Burn Notice: Delta Skymiles Part 1
Burn Notice: Delta Skymiles Part 2
Burn Notice: American AAdvantage
I lost track of this series a little bit, so I wanted to finish it. Hilton devalued its award chart MAJORLY back on March 28, 2013. I had saved up about 150,000 HHonors points, so I needed to use them ASAP. I decided that it’d be best to use them for an aspirational property that we’d never otherwise stay at: the Hilton Bora Bora Nui Resort and Spa in Tahiti.
Since the devaluation happened in March, I needed to book a Hilton hotel before March 2014. I could have done it earlier, but I wanted to wait until I could secure flights to Tahiti (the last part of my Burn Notice series). That meant waiting until about 11 months before. Once I solidified my flights, I booked the hotel.
Booking the hotel was fairly simple. I used an AXON award – four night awards that are only available to Hilton HHonors AMEX cardholders. The rate for old Category 7 properties (like Hilton Bora Bora Nui) was 145,000 points for four nights. Contrast that with what it will cost now: 300,000 HHonors points for a four night AXON award at the hotel (which is now category 10)! Anyway, we got a great deal. You can find the current HHonors AXON award chart here.
I don’t want to write too much about this, since you can’t get this kind of deal anymore. We are probably going to pay a surcharge to upgrade to an overwater bungalow – no sense being in Bora Bora if we don’t go all out. Anyway, in my next post in the Burn Notice series, I’ll discuss how we used American Airlines miles to get to Tahiti – and give some tips if you’re looking to do the same. Until then!