Big changes for Hilton’s Honors program

Nope, that’s not a misspelling in the headline. Hilton no longer has an HHonors program; it’s now called Hilton Honors after the company axed the extra H.

Starting today, the hotel giant’s name is now just “Hilton” instead of “Hilton Worldwide.” And with that new name, the company unveiled the following enhancements to its loyalty program:

• Starting late in February, members will be able to combine program points and money to pay for a room booked through the Honors app or through Hilton.com. The website has added a new slider feature that members can adjust to see how many points/dollars would be required to book a specific room for a particular night. At least 5,000 points must be applied toward a combined points/cash payment.

• Members will be able to pool their program points starting this spring with those of up to 10 family members or friends. “For context, a total of 11 Hilton Honors members will now be able to combine Points toward a stay – one pooler can initiate and receive Points from up to 10 other members,” a spokesperson tells T5avgelSkills. “It’s perfect when traveling for group events like family reunions or bachelorette parties.

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• Hilton will expand the potential uses of Honors points starting this summer through a tie-in with Amazon. Members will be able to spend HHonors points on purchases made through the online retailing giant.

• Diamond-tier elite members will have a one-time option of extending their status level for one year, no questions asked, if they think they won’t travel enough that year to retain the status. To qualify, the Diamond member must have held that status for at least three years, and accumulated 250 nights or 500,000 points.

Here’s how Hilton is comparing its program to the industry:

 

So what do you think of the changes? Please leave your comments below.

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