that might change though as I can now see BA dropping to a single daily flight to Haneda, at least in tbd short to medium term.
  - jamie says:
    
    13 Apr13 April 09:47
    
    The other important aspect of using points in USA is that you will not have to pay taxes and other charges, this could easily save you 15% on paying cash
- the_real_a says:
  
  13 Apr13 April 14:01
  
  They already devalued massively at the lower end last year with many of the hotels i use doubled and even trebled in reward points required.
  - BJ says:
    
    13 Apr13 April 15:28
    
    Agreed, I don’t think they have much room to move unless all, the chains jump on a devaluation bandwagon. Seems unlikely though given tbe difficulty of collecting points in recent times. Furthermore, Hilton’s response to Covid-19 will likely generate a lot of goodwill, it would be a bit silly to blow the benefits that will probably bring with a huge devaluation.
Brian says:

13 Apr13 April 07:28

Aren’t all Hilton bookings now refundable? If so, then that makes the cancellation option for points bookings less of a factor right now.
Big Ernie McCracken says:

13 Apr13 April 07:32

Can you explain mv=pq please. Never heard those terms.
- Ben says:
  
  13 Apr13 April 07:41
  
  My view = toilet paper. PQ is the French abbreviation for toilet paper
- TGLoyalty says:
  
  13 Apr13 April 08:00
  
  MV = PQ
  
  M= money supply, V= the velocity of money, P=prices, Q=quantity of production or activity. PQ = nominal GDP
Anna says:

13 Apr13 April 08:00

The £/$ exchange rate is making paying anything in US dollars an ordeal just now. I’ve had to reserve my timeshare week for next Easter as there’s going to be a stampede for units when the travel ban is lifted but this year it’s the equivalent £1021, ouch!!
- xcalx says:
  
  13 Apr13 April 10:14
  
  I’ve used sky auctions (nothing to do with sky tv) to buy certificates that are redeemable worldwide . On offer regulary for $199 Have had some great value stays.. I gave away my timeshare for the cost of the name transfer 5 years ago due to maintenance fees.
  
  Here is an example for GC
  
  https://www.resortcerts.com/skyauction/search-resorts/resort/2082
  - xcalx says:
    
    13 Apr13 April 10:20
    
    I should have mentioned. certs are sold at skyauctionsdotcom
  - BrianDT says:
    
    13 Apr13 April 10:55
    
    Can’t work out how to join ?
    - xcalx says:
      
      13 Apr13 April 11:16
      
      Click on register in top righthand corner of skyauctiondotcom opt to give card details later. You don’t need to register to browse.
      - jamie says:
        
        13 Apr13 April 15:04
        
        Whats the catch with these auctions, lots of Disney area villa rooms for $1?
      - xcalx says:
        
        14 Apr14 April 09:17
        
        @ jamie the $1 for a week stays will have a $200 fee (no timeshare tour required). Still great value. I and my sons have used them many times for their families in Orlando. Mexico,Caribbean,Miami, Tenerife etc
  - Anna says:
    
    13 Apr13 April 13:32
    
    I will have a look, thanks. But £1000 is still a bargain for a week in a 2 bed, 3 bathroom apartment in Grand Cayman and we get other perks as owners so will stick with it for now.
  - the_real_a says:
    
    13 Apr13 April 14:09
    
    Did i read it correctly that $199 cert is good for a 7 day stay?
    - Anna says:
      
      13 Apr13 April 20:54
      
      You usually have to agree to do a timeshare tour, some people are terrified by these but I think a typical HFP reader would be capable of saying no and walking away at the end.
      - xcalx says:
        
        14 Apr14 April 09:09
        
        No Anna, that is not the case with these certs. I have been using them for 18 years. There is no catch whatsoever. The main thing to look for is to avoid the all inclusive resorts in favour of the room only resorts as the AI fee can be huge.
    - xcalx says:
      
      14 Apr14 April 09:21
      
      @ the real a $199 will have a $20 booking fee You have to watch for extras added like date fees but its easy to find many resorts for the $219 outlay year round.
      - Anna says:
        
        14 Apr14 April 10:11
        
        I really need to investigate these!
- mike turnbull says:
  
  13 Apr13 April 10:42
  
  Another Curve payment.
Nick says:

13 Apr13 April 08:05

Re making a travel insurance claim

Do you still need to have the card (Amex plat) to make the claim?

Or find if paid with card and still held it at cancellation.?
- Oz says:
  
  13 Apr13 April 08:52
  
  Nick
  I’m in the same boat and would like to know as well. I’ve submitted my claim but when I submitted it I got “internal server error”, so don’t know if it’s worked properly. I’ve tried emailing (as no phone option) but no reply. It’s hopeless. Anyone any advice please as AXA Insurance appear to be incommunicado!
- Reeferman says:
  
  13 Apr13 April 09:58
  
  I used a Santander CC for 2 bookings (early/mid-2019), but cancelled the card end-2019. Nevertheless, I made 2 x S75 claims a few weeks ago which was not a problem – I imagine this is the case for all cards.
- Charlieface says:
  
  13 Apr13 April 12:43
  
  No once you put in a claim you can cancel the policy (or card). Technically if the claim arose earlier but you hadn’t informed them before cancelling you can still claim but you may get pushback. Expiration on an annual is the same
  - Oz says:
    
    13 Apr13 April 18:22
    
    Thanks Charlieface. Just wondering as well if all claim items have to be purchased on Amex Plat or just holding the card during the holiday is ok? Any experience? I called them in advance of my “eventful” holiday and asked if the hire car had to be with Amex for it to cover excess insurance – at that point they were quite relaxed. Might have changed now. No issues with the hire car excess BTW which is more than can be said for the rest of the holiday. TIA.
coldrdgd says:

13 Apr13 April 08:08

And GDP = Toilet Paper
- james says:
  
  13 Apr13 April 09:50
  
  £ also = toilet paper post 2016
Mikeact says:

13 Apr13 April 08:38

So, here we are, Easter Monday locked up.
We’ve just booked Easter next year, one way at the moment, to Tenerife. I will book the return when flights are loaded after T355.
For what it’s worth there is lots of availability to many popular resorts around Europe so now could be a good time to book, or anywhere else for that matter.
Jonathan says:

13 Apr13 April 08:45

Trying to buy Hilton points I’m using safari . Hilton site won’t allow me without disabling preferences.Can someone please tell me how to do this ?