Bits: Virgin East Coast sale, 30% Hyatt ‘buy points’ bonus, Hilton’s new price guarantee

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

• J says:

  24 Feb24 February 07:08

  How easy is it to reclaim the cheaper stay with Hilton? Surely they vary some small t&c to avoid paying out to differentiate their bookings?

  Also – unrelated question. Do you know when the ba gold galleries first short cut is opening at T5? Seems to have gone quiet.

  • Danksy says:

    24 Feb24 February 07:23

    Interesting move by hilton. I’m surprised they are bothering since the value derived from breakfast for golds always offsets any price difference in my experience.

    • xcalx says:

      24 Feb24 February 08:27

      This will be aimed at the masses with no or low Hilton status. I know readers of this blog will find it hard to believe “these people exist”

  • Rob says:

    24 Feb24 February 08:26

    You’re right, very quiet!

• KBuffet says:

  24 Feb24 February 08:17

  OT -but has anyone had their Shangri-La Jade status come through yet?
  I’m currently staying at Shangri-La but my status upgrade hasn’t come through yet and I’m keen to get the double points

  • Genghis says:

    24 Feb24 February 08:58

    Not yet – applied a couple of weeks ago.

• chris says:

  24 Feb24 February 10:19

  Perhaps I’m missing it but what is Hilton’s new lowest rate guarantee? Okay they’re claiming they’ll be cheapest (technically they’ve always claimed that) so what if they aren’t? What if you find a lower rate elsewhere, I can only find the old BRG t&c’s

  • Joe Yates says:

    24 Feb24 February 21:03

    I Used Hiltons BPG last summer.

    Haven’t been able to compute if the price difference is correct or not.
    I was going Hilton website vs Hotels.com UK, they took it vs Hotels.com US.
    Then sent me a cheque for $200 US, which the bank charged me to cash.

    Sure I came out slightly better off vs Hotels.com, but only because of my then Gold now Diamond status.

    • TimS says:

      24 Feb24 February 21:45

      I used Hilton’s BRG in November (matching Hilton website to Venere.com for a King room).

      Hilton not only matched the cheaper Venere price, but (mistakenly?) matched the QUEEN room price on Venere, while still keeping my booking as a King room & giving me a further $50 credit against my booking. (As this was a US room booking, that saved me more than $50 as the reduced room rate also saved me the associated tax.)

      By Hilton matching the Venere rate through their official platform, I also retained my Diamond benefits so I was better off than going through Venere anyway.

      Therefore the Hilton do sometimes honour their BRG and may even better it!
      As I completed the stay in MYC last week, I can confirm that they honoured the King room, at better than Venere’s Queen room rate & I got the Diamond benefits too.

• Rob says:

  24 Feb24 February 10:35

  West Coast only?

  • Genghis says:

    24 Feb24 February 11:52

    West Coast only

• Tom H says:

  24 Feb24 February 10:55

  Hi Liz what is your experience with getting Hilton diamond benefits on a hotels.com booking?

  I recently got diamond through the status match offer but have only used it on direct bookings

  • Liz says:

    24 Feb24 February 11:25

    I haven’t tested it yet. I also got diamond in the recent status match. This will be my first stay at Hilton albeit not a direct booking. We booked into the Conrad for our 3rd night using my husbands free night certificate. He is only silver at this stage but I told the lady I was diamond – she has booked us into a superior room, put my name down as the lead guest and put a note on the file that I am VIP Diamond – looking forward to our wee mini break in the big city!

    • DW201 says:

      24 Feb24 February 11:45

      I am “real” diamond (not like you freeloaders :)). I constantly book via 3rd party sites (once Ive hit my status for the year) like hotels.com/ebookers/lastminute etc and have NEVER been refused my benefits.

      I dont travel to the states much though where I understand they are stricter…

      • Rob says:

        24 Feb24 February 12:03

        Hilton changed its terms last year. Historically they were very good, now the hotels can refuse you everything and get away with it. Down to the property now.

        • DW201 says:

          24 Feb24 February 12:34

          Didn’t know that (thanks to the massively higher number of diamonds now no doubt) but Ive already had numerous 3rd party stays this year and status has always been honoured.

      • Johnnycl says:

        24 Feb24 February 23:02

        I booked via Rocketmiles for the first time ever the other week (never ever gone via 3rd party before) and had my best room upgrade and Diamond free breakfast still honoured.

        Frankly it makes me wonder why I bother to book direct at all.

        • Johnnycl says:

          24 Feb24 February 23:04

          And to add I’m a genuine Diamond through paid stays in 2015!

• JK says:

  24 Feb24 February 11:43

  A week at the Park Hyatt Mallorca in August coming out at €13,100 for the cheapest room for 2 adults & 2 young children. It looks like the room only has the king bed, so all 4 sharing. Full prepayment, non-refundable, no changes – but at least it includes breakfast. No thanks!

  • Rob says:

    24 Feb24 February 12:04

    I agree, madness. Cash and Points will be an amazing deal here when available.

    • pauldb says:

      24 Feb24 February 13:01

      Have you spotted it’s category 5. 🙂

      • Waribai says:

        24 Feb24 February 13:41

        Yes, I think they are trying to go one up on the Jumeriah. It will be interesting to see what occupancy rates are like!

    • Joe Yates says:

      24 Feb24 February 21:13

      Whats the deal with points + money.

      Sometimes it comes up, sometimes not.

      Manchester Piccadilly has a Junior suite that always comes through as a DIA STANDARD RM RWD 30,000 points, normally gets upgraded to a KING CITY SUITE and once a KING MASTER DUPLEX SUITE

      When its points + money its 12,000 + £32 i think

      But the QUEEN EXECUTIVE CITY VIEW is somehow a PREMIUM ROOM REWARD at about 90,000.

      Sometimes they dont make sense

      • Rob says:

        24 Feb24 February 21:43

        That Junior Suite may be a mistake by the hotel. The Exec City Room is a typical Premium Reward whereby Hilton basically buys the room for you, for cash, at a rate of roughly 0.2p per point.

      • Frugal aberdonian says:

        25 Feb25 February 05:15

        I have just booked that hotel and room for April for two adults and one child and managed the 30k and 12k plus £32, As this room can accommodate three people with a sofa bed !! Normally, when you add a third person into the booking the points required are double if not three or four times as much as a standard room.

  • C77 says:

    25 Feb25 February 01:00

    The PH Mallorca doesn’t open until April so unlikely to be accurate rates loaded at this stage until a full res team are in full force and the inevitable teething issues are sorted out. I notice a number of the tour operators including Amex Vacations are selling it. Seems to be lacking a beach however..

    • Waribai says:

      29 Feb29 February 12:24

      I think they are going for the rural retreat angle. A bit like Hilton Mallorca but slightly grander…

• plastikman says:

  24 Feb24 February 12:39

  is there a link for the virgin trains fares? The web page only appears to allow booking up to mid may.

  • plastikman says:

    24 Feb24 February 12:41

    scrap that, found it – need to select edinburgh haymarket

• Matt says:

  24 Feb24 February 15:06

  OT

  I’m stilll new to the hobby and getting to grips with things.

  Just signing up for Iberia Plus, where it asserts:

  “Remember, Avios and Elite Points are only recorded if the name matches the one on the ID chosen”

  Does that mean I have to use all 3 names on my passport, despite the Iberia Form not having a space for a middle name?

  I’m guessing not, but thought I’d check.

  • DW201 says:

    24 Feb24 February 15:48

    I think this is probably Dave vs David rather than David Smith vs David Tom Smith….

  • Rob says:

    24 Feb24 February 17:48

    No, you’re fine.

  • Matt says:

    25 Feb25 February 17:25

    Thanks

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