T hese changes to what was formerly known as Hilton HHonors will be officially announced as of tomorrow; and I have a telephone call scheduled tomorrow to discuss the changes — the telephone call could have been scheduled today; but my day today has already been scheduled — but in the meantime, here is the information which has been officially posted on FlyerTalk:
Introducing Hilton Honors. No, That is Not a Typographical Error
And no, that’s not a typo! You may have noticed, we’ve dropped that extra “H” in our name. Simple, easy, straightforward – Hilton Honors. And so I’ll be updating my FlyerTalk name to represent that.
We’re continuously listening to our members in these forums, and through extensive research we’re evolving the program. Today we announce three new Points benefits and a new benefit for Diamond Elite Members – just the latest stop on our journey to deliver more of what matters most to you.
1. More flexible Points & Money –Starting in late February, Hilton Honors members can use a flexible payment slider to choose nearly any combination of Points and money to pay for their stay, any time, with no blackout dates. Members can still opt to use all Points on award stays and elite members can continue to enjoy the popular 5th Night Free benefit.
Our Points prices will also become more flexible. When demand and room rates are lower, Points prices will flex and go lower than before. As we launch this new benefit, we’re also saying farewell to hotel categories – which will allow prices to go lower than the previous ranges. But you can rest assured about the value of your Points. As we make this transition on Standard Room Rewards, each hotel’s maximum Points price is NOT increasing.
For example, today a Standard Room at Category 10 hotels maxes out at 95,000 Points per night. Once the new Points & Money program launches, those hotels will continue to top out at 95,000 Points, and may sometimes be priced lower than the previous category range.
2. Shop with Points on Amazon – Come summer 2017, Hilton Honors members will be able to use their Points to purchase products on Amazon.com. Our partnership with Amazon will give members more choices and more ways to use Points.
3. Points Pooling – Starting this April, members can combine or “pool” their Hilton Honors Points with family and friends on future award stays. We’re doing away with the previous transfer fee, so it will be completely free for a Hilton Honors member to pool their Points with up to 10 family members and friends to get to more vacations together, faster.
New Diamond Benefit – We’re also excited to share a brand new benefit for our Diamond members. We know that sometimes life puts a pause on travel, whether that be because of a new job, a new addition to the family, or for any number of situations. Starting in March, current eligible Diamond members can choose to extend their status for a year, one-time, for any reason when a light travel period doesn’t allow them to requalify. Diamond members are eligible if they meet either criteria below:
• 3+ years as a Diamond Elite with at least 250 nights (paid or reward) since joining the program; or
• 3+ years as a Diamond Elite with at least 500,000 Base Points since joining the program.To check your lifetime years, nights or Base Points, please contact the Diamond Desk.
Summary
At first glance, the changes look positive overall. I apologize for the quick post; but I intend to go more in depth with this news tomorrow after my telephone call.
Gotta run…
Photograph ©2015 by Brian Cohen.
