The fourth article in this series comparing the “MegaChain” hotel loyalty programs of Hilton HHonors, IHG Priority Club and Marriott Rewards is a look at the hotel reward options for each hotel chain. Reward nights using points are one of the two primary incentives of being a hotel loyalty program member. The other incentive is additional complimentary hotel stay benefits received during hotel stays like free internet, complimentary room upgrades, hotel executive lounge access and free breakfast.

Comparing hotel rewards is one of the most technical aspects of hotel loyalty programs. The rate of earning points is different in each hotel loyalty program with Hilton members earning as many as 15 points per dollar for hotel spend while Marriott and IHG Priority Club earn as few as 5 points per dollar for certain hotel brands. Promotions offering bonus points also affect the rate of earning points in each program.

And even if the hotel loyalty member earns 10 points per dollar in each program, then is a 25,000 point hotel reward comparable in each program? How does one compare a Marriott Rewards category 5 reward night (25,000 points), Priority Club Crowne Plaza reward night (25,000 points) and a Hilton HHonors category 3 reward night (25,000 points)?

The logical way to compare hotel rewards across programs is to compare the published rate for the hotel night to the reward night cost in points. The problem is the reward cost is a fixed cost while the room rate fluctuates and might be $150 tonight and $250 tomorrow night for the same 25,000 points free night. The other variable is a 25,000 points hotel reward might save $100 at one Marriott Rewards category 5 hotel and save $250 at a different Marriott hotel.

The bottom line is hotel reward redemption value is dynamic and fluctuates depending on date and hotel. The best a member can do is try to use points in a way that maximizes their redemption value.

Read More…

R.I.P 2012 Hilton HHonors Point Stretcher Rewards.  The Point Stretcher 40% discount on standard rewards for HHonors room nights appears to have been officially discontinued although there is no published word on that fact from Hilton HHonors. The link for HHonors Point Stretcher Rewards simply states:

“The are currently no Point Stretcher Reward options available. “ 

HHonors even looks like they outsourced the grammar for the webpage announcement.

The Point Stretcher thread on FlyerTalk had some discussion the past week on the lack of any hotel list update. Long-time FlyerTalk member Kempis reports this response from the HHonors Diamond agent:

With the recent launch of Points & Money Rewards the Point Stretcher rewards have been discontinued. Our new Points & Money Rewards option lets you get away faster than ever using fewer HHonors points.

Points & Money might actually be a more favorable reward opportunity as long as the Points & Money Rewards are expanded throughout the system. Point Stretcher Rewards were so restricted by date in most properties offering these rewards that their usefulness was limited.

Some of my best Hilton stays were on Point Stretcher Rewards in places like Rotterdam, Singapore and Budapest.

RIP HHonors Point Stretcher. I enjoyed using you.

Related Loyalty Traveler post: Hilton HHonors Points & Money Rewards Analysis (October 3, 2011)

The current batch of Point Stretcher dates shows no hotel rewards past December 2011. Hilton HHonors has a history of waiting until all the calendar dates have passed before posting new Point Stretcher dates. Last July Hilton HHonors even sent out a press release to announce Point Stretcher Rewards were back for second half 2011.

I have to wonder if there is really any point in Point Stretcher rewards anymore now HHonors offers Points & Money rewards. Point Stretcher rewards are discounted 40% from standard reward levels. Category 7 hotels at 50,000 points per night go for 30,000 points with a Point Stretcher.

Points & Money reward for a category 7 hotel will be 25,000 points + $85. Obviously Hilton HHonors Points & Money Rewards are a better deal for Hilton’s profit margin than Point Stretcher rewards.

Hilton HHonors current Points & Money Reward 30% rebate promotion for hotels booked by January 31, 2012 for stays through June 30, 2012 reduces the category 7 hotel reward from 25,000 points + $85 down to 17,500 points +$85. That is sort of a win-win for the HHonors member and Hilton Worldwide compared to a Point Stretcher reward that would be 30,000 points. The member gets the reward night for 12,500 fewer points in exchange for $85.

This post is basically speculative. What do you think? Will we see another batch of HHonors Point Stretcher rewards for January-June 2012?

Hilton brand hotels offering Point Stretcher rewards posted dates through November 2011. Hilton HHonors Point Stretcher rewards offer a 40% discount on the standard reward night. There are several hundred participating hotels in this set from Hilton, Doubletree, Embassy Suites, Hilton Garden Inn, Hampton Inn, Homewood Suites and Conrad.

The reward dates at most properties give the appearance of Point Stretcher rewards being a weekend stay discount program. Most hotels offer these rewards only for Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights.

New Zealand caught my attention as a location offering full months of Point Stretcher availability for their winter months at the Hilton Queenstown, Kawarau Hotel in Queenstown on the South Island and Hilton Lake Taupo on the North Island. June, July and August are winter days and nights in New Zealand.

Hilton Cape Town City Centre South Africa also has full month Point Stretcher dates for June through August. I read a travel piece a couple years back by a writer who hung out in Cape Town during the winter and described the tranquility of the off-season while working on a book and the terrific storms that hit the Cape.

Point Stretchers are great value rewards for one to three night stays where no other discount option is available. HHonors VIP elites have regular access to VIP Rewards for 15% discount on 4-night stays, 20% on 5-night stays, and 25% on stays of 6 to 14 nights.

American Express cardmembers also have the option of Hilton AXON reward stays of 4 nights at category 6 and 7 hotels.

AXON category 6 reward = 125,000 points (regular cost = 160,000 points) = 21.9% discount.

AXON category 7 reward = 145,000 points (regular cost = 200,000 points) = 27.5% discount.

Point Stretcher rewards can be a great value. The best hotel room upgrade Kelley and I ever had with Hilton was on a Point Stretcher stay in July 2002 at the Hilton Budapest in the King Duna Suite overlooking the Danube River.

Hilton Budapest is on the current Point Stretcher list. Pack your coat though since dates are only available for November 2011 stays at 21,000 points per night for this category 5 HHonors hotel.

Hilton Budapest view (this photo is lifted from Hilton website since I didn't bring a camera on our trip with the spectacular room views).

Hilton Budapest hotel photos. 

Related Post: Loyalty Traveler’s Hilton HHonors Comprehensive Reward Charts for HHonors Standard Rewards, HHonors VIP rewards, Waldorf Astoria Collection rewards, Hilton Grand Vacations rewards, American Express AXON rewards, and Point Stretcher rewards. (September 13, 2010)

A Hilton HHonors member spends 80,000 points for a two-night hotel stay at Conrad Brussels, Belgium this week. Next week Conrad Brussels is available for 24,000 points per night on HHonors Point Stretcher Rewards. The guest next week experiences the same hotel, same room comfort, same amenities, same staff and same restaurant. And the prospect of receiving a complimentary upgrade is increased during a low occupancy hotel period.

A shift of one week in hotel stay dates results in 32,000 points savings on a normally 80,000 points two-night reward stay. Even a three night Point Stretcher stay requires just 72,000 points for the HHonors hotel category 6 Conrad Brussels.

I burned over 2 million Hilton HHonors points in the past 12 years. More than 90% of those reward nights were reduced points rewards – either Point Stretcher nights or HHonors VIP discounted 6-night rewards. Singapore, Germany, Spain, Ireland, and Belgium are a few of the locations I stayed on Point Stretcher nights. These discounts allowed me to stay about 50 more nights at Hilton properties than if I had redeemed using standard rewards like 40,000 points for the HHonors category 6 Conrad Brussels.

Discount Hotel Rewards

Several hotel programs offer discount hotel reward nights. Marriott Rewards calls them PointSavers, Hilton HHonors trademarked Point Stretcher and Priority Club has PointBreaks.

Starwood Preferred Guest has Cash & Points and a similar reduced points and cash component offer is available for Priority Club at IHG properties and Goldpoints Plus for Carlson Hotels’ Radisson and Country Inn.

There are differences in each of these program’s offers. Here is a summary of how each offer works and what you can reasonably expect to find.

Three categories of hotel reward discounts.

Limited Date Discounts

• IHG PointBreaks = 5,000 points per free reward night. (IHG reward nights are normally 10,000 to 40,000 points per night.)
• Marriott Rewards PointSavers = discount to next lower hotel category reward level; for example, category 5 hotel (25,000 points/night) requires category 4 points (20,000 points/night) for free nights. 5^th night free does apply to PointSavers rate.
• Hilton HHonors Point Stretcher  = Pay 60% of standard reward points per night (40% discount); for example, category 6 hotel at 40,000 points is 24,000 points per night with PointStretchers. HHonors VIP Extended stay discount (4 or more nights) does not apply to Point Stretcher rewards. 

Extended Stay Reward Discounts

• Marriott Rewards =  5^th night free (pay hotel category level points for four nights)
• Starwood Preferred Guest =  5^th night free (pay hotel category level points for four nights)
• HHonors VIP rewards for stays 4 nights (15% discount); 5 nights (20% discount); 6 to 14 nights (25% discount). VIP discount rewards are restricted to HHonors elite members Silver and higher.
• Goldpoints plus = 10% fewer points for additional reward nights after first night.

Cash and Points Rewards

• Starwood Preferred Guest Cash and Points nights require 40% normal points and cash portion ranging from $15 to $150 depending on SPG hotel category level from 1 to 6. Not applicable to SPG category 7 hotels. Cash & Points have the potential for very high savings and points value. There are opportunities to save more than $200 on published room rates and receive a very high redemption value for your points, particularly at the category 4 ($60 + 4,000 points) and category 5 ($90 + 4,800 points) award level.
• SPG Cash & Points awards are capacity controlled.   

SPG Cash & Points chart

• Category 1 = $25 + 1,200 points (only in U.S., Canada, Asia-Pacific)
• Category 2 = $30 + 1,600 points (only in U.S., Canada, Asia-Pacific)
• Category 3 = $45 + 2,800 points
• Category 4 = $60 + 4,000 points
• Category 5 = $90 + 4,800 points
• Category 6 = $150 + 8,000 points
• Category 7 = N/A

Priority Club – Points + Cash is a system for buying points to complete a hotel reward stay booking. Two options: Pay $40 for 5,000 points or $60 for 10,000 points. This option is available even if you have sufficient points for the hotel reward stay. This is a way to buy points at a huge discount and save Priority Club points for more hotel free nights. Buying points directly from Priority Club costs $230 for 20,000 points.

Goldpoints Plus Cash & Points offers the option to pay a cash supplement for reduced points reward nights. Category 1 to 3 hotels require 5,000 points and category 4 to 6 hotels require 10,000 points. Cash portion determined at time of hotel booking.  

Important to Remember: Reward stays, including Cash and Points rewards, do not earn hotel stay credit for annual elite qualification, with the exception of Hilton HHonors and Choice Privileges where reward stays earn elite qualification credit.

IHG PointBreaks

These are the cheapest hotels available in hotel loyalty world at 5,000 Priority Club points per night, but I am wondering if Prioity Club members have seen the best days pass for this incredible reward discount. The last two PointBreaks lists may indicate a new pattern for PointBreaks with mid-month release in December and January for hotel stays through the end of the following month. The list released this week does not include a single InterContinental Hotel which I hope does not become a new trend.

June 7, 2010 – 118 hotels (79 US, 39 international) – stay through August 30, 2010.

August 2, 2010 – 130 hotels (79 US, 51 international) – stay through October 30, 2010.

October 4, 2010 – 126 hotels (77 US, 49 international) – stay through December 30, 2010.

December 13, 2010 – 35 hotels (15 US, 20 international) – stay through January 30, 2011.

January 24, 2011 – 55 hotels (31 US, 24 international) – stay through February 28, 2011.

The deal here is any hotel on the list is available for 5,000 points. All Crowne Plaza hotels have a standard reward cost of 25,000 points per night. A PointBreaks reward night for a hotel like Crowne Plaza Denver International Airport is an 80% discount.

InterContinental Hotels have standard rates at 30,000 points or 40,000 points per night. Landing a PointBreaks vacation at an InterContinental Hotel like IC Budapest (October 2010 PointBreaks hotel) means your 40,000 points can put you in a hotel room for an eight night Pointbreaks vacation rather than just a one night stay using a standard 40,000 points reward.

PointBreaks reward nights were an 87.5% discount at the normally 40,000 points per night InterContinental Budapest luxury hotel for stays October through December 2010.

Marriott Rewards PointSavers (Loyalty Traveler post 1/26 Marriott PointSavers)

Marriott Rewards PointSavers reduce the cost of an award night by one category level. A great feature of these rewards is the 5^th night free is still offered with PointSavers. A category 6 hotel reward is normally 30,000 points per night or five nights for 120,000 points. PointSavers reduce the nightly cost of a category 6 reward down to the rate for a category 5 reward at 25,000 points per night or 100,000 points for five nights.

Biggest savings is 33% and results at Marriott category 3 level where a 15,000 points per night reward is just 10,000 points when paying the category 2 hotel reward rate. Five nights at a category 3 hotel for 40,000 points with a PointSavers reservation will likely have a high redemption value for your points in excess of $10 per 1,000 points (this occurs when the published rate of the hotel is more than $80 per night or $400 for five nights).

Marriott Rewards PointSavers Chart

PointSavers Free Nights

• Category 1 – Standard =  7,500 points; PointSavers = 6,000
• Category 2 – Standard = 10,000 points; PointSavers = 7,500
• Category 3 – Standard = 15,000 points; PointSavers = 10,000
• Category 4 – Standard = 20,000 points; PointSavers = 15,000
• Category 5 – Standard = 25,000 points; PointSavers = 20,000
• Category 6 – Standard = 30,000 points; PointSavers = 25,000
• Category 7 – Standard = 35,000 points; PointSavers = 30,000
• Category 8 – Standard = 40,000 points; PointSavers = 35,000

PointSavers are also available for select Ritz-Carlton Hotels offering 10,000 points per night discount. 

Hilton HHonors Point Stretcher (Loyalty traveler Dec 3 post HHonors Point Stretcher)

Hilton HHonors published a long list of hotels in early December offering Point Stretcher reward dates through May 2011. This is a welcome change for a program feature that languished a couple of years with very weak offerings. The hundreds of hotels on the current Point Stretcher list make Marriott Rewards, at just 25 hotels currently posted as PointSavers, look like the Hilton HHonors of old.

But don’t count on finding a Hilton HHonors Point Stretcher Category 1 Reward anytime soon.

Point Stretcher Free Nights Chart

• Category 1 – Standard =  7,500 points; Point Stretcher = 4,500
• Category 2 – Standard = 12,500 points; Point Stretcher = 7,500
• Category 3 – Standard = 25,000 points; Point Stretcher = 15,000
• Category 4 – Standard = 30,000 points; Point Stretcher = 18,000
• Category 5 – Standard = 35,000 points; Point Stretcher = 21,000
• Category 6 – Standard = 40,000 points; Point Stretcher = 24,000
• Category 7 – Standard = 50,000 points; Point Stretcher = 30,000

Extended Hotel Stay Rewards

Carlson Hotels goldpoints plus (Radisson, Park Inn and Country Inn) discount every reward night after the first night by 10%. This is the best standard discount available for two or three night stays in hotel loyalty world.

Four night stays: Hilton HHonors steps in with a 15% total points discount available as an elite member VIP reward.

Five night stays: Hilton, Marriott and Starwood all discount five night stays by 20%. Hilton restricts all VIP discount rewards to elite members.

Hilton HHonors unquestionably wins the biggest discount contest with 25% off the reward cost for stays of 6 to 14 nights. Marriott Rewards was the best discount until they went to 5^th night free in 2009. That being said, there is still competitiveness for Marriott with Hilton in that the hotel category reward distribution is much more skewed to lower categories for Marriott than Hilton. For example, there are many places where Marriott Rewards category 4 and 5 hotels are the same hotel market segment class as Hilton HHonors category 5, 6 and 7 hotels.

Marriott Rewards category 5 = 25,000 points per night or 7 nights = 150,000 points (5^th night free).

Hilton HHonors category 6 = 40,000 points or 7 nights = 210,000 points (25% discount).

HHonors Points & Points earner at 15 points/$1 compared to Marriott Rewards at 10 points/$1 makes these two rewards nearly comparable in points cost for the respective programs. The promotions make all the difference for the member (or credit card earning).

Hilton, Marriott, SPG and goldpoints have the advantage over all the other hotel loyalty programs offering no discount for extended night hotel stays.

Conclusion: The value of your points increases when you take advantage of discount rewards. There are many hotels offering discount reward rates at any given time.

HHonors Point Stretcher rewards reduce the nightly cost in points for a hotel reward by 40%. The new list of hotels has been posted for dates through May 2011. This is the most hotels and dates I recall seeing in several years. HHonors is stepping up their game.

But then again, this is Hilton HHonors so just ignore the message that states “No Point Stretcher Dates available for Hilton Family Hotels” when you click the Point Stretchers link and select a hotel brand to actually see the hotels and dates for Point Stretcher Rewards.

There are even four Conrad Hotels listed. Although Belgium in February may not be the best weather, the Conrad Brussels will give you a fine place to stay in from the cold.

Hilton Scotts Valley/Santa Cruz is about ten miles from the beach in redwood country above Monterey Bay, but at least there is a good chance of getting a 75-degree beach day at some point during December and January when this hotel is available for 24,000 points per night booking a Point Stretcher reward, rather than the normal 40,000 points as an HHonors Category 6 reward.

The Drake Hotel and Palmer House in Chicago have Point Stretcher dates this winter reducing these 50,000 point Category 7 hotels down to 30,000 points per night.  I posted my impressions of these hotels on Loyalty Traveler blog a couple of weeks ago.

Drake Hotel and Palmer House Chicago Points Stretcher Reward Dates-January 2011

The HHonors website fails to provide easy to find links to the HHonors reward charts. Here are the various HHonors reward charts with website links.

Hilton HHonors made major changes to its standard and VIP reward charts with the January 15, 2010 hotel category changes when about 83% of the 3,500 or so hotels in HHonors increased by one hotel reward category.

Hilton HHonors Standard Rewards Chart

link to HHonors reward charts

Hilton HHonors VIP Rewards Chart

HHonors VIP elite members (Silver, Gold, Diamond) have access to discounted rewards. The discount is a fixed rate for HHonors category 4, 5, 6 and 7 hotels.

4-nights VIP reward = 15% discount on standard nightly reward rate (HHonors is only program to discount 4-night stays)

5-nights VIP reward = 20% discount on standard nightly reward rate  (Marriott and Starwood Preferred Guest also give a 20% points discount on 5-night rewards.)

6-nights or longer VIP reward = 25% discount on standard nightly reward rate (biggest standard discount for hotel loyalty programs)

link to HHonors VIP Rewards charts

Note on HHonors Category 3 hotel VIP rewards: Since category 3 uses same VIP rewards as category 4 hotels, there is a smaller discount when VIP rewards are used for category 3 hotels.

Category 3 hotel standard reward is 25,000 points per night. The category 3 hotel 4-night VIP reward at 102,000 is a 15% discount on the cost of a standard 4-night category 4 hotel reward (saves 18,000 points on the 120,000 points standard reward). The category 3 VIP 4-night reward actually costs 2,000 points more than the standard reward for a category 3 hotel which is only 100,000 points using the standard reward chart.

There is a maximum 10% discount on points for VIP category 3 hotel rewards compared to standard nightly rate.

Loyalty traveler HHonors category 3 VIP Rewards comparison

American Express AXON Rewards

(HHonors American Express card members have complimentary HHonors Silver VIP elite membership.)

Loyalty Traveler Chart for HHonors American Express AXON Rewards

The net effect of category shift in 2010 (category 6 hotels moving up to category 7 hotels) is zero for American Express card members. The AXON6 in 2009 cost 145,000 points. These same hotels are almost all category 7 hotels in 2010 and the AXON7 in 2010 still costs 145,000 points.

Hilton HHonors Point Stretcher Reward Chart

HHonors Point Stretcher rewards give a 40% discount on the standard reward rate. This reward option had faded out over the past couple of years and these rewards were unavailable for much of the past year. In September 2010 the participating hotels in the Point Stretcher reward list was the largest selection of hotels I recall seeing in several years with several hundred hotels.

link to HHonors reward charts

Hilton HHonors Waldorf Astoria Collection Rewards Chart

Waldorf Astoria Collection is Hilton’s fast growing luxury brand. There are currently 23 WAC properties. Most of these hotels use the same reward chart. Waldorf Astoria Park City, Utah; Beach House, Maldives; and Grand Wailea use different reward charts.

Las Casitas are WAC villas associated with the El Conquistador Resort in Fajardo, Puerto Rico. I am not sure where these fall in the 2010 reward chart. In 2009 the rates were listed as 125,000 points per night (2-bedroom ocean view); 150,000 points per night for 3-bedroom garden view and 180,000 points per night for 3-bedroom villa ocean view.

London Syon Park is opening in December 2010 adjacent to a historic manor house estate.

Qasr al Sharq in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia is a Waldorf Astoria Hotel not shown in these reward charts. This hotel was listed at 120,000 points per night for a junior suite and 160,000 points per night for an executive suite in the 2009 charts and in this 2008 InsideFlyer article, however, I can’t find a current link to reward nights. Anyone else know?

The Waldorf Astoria Reward Codes and Points (links go to hotel site pages)

1.  Arizona Biltmore | Phoenix, Arizona
2.  Boca Beach Club, The Waldorf Astoria Collection | Boca Raton, Florida
3.  Boca Raton Resort, The Waldorf Astoria Collection | Boca Raton, Florida
4.  Casa Marina Resort, The Waldorf Astoria Collection | Key West, Florida
5.  Edgewater Beach Hotel | Naples, Florida
6.  El Conquistador Resort, The Waldorf Astoria Collection | Fajardo, Puerto Rico
7.  El San Juan Hotel & Casino, The Waldorf Astoria Collection | San Juan, Puerto Rico
8.  La Quinta Resort & Club | La Quinta, California (Palm Springs area)
9.  Naples Grande Beach Resort, The Waldorf Astoria Collection | Naples, Florida
10.  Rome Cavalieri | Rome, Italy
11.  The Bentley, London | London, UK
12.  The Boulders Resort, The Waldorf Astoria Collection | Scottsdale, Arizona
13. The Reach Resort, The Waldorf Astoria Collection | Key West, Florida
14.  The Roosevelt Hotel New Orleans, The Waldorf Astoria Collection | New Orleans, Louisiana
15.  The Waldorf=Astoria® | New York, New York
16. Trianon Palace Versailles, Waldorf Astoria Collection | Versailles, France
17. Waldorf Astoria Orlando | Orlando, Florida
18. Waldorf Astoria Shanghai on the Bund  | Shanghai, China

link to HHonors reward charts

19. Waldorf Astoria Park City | Park City, Utah

20. The Beach House Maldives, Manafaru Island, Maldives

link to HHonors reward charts

21. Grand Wailea, Waldorf Astoria Collection | Wailea, Maui, Hawaii

Waldorf Astoria Collection VIP Rewards

When the HHonors changes were first announced in October 2009 there was a link to the WAC rewards. The url for that page is still listed on the HHonors site, but now loads a blank page. Here is what the chart looked like before.

Group A should be the main group of hotels shown as #1-18 above. The VIP Reward discount for Waldorf Astoria Collection hotels is still 15% on 4-night VIP Rewards; 20% on 5-night rewards; 25% on 6-night or longer (up to 14 nights) rewards.

Group B was the Dakota Mountain Lodge in 2009, renamed in 2010 as the Waldorf Astoria Park City. The Beach House Maldives should also be in group B.

Group C was the Grand Wailea and the Bentley London in the original list. It looks like the Bentley London reduced its rates for 2010 and is now a Group A property.

High season dates need to be checked for each hotel. I do not see this information posted on HHonors or hotel pages.

Again, this WAC chart is from a Hilton webpage posted in October 2009 regarding the 2010 changes. The page was removed from the Hilton site and there does not appear to be a current link to a  Waldorf Astoria Collection VIP Rewards chart.

Hilton Grand Vacations Club

Hilton has a feature similar to Hyatt with the option to use reward nights for stays in timeshare resort rentals for less cost than a typical hotel reward. These Vacation Club properties are often located adjacent to hotel properties.

Hilton HHonors Standard/Point Stretcher/WAC/Vacation Club Reward Charts link

Hilton HHonors VIP Rewards chart link

Hilton HHonors Standard Hotel Rewards (only shows single night rate)

Hilton HHonors All-Inclusive Resorts (two resorts in Costa Rica and two in Egypt)

Hilton HHonors Reward Categories (HHonors requires search of specific hotels by country, and in the US the list can be narrowed down by state. Highly inefficient search engine compared to Hyatt, Marriott and SPG which allow all hotels globally in any specific category to be displayed in one list.)

The good news is this is the largest HHonors Point Stretcher list I have seen in years. There are hundreds of hotels. Hilton HHonors Point Stretcher Rewards discount the regular rate 40%. Hotels are grouped by brand. The link loads Conrad Hotels and the dropdown menu leads to the list of participating hotels in other Hilton brands. You need to check each hotel since Point Stretcher dates does not mean there is Point Stretcher reward availability during those dates.

There have been special Gulf Coast Point Stretcher Reward dates for July through September at about 50 hotels in Florida and one hotel in Louisiana.

Conrad Istanbul, Turkey illustrates the value of Point Stretcher rewards.

Conrad Istanbul - HHonors Category 6 - Point Stretcher Reward 24,000 points per night

xe.com currency conversion

Conrad Istanbul on a two-night Point Stretcher Reward for 48,000 points saves $603 for the stay.

$603/48,000 = $12.56/1,000 points. That is a high value Hilton redemption considering most hotel rewards fall in the $3 to $7 range for Hilton HHonors. And you can buy 40,000 HHonors points in a calendar year for $400.

Hilton HHonors, the loyalty program for Hilton Worldwide’s portfolio of brands, is now offering members the opportunity to redeem 40 percent fewer points at participating hotels worldwide. This special opportunity is available to HHonors members at more than 580 participating hotels through June 30, 2010 across multiple brands including Conrad hotels & Resorts, Hilton Hotels, Doubletree, Embassy Suites, Hilton Garden Inn, Homewood Suites, and Hampton Hotels.

The Point Stretcher Rewards promotion offers HHonors members the chance to make a little go a long way,” said Jeff Diskin, Senior Vice President, Global Customer Marketing, Hilton Worldwide. “Now, members of any tier can treat themselves to a getaway – faster.

Members can visit HHonors.com/pointstretcher to view the participating hotels and make reservations. A selection of participating hotels includes:

• Embassy Suites by Hilton Mexico City – Reforma – A stunning new boutique hotel, the Embassy Suites Mexico City – Reforma hotel is located in the heart of the financial, business, government and cultural center of Mexico City and is offering redemptions for a free night for only 18,000 points per night during the Point Stretcher Rewards promotion. Down from the Standard Rewards rate of 30,000 points per nights, Point Stretcher Rewards for the hotel are available today through June 30, 2010.
• Hampton Inn & Suites Millington – During a visit to the charming town of Millington, Tenn. just north of Memphis, guests can redeem 40 percent fewer points per night until April 30, 2010 at Hampton Inn & Suites Millington. The Point Stretcher Rewards promotion offers rooms for 15,000 points per night, rather than the Standard Rewards rate of 25,000 points per night.
• Hilton Luxor Resort & Spa – On the lush banks of the Nile, the newly renovated Hilton Luxor Resort & Spa in Egypt is offering redemptions for a free night for only 21,000 points per night during the Point Stretcher Rewards promotion, down from the Standard Rewards rate of 35,000 points per night. Point Stretcher Rewards for the property are available today through June 30, 2010.
• Homewood Suites by Hilton Dover – Rockaway – Just 35 miles west from New York City and 20 miles east from the Delaware Water Gap, the Homewood Suites by Hilton Dover is offering redemptions for a free night for only 21,000 points per night during the Point Stretcher Rewards promotion from May 1 through June 30, 2010. Standard Rewards for the hotel are 35,000 points per night.

For more information on the Point Stretcher Rewards program or to make a reservation at a hotel in Hilton Worldwide’s portfolio of brands please visit HHonors.com/pointstretcher. 

Loyalty Traveler loves this new Point Stretcher reward feature of HHonors. It is so much like the old Point Stretcher rewards feature of HHonors. Although considering the cost for hotel nights at more than 80% of the 3,500 Hilton brand hotels worldwide increased by 17% to 25% earlier this year, the 40% Point Stretcher award discount seems more like a 25% discount to me.

The Embassy Suites Mexico City Reforma is one of the 34 hotels that actually dropped in award category level with the 2010 changes. This category 4 hotel at 18,000 points is almost 50% fewer points on a Point Stretcher award than the standard award night cost just six months ago. But remember, this is one of only 34 hotels to go down in award category this year. Over 2,800 hotels increased one or more category levels in the January 2010 HHonors award changes.

Hampton Inn & Suites Millington, TN is one of those hotels that increased 25% in January from a 20,000 points HHonors category 2 award to a category 3 award at 25,000 points. The Point Stretcher reduces the award cost to 15,000 points.

Almost every Hilton Hotel in Egypt increased one hotel award category level in January. The Hilton Luxor Resort & Spa was one of two hotels in Egypt that did not increase in category level.

Remember the rationale for shifting almost all Hilton brand hotels systemwide up in category level was the fact that no major changes had been made to hotel categoires since 2003?

In 2005 the Hilton Luxor was a category 2 hotel award for 20,000 points per night. In 2006 it became a category 3 HHonors award at 25,000 points per night. In 2009 this hotel increased again to its current category 5 hotel award at 35,000 points per night. But with a Point Stretcher award this hotel drops back to near its 2005 standard award rate at just 21,000 points per night!

Homewood Suites, Dover NJ is a category 5 hotel that increased from category 4 in the January shift. The 21,000 points for a Point Stretcher award is a 40% savings on the current standard rate, but just a 30% savings on the former 30,000 point award level. Still, any savings is good savings. And this property has two solid months of Point Stretcher availability. It’s a Homewood Suites. Take the family.

Hilton HHonors actually posted this Point Stretchers press release on April Fool’s Day.

How appropriate!

Update March 6:  Point Stretcher participating hotels and dates can be found here. Now I see them and thanks to TMtravelworld for posting the correct  link on BoardingArea.com a few hours before I published this original post. And the link was posted on FlyerTalk about 12 hours before I originally posted. That is what happens when I spend a day in meetings and then try and write something quickly without checking FlyerTalk first! The information updates never stop and of course FlyerTalk is almost always where the best information is reported first.

TMtravelworld also points out the PointStretcher rate shows up as a 25% discount. I did a sample booking and the award amount for a 30,000 point Category 4 hotel showed as 22,500 points for a night (25% off). HHonors Representative posted February 26 on FlyerTalk that the award should be 40% off and there is a technical glitch to be corrected. So you should be credited back the point difference if overcharged on a Point Stretcher.

The rest of my post is apparently irrelevant, except for the fact that Hilton’s website navigation for Point Stretcher awards still does not take you to the link shown at the beginning of this post,  two days after the list has officially been posted on the HHonors site. The HHonors rewards page link goes to a page stating “Point Stretcher dates are currently unavailable.”

[my original, and out-of-date before it was  posted content, is below]

After more than seven months missing in action the Hilton HHonors Point Stretcher is back. You just can’t see them online yet. HHonors Representative, who appears to have joined FlyerTalk around the time the message appeared on the HHonors website stating “Point Stretcher Dates are currently unavailable,” has announced over 500 hotels have Point Stretcher award dates currently available through the phone reservation system for stays through June 30, 2010. Point Stretchers offer a 40% discount on the normal award cost.

The problem though is availability over the phone doesn’t do you much good unless you already have a location and dates in mind to ask. In the past Point Stretcher dates were generally scattered with just a few days or perhaps a week in any month. Some hotels may only have a single week or less over a several month period. So trying to locate a hotel and date over the phone is a tall order or a very lucky coincidence.

The 40% savings make these high value awards. 24,000 points for a category 6 hotel works out to be fewer points per night than a standard category 3 award at 25,000 points. The good news is that 500 hotels sounds like the number of participating hotels will make this a more viable award offer in 2010. Hopefully the hotels will be posted online soon. Here is the Hilton Point Stretcher web page to check.

Another encouraging sign is the comment that awards for July 1 to December 31 will be posted in late spring 2010. I guess this could technically mean around June 19, but that would at least be better than the former pattern of posting point stretcher dates for the second half of the year in late July and finding many of the best offers have already past.

Then again, the last official word way back in August 2009 said Point Stretcher award dates would appear again in September 2009.

The phrase that aptly fits HHonors the past couple of years is “Seeing is believing”.

USA Today’s Barbara DeLollis, writer of the Hotel Check-In column, published an interview November 24 discussing the Hilton HHonors loyalty program changes with Jeff Diskin, Senior Vice President, Customer Marketing, Hilton Hotels Corporation.

She asked Mr. Diskin for a response to members who are upset over the coming changes. I particularly like this quote, “We offer one of the fastest if not the fastest track to elite-level status in the industry and members can earn more points faster with Hilton.”

As an aside, let me start out by telling you a comment made in a travel track forum at Blog World Expo 2009 by a hotel industry person when asked what hotel marketing people look for when deciding whether to work with a travel blogger. He said he looks for multi-paragraph comments in response to blog posts. I chuckled when I heard that standard.

I comment frequently on other people’s blogs and I often feel like I am hijacking a blog since I am one of the few people I ever see writing a lengthy comment. I hijacked Barb DeLollis’ blog with two lengthy analyses of Hilton HHonors that are probably longer than the entire Jeff Diskin interview. And I cut out several points I wanted to make.

I suggest you read the Jeff Diskin HHonors interview in USA Today.

And then read my analysis of certain comments made with regard to a comparative analysis of HHonors to the other major loyalty programs of Hyatt Gold Passport, IHG Priority Club, Marriott Rewards, and Starwood Preferred Guest.

Hilton Hotels has a good product on par with the other major hotel loyalty programs.  There are many facets to the HHonors loyalty program and things like Miles & Points, discounts on award stays of 6 nights or more, and the ability to convert airline miles into HHonors points are admirable attributes benefitting members.

My concern is that Hilton HHonors is pushing the bar higher towards a devaluation of points across hotel loyalty programs. These changes push Hilton farther outside the norm with regard to other hotel loyalty programs.  At the upper end hotels, currently Category 5 and 6, and soon to be Categories 6 and 7,  the Hilton HHonors program is still competitive with regard to hotel free nights using points, but the Hilton chain is allocating a much larger proportion of their hotels to the upper tier categories relative to the other four hotel chains’ loyalty programs. Starwood Preferred Guest is really a poor value at the high end Category 6 and 7 hotels in terms of how much spending is required to earn a free night, but a relatively small number of hotels are in the top two categories. I would argue the quality of a Starwood Category 6 hotel is much higher than a Hilton Category 6 – soon to be Category 7 property.

I think Hilton HHonors is not as good a value as the other hotel chains at the mid-level and low-level category hotels. Increasing PointStretcher award availability would go a long way to improving that aspect of the program. The past several years have seen hotels available for PointStretcher awards, a 40% discount using points for a free night, dwindle down to no hotels at all for the last six months of 2009.

The primary objection to the Hilton HHonors changes, in my opinion, is not the addition of a new higher category 7 to the Hilton HHonors reward table. The hint from HHonors representatives that the changes will result in a large scale shift of hotels upward within the new categories is the truly objectionable aspect of the changes if they turn out to be true.

The distribution of hotels within the hotel categories is the primary concern around the proposed restructuring of HHonors category changes.

Basically the hotel chain is renumbering categories from the current HHonors system of Opportunity at the lowest end, along with Categories 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6.  HHonors Category 6 is currently populated by some of the high end Hilton and Conrad hotels. Waldorf-Astoria Collection is a separate high end category within the HHonors program.

Hilton HHonors will still have the same number of hotel categories in 2010. There is no change in the points required for Category 3, 4, 5, and 6 hotels in 2010. The change we are awaiting is what proportion of hotels will be moved from their current category placement to a higher category.

Essentially, the HHonors hotel category labeled Opportunity is becoming Category 1 in the new 2010 system and these hotels will remain at 7,500 points for a free night. Currently, there are only 1% of the 3,300 Hilton Hotels in the Opportunity category and these hotels will likely be almost the same set of hotels in the new HHonors Category 1.

The real impact of the changes becomes apparent when looking at the current Category 1 to Category 5 hotels.

Here is a breakdown of 2009 Hilton HHonors hotels by category which is not precise, but probably accurate to 1 or 2% based on my Loyalty Traveler research. Hilton HHonors website makes it difficult to quickly determine what hotels are in each category. Hyatt, Starwood, and Marriott provide lists of hotels in each hotel reward category. Hilton requires a search by country. I attempted to update my Hilton spreadsheet last December, but stopped after two weeks due to time constraints. FlyerTalk member BlondeBomber has tracked Hilton Hotels category placement over several years and I used his spreadsheet for a quick estimate of how many hotels are located in each Hilton HHonors reward category.

HHonors Category Shift for 2010 Could be 20% Across the Chain

Here are my comments I posted on USA Today in response to the Barbara DeLollis’ Hotel Check-In interview with Jeff Diskin, along with additional tables I made showing comparisons of the hotel programs.

November 28 comment by Ric Garrido:

My readers at Loyalty traveler know I am a numbers person. There are some numerical errors in this piece.

Hilton, Marriott, and IHG award 10 base points per $1 spent at hotels. Starwood awards 2 base points per $1 hotel spend and Hyatt awards 5 points per $1 hotel spend. The article should state 2 and 5 points rather than $2 and $5.

In that same paragraph I understand the calculations used for the comparison of money spent to earn a free night. Apparently Mr. Diskin is comparing earning for highest elite members. These dollar amount calculations equate to the estimated earning for Hilton HHonors Diamond (28 stays or 60 nights in calendar year), Hyatt Gold Passport Diamond (25 stays or 50 nights), Marriott Rewards Platinum (75 nights), IHG Platinum (50 nights or 60,000 points earned), and Starwood Platinum (25 stays or 50 nights). [Note: SPG does not appear to be calculated correctly]

Hilton HHonors is based on a member choosing a “points & points” earning preference instead of “points & miles”. HHonors member earns 10 base points per $1 in hotel spending + 5 Diamond elite bonus points + 5 points per $1 for “points & points” for a total of 20 points per $1.

HHonors Diamond member = 20 points per $1 (Category 7 hotel = 50,000 points)
Marriott Rewards Platinum member = 15 points per $1 (Category 8 hotel = 40,000 points)
Hyatt Gold Passport Diamond = 6.5 points per $1 (category 5 hotel = 18,000 points)
IHG Priority Club Platinum = 15 points per $1 (InterContinental high tier = 40,000 points)
Starwood Preferred Guest Platinum = 3 points per $1 (Category 7 = 30,000 points)

The money spent to earn a free night in each chain:
HHonors 50,000/20 = $2,500
Marriott 40,000/15 = $2,667
IHG 40,000/15 = $2,667
Hyatt 18,000/6.5 = $2,769
SPG 30,000/3 = $10,000

The $4,000 for Starwood spending used in the article comparison looks incorrect to me. $4,000 would be correct for a Category 5 free night at a Starwood hotel, but the highest category hotel was used for the other 4 chains.

SPG always looks very bad in these comparisons, but SPG loyalty program members know most of the points earned are from promotions and elite bonuses rather than base hotel spending. Hilton is opposite in that most points are earned from base hotel spending.

As an SPG Platinum on a $100 stay I earn far more than 300 points. I typically receive 500 bonus points for a platinum amenity and almost always at least 1,000 points for a promotional bonus. 1,800 points for a $100 stay is far more earning power than indicated from a comparison of base spending.

The main point I make when evaluating hotel claims for the best earning potential is the “promotions make all the difference”.

The points earning potential of Hilton HHonors looks highly favorable when only base spending is compared. Hilton HHonors lags behind the other four chains compared here when it comes to points earning potential and free night offers through promotions.

IHG, Hyatt, Starwood and Marriott all ran earn a free night promotions in 2009 which made a free night possible for under $250 in total hotel spending with the other chains.

Where was Hilton?

November 29 comment by Ric Garrido

Here are some other relevant points to the HHonors changes and your article.

Mr. Diskin rationalizes the HHonors increase in points due to hotel rates increasing 30% over the past few years. The logic here is that Hilton HHonors is playing catch-up to changes other hotel chain loyalty programs have already made.

Here is my analysis comparing Hilton HHonors to other hotel loyalty programs.

A shift of almost all hotels upward in the categories, which I believe is what Hilton representatives implied might happen with the changes, will mean only 1% of hotels will be the same price in 2010 for a free night. Only the bottom level of hotels in the Hilton chain, the current Opportunity Category hotels moving to Category 1 level hotels in 2010 will be available at the same cost as 2009. Hilton’s other 3,300 or so hotels, around 98% of the global properties will increase in points for a free night in 2010 if Hilton HHonors increases the hotel category across the system for hotel rewards.

On average the increase is 20% across the 3,300 hotel chain based on the points needed to spend one free night at every Hilton-brand property in the world in 2009 compared to 2010 if all hotels move up one category in the 2010 realignment.

Hotel Competitive Sets

The other side of this argument is the issue of ‘hotel competitive sets” within any specific location. Mr. Diskin claims Hilton HHonors will still require the least spending to earn a free night at a top level Category 7 hotel even after the 25% increase next year compared to spending for a free night in the top hotel level for other major hotel chains. That argument is essentially correct, however, the comparison disregards the issue of a comparable competitive hotel set for most locations.

A hotel competitive set must be used when comparing hotel reward nights across different hotel chains. Comparing a Hampton Inn to an InterContinental or JW Marriott is not really meaningful since they are different market segments and different price segments.

Mr. Diskin uses the highest tier hotels in each chain as a competitive set to make his point that Hilton requires less spending for a free night. But aside from a few locations in the world like New York, Paris, London, Tokyo, Sydney, and Rome, the competitive set is not going to be based on the highest category hotels for most cities.

I’ll show the concept of a hotel competitive set using San Francisco hotels.

San Francisco has several hotel brands from each major hotel chain within close proximity of each other and also close in price. Hilton operates the Hilton Union Square and Hilton Financial District.

A competitive set of comparable hotels in the Central Business District of San Francisco to the two Hilton Hotels are Hyatt Regency San Francisco, Grand Hyatt San Francisco, Marriott Marquis, Marriott Union Square, Starwood Westin St. Francis, Starwood Westin Market Street, Starwood Luxury Collection Palace Hotel, Starwood Le Meridien, InterContinental San Francisco, and InterContinental Mark Hopkins.

Using the same variables from the article for hotel spending the comparison works out like this if the two San Francisco Hilton Hotels go from their current Category 6 to the new Category 7 for free nights:

Hilton Union Square, 50,000 points = $2,500
Hilton Financial District (Category 6 in 2009) Cat 7 = $2,500

Hyatt Regency San Francisco Category 4 = 15,000 points = $2,307
Grand Hyatt San Francisco Category 3 = 12,000 points = $1,846

Marriott Marquis, Category 6 = 30,000 points = $2,000
Renaissance Stanford Court, Category 6 = 30,000 points = $2,000
JW Marriott San Francisco, Category 6 = 30,000 points = $2,000
Marriott Union Square, Category 6 = 30,000 points = $2,000

Starwood Westin St. Francis, Category 4 = 10,000 points = $3,333
Starwood Westin Market Street, Category 4 = 10,000 points = $3,333
Starwood Luxury Collection Palace Hotel, Category 5 = 12,000 points = $4,000
Starwood Le Meridien, Category 5 = 12,000 points = $4,000
Starwood W Hotel, Category 5 = 12,000 points = $4,000

InterContinental San Francisco, 40,000 points = $2,667
InterContinental Mark Hopkins, 40,000 points = $2,667

San Francisco Hotel Competitive Set for Comparison of Hotel Spending by High Elite member to Earn a Free Night

The amount of spending to earn a free night using points at a San Francisco hotel will be less for Hyatt and Marriott than Hilton within this comparable competitive set. And there is a good argument to be made that the JW Marriott may be in a higher level hotel set for San Francisco.

In my opinion, based on detailed analysis of hotel loyalty program promotion bonuses over the past few years, Hyatt Gold Passport, Starwood Preferred Guest, and IHG Priority Club allow a loyalty program member the ability to earn promotional bonuses at a much higher percentage to base spending than is typical with Hilton HHonors, thereby reducing the total spending required to earn a free hotel night from those chains.

There is one other point to make regarding the highest categories for the different hotel chains.

Hilton HHonors currently has over 100 hotels in the highest Category 6 level. Assuming most of these current HHonors category 6 hotels are recategorized in the new HHonors category 7, a comparison across chains may look like this in 2010.

Hilton Category 7 = 100 hotels worldwide
Hilton Category 6 = 200 hotels

Marriott Category 8 = 12 hotels worldwide
Marriott Category 7 = 19 hotels worldwide

Starwood Category 7 = 16 hotels worldwide
Starwood Category 6 = 45 hotels worldwide

Hyatt Hotels Category 5 = 25 hotels worldwide

Marriott is the hotel chain most comparable to Hilton. The data shows Hilton will have 6x as many hotels in its two highest categories compared to Marriott.