Hilton Worldwide has a three day sale for 50,000 rooms beginning today for select hotels in Europe, Middle East and Africa for weekend stays from October 14 to December 16, 2011. These rates qualify for Hilton’s Q4 promotion of a free night after four stays. Bookings must be made by Wednesday October 12.

Both room only rates and Bed & Breakfast discount rates are offered. FlyerTalk members report finding some good rate discounts with these prepaid, nonrefundable rates.

• Weekend = Friday, Saturday and Sunday in Europe.
• Weekend = Thursday, Friday and Saturday in Middle East and Africa as defined by local law.
• Rates are prepaid and nonrefundable. No changes allowed.
• Book by October 12 (UK time?)
• Terms & Conditions link.

5,000 HHonors bonus points new member enrollment bonus for two night stay by Dec 31, 2011.

• New HHonors members who enroll with this link and complete a two night stay by December 31, 2011 will receive 5,000 bonus HHonors points.

Non-participating hotels

• Hilton Frankfurt Airport,
• Hilton Garden Inn Frankfurt Airport,
• Hilton Garden Inn Perm,
• Doubletree by Hilton Milton Keynes,
• Hilton Doha,
• Hilton Garden Inn Lecce,
• Hilton Bursa,
• Hilton Glasgow Grosvenor,
• Hilton Garden Inn Mardin,
• Hilton Dalaman Resort & Spa,
• Hilton Bodrum Turkbuku Resort & Spa,
• Hilton Coylumbridge, Aviemore,
• Hilton Brighton Metropole,
• Doubletree by Hilton Cambridge,
• Hilton London Kensington,
• Hilton London Olympia,
• Hilton Blackpool,
• Hilton York.

Hilton HHonors has a promotion for Delta SkyMiles offering double miles and 250 Medallion elite status qualifying miles (MQM) for every stay of two nights or longer from October 1 to December 11, 2011. There is no list of nonparticipating hotels so this appears to be a worldwide offer across the Hilton Worldwide chain.

HHonors-Delta Skymiles Registration is required here.

The best part is this offer may be combined with probably the most lucrative hotel loyalty promotion for this quarter with a free night at any Hilton Worldwide hotel after four stays or ten nights at any participating Hilton Worldwide hotel brand. There are over 200 hotels in the U.S. not participating so be sure to check the non-participating hotels list for the free night offer.

Hilton also has a promotion with United Mileage Plus for 1,000 bonus miles for two-night stays in same period (UA promo is redeemable miles only and not elite qualifying miles) that I posted yesterday. And this offer is combinable with HHonors Free Nights offer. You can only earn frequent flyer miles with one airline per hotel stay, so no UA bonus and DL bonus for same hotel stays.

Please leave a comment on this post if you see other Hilton HHonors airline partners offering a bonus during this same promotion period and I will share the information in a blog post.

HHonors Delta SkyMiles 250 MQM and Double miles Oct 1-Dec 11, 2011

What does Double SkyMiles mean with Hilton HHonors?

Hilton HHonors has a complicated system for miles earning that factors in hotel brand and HHonors member earning preference of Fixed Miles or Variable Miles.

Fixed Miles Earning (Regular earning rate = 500 miles per stay; double Skymiles = 1,000 miles per stay)

• Hilton
• DoubleTree
• Hilton Garden Inn
• Hilton Grand Vacations
• Embassy Suites
• Conrad
• Waldorf Astoria Collection

Fixed Miles Earning (Regular earning rate = 250 miles per stay; double Skymiles = 500 miles per stay)

• Hampton Inn
• Homewood Suites
• Note: Home2 Suites only allows HHonors Points & Variable Miles earning.

Variable Miles Earning (1 mile per U.S. Dollar; Double Skymiles = 2 miles per dollar.)

• All Hilton Worldwide brands earn 1 mile per U.S. Dollar.
• Home2 Suites  has 100 miles per stay maximum limit; double Skymiles = 200 miles max.

Double SkyMiles MQM

• a two-night or longer stay at any Hilton brand from October 1 and December 11, 2011 after promotion registration earns 250 Medallion Qualifying Miles.

Bonus Skymiles and Medallion Qualifying Miles will be added after the end of the promotion. I assume these MQM will post and apply to 2011 MQM total for 2012 Medallion qualification.

Hilton HHonors released the highest value hotel loyalty promotion of all the major chains for a free night every 4 stays or 10 nights October 1 – December 31, 2011. There is no limit to the number of free night certificates a member may earn during the promotion period. Free night certificates are valid at any Hilton brand hotel worldwide. Free night certificates expire six months after issuance.

Members must choose between earning free nights or an alternate promotion earning double points. There are about 270 properties opting out of this promotion, almost all in the U.S.

HHonors Fast Ways to Free Stays promotion registration is required.

Free Nights or Double Points?

HHonors Fast Ways to Free Stays 2011-Q4 promotion offers the choice of double points or a free night every 4 stays or 10 nights.

Double points is only a better offer if you think you will not qualify for a free night during the promotion period or perhaps you are a really big spender. Considering a person needs to spend $5,000 to earn 50,000 bonus points with the double points offer, most HHonors members will likely have four stays or ten nights and earn a free night certificate long before spending $5,000.

HHonors ‘Fast Ways to Free Stays’ Basics

• Promotion period = October 1-December 31, 2011
• Promotion available for HHonors members worldwide
• About 270 hotels opted out promotion among 3,700 hotels worldwide. Almost all hotels opting out are located in U.S.
• List of non-participating Hilton Hotels.
• Member must select either double points or free nights version of promotion.
• No changing promotion preference from double points or free nights after member registers.
• Double points = 10 bonus points per $1 above regular earning rate for Points & Points or Points & Miles earners.
• Free Night certificate may be redeemed at any Hilton brand property worldwide (even the hotels that have opted out of the promotion for earning free nights.)
• Ten nights qualification does not need to be consecutive nights.
• HHonors members earn regular points and miles during this promotion.
• HHonors reward stays do not count for free night qualification.
• HHonors free night certificates expire 6 months after issuance. (Assuming all certificates are issued by January 31, 2012, this means that the latest date is likely July 2012 for redeeming free nights.

Loyalty Traveler Analysis

This is a 5-key promotion and the most lucrative offer for 2011-Q4 hotel stays.

Hotel hopping for one-night stays means this offer is like getting 12,500 to 15,000 or even 20,000 bonus points per hotel stay when a free night certificate is redeemed for a category 7 HHonors hotel reward night or Waldorf-Astoria Collection where reward nights can be as high as 80,000 points per night.

I am definitely looking to take advantage of this HHonors ‘Fast Ways to Free Stays’ offer as my primary high value rebate for hotel stays over the next three months.

HHonors 2011-Q4 Fast Ways to Free Stays

Hilton HHonors Promotion non-participating hotels 

Hilton’s Come Dream with Us Sweepstakes gives U.S. HHonors members the chance to win a four night stay at the Waldorf Hilton London, airfare and two tickets to select sporting events at the London 2012 Olympics August 4-8, 2012. First prizes are tickets, airfare and hotel for the Olympic U.S. trials for swimming in Omaha Nebraska (June 29-July 1, 2012) or gymnastics in San Jose, California (June 29-July 2, 2012).

One sweepstakes entry is free for HHonors members who register using links provided at end of post. Hotel stays in Hilton brands from July 25 through October 31, 2011 provides one additional entry for each hotel night.

You can also send in postcards for additional entries. Maximum 90 entries per HHonors member for sweepstakes regardless of entry method.

Hilton gives the ARV of Grand Prize as $74,000. Those Olympics tickets must be some astronomical rate and the hotel room value is obviously assessed at rack rate. Good news is prize also covers up to $20,000 in income tax charges for the prizewinner.

Hilton Olympics Sweepstakes Homepage

Hilton Olympics Sweepstakes Entry Page

Hilton Olympics Sweepstakes Prizes

Hilton Olympics Sweepstakes Rules

Hilton HHonors 'Come Dream With Us' London 2012 Olympics Sweepstakes

Hilton HHonors Q3 promotion offers double points or double miles for hotel stays from July 1 to September 30, 2011. There are about 250 hotels excluded for this promotion, with almost all the non-participating hotels located in the USA, so check the participating hotels link carefully.

• Register for “Double Your HHonors” promotion before your first stay.
• Choose earning preference of Points & Points to earn Double Points. Only 10 base points per $1 count for double points. Elite bonuses are not doubled.
• Choose either Points & Fixed Miles or Points & Variable Miles to earn Double Miles.
• Reservations may be booked before promotion registration.
• Promotion registration during an eligible stay will make the entire stay eligible for double points/miles if registered before checkout and entire stay is within promotion dates.
• Offer applies for up to two rooms per stay.
• Reward stays are only eligible for Double Points for incidental spend, except at Hampton Inn and Homewood Suites. No double miles will be earned on reward stays.

Hilton HHonors Double Points or Double Miles Promotion July 1-Sep 30, 2011.

Earning with Hilton HHonors

HHonors Points & Points

Usually I favor HHonors Points & Points where a general non-elite HHonors member will earn 25 points per $1 with this double points promotion and a Diamond elite member can earn 30 points/$1.

Reward stays are eligible for double points on incidental spend which might be a consideration for choosing Double Points this summer if you are planning a high spend reward stay.

• Double Points = 25 points/$1 at most hotels (10 base points + 10 double points + 5 Points & Points preference).
• $200 hotel stay = 5,000 HHonors points.

HHonors Points & Miles

Points & Miles is a good value offer that may exceed the value of collecting only HHonors points if stays put you close to a frequent flyer award ticket or upgrade.

Double Miles with Points & Fixed Miles spending $200 at a Hilton Garden Inn and earning American Airlines:

• Points & Double Miles = 10 base points/$1 + 1,000 miles (double fixed miles).
• $200 hotel stay = 2,000 HHonors points + 1,000 AAdvantage miles.

Double Miles with Points & Variable Miles spending $200 at Hampton Inn and earning United Mileage Plus miles:

• Points & Double Miles = 10 base points/$1 + 400 miles (double variable miles = 2 miles/$1).
• $200 hotel stay = 2,000 HHonors points + 400 United Mileage Plus miles.

HHonors offers a comparatively low exchange rate for HHonors points-to-miles transfers compared with other hotel loyalty programs at 10,000 points = 1,000 miles for most airlines or 10,000 points = 1,500 miles for American and a select few airline partners.

1,000 miles is generally a $15 to $20 rebate value on a frequent flyer award ticket. 10,000 points will generally have more value when used for hotel stays.

Fixed or Variable Miles?

Choosing Points & Fixed Miles is generally the best option for low spend stays.

7 of the 10 Hilton hotel brands earn 500 miles per stay with most airline partners. Double miles are 1,000 frequent flyer miles per stay. Hampton Inn, Homewood Suites and Home2 Suites offer only 20% miles with most airline partners.

Points & Variable Miles earns more miles when spending more than $500 during a single hotel stay or more than $100 at Hampton Inn and Homewood Suites where most airlines limit fixed earn miles to 100 miles per stay.

Highest HHonors Earning Airline Partners

The most favorable airlines for Points & Fixed Miles when staying at a Hampton Inn or Homewood Suites are bmi, FinnAir, Olympic and Southwest where there is no reduction in earning for these hotel brands.

Virgin Atlantic = 1,000 miles per stay is normal earn rate with 2,000 miles per stay for double fixed miles for all brands except Hampton Inn, Homewood Suites and Home2 Suites.

British Midland International (bmi) = 1,000 miles per night (up to 3 nights) at any brand, except Home2 Suites is 1,000 miles per stay. Double miles mean 2,000 miles per night or up to 6,000 miles per 3-night stay at Hampton Inn and Homewood Suites when earning bmi miles.

FinnAir = 500 points per night regularly (up to 5 nights) at any brand, except Home2Suites earns 500 points per stay. Double miles mean 1000 points per night, up to 5,000 points per stay at all brands except Home2 Suites.

Southwest Airlines is one of the best airlines for HHonors miles earning since Rapid Rewards points are earned at the same rate regardless of Hilton hotel brand, except for Home2 Suites stays are not eligible for Rapid Rewards points. It is hard to be a Hilton HHonors frequent guest and avoid Hampton Inn. Either HHonors points or Southwest Rapid Rewards points are good earner options for Hampton Inn stays for the person who prefers to collect airline miles since 100 miles per stay (200 miles during double miles) for Points & Fixed Miles earners is a low value rebate when collecting miles in another program.

Loyalty Traveler Note: It is disappointing to see Hilton HHonors launch its new 10^th hotel brand Home2 Suites in 2011 with diminished Hilton HHonors benefits for the HHonors member.

Changing Your HHonors Earning Preference:

You can change your preferred HHonors airline partner for earning airline miles between HHonors hotel stays to maximize the best airline earning option for each hotel stay.

The FAQ state you can’t register for both double miles and double points.

The option you choose during promotion registration is set for the duration of this promotion, so choosing miles mean all your hotel stays will be for double miles and you will not be able to earn double points, even if your earning preference is changed to points over the summer.

Personally I advise going for the high value free night offers this summer from Starwood Preferred Guest (to July 31: 3 stays = 1 resort night), Marriott Rewards (to August 31: 2 stays = 1 free night) and Best Western Rewards (to Aug 14: 3 stays = 1 free night) for the best value hotel stay rebates. This is a decent offer from Hilton HHonors, but there are better promotions available.

The Great Getaway offer is advertised as up to 40% off Hilton brand hotel rates this summer. My searches for U.S. hotels indicate 15% or 20% off is most prevalent and even those discounts at several brands are based on the Bed & Breakfast rate.

Keep in mind these are prepaid room rates that do not allow changes or refunds. Also, keep in mind that AAA rates generally offer at least 10% off and tend to be flexible with no penalty for cancellation until just before arrival date.

The Great Getaway Hilton Terms

• Book May 13 to August 22
• Stay May 27 to September 5
• Hotels worldwide participating
• Must book at least 14 days before arrival
• Rates are prepaid at time of booking and nonrefundable
• Discounts are 15% to 40%.

This offer might be a good savings if you are not HHonors elite with breakfast privileges and breakfast is a valued component for your stay. Embassy Suites and Hampton Inn, where breakfast is complimentary for all guests, look to have better rates where the discount is tied to the Best Available Rate rather than the higher Bed & Breakfast rate for a Hilton Garden Inn, Hilton or Doubletree. The rates tend to be 15% discount for Embassy Suites and Hampton Inn in the U.S. and 20% for Hilton, HGI and Doubletree.

London rates actually look like a decent value discount with 40% off Bed & Breakfast rates at several hotels. London did not even make the Trivago list of top 10 cities for most expensive 5-star hotel rooms. That honor goes to New York.

Hilton Great Getaway 2011

Hotel Brands: Hilton, Doubletree, Embassy Suites, Hampton Inn, Hilton Garden Inn, Homewood Suites, Conrad, Waldorf-Astoria Collection, Hampton Inn, Hilton Garden Inn, Home2Suites. 

* Hilton HHonors Triple Miles with Virgin Atlantic Flying Club for stays April 1-June 30. This is a 4-key promotion allowing 3,000 miles per Hilton brand hotel stay. LT post March 29.

** Hilton HHonors has triple bonus miles offers with 8 airlines for stays April 1 – June 30. My blog post has promotion registration links for  Alitalia, Air France/KLM Flying Blue, British Airways, Emirates, Miles & More, Olympic, Turkish Airlines and Virgin Atlantic. LT post April 28.

* Hilton HHonors 2011-Q2 promotion for 1,000 bonus points per night April 1-June 30.  Registration is required. All  Hilton brand hotels worldwide participate. 2-key promotion.  Loyalty Traveler post March 25.

“You’ve got to ask yourself one question. Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya punk?” – Clint Eastwood in ‘Dirty Harry’ offers a classic movie line that fits well with the charisma needed to be a gritty movie director creating compelling video. Or to be the diva inside the shower singing  out like a performance at Carnegie Hall. Or the coolness needed to master the Master’s at golf.  Or the ambition to be around the best of the guests in an over-the-top luxury stay in Sin City Las Vegas.

This week I have come across sweepstakes and contests for Hyatt Hotels Greatest Movie Contest, Starwood Preferred Guest’s Travel Like a Rockstar, Hilton Hotels Golf Getaway and IHG’s penthouse suite giveaway at the Venetian to welcome the new InterContinental Allaince Resorts in Las Vegas.

And if you are unlucky in hotel giveaways, the consequences are far less severe than a bullet in the head.

Although, Facebook does require you to rat out all your friends.

Hyatt Hotels Greatest Movie Contest – Entry deadline May 23

• Contest Rules link
• Facebook Entry link
• Grand Prize – Trip to Hyatt Regency Aruba for seven days, seven nights and JetBlue airfare.
• 9 runners-up – 10,000 Hyatt Gold Passport points and one case of POM Wonderful 100% pomegranate juice.

The difference between a contest and a sweepstakes is you have to actually do something to win a contest. The Hyatt film contest asks you to submit a video movie trailer or scene or just a written description of a scene that features a product placement idea. Read the contest rules for more detail on video.

This promotion is tied in with the new Morgan Spurlock film “POM Wonderful Present: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold” that is a film on branding, advertising and product placement. The film is by the Oscar-nominated documentary director of “Super Size Me” fame, the 2004 film depicting Mr. Spurlock living entirely on McDonald’s fast-food for 30 days. “The Greatest Movie Ever Sold” about product placement features Hyatt Hotels who reportedly tossed in about $700,000 to “sponsor” the film.

Hyatt's Greatest Movie Contest

Starwood Preferred Guest – Travel Like a Rockstar Sweepstakes (Entry deadline May 31)

• Grand Prize – Trip for 6 to London’s Hyde Park Festival on June 25, 2011 and two nights at the new W London Leicester Square Hotel. Three standard rooms for check-in June 24 and check-out June 26. Full breakfast included (not room service) and luxury transportation to Festival.
• Registration entry. Earn an additional sweepstakes entry for every night in a Starwood Hotel through May 31, 2011. There is a little game to play to enter and at the end you will be  designated a rockstar “type” and given a rockstar name. Apparently, I am a Diva. I’ll have to tell my wife. But, she probably already knows.
• Contest Terms & Conditions.

Starwood Preferred Guest - 'Travel Like a Rockstar' Sweepstakes for London trip

Hilton Hotels Golf Getaway (Sweepstakes period runs May 2, 2011 to September 5, 2011).

Open to U.S. residents only for a golf vacation at Waldorf Astoria Orlando, The Boulders Waldorf Astoria Resort in Carefree, Arizona or La Quinta Waldorf Astoria Resort near Palm Springs, California.

Register for promotion to earn one entry and additional entries earned for every Hilton Worldwide night stayed through September 5.

Golf Getaway Sweepstakes rules.

Grand Prize: 100,000 HHonors points and 3-night trip for winner and up to 7 guests.

Grand Prize includes:

• 100,000 HHonors points for winner.
• Three rounds of 18-hole golf for 8 guests.
• Teaching professional short-game clinic for all 8 guests.
• Roundtrip airfare for 8 guests from winner’s nearest hometown airport.
• 4 standard rooms for 3 nights at one of three Waldorf Astoria Resorts.
• $5,000 Hilton Worldwide gift card.
• $10,000 check.
• Winner’s seven guests receive 50,000 HHonors points.

This is a pleasant improvement to sweepstakes over the past year with Hilton and SPG prizes for group travel to extend the prize to family members and friends.

Hilton Golf Getaway to a Waldorf Astoria Resort for 8 guests sweepstakes

InterContinental Alliance Resorts – VIP Experiences at the Venetian and Palazzo Las Vegas

(Monthly sweepstakes from May to December, 2011. May 31 is entry deadline for current prize.)

The Venetian and The Palazzo Resorts on the Las Vegas Strip are the new founding members of the InterContinental Alliance Resorts. Every month from May 4 to December 31, 2011 is a VIP Experience sweepstakes. For the month of May the VIP experience is a private cabana for Saturday and Sunday for Azure Luxury Pool at The Palazzo with a $2,500 food and beverage credit. I stayed at the Palazzo over Easter weekend and seated by a pool adjacent but outside Azure, I overheard four young guys walk by sounding disappointed they couldn’t pop down $1,000 for the daily cabana rental. They were sold out.

• VIP Experience Sweepstakes Entry
• VIP Experience Rules

Each monthly prize includes:

• $800 for airfare
• Airport limo pick-up
• Two nights in The Venetian Penthouse Suite
• VIP check-in
• Camcorder

Must redeem stay within one year of winning prize and must book hotel stay at least 21 days in advance.

InterContinental Alliance Resorts The Venetian Penthouse Las Vegas Sweepstakes

Hilton HHonors takes double dipping to a new level this quarter with combinable promotions for triple miles per stay and 1,000 bonus points per night. I have written about British Airways 5,000 bonus miles and Virgin Atlantic Flying Club’s 3,000 miles per stay in previous posts over the past month.

Here are 6 other airlines offering triple miles through June 30. You must set your HHonors earning preference to Points and Fixed Miles (1,500 miles per stay for most airlines and brands) or Points & Variable Miles (3 miles per $1 for most airlines and brands) for these bonus miles offers.

Alitalia (Skyteam) 600 base miles + 1,200 bonus miles. Hampton Inn = 120 base miles + 240 bonus miles. Homewood Suites stays are ineligible for Alitalia miles. Alitalia only allows Points & Fixed Miles. Registration page in Italian.

Air France/KLM Flying Blue (Skyteam) (1,500 miles per stay or 3 miles per $1 for most brands)

British Airways (oneworld) – earn up to 5,000 bonus miles (1,500 miles per stay or 3 miles per $1 for most brands). 1,000 bonus miles per stay allows bonus on 5 stays.

Emirates Skywards – 1,500 miles per stay or 3 miles per $1 for most brands. Homewood Suites earn 100 base miles and 200 bonus miles for Fixed Miles. Hampton Inn stays are not eligible for earning Emirates miles.

Miles & More (Lufthansa, Swiss, Austrian, LOT Polish – Star Alliance) – 1,500 miles per stay. Hampton Inn and Homewood Suites stays are ineligible for miles. Miles & More only allows Points & Fixed Miles. Registration page in German.

Olympic Air  – Registration page is in Greek.

Turkish Airlines – (Star Alliance) – 1,500 miles per stay for most brands. Hampton Inn earns 300 miles per stay. Homewood Suites stays are ineligible for miles. Miles & Smiles only allows Points & Fixed Miles.

Virgin Atlantic Flying Club  – 3,000 miles or 6 miles/$1 per stay for most brands. Hampton Inn and Homewood Suites earn 600 fixed miles or 6 miles/$1 per stay.

Hilton HHonors “Just Go With It” sweepstakes offers U.S. members the opportunity to win a trip for 4 to Hawaii including 5 nights at the Waldorf Astoria Grand Wailea Resort in Maui and 4 nights at the Hilton Hawaiian Village in Oahu. The prize includes economy airfare from your home airport to Hawaii and inter-island economy flights.

Grand Prize: Approximate retail value = $31,659

• 1,000,000 HHonors points
• Roundtrip airfare to Hawaii and interisland flights between hotels
• $10,000 Hilton Worldwide Gift Card
• $5,000 check
• 5 nights for 4 persons in 2 rooms at Waldorf Astoria Grand Wailea, Maui
• 4 nights for 4 persons in 2 rooms at Hilton Hawaiian Village, Oahu

10 First Prizes: Approximate retail value = $3,500

• 500,000 HHonors points
• $1,000 Gift Card

HHonors members receive one entry with promotion registration.

Note to readers: This is a Hilton HHonors contest and is in no way related to Loyalty Traveler blog. I am only sharing information. Be sure to register for Hilton ‘Just Go with It’ sweepstakes by clicking link in first sentence of this blog post.

Two Ways to Earn Additional Sweepstakes Entries

Members will receive one additional entry for each Hilton brand hotel night stayed between January 18 through March 31, 2011.

You can also earn additional entries by submitting a handwritten 3 x 5 card with requested information as detailed in the sweepstakes rules.

HHonors Just Go With It Sweepstakes Jan 18 - March 31, 2011

Hilton HHonors 2011 first quarter promotion is “More Nights, More Points” offering bonus points for stays of two nights or more. Earn double points on two-night stays, triple points for three-night stays and quadruple points for stays of four or more nights between January 3 and March 31, 2011.

Promotion registration is required before stays count for this offer.

Hilton brands include Hilton Hotels, Hilton Garden Inn, Doubletree, Embassy Suites, Hampton Inn & Suites, Homewood Suites, Home2 Suites, Conrad Hotels and Waldorf Astoria Collection.

There is no earning limit on bonus points for this promotion, although there is a 100,000 base points earning limit for any single stay. So if you are planning $10,000 in eligible hotel spend, then plan to stay at least four nights at the hotel to earn the extra 300,000 bonus points along with your Diamond elite.

Hilton HHonors "More Nights, More Points" 2011 Q-1 promotion

Hilton HHonors Promotion Analysis

Double, triple and quadruple points are calculated as a multiple of 10 base points per dollar earn rate for Hilton eligible spend.

HHonors Points & Points Earning Preference

• Double Points = 25 points/$1 for two-night stays
• Triple Points = 35 points/$1 for three-night stays
• Quadruple Points = 45 points/$1 for four-night or longer stays

HHonors Points & Miles Earning Preference

• Double Points = 20 points/$1 for two-night stays
• Triple Points = 30 points/$1 for three-night stays
• Quadruple Points = 40 points/$1 for four-night or longer stays

Calculating HHonors Promotion Points

Double Points

Assume $100 per night room rate on a 2-night stay = $200 = double points.

HHonors Points & Points earns:

10 base points + 10 bonus points (2x promotion bonus) + 5 bonus points (P&P bonus) = 25 points per $1.

$200 x 25 points per dollar = 5,000 total points for this 2-night stay.

Triple Points

Assume $100 per night room rate for a 3-night stay = $300 = triple points.

HHonors Points & Points earns:

10 base points + 20 bonus points (3x promotion bonus) + 5 bonus points(P&P) = 35 points per $1

$300 x 35 points per dollar = 10,500 total points for this 3-night stay.

Quadruple Points

Assume $100 per night room rate for a 4-night stay = $400 = quadruple points.

HHonors Points & Points earns:

10 base points + 30 bonus points (3x promotion bonus) + 5 bonus points(P&P) = 45 points per $1

$400 x 45 points per dollar = 18,000 total points for this 4-night stay.

Look at HHonors “More Nights, More Points” offer in this way where the nightly rate is the same at $100 and the HHonors bonus points increase is clearly apparent for a four night stay.  Two stays at 2-nights each earn 10,000 total points compared to one stay of four nights that earns 18,000 points for the same $400 level of hotel spend.

Extended stays earn many more points although less stay credit with this offer.

Nonparticipating Hotels

Nearly 350 hotels are not participating in this Q-1 2011 promotion and most of these non-participating hotels are in the USA. The promotion page is a bit misleading when it states “Book at any of the 3,600 hotels in 82 countries (unless Hilton has grown by 350 hotels  in the past year).

http://hhonors1.hilton.com/en_US/hh/landing/excluded_hotels_q1/index.do

Hilton sure does not make it easy to locate nonparticipating hotels. The list of hotels is ordered by brand and hotel name with no geographic information. There is no information on the Hilton webpage for the city, state or country of the nonparticipating hotels for the member when trying to figure out if a hotel participates in this promotion.

Hilton Garden Inn Solomons.

Where the hell is that?

I figure this hotel is not in the Solomon Islands of the South Pacific since it is a Hilton Garden Inn, but I have no idea where this hotel might be located in the United States. I can see the hotels are ordered geographically by state, but is it really too much to ask that a geographically labeled list of excluded hotels be provided by HHonors when 10% of their global properties are excluded from this promotion offer?

And am I really going to remember to check the promotion list sorted by hotel brand and hotel name and notice the HGI Solomons before I book a promotion ineligible four-night hotel stay in Dowell, Maryland?

“The Hilton Garden Inn Solomons hotel is located on Dowell Road in historic Solomons, Maryland and 2.5 miles from the Patuxent Naval Air Station (Pax River), headquarters for the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR), the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD), the Navy Test Pilot School and over 150 technology firms that support Pax River. Nearby our Solomons, MD hotel are some of the finest nature and water oriented recreational activities on the East Coast. Access to the world famous Chesapeake Bay is minutes away by boat.”

Conclusion

This is a good value Hilton HHonors promotion for the member who needs extended hotel stays and typically qualifies for elite by nights. This promotion has no bonus value for the one-night stay Hilton HHonors member.  

Loyalty Traveler Promotion Key Rank =

Hilton HHonors triple and quadruple bonus points is 4 out of 5 keys on three and four night stays;

3 keys for two night stays; and  

1 key for one night stays (no promotion bonus).