Hilton Honors Points Are Devalued Once Again
A thread on FT a few days ago hinted at a possible devaluation of Hilton Honors points. It lists several properties where award prices have gone up, likely in the last few days. There has been no official notification, but again with dynamic pricing, there’s rarely such notices.
I haven’t had my eyes on any specific Hilton properties recently, so I’m not able to verify myself when the changes might have gone into effect. But Hilton has confirmed to VFTW that they have made a “slight shift in the program”, as they call it. Here’s what hey wrote exactly:
Since the launch of Points & Money two years ago, our team regularly monitors the performance of the program and makes necessary tweaks along the way. Points & Money is performing very well and we’re thrilled so many members are taking advantage of it.
A few days ago we made a slight shift in the program and as we previously shared, while we won’t be sending updates for each and every shift, we are fully committed to delivering the best value to our members, and will carefully consider any adjustments for Hilton Honors properties.
As Points can flex depending on the hotel and date, visit https://pointsexplorer.hiltonhonors.com/ to search desired hotels, destinations and preferred dates to book your next stay at over 5,000 Hilton hotels. Hilton Honors is the only program that allows members to make use of ANY combination of Points and money starting at just 5,000 points to redeem at one of our properties.
Conclusion
This is a good reminder to check hotels where you plan to stay and see of there’s been any changes. If you have lots of Hilton points, hopefully you have already cashed them out through Amazon at half a cent each. That’s looking increasingly as the best possible use of points.
Have you been affected by prices increases? Let us know!
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A stay at the Hampton Inn in Merida, Mexico went from 5,000 points to 10,000. The Holiday Inn express next door is also 10,000 but one free night with 3, not 4 as Hampton. The HIE also has a pool, which The Hampton does not. Doubling the points is definitely a major devaluation.
I was looking into a trip to the Waldorf Astoria in Orlando about a month ago. Still the same points when I checked yesterday so I booked the room. The value was .63cpp, so there are still plenty of redemptions out there of value.
I had the same experience in January. 2018 Hilton Waikiki was 35,000 points for Mountain View room (that I got upgraded to ocean view). 2019 a “city view” room was 50,000 points for the same dates in late May-early June. I took it anyway and upgraded to Mountain View. The hotel (it’s a an old business hotel, not a resort) also added a daily “resort” fee that included: new happy hours around the hotel, free dvds from a redbox-style distributor for your room, and free morning yoga classes around a small rooftop pool. In other words—-nothing for the extra $30 a day. The hotel had been a great deal until this year. Now, not so much. However, I will say that the staff at that hotel is very good and their executive breakfast offering is a tremendous benefit for a family vacation in the area.
Tried to book a room for my mom in Beijing and realized this. Property used to be 10000 points now costs 30000. Almost the same dates, compared to 2016.
Honestly Shawn I think this article is misleading. Clickbait perhaps? The title is misleading at best. This is not a devalue across the board
What is your source for using Hilton points on Amazon for half a cent apiece? I’ve seen blogs saying 0.2 cents apiece. Thx.