Last day for Axon rewards at a cheaper rate

Posted by Noob Master on Jun 14, 2013 in Amex, Axon and Glon, Hilton Honors, Uncategorized | 0 comments

 
Today is the last day to redeem Axon awards before they increase in price tomorrow, June, 15, 2013.

There are now 10 Hilton categories instead of the 7 before the epic Hilton devaluation. Unfortunately, you aren’t able to book any Axon awards for aspirational properties in the 8, 9, or 10 categories before June 15th. However, you can still book Hilton hotels in categories 5, 6, and 7 at the current Axon level.

Axon awards are for Hilton members who carry an American Express branded Hilton rewards credit card. They are discounted hotel awards for stays of 4 nights.

The current Axon rates are:

• Category 5 – 125,000 
• Category 6 – 125,000
• Category 7 – 145,000

The new Axon rates starting June 15th, 2013 are:

• Category 5 – 130,000
• Category 6 – 160,000
• Category 7 – 190,000
• Category 8 – 220,000
• Category 9 – 260,000
• Category 10 – 300,00

That’s quite a hike in prices! You would save 45,000 Hilton HHonors points if you booked an Axon award for a  category 7 hotel today. To see a hotels award pricing, check out Hilton’s new search tool. Nifty.

To make an Axon award booking you must call the Diamond line at 1-800-920-5649.

I’m thinking about booking the Conrad  category 7 hotel in Bali today to burn some of my Hilton stash. Not the greatest beach, but I’ll make it. Don’t forget to compare the cost of booking the hotel per night since members with Silver, Gold or Diamond elite status will now get a free night when they book a Standard Room Reward stay of five or more consecutive nights. Do the math.

It’s a bummer, Axon awards were such a sweet spot for top tier Hilton hotels for such a long time. Now it’s more than double to book a top level Hilton hotel, but at least it’s still relatively easy to earn Hilton points; the two free weekend nights earned from the Citi® Hilton HHonors™ Reserve Card can still be used at new top tier hotels. A small win.

This is just another example of why you should always be earning and burning. Those miles in your accounts aren’t earning interest.

(I receive a referral credit for the Citi Hilton Reserve card. Thank you if you decide to apply through the blog!)

— Noob Master

Hotel Elite Status Series: Hilton HHonors

Posted by Noob Master on Jan 15, 2013 in Axon and Glon, Credit Cards, Hilton Honors, Hotels, Points, Uncategorized | 2 comments

I like having hotel status because it can make my stay more comfortable, save me $$$, make me feel like a VIP, and impress my wife (most importantly). Plus, there are easy ways to achieve hotel status. You can either sign-up for a hotel rewards card (gasp), status match, accumulate paid stays (what?), or through rewards card spending. I’m continuing my Hotel Elite Status Series with Hilton HHonors today. Awesome Sauce.

Hotel Elite Status Series

• Hyatt GoldPassport 
• Hilton HHonors

Status levels/requirements

Silver Status:

You will receive Silver status with 4 stays or 10 nights. The perks are:

Rewards cards

If you love earning points through rewards cards, then Hilton is your hotel group. There’s a plethora (3 amigos) of cards that can generate Hilton HHonors points. I won’t go over all these options now, since I have done so extensively in the past.

I hold two Hilton-branded cards: the Citi® Hilton HHonors™ Reserve Card and the American Express Hilton HHonors card. They both hold a special place in my heart for different reasons.

The Citi Hilton Reserve card comes with a sign-up bonus of 2 free weekend night certificates after spending $2,500 in 4 months. Other perks are:

• Earn 10 HHonors Bonus Points per $1 spent on hotel stays within the Hilton HHonors portfolio
• Earn 5 HHonors Bonus Points per $1 spent on airline and car rental purchases
• Earn 3 HHonors Bonus Points per $1 spent on all other eligible purchases
• Enjoy the benefits of HHonors Gold status as long as you are a cardmember
• No foreign transaction fees on purchases
• Travel with ease and enjoy global acceptance with your Citi chip credit card
• Earn an anniversary bonus of 1 weekend night certificate at select hotels and resorts within the Hilton HHonors portfolio each cardmembership year with qualifying purchase

I love this card because it gives me Hilton Gold status for as long as I hold the card! That’s free breakfast, Internet, and possible room upgrade to the Executive Floor and it’s Lounge. It’s also great for International travel, because it has zero foreign transaction fees, and it’s a chip card.

If you spend $10,000 annually on your Reserve card, you will get an additional free weekend night certificate. And if you spend $40,000 in a calendar year – you will receive Diamond Status. Balling.

The $95 annual fee isn’t waived for the first year, but the perks warrant the fee (in my opinion). I’m hanging onto this card for awhile.

Plus, you can get TWO of these cards at ONCE via the double browser trick. Here’s video proof. 

I hold the American Express Hilton HHonors card so I can have access to AXON awards. There’s also no annual fee on this card, so I will keep it forever. That is, if I don’t upgrade it to the Amex Surpass. I also get 6x points per $1 at grocery stores, drug stores, and gas stations.

That brings us to the American Express Surpass card. You will receive 40,000 Hilton HHonors points after first purchase, and another 20,000 after spending $3,000 in 3 months.

The Amex Surpass cards gives you Gold status for the first year only, then you have to spend $20,000 annually to maintain your Gold status. Ouch. It does have the same option to earn Diamond status after spending $40,000 in a calendar year.

You do get the perk of earning 6x points at grocery stores, drug stores, and gas stations. The $75 annual fee isn’t waived.

Status matching

Hilton HHonors doesn’t offer a very lucrative status match, but you do have some options. You must have proof of your stays, so status earned from signing up for other programs rewards cards won’t get you very far with Hilton. Sad face. As usual, it doesn’t hurt to have some upcoming Hilton stays booked before you email Hilton.

You can email Hilton and send a pdf of your status activity with your current hotel group, and see what they come back with. It seems there’s a Gold status challenge of 4 stays in 90 days, or there’s Diamond status challenge of 21 nights in 90 days.

Check out this Flyertalk thread for more details.

Award chart

Here’s the standard award chart for Hilton HHonors:

Standard Award Chart

And here’s the award chart for Waldorf-Astoria properties:

Waldorf Award Chart

Yeah, these are steep prices, but we all know Hilton HHonors points can be earned in bunches. There’s the Citi Hilton and Hilton Reserve cards, Amex Hilton and Hilton Surpass, plus you can transfer points/miles earned from 2 Hawaiian and the Virgin Atlantic cards (1:2). So yeah, there are options (don’t forget about the double browser tricks on the Citi cards, too).

But the real value is taking advantage of AXON and GLON awards. Check it – it’s important.

Tip: Try searching for awards while “signed out of your HHonors account” if you aren’t seeing any availability.

My strategy

I’m loving my Gold status with Hilton, and I’ll probably just have to be content with it. I’ve thought about running the $40,000 necessary through my Citi Hilton HHonors Reserve card for Diamond status, but that’s a lot of trips to CVS!

Plus, I’m not sure the difference between Gold and Diamond is worth it. At least not for me, where it would take some managing to meet the $40,000 spending threshold. If the $40,000 isn’t an issue, then why the h@#% wouldn’t you go for it?! I do love that they have the option to spend for top tier status.

I will meet the $10,000 threshold on my Citi Reserve for the free weekend night certificate. I’ll also keep earning HHonors points by using my Amex Hilton card for Vanillas Reloads at CVS every now and then. I’m not looking to abuse it, and honestly I would rather earn Ultimate Rewards points, but 6x Hilton HHonors points per $1 isn’t bad.

I’ll probably be adding a Hawaiian Airlines card to my next app party too, so I can transfer the miles to Hilton at a 1:2 ratio. Like I said Hilton HHonors points are flying from the sky!

My next planned stays at Hiltons will be in Dublin and London on our upcoming trip in May. Can’t wait!

If you aren’t a member of Hilton HHonors you can sign up here.

Learn to love it.

[Disclaimer: I receive a referral for the Citi Hilton Reserve, but not the other cards. But, don't let that stop you from applying.]

— Noob Master

Understanding Hilton HHonors [Axon] and [Glon] Awards.

Posted by Noob Master on Aug 6, 2012 in Axon and Glon, Citi Bank, Hilton Honors, Uncategorized | 6 comments

Pay attention to this, because I’m about to throw down some truth. And it’s going to change your life. I take that back. I don’t know if it’s going to change your life your life, but it will add incredible punch to your rewards travel portfolio.

It’s true that Hilton HHonors has devalued their program a gazzillion times in the last couple of years. That’s a lot, if you don’t know. Standard rooms can be harder to come by and are being priced as premium rooms. BUT, there are 2 ways in to find redonkulous value in Hilton HHonors. Axon and Glon awards.

And we already know from my Hilton Destination post last week that Hilton has some killer destinations.

Hilton HHonors properties include:

• Waldorf Astoria® Hotels & Resorts
• Conrad® Hotels & Resorts
• Hilton Hotels & Resorts
• DoubleTree by Hilton™
• Embassy Suites Hotels™
• Hilton Garden Inn®
• Hampton Inn®
• Homewood Suites by Hilton®
• Home2 Suites by Hilton®
• Hilton Grand Vacations®

Here’s the standard award chart for Hilton properties.

standard award chart

And here’s the award chart for Waldorf Astoria properties.

Waldorf Astoria Award Chart.

Those are kinda steep prices for an award night, but we know Hilton HHonors points can be earned in bunches (Virgin Atlantic, Hawaiian, Citi Hilton and Amex Hilton cards). But the real value with Hilton HHonors is being able to take advantage of the following discounted rates.

What is “Glon” aka Vip Awards?

Sounds like a Star Trek character to me. You can gain access to Glon awards if you have Silver, Gold, or Diamond status with Hilton. Since you just need to have Silver status to have access to Glon awards- all you have to do is apply for any Hilton branded credit card that gives you status. The standard Hilton Amex gives you Silver and the new Citi Hilton Reserve card gives you GOLD. You can also earn status with Hilton HHonors for stays, too. So as long as you have at least Silver status, the Glon doorways are open for you.

But why should you care? Because these are discounted rates! But there are two rules you need to follow with Glon rewards:

• you must be staying 4 or more nights
• you must stay in a 3-7 category hotel. Waldorf Astoria properties are above category 7 (legit) and have their own award chart. But Glon discounts are available with them as well.

Axon Awards

Axon awards or [American Express only awards] are a tremendous way to save when booking Hilton vacations. To be eligible for these awards, you must hold in your wallet 1 of the American Express Hilton branded cards.

American Express Hilton Surpass – American Express Hilton  

Axon awards are good for 4 night stays (or multitude of 4 nights) in category 5-7 Hilton hotels. 

Here are the Axon discounts:

• Category 5 – 125,000 Hilton HHonors points (not a better discount than Glon)
• Category 6 – 125,000 Hilton HHonors points (8% better than Glon, and 22% better than Standard)
• Category 7 – 145,000 Hilton HHonors points (15% better than Glon, and 28% better than Standard)

Bottom Line

Glon awards, and especially Axon awards, are a great way to get a stellar vacation at a great discount. Glon awards are best for Category 3-5 award properties and at Waldorf Astoria properties 4 nights or more.

And Axon awards are where’s its at for 4 night stays at Category 6-7 properties. 

You can also combine these award options and add standard night stays or certificate night stays on either side of a reservation. So when booking a Hilton vaca, it’s imperative you do your research so you can book the cheapest award rate possible.

I will definitely be adding the new  Citi® Hilton HHonors™ Reserve Card to my next app party to maximize my Hilton stays. I can add the free weekend nights on either side of the reservation, get free breakfast, internet, and late check out with the Gold Status. Plus, it doesn’t have any foreign transaction fees (chip and pin too), and I’ll earn 10 Hilton HHonors points per $1 at Hiltons worldwide. Boom Boom. I will also being adding some more cards that earn Hilton points as well, so keep an eye out for that post.

Have questions? Don’t hesitate to email or comment below.

— Noob Master