Hilton Point Value at US Properties

[janetdoe]

Thanks, that's what I needed to know.

I will get the Surpass and churn 5 Citi cards this year and stay 8 nights at the Conrad Bangkok and have points left over for a couple of nights in HK, total MS will be $8K or so at a cost $100.80, plus maybe 2 hours and a couple of gallons of gas counting the other grocery store MS I will do.

If you know that you have 8 nights in BKK, and plan to stay at the Conrad, I would double check the Flyertalk thread and make sure that most Golds get upgraded and get lounge access. A long stay in Asia is one of the exceptional cases where it is probably worth the extra push to get Diamond to guarantee lounge access, especially if you are already MSing Surpass to get some/most of the points. If you are staying at any other Hilton properties in HKG and SIN (both have really nice Conrads), you could really leverage the diamond status and it may help with award availability if one or two nights are not available.

We stayed at both the Conrad and the Millennium Hilton in BKK, and for a first-time tourist, I would highly recommend the Hilton. It is near the river and most of the cultural/tourist sites. You can take the river taxi. The Conrad is in the middle of the shopping and business district and it's not a short taxi ride to get to any tourist areas like temples, palaces, museums. The Conrad lounge was rather stuffy and had a dress code, although it was unevenly enforced. Millennium lounge was nice, had great views of the river and actual bartenders (with fresh fruit juices to make specialty cocktails) in the evening. FWIW.

Actually, if you are doing a side trip to Chiang Mai, stay at both hotels, one before and one after. Conrad is still wonderful and worth a stay, just not 8 days on a first trip to BKK, IMO.

 

[HefeSD]

Thanks, that's what I needed to know.

I will get the Surpass and churn 5 Citi cards this year and stay 8 nights at the Conrad Bangkok and have points left over for a couple of nights in HK, total MS will be $8K or so at a cost $100.80, plus maybe 2 hours and a couple of gallons of gas counting the other grocery store MS I will do.

Be careful churning the citi card. They recently added language that prevents you from getting the bonus more frequently than once every 18 months.

 

[El Ingeniero]

Be careful churning the citi card. They recently added language that prevents you from getting the bonus more frequently than once every 18 months.

Well crap.

We can get 2 between DW and I anyways. I guess I will do 6X for the rest.

 

[El Ingeniero]

If you know that you have 8 nights in BKK, and plan to stay at the Conrad, I would double check the Flyertalk thread and make sure that most Golds get upgraded and get lounge access. A long stay in Asia is one of the exceptional cases where it is probably worth the extra push to get Diamond to guarantee lounge access, especially if you are already MSing Surpass to get some/most of the points. If you are staying at any other Hilton properties in HKG and SIN (both have really nice Conrads), you could really leverage the diamond status and it may help with award availability if one or two nights are not available.

We stayed at both the Conrad and the Millennium Hilton in BKK, and for a first-time tourist, I would highly recommend the Hilton. It is near the river and most of the cultural/tourist sites. You can take the river taxi. The Conrad is in the middle of the shopping and business district and it's not a short taxi ride to get to any tourist areas like temples, palaces, museums. The Conrad lounge was rather stuffy and had a dress code, although it was unevenly enforced. Millennium lounge was nice, had great views of the river and actual bartenders (with fresh fruit juices to make specialty cocktails) in the evening. FWIW.

Actually, if you are doing a side trip to Chiang Mai, stay at both hotels, one before and one after. Conrad is still wonderful and worth a stay, just not 8 days on a first trip to BKK, IMO.

Duly noted.

I do want to be well away from the sex tourists. So the hotels on Sukhumvit are probably not where I want to be.

Aside from a nice room, I want breakfast and wifi. DW and I are into street food and like to eat spicy, so the evenings in the lounge aren't a big deal for us.

 

[janetdoe]

Duly noted.

I do want to be well away from the sex tourists. So the hotels on Sukhumvit are probably not where I want to be.

Aside from a nice room, I want breakfast and wifi. DW and I are into street food and like to eat spicy, so the evenings in the lounge aren't a big deal for us.

Lol - I'm glad you're not asking, because I wouldn't know where to send you for sex tourism (other than Patpong Night Market, it was crazy but amusing, I was gawking and my husband was trying to avoid eye contact with anyone). Neither the Hilton nor the Conrad will give you a problem there.

The fact that you like street food makes it even more likely you would prefer the Hilton to the Conrad. The Conrad is in the middle of an upscale business park, and the concierges and the bellmen look at you like you have a third head when you say you want to go to, for example, Chinatown (Yaowarat) or Tha Pra Chan / Amulet Market / Khao San. Both areas have great street food and are trivial to visit from the Hilton due to the river transport.

 

[inflightmeal]

Great thread. And I love this hobby... But man does my brain not dig math.

 

[Jung Lee]

Btw 3-4MM

How much time do you estimate you put in for this volume of MS? Is it MO's? or re-selling?

 

[ENOTTY]

Hello,

I have accrued quite a few Hilton points over the past year or so and recently looked to redeem some points for a night in a hotel in northwest CA (category 5 property). To my surprise, the value per point at the redemption rate was ~ .4 cents.

I know some people say it is possible to consistently get .$.01 or more per Hilton per point, but those redemptions seem to be at international properties and in areas hurting for visitors. With that, I was wondering if < .5 cents per point is typical for Hilton redemptions domestically or if I may have just ran into a property with a particularly low valuation.

Honestly, this debate cries out for the data. And the only source that has compiled data is Wandering Aramean's Hotel Hustle tool, which pegs Hilton points at 0.45 cpp average (0.422 median).

Unfortunately this data is very coarse because it spans all Hilton properties around the world. Also, I think the cash rate it uses is the refundable rate, which is always couple percent more expensive than the non-refundable rate. Nor does it take into account things like AAA discounts and what not.

If anyone has a better source of data, please let me know. That way I can get away from subjective valuations that some people invent.

 

[Josh F]

Honestly, this debate cries out for the data. And the only source that has compiled data is Wandering Aramean's Hotel Hustle tool, which pegs Hilton points at 0.45 cpp average (0.422 median).

Unfortunately this data is very coarse because it spans all Hilton properties around the world. Also, I think the cash rate it uses is the refundable rate, which is always couple percent more expensive than the non-refundable rate. Nor does it take into account things like AAA discounts and what not.

If anyone has a better source of data, please let me know. That way I can get away from subjective valuations that some people invent.

I think the average/median he uses it actually reasonable IMO. In terms of cash rates, usually the AAA rate is the same as the non-refundable rate. However, there are even better rates floating around out there that might be more apt for comparison (20%). With that said, you can do often do better than the average if you're able to leverage 5th night free or AXON rewards. I also find the ends of the spectrum (Cat 1-2 and Cat 9-10) are more extreme in terms of usage. So ultimately it comes down to what you plan to use the points for - maybe take a look at a few hotels at a typical time of the year you think you might go and see what the cash rates are. I'm sure there will be regular minor devaluations, but you can't fully predict the future.

I'm usually able to get more like 0.6-0.8/cpp.... However, that's because I choose to only redeem when I can either leverage AXON/5th night OR have a particular high cash price with a low points cost. On average, I see most hotels around 0.4-0.5 cpp and I choose to pay cash in those situations and save my points for a rainier day.

 

[italdesign]

I'm usually able to get more like 0.6-0.8/cpp.... However, that's because I choose to only redeem when I can either leverage AXON/5th night OR have a particular high cash price with a low points cost.

Me too. And if you have status, the freebies add more value.

On average, I see most hotels around 0.4-0.5 cpp and I choose to pay cash in those situations and save my points for a rainier day.

I'm usually able to use other currencies to get good value - the good thing about diversification. When all fails, I use Barclay Arrival pts.

 

[dukerau]

Honestly, this debate cries out for the data. And the only source that has compiled data is Wandering Aramean's Hotel Hustle tool, which pegs Hilton points at 0.45 cpp average (0.422 median).

Unfortunately this data is very coarse because it spans all Hilton properties around the world. Also, I think the cash rate it uses is the refundable rate, which is always couple percent more expensive than the non-refundable rate. Nor does it take into account things like AAA discounts and what not.

Point reservations should be compared to a refundable rate since points reservations are refundable. True, AAA discounts are a valid point, but this all ignores comparing HH points with the cost of Hilton properties, when the value really should be calculated against the best cash price hotel you'd choose if you didn't have points. Maybe you'd still chose Hilton, but I would bet that many people would not.

 

[Josh F]

Point reservations should be compared to a refundable rate since points reservations are refundable. True, AAA discounts are a valid point, but this all ignores comparing HH points with the cost of Hilton properties, when the value really should be calculated against the best cash price hotel you'd choose if you didn't have points. Maybe you'd still chose Hilton, but I would bet that many people would not.

It's a similar (in concept) argument to how to factor in opportunity costs when earning points via MS/Reselling/etc. I concur in the Hilton Scenario it's reasonable to compare your cpp based on what you'd spend in cash. I have a hard time digesting, the "I earned 40 cpp because I uses 75K points for a 1st class award that cost $30K" when there's no way they would shell out $30K OOP. That's why valuations are so subjective... as long as I'm able to earn points cheaply and redeem them for opportunities I probably wouldn't have had otherwise, I'm a happy camper...

 

[Paul]

Honestly, this debate cries out for the data. And the only source that has compiled data is Wandering Aramean's Hotel Hustle tool, which pegs Hilton points at 0.45 cpp average (0.422 median).

Unfortunately this data is very coarse because it spans all Hilton properties around the world. Also, I think the cash rate it uses is the refundable rate, which is always couple percent more expensive than the non-refundable rate. Nor does it take into account things like AAA discounts and what not.

If anyone has a better source of data, please let me know. That way I can get away from subjective valuations that some people invent.

Plenty of data available. HH are worth around 0.4cpp range. But key to get great value is to have Diamond status as it offers great perks. You can book cheapest room and get upgraded to best available room (which includes suites). Recent trips thru Asia and Australia got us suites and value in the 1.5-2cpp range.

Key is to always ask for best available room at check in - most properties outside Asia just upgrade you to an executive room unless you press them