Hilton Honors has announced a series of changes to its loyalty program which will start rolling out from April. Unfortunately, the dates for each individual change are not clear from the announcement. They may roll out one by one over the course of a few months, in a similar fashion to last years set of changes. On the other hand, we may see them all introduced together.
The quick dot points on the changes are
- Earning Changes – Double Dip is going, and elite bonus will increase
- Milestone Bonus are being introduced
- Elite Rollover Nights – allows you to rollover excess nights from one year into the next
- Gifting Status – Ability to gift Gold or Diamond Status
Changes in Detail
Earning Changes
Hilton have decided to discontinue some earning style options. The options included the ‘double dip’ choices of Points and Miles or Points and Points options. Under these options, members could make a choice between earning 5 additional bonus points per dollar or points in an airline program These options were on top of the 10 points earned on each dollar of spend.
In its place, Hilton will be increasing the status bonus applicable to members at the silver level and higher.
- Silver is going from 15% Bonus to 20%
- Gold is going from 25% Bonus to 80%
- Diamond is going from 50% Bonus to 100%
Effect on Earning – Points + Points
Depending on your level this could be bad news or not so bad news. To see the effect on each individual level, let’s do some mathematics.
If a member had chosen Points + Points, they would have received 15 Points Per Dollar. This was made up of 10 Base Points per dollar, and 5 additional Points. The 5 additional points from Points + Points will be removed.
A Blue Member will now get 10 Points Per Dollar, down from 15 Points, a 33% reduction. For a Silver, the previous 16.5 Point haul will reduce to 12 Points, which is about a 27% reduction,
Gold member fare best overall, with a small increase, going from 17.5 Points to 19 Points. Diamond members end up with an even score.
| Hilton Honors Points per USD 1 (Points + Points Option) | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Current | New (April 2018) | Change | ||||||
| Base Points | Points + Points | Status Bonus | Total | Base Points | Status Bonus | Total | Change | |
| Blue | 10 | 5 | 0 | 15 | 10 | 0 | 10 | -5 |
| Silver | 10 | 5 | 1.5 | 16.5 | 10 | 2 | 12 | -4.5 |
| Gold | 10 | 5 | 2.5 | 17.5 | 10 | 8 | 18 | +0.5 |
| Diamond | 10 | 5 | 5 | 20 | 10 | 10 | 20 | 0 |
Effect on Earning – Points + Miles
Of course, if you had chosen Airline Miles, you will lose the miles, but gain more points (except for Blue members). The following table shows the change in Hilton Honors Points, but does not account for the loss of Airline Miles (as this varied between airlines).
The loss of airline miles may be even worse that appears in these tables. Hilton Honors had a number of promotions offering bonus airline miles for those that selected Airline miles. For example, double, triple or even quadruple offers were around. Th
| Hilton Honors Points per USD 1 (Points + Miles Option) | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Current | New (April 2018) | Change | ||||||
| Base Points | Points + Miles | Status Bonus | Total | Base Points | Status Bonus | Total | Change | |
| Blue | 10 | 0 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 10 | 0 | |
| Silver | 10 | 1.5 | 11.5 | 10 | 2 | 12 | +0.5 | |
| Gold | 10 | 2.5 | 12.5 | 10 | 8 | 18 | +5.5 | |
| Diamond | 10 | 5 | 15 | 10 | 10 | 20 | +5 | |
Milestone Bonuses (Unlimited!)
Hilton Honors members will earn 10,000 Bonus Points on every tenth night, once they reach at least 40 nights in a calendar year. These bonuses will be uncapped. In addition, Diamond members will also receive an additional 30,000 points bonus at 60 nights in one year..
Hilton have provided the following graphic to show the new way that earnings will work, including the milestone bonus offer.
Elite Rollover Nights
Starting this year, Silver, Gold and Diamond members can rollover qualifying nights earned beyond their current elite tier requirements to count towards their elite tier status the following year.
Gifting Elite Status
Hilton Honors are adding a new option with the ability for top tier members to gift status to a partner.. Members who stay 60 or more nights in a calendar year will have the ability to gift Gold status.
Once you stay 100 or more nights in a year, your travel partner will have their status upgraded to Diamond.
Thoughts
Generally speaking, these changes are mostly positive for elite members. The higher you are in the status chain, generally the better off you will be.Indeed, the biggest improvements in points earning will be seen by Diamond members that achieve status through stays.
On the other hand, the loss of the option of Points + Miles is a bit of a blow. Not only as the straight option, but also as there were often decent promotions tied to it.
Of course, if you want to earn miles, you still can. The ability to convert Hilton Honors points to airline miles continues. However, the conversion rates are not always great.
