It was a tough day for Hilton. Hilton once again raised its points pricing to price at the prices of many of the world’s top properties, which was noticed by reasonable anger travelers, many people with plans and points can be spent on Reddit and reported by Danny The Deal Guru. In fact, some of these fantastic properties have increased to up to 250,000 Hiltons’ honor points per night to earn standard room rewards.
Worse, many of the same properties have been hiking significantly compared to May this year.
Take Waldorf Astoria Los Cabos Pedregal (such as TPG’s favorite) as an example. At the beginning of this year, you can book 140,000 per night. After the price cap changes in May, we found 190,000 a night. Now we can find the lowest standard room reward night, sitting down at 250,000 points, with a difference of more than 78% in a few months.
Other depreciated properties include Waldorf Ithaafushi in the Maldives, which has a handful of 250,000 nights on the flexible booking calendar (although this is very few and far apart). These standard room rewards start at up to 150,000 points.
Other reported changes include favorites such as Conrad Tokyo, Conrad Maldives Rangali Island, Hermitage Bay and Waldorf Astoria Sehechelles Platte Platte Island. Although some of these properties have a small increase, the increase is still increasing.
In May, TPG reported interest rates on the south bank of Turks and Caicos rose from 130,000 points per night to 180,000 points. Today, you check 210,000 o’clock every night.
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“Similar to our hotels adjusting room prices based on supply and demand, we often monitor and occasionally adjust Hilton’s reward pricing to be more closely related to market demand,” a Hilton Honors spokesperson told TPG via email. “The Hilton Honors program continues to provide incredible value, flexibility and choice for our most loyal guests.”
Fortunately, loyalty programs still have some benefits that can help offset pricing hikes. With the benefits of the fifth night, elite members can pay four nights with points and get the fifth night for free. People with free night certificates offer certain Hilton American Express cards without the standard night reward hats – so the rewards for these nights are still applicable for night use in hotels that have seen huge pricing hikes.
Bottom line
Major devaluations are never fun, especially when they are tough and fast without notice. Now, visiting some of Hilton’s most legendary properties may now cost more points, sometimes higher than the end of last year. Even lesser-known hotels and resorts, such as towering city properties, have taken a hit. Unfortunately, devaluation continues to happen in full swing, but finding (like many people) is never fun when trying to plan a trip and realizing that yesterday’s numbers don’t match today’s numbers.
This is a solid reminder that “point float” will happen and if you sit and hide for too long you may get burned.
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