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Bits: Uber scraps fixed London airport fares, 80% ‘buy Hilton points’ bonus

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News in brief:

Uber drops fixed London airport fares

London taxi / minicab / ride-sharing / call it what you want group Uber has announced that it has dropped its fixed fares to London airports.

All airport trips will now be priced using the standard Uber formula, which is a black cab-style mix of time and distance.

No reason was given for the change.  It is certainly a fairer deal for drivers, who were often getting a low fare for what could be a 2 hour trip at peak times – and a lot of money for what, for me, can be as quick as 35 minutes on a Sunday night.  Until I have given it a go, I won’t be able to compare it properly.

If you are still after a fixed price ride to the airport, try the Kabbee app which will give you quotes from a number of local firms and let you book online.  There are no sign up codes for Kabbee at the moment, unfortunately.

80% bonus when you buy Hilton HHonors points

Hilton is running an eight day ‘flash sale’ when you buy Hilton HHonors points.

The Hilton ‘buy points’ page is here.

This offer was originally launched two weeks ago as targetted promotion.  Everyone can now take part.

As I wrote two weeks ago, regular readers of Head for Points will know that I tend to value Hilton points at 0.3p each.  You are paying 0.39p ($800 for 144,000) here so the maths does not look good.

Five star Hilton, Conrad and Waldorf-Astoria hotels typically run to 80,000 points per night.  In this sale you would be paying $444 for 80,000 points which is often more than you would be paying for a five star in a major city.  This is not a bargain.

However, Hilton HHonors IS a decent deal at cheaper point levels.   The Hampton by Hilton in Sheffield, for example, is 10,000 points per night.  At 0.39p per point you would be paying roughly £39 per night if you bought the points.  That is a 61% discount on the typical nightly rate of £100.  Hampton properties include free breakfast as well.

On the other hand, the Hilton Sheffield is 30,000 points per night.  You would be paying around £117 for those points which, whilst a bit less than the typical £125 cash cost, is not a fantastic deal – especially as you would earn points and miles back on the cash rate.

If you just buying a handful of points to top off your account, the price per point doesn’t matter anyway.  If you a few thousand short of a redemption then this is a decent opportunity to buy them.

How to earn Hilton Honors points and status from UK credit cards

How to earn Hilton Honors points and status from UK credit cards (April 2024)

There are various ways of earning Hilton Honors points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses.

Do you know that holders of The Platinum Card from American Express receive FREE Hilton Honors Gold status for as long as they hold the card?  It also comes with Marriott Bonvoy Gold, Radisson Rewards Premium and MeliaRewards Gold status.  We reviewed American Express Platinum in detail here and you can apply here.

The Platinum Card from American Express

40,000 bonus points and a huge range of valuable benefits – for a fee Read our full review

Did you know that the Virgin Atlantic credit cards are a great way of earning Hilton Honors points? Two Virgin Points can be converted into three Hilton Honors points. The Virgin Atlantic cards are the only Visa or Mastercard products in the UK which can indirectly earn Hilton Honors points. You can apply here.

You can also earn Hilton Honors points indirectly with:

and for small business owners:

The conversion rate from American Express to Hilton points is 1:2.

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which can be used to earn Hilton Honors points. 

(Want to earn more hotel points?  Click here to see our complete list of promotions from the major hotel chains or use the ‘Hotel Offers’ link in the menu bar at the top of the page.)

Category

Hilton Honors

Comments (56)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • Ed says:
    2 Feb2 February 11:37

    Rob – I got caught up on the Uber change from LHR yesterday morning.

    For a pickup from LHR T3 to SW10, a fixed price trip in 2015 cost £36 (including the driver’s parking fees, for a trip of approx 30 mins in duration leaving at 7:40am) and for yesterday’s trip (same pickup and destination), this came in at £34.50 (again including the driver’s parking fees, but was for a trip of approx 1 hr in duration due to traffic from LHR and leaving at 8:00am).

    • Ed says:
      2 Feb2 February 11:39

      I should add that I was really quite surprised at the bill… especially given I was stuck in traffic for an hour coming in from Heathrow!

  • xcalx says:
    2 Feb2 February 12:48

    I used Uber last Tuesday (Raffles £15 code) for a trip home from LBA Cost £25 including the £3 drop off fee, so £10 . Can’t beat the £1 sims and having plenty of CCs. Last time I used the airport based taxi service over 5 years ago the cost was £32 ish.

    • Nick says:
      2 Feb2 February 12:56

      Uber have definitely starting picking up related accounts. Opened a new one last weekend and about an hour later got an email stating “this account is not eligible for referrals/ credits ” etc

      • Andy says:
        2 Feb2 February 20:26

        We found that. I signed my wife up again using her former surname (which is part of her double barreled married name) and they picked it up.

      • xcalx says:
        3 Feb3 February 08:09

        Yes I have had a similar message from uber a while ago. I don’t refer now just use other referral codes and have had no problem. I also sign up from a mobile not connected to wifi.

  • YL says:
    2 Feb2 February 13:12

    Rob, if you have signed up Kabee yourself, you should be able to find the ‘share code’ on your account to share. That would give the new signning £10 off their first account booking and a bit of return to yoursef.
    If I remember correctly, the Kabee credit has a much longer expiring date.

  • Jules Lyndon says:
    2 Feb2 February 13:15

    We used Uber to get home from Heathrow last week on Monday at around 9:30pm to E14, the southern end of the Isle of dogs at a cost of only 36 pounds for over an hour’s journey. The cheapest fixed price minicab charges 55 from Heathrow and 42 going to Heathrow. That was quite a substantial saving and the driver picked us up outside arrivals within a couple of mimutes of requesting.

  • Mr Cinnamon says:
    2 Feb2 February 15:32

    Have used Uber LHR to Fitzrovia and back and always found it excellent. Prompt, efficient, polite helpful drivers and decent price.

    Only used once in USA- again no problems and will use it by default whenever possible.

  • Chelseafi says:
    2 Feb2 February 16:59

    So Ive not used uber but will have a journey from Heathrow T5 to Uxbridge this summer, should I create an account with code, can you pre book the pickup giving flight info?

  • Andy says:
    2 Feb2 February 20:28

    We are getting pretty pissed with Uber in Nottingham They are almost always surge charging (anywhere between 1.5-3 percent) which makes them double the cost of getting a local cab.

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

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