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Bits: British Airways cuts Club World baggage allowance, Hilton flash sale launched

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News in brief:

British Airways to cut Club World baggage allowance

British Airways is to reduce the luggage allowance for Club World passengers.  All tickets issued after 10th May will only allow you to check in two suitcases, each weighing up to 32kg.

The current limit is three pieces of luggage.

Any tickets issued before 10th May, irrespective of the travel date, will operate under the old rules.

Gold Executive Club Members will still be entitled to an additional free bag.  A third piece of luggage will now cost £120 if pre-booked online or £140 when purchased at the airport.

Hilton flash sale launched for the USA and Asia

If you are heading eastwards this Spring, Hilton is running a flash sale for the US, Caribbean, Canada, and Latin America.

Bookings must be made by 4am on Thursday (ie midnight Wednesday Central Standard Time).  Pricing details can be found here at hilton.com.

The maximum discount is 25% which is not huge but certainly better than nothing!  If you have existing Hilton reservations in North America for the next two months you may want to recheck them.  You will need to sign up for Hilton HHonors (free) if you are not already a member.

There is also an Asia-Pacific flash sale which I will cover tomorrow as it runs for a few days.  The discount here runs to 40% – full details are here if you want to take a look now.


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 2025)

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

There are two dedicated Hilton Honors debit cards. These are especially attractive when spending abroad due to the 0% or 0.5% FX fee, depending on card.

You also receive FREE Hilton Honors status for as long as you hold the debit cards – Gold status with the Plus card and Silver status with the basic card. This is a great reason to apply even if you rarely use it.

We reviewed the Hilton Honors Plus Debit Card here and the Hilton Honors Debit Card here.

You can apply for either card here.

NEW: Hilton Honors Plus Debit

10,000 bonus points, Hilton Gold status and NO FX fees Read our full review

NEW: Hilton Honors Debit

2,500 bonus points, Hilton Silver status and 0.5% FX fees Read our full review

There is another way of getting Hilton Honors status, and earning Hilton Honors points, from a payment card.

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

80,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large fee Read our full review

You can also earn Hilton Honors points indirectly with:

and for small business owners:

The conversion rate from American Express to Hilton Honors 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.

Comments (84)

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

  • Scallder says:

    Top of the page says matched to end of March ’18 but T&Cs at bottom of the page says to the end of March ’17. I got the last status match to the end of March ’17 so have taken a punt on it being until the end of March ’18, but not too hopeful

    • Alan says:

      Ditto, I’ve just reapplied to see if I can get extended to March 2018. Had a fantastic stay at Hilton Frankfurt City at the weekend – best free breakfast buffet I’ve had outside Asia!

  • xcalx says:

    Only one of the three nights I need in Sydney are at the sale price, so not a good enough price drop to make me change from the Radisson @ US$ 80 per night using the Carlson F&F rate.

  • Danksy says:

    Waiting with eagerness what IHG Q2 promo will be! Wifey and I managed to pick up 100k IHG points for trips we were already going to make!

    • Nick says:

      My achievement bonus points for the Accelerate promo have posted this week as I’ve just checked so I am too.

  • Nick says:

    Status Match sign at the reception desk of the Hilton Bournemouth last week so it looks promising. Unless it wasn’t taken down from the previous promo. I did ask at the reception and wasn’t told it had finished.

  • AmandaB says:

    Need to book 2 nights in Bali in September. Looked at Conrad. Not one single date shows any discount over rack rate. In the whole promotion period. Think might stay at the Fairmont after all

    • Genghis says:

      Make sure you visit Ubud – perhaps my favourite place.

      • harry says:

        Koh Tao? (ignore the murders, that’s just hype)
        Santiago de Compostela?

  • Genghis says:

    Did it ever stop? I used the advice on status match and emailed them mid Feb and was matched.

  • Lochlann says:

    Appreciate the Hilton heads up – had been checking my BOS airport layover booking a few times to see if something cheaper was available, now I’ve got $60 back. Roll on my first Viking trip 🙂

  • Oyster says:

    About time there was more soft product differentiation between J and F.

    Priority boarding, lounges in most outstations, baggage desks, spa showers etc. The list goes on of facilities that F passengers have to share with those further back.

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

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