BEWARE: Keeping or Loosing Hilton Honors points
 

To all who book at Hilton hotels and affiliates:

If you book at any Hilton Hotel or their affiliates be sure to track your points. Also make sure that you book or stay at any Hilton hotel or affiliate within a 12 month cycle.

Failure to do so means loosing your points!

I was saving points for a long vacation but alas! I lost all the points! Talking about loyalty. I haven't booked any hotel since I started saving points with Hilton, and this is how they reward me. Being a non-frequent traveler, I was hoping to keep the points until I have saved enough for the big vacation.

I guess it is time to switch back to Marriott, or Holiday Inn or Best Western .

Maybe "it is time" to read the fine print.

"Members who do not have eligible activity as defined in a. - d. below in any 12 consecutive month period may be removed from the Program and are subject to forfeiture of all accumulated points. At the discretion of Hilton HHonors Worldwide, such Members may be permitted to remain in the Program and removed after five years of inactivity. To keep accumulated HHonors Points, the Member must take one of the following actions within a 12 consecutive month period:

a. stay at a hotel within the Hilton Worldwide portfolio pursuant to the terms herein;
b. earn HHonors Points through any third party source of HHonors Point accumulation, including a Hilton co-branded credit card, pursuant to its terms;
c. purchase HHonors Points; or,
d. donate points through The Hilton HHonors Giving Back Program. "

Did you ask about the discretion to extend to five years?

Note that similar expiration dates apply to FF miles.

>Note that similar expiration dates apply to FF miles.<

Abso-freaking-lutely.

And this is why you should find a way to add at least 1 point to all of your points accounts that matter to you each year.

Well, to be frank, I believe this was a 'new' feature they introduced. I had no activity between August of 2009 and March 2011 and never lost my points.

As for the Frequent Flyer miles, I haven't lost any even for long inactivity.

On one hand, I still have my Best Western points even for inactivity for more than 2 years.

My point here is this - should they try to keep their customer points so people like us who travel less stay "loyal" to them?

My loyalty only counts with regards to flying and that is only as far as alliances go. I look for the best flight within an alliance; it makes things easier.

Are you sure they didn't send you a letter about the change? When AA started expiring miles there was lots of info about it. The programs are supposed to reward "loyal" customers, but loyal really means "frequent".

You got that right. Hilton doesn't care about you if you stay 1-3 nights a year. That's less than small potatoes to them.

AFAIK Hilton has been enforcing this policy for at least 10 years. I think you were just lucky they didn't catch it for some reason in 2010/2011. You may be able to negotiate some or all of your points back if you will have future paid stays.

Marriott also has an expiration policy but they don't seem to enforce it.

As for your frequent flyer miles, most do expire except for Delta.

Hilton gave me plenty of notice, even though I haven't stayed with them for 3+ years.

I had my Citibank cards linked to AAvantage Dining. I just changed the link to Hilton Honors points. Problem solved.

Hilton, along with a few other chains have recently diluted their hotel program. Luckily, I heard about the dilution ahead of time and booked a hotel in Dublin while I still had enought points.

This isn't anything new and is the major reason why hotel 'loyalty' programs are of litte use to the average vacationer. But then, that isn't who they are aimed at is it

You would do better to pick your hotels based on who has the best deal at the time you want to stay somewhere. Saving $20 a night staying at a Hilton group hotel vs. a Marriot group hotel (or any other hotel group)will probably work out saving you more over time than any one groups loyaty program will.

Improviser - loyalty is great if traveling on corporate business.

I always was given Hilton upgrades and extra freebies.

And now, because of my travel and my wife's travel, we have a free week of lodging in Dublin and Edinburgh. That's hard to pass up.

|As I said, the vacationer isn't who they are aimed at, I didn't think it necessary to specify the business traveller is.

Yes, they're good if you travel enough and especially when YOU aren't paying for the room. ie. on expenses.

The same as true of frequent flyer points. Great for the business traveller, not so great for others. For example, I use a credit card that does not give me miles but does give me cash back. 2% cashback on every single $ I charge on it.

FF miles are limited in their use and their value has always been next to impossible to really determine. My 2% cash has unlimited use and clearly a specific value. I'd rather have cash than points.

With hotels, I'd rather have a good deal than points. Same thing really.

So for a business traveller, 'loyalty' schemes are fine. For everyone else there are other choices. Unfortunately most don't do the research necessary to know what is a better bang for your buck.

Improviser - speaking of FF awards, the flight to Europe and back in August is biz class.

I haven't flown to Europe for holiday in anything less since 1996. Yes, it's good to be a business traveler.

amazing how people can defend a rip off.

Back when I had to work for a living (including when FF programs began) I did a lot of business travel. For a period of about 15 years I did not pay for a personal flight ever. I was an 'elite' member of several airline's programs and even when I quit working I had enough miles built up to take care of my flights for another 6-7 years of travel.

Point is, you can imagine my shock when I finally had to go and buy a transatlantic flight after alll those years. My comment when the travel agent told me the ticket price was, 'HOW MUCH?' Talk about 'sticker shock'.

"amazing how people can defend a rip off"

It is not a rip off. As I pointed out above, "loyalty" in this context means "frequent". If you stay at a Hilton once in two years, the hotel doesn't know (although your CC company will) whether that is because you only traveled once in those two years, or because you traveled multiple times but stayed in other hotels. Nor does Hilton care, they just know it was only once in two years. That doesn't look like much loyalty. The airlines make it simpler, they just call their programs "frequent flyer" (although get almost all my miles of my credit card these days).

a rip off is a rip off in spite of all the fancy arcane legerdemain you may wish to employee.

The only part of this entire thread that matters is this quote, it should make a marketing puke sit up and pay attention.
"I guess it is time to switch back to Marriott, or Holiday Inn or Best Western ."

How is it a "rip off" when it there is NO cost to anyone to sign up for a "loyalty" program? No one loses anything!

"The only part of this entire thread that matters is this quote, it should make a marketing puke sit up and pay attention.
"I guess it is time to switch back to Marriott, or Holiday Inn or Best Western .""

Sorry, but if the OP is only staying at a Hilton once every couple of years I doubt they will care.

Funny how some people consider anything that doesn't suit them, to be a rip-off.

But then anyone that makes comments like 'marketing puke' really isn't someone to take seriously anyway.