Indian view on hotel loyalty programs - Hilton HHonors

A reader question prompted me to hasten my series on hotel loyalty programs in India. This is the first in that series, and is about Hilton HHonors. You can read the other posts (that have been published, or will soon be) using the master post as an index, or go to the end of this post for individual links.

HHonors 101

HHonors has four levels - Blue, Silver, Gold and Diamond - read more here. At the base level, HHonors earns 10 points per eligible US$ of spend. Redemption rates vary by hotel category, and can be anywhere between 5,000 to 95,000 points a night. Redemption rates also vary by timing of stay. You can use the HHonors Points Search Tool to see how many points you'll need for a stay at a particular hotel. HHonors also offers a 5th night free, when you redeem 4 nights' worth of points (free night at the same property as the other 4 nights). 

HHonors in India

Hilton, amongst global hotel chains, has the smallest presence in India - they operate or will soon operate a total of 14 hotels across the country. This is after a Hilton and a DoubleTree in Mayur Vihar, Noida (same premises) became IHG hotels towards the end of 2013. Internationally, HHonors is one of the largest programs by number of properties - around 3,900 of them. Having said that, their coverage of Indian metros and suburban areas is, to my mind, decent. 

Here is a summary of redemption rates across HHonors properties in India.

(Strangely, DoubleTree Goa continues to show an award rate of 5,000 points a night, even though they recently moved up the category of this hotel, which now requires 20,000 points a night.)

As is to be expected from rewards programs in general, there is no real correlation that one should expect between the cash price of a room night and the points value.

Given the overall redemption rates of Hilton hotels in India, and assuming an average room night costs Rs 7,000++, Hilton in India offers a redemption value of a shade over 1:27, or about 3.7%. In other words, 27 paid stays will get you a free night's stay. I'm not saying that's bad, but clearly isn't best in class, and is worse off than IHG, SPG and Marriott. That's just the math, and it is my math, to be specific. [All of this is based on averages and based on prices for random dates. YMMV.]

Hilton India properties are also members of the Hilton Premium Club, which offers a slew of really good benefits if you stay or dine regularly with Hilton. 

HHonors and me

I'm a Gold level member with HHonors, and my according to me, the best HHonors benefit at this level is the choice of complimentary breakfast for up to 2 people at all Conrad, Hilton, Hilton Garden Inn and DoubleTree hotels. Of course, I could take either 750 or 1,000 bonus points instead (depending on the brand), but I usually pick breakfast. They also offer complimentary internet for Gold and higher level members.

With Gold status, I've also been able to get myself room upgrades, usually to an executive floor, at Hilton, DoubleTree, Hilton Garden Inn and Conrad hotels. While the level of service can vary, I've found the benefits of the executive lounge with Hilton and Conrad to be generally above par, and are a great help for breakfast, evening drinks and a light supper (they can save you a decent amount of money, while you're at it!).

You can also read about my experience with Hilton Premium Club in India, here.

Other related posts in this series

• SPG
• IHG
• Marriott