NEWBIE in Closing & Needs Honours Credit Card Assistance

[annenp]

To all experts out there:

My wife and I are now closing on a resale Hilton(passed FROR) for 8400 pts platinium and need your advice from any particular experiences you may have: I am undecided whether or not I'd sign up for an AMEX Hilton Honours card or sign up for a VISA that accumulates points for airlines miles only.

1) since I'll have 8400 pts -- my stay accomodtions are basically taken care of and thought,

2) if I can accumulate airline miles I'd may earn also free airfare since typically VISA airlines reward card earn more per mile than non-airline rewards

What can you advise please.

Thanks

 

[Talent312]

My wife and I are now closing on a resale Hilton(passed FROR) for 8400 pts platinium and need your advice from any particular experiences you may have: I am undecided whether or not I'd sign up for an AMEX Hilton Honours card or sign up for a VISA that accumulates points for airlines miles only.

My personal view is that usefulness of FF miles will decrease as airlines increase mileage requirements and reduce available FF seats by reducing flights. Even independent point systems have imposed caps which reduce what you get for your points. In short, this free lunch is growing cold and stale.

OTOH, hospitality corporations, as a result of poor economic conditions, are going to be looking for ways to fill hotel rooms, thus their loyalty programs may become more liberal. That, when combined with the bonus HH points that you get from the first few stays for which you pay (money), IMHO, makes the AMEX card a better deal, at least for the next few years.

 

[PigsDad]

If you think you will be vacationing someplace where hotel rates are high (Europe for example), the HHonors Amex is a great way to accumulate points (3-5 per dollar spent). You can get great value using your CC points that way; typically more value than a CC where you earn miles. And when you are a HGVC owner, you then have even more flexibility w/ how to use your points.

Kurt

 

[annenp]

thanks for the feedback its most useful - I assume that I mat also use my HH points for airline miles -- how does the number of points required for HH compare to an airline credit card milage at redemtion?

 

[judgerey]

If you go the HHonors credit card route, make sure to get both the Amex and Visa. Each card offers 10,000 and 15,000 HHonors points, respectively, for the first qualifying purchase. That's 25,000 HHonors pts = 1 night in a Hilton hotel, just for using each card once. Thereafter, use the Amex as it has a slightly higher HHonor pt. value for each purchase. Just my 2 cents.

 

[linsj]

I assume that I mat also use my HH points for airline miles -- how does the number of points required for HH compare to an airline credit card milage at redemtion?

You can, but the exchange rate is lousy:
http://hhonors1.hilton.com/en_US/hh/points/pointsformiles.do

If you want miles, get a miles card. Or a Starwood amex, which gives a 5,000 points bonus for every 20,000 points converted (20,000 points = 25,000 miles):
https://www.starwoodhotels.com/preferredguest/account/starpoints/transfer/airline_partner_list.html

With a miles card, you get one mile, sometimes two, for every dollar charged. The sign-up bonuses can be close to a free economy ticket.

 

[Bxian]

If you have the Hilton AMEX, you can get 4 nights in a Category Six hotel for 125,000 points. If you put $20,000 or more on the card in a year, you get Hilton Honors Gold status (nice for upgrades and Executive Lounge access). We've stayed in Paris, the Big Island of Hawaii, Barbados and Los Cabos in beautiful Hilton hotels for free using points. It helps if you have a high expense item (such as college tuition-as we did- or home renovation) or a lot of business travel to rack up points. Of course, it only makes sense to have a points card if you pay your credit card bill in full each month.