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Thank you, Hilton
Yesterday, I was pleasantly surprised when I opened my email to a generous status/point/award night extension from Hilton. We’ve really been witness to a broad spectrum of corporate approach to Covid and let’s be honest…most have been horrendous. Hilton, on the other hand, has set a bar other corporations should emulate. Let’s run through the details
Your expiring 2019 Status
If your status was due to be downgraded on March 31, 2020…it’s automatically extended through March 31, 2021.
This is extremely generous seeing as though they are extending status that you actually acquired in 2018 for 2019 and they’re extending it another year. Kudos to Hilton.
2020 Status Extension
Your 2020 status is now good until March 31, 2022 – it would have otherwise expired a year earlier in 2021
This means that if you hit status last year for the 2020 status year…your hard work in 2019 is worth 2 full years of status.
Points Extension
Don’t worry about your points expiring as there is a pause on the expiration of points. More details to follow.
Weekend Nights rewards earned from Hilton Credit Cards
If you have unexpired weekend night credits earned from Hilton credit cards that were due to expire on March 11, 2020 onward, and all new ones issued until August 30th will now have a new expiration of August 31, 2021.
I’m planning on trying to use weekend certs for a trip to the Maldives
All Reservations ( old and new ) can be changed or Cancelled Fee Free until June 30th, 2020
This includes reservations that were advance purchase and non-refundable. Even if you make new reservations, as long as you change or cancel them by June 30th, 2020 you’re good to go. The only caveat… must be outside 24 hours of arrival.
Overall – every travel company should follow suit – I will continue to be loyal to Hilton
Last year my fiancee picked up a Hilton Aspire – which I still think is one of the very best premium cards on the market, and it effectively pivoted our loyalty to Hilton. We stayed in far more Hilton properties than any other brand last year because we could enjoy Diamond status, increased point accruals, and club access where available. Getting an email like this makes me want to support them more.
The airline, hotel, and travel industry are getting massive bailouts from the government. We, as taxpayers, now effectively own portions of these companies and should, at the very minimum, benefit with favorable cancellation rules. The extension of elite status is fantastic, but extending it to those who were set to lose it in 2020…thank you very much.
The Full letter:
Dear Zachary,
On behalf of the entire Hilton team, we hope this message finds you in good health. As the world adapts to these unusual circumstances, I wanted to share what we are doing to extend your Hilton Honors benefits and to support our communities during this turbulent time.
Your Hilton Honors Status and Points
We consider it our privilege to have you as a Hilton Honors member and we want to show our appreciation by extending your benefits:
- 2019 Status Extension. All members whose 2019 status was scheduled to be downgraded on March 31, 2020—whether it’s Diamond, Gold or Silver—will automatically receive an extension through March 31, 2021.
- 2020 Status Extension. We are extending your 2020 member status through March 31, 2022. This means you will continue to enjoy all the Diamond, Gold or Silver benefits you have access to today for the next 24 months.
- Points Extension. We will pause the expiration of all Points scheduled to expire between now and December 31, 2020.
- Weekend Night Rewards Earned on Eligible Hilton Credit Cards. We have extended the expiration date of all unexpired Weekend Night Rewards as of March 11, 2020, and all new ones issued until August 30, 2020, through the end of next summer (August 31, 2021).
Your Travel Flexibility
We remain committed to offering you flexible booking options. Given these unique circumstances, we are making further adjustments to our individual booking policies:
- Existing Reservations. All reservations—even those described as “non-cancellable” (“Advanced Purchase”)—that are scheduled for arrival on or before June 30, 2020 can be changed or cancelled at no charge, up to 24 hours before your scheduled arrival day.
- New Reservations. Any reservations you make—even those described as “non-cancellable” (“Advanced Purchase”)—that are booked between today and June 30, 2020 for any future arrival date can be changed or cancelled at no charge, up to 24 hours before your scheduled arrival day.
If you need to adjust reservations made via the Hilton website, app or call center, you can change your reservation here or contact the Hilton Guest Assistance team. If you need to adjust reservations made through another travel site, please contact them for assistance.
Supporting our Communities
We are proud to support the many communities impacted by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) around the world.
- Health Care and First Responders. We are partnering with federal, state and local governments to provide housing for first responders and health care workers.
- Financial Assistance. Our Hilton Effect Foundation has pledged financial assistance to organizations helping those impacted by COVID-19.
- Donating Hilton Honors Points. We have made it possible for our members to donate Hilton Honors Points to World Central Kitchen, Clean the World, Project Hope or Direct Relief. All Points donations will be converted into cash and sent directly to the organization.
COVID-19 has created unprecedented challenges for our industry, our hotels and our Team Members. While we have done all we can to limit changes for our people, without a traveling public we simply have fewer guests to welcome. As a result, we have suspended operations at many of our hotels and made the difficult decision to furlough some of our hotel Team Members. I am pleased to share that we are partnering with a number of companies looking to quickly expand their workforce, and that our incredibly talented Team Members will experience an expedited application process across many of these temporary opportunities.
We will continue to regularly update our COVID-19 page with our most up to date information. Our team is available to assist you day or night should you have any questions, and we look forward to welcoming you back on your next stay.
Sincerely,
Chris Nassetta
President & CEO, Hilton
Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Welcome Offer
Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
Annual Fee
$95
Points Earned
Transferrable Chase Ultimate Rewards
- 5x on all travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
- 3x on dining, including eligible delivery services for takeout & dining out
- 3x on select streaming services
- 3x on online grocery purchases
- (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
- $50 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit via Chase Travel℠
- The begins immediately for new cardmembers and after your account anniversary for existing cardmembers
- 2x on all other travel
- 10% Anniversary Bonus
- Every year you keep the card, your total spend will yield a 10% points bonus. If you spend $10k in a year, you’ll get 1k bonus points
- Chase Sapphire Preferred continues to redeem at 1.25c in the Chase Travel℠ and the slew of other benefits remain in tact including Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver ( primary ), purchase protections, etc.
- Points are transferrable to 14 Ultimate Rewards partners
- Redeem in Chase Travel℠ for 1.25 cents per point
- No foreign transaction fees
- Suite of Travel and Purchase Coverage
- Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver is my favorite
- Get complimentary access to DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees and lower service fees for a minimum of one year when you activate by December 31, 2027.
- $95 Annual Fee
We keep an up to date spreadsheet that lists the best ever offers: You can find that spreadsheet here.
Historically 80k is a very, very good offer and hit in both 2022 and 2023. In 2021, we saw the offer hit an all time high of 100k. Who knows if that will ever come back.
Main Cast:
Cards that earn flexible points and should be used on the bulk of your purchases.
Supporting Cast:
Cards that earn fixed points in the currency of the airline/hotel and can not be transferred at attractive rates. These cards yield benefits that make it worth keeping, but not necessarily worth putting a lot of your everyday spend on.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® is exceptional starter card and offers transferrable Ultimate Rewards, and pairs well with other Chase cards.
If you carry this card alongside Chase’s cashback cards like the Chase Freedom Flex® and Chase Freedom Unlimited® or the business versions: Ink Business Cash® , Ink Business Unlimited® you can combine the points into Preferred account and transfer into hotel and airline partners
Annual fee is quite low at $95 a year + you get a 10% anniversary bonus on points + $50 hotel credit in Chase travel.
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