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Bits: Caffe Nero rewards double dip, bargain redemptions at DoubleTree Kuala Lumpur

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News in brief:

Double dip on Caffe Nero purchases

A new cashback offer has appeared on a lot of American Express accounts.  You may find this on your online statement page by clicking the ‘Offers’ tab.

You will receive 10% cashback on all purchases at Caffe Nero made before 29th March.  Department store concessions are excluded.

As we wrote last month, Caffe Nero is also the highlight of the new ‘earn Avios from in-store shopping’ service launched over at avios.com.   Once you have registered your credit or charge card with Avios, you receive 10 Avios points per £1 spent at Caffe Nero.

If you register the same American Express card which you used to load the cashback deal, this means that you will receive 10% cashback plus 10 Avios per £1 spent at Caffe Nero until 29th March.

Bargain Hilton redemptions at DoubleTree Kuala Lumpur

The DoubleTree in Kuala Lumpur is generally regarded as one of the best Hilton HHonors redemptions available anywhere in the world.   I haven’t stayed there myself and wouldn’t normally mention it for that reason, but a reader dropped me a note on the hotel last week which made me think that I should give it a plug.

The DoubleTree is a Hilton HHonors Category 2 hotel.  This means that it is just 10,000 Hilton points per night.  KL is not very expensive, of course, so you need to look at this in the context of local rates.  Given my valuation of 0.3p per Hilton point, however, it is still great value.

If you don’t have any Hilton points, you’d need to convert 6,667 Virgin Atlantic miles or 5,000 American Express Membership Rewards points per night.

As with all Hilton redemptions, if you have Hilton status – and you get free Silver status with the free Hilton credit card or free Hilton Gold with American Express Platinum – you get five redemption nights for the points of four.  This means you pay just 8,000 Hilton HHonors points per night on a five night stay.

This is what the reader said:

I have just come back from Kuala Lumpur where I believe I have made my best ever redemption on a Hilton property – DoubleTree KL – and would like to share it, because I think it’s a hot tip to anyone who may have a KL trip planned.

It’s a steal at only 10k points per night.  I booked a basic room and got upgraded to a suite.  This was due to my Hilton Diamond status – which by the way I have to thank you for. I saw your status matching post and requested Hilton whether they would give me Diamond for having Concierge at Carlson, and they did.

The hotel has an executive lounge, accessible to Diamond status holders.  It’s on the 34th floor with amazing views over the city, breakfast is served and there is also a happy hour (free food and drinks) which runs from 5:30-7:30pm each day of the week.

Because we stayed a whole week, it ended up costing me only 8,700 points per night.At this rate, I find it impossible for anyone to go wrong with this hotel. It’s a world apart from any other Hilton property we stayed before.

The hotel home page is here if you want to find out more.  You can see a full list of all Hilton Category 2 (10,000 point per night) hotels here.

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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.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 30th April 2025, the annual fee on the basic Hilton Honors debit card is halved from £60 to £30. The sign-up bonus is also easier to earn – you need to spend £1,000 either in the UK or abroad within three months. The usual bonus rule requires you to spend the full £1,000 outside the UK.

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.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to a huge 80,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (80,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

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:

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on the ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 30,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (30,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

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.

Category

Hilton Honors

Comments (86)

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

  • Matt says:
    9 Jan9 January 04:11

    Note the pool is useless for anyone looking to sunbathe. We ended up booking a second hotel close by to be able to do so. Worth noting if that’s your thing.

    • JoshBosh says:
      9 Jan9 January 04:34

      There is the area between the hotel and residential block which seemed to keep the sun later in the day.

      Visited myself, basic room upgraded to an Exec room as Diamond. Room was nothing to write home about, but a lot more modern than the Pullman around the corner. Happy hour was very welcome, what with the alcohol prices in KL (i know it is not THAT expensive, but when you think relative to the neighbours), and the food was quite nice. Only issue i had was that the ice bucket was never replenished, so resorted (with others) to taking the ice from the beer bucket, lets me implore everyone else never to try that……

  • James67 says:
    9 Jan9 January 05:31

    To add to this the hotel runs a usefull free shuttle bus to various points in the city which can be used to go out and return via taxi or the adjacent metro. There is a small mall in the hotel with various restaurants, a food court, an excellent food store, pharmacies etc. You can walk directly from the building into a small older Asian style mall which leads to the metro. Around here are the usual fast food chains. Anybody tempted by a holiday here needs to exercise caution on time of year as smoke from Indonesia can be horrendous. The hotel breakfast selection is huge but suffers from the usual buffet problems, best to use the cook to order counters in my view.

  • Tom says:
    9 Jan9 January 06:05

    5% back at Nero on my BAPP, 10% on Amex Plat

    • TGLoyalty says:
      9 Jan9 January 07:45

      Both on my Platinum

      • Trev says:
        9 Jan9 January 09:59

        Nothing on mine this time, although I had 2 last month (5% on £5+ and 8% on all spend)

        • Mark says:
          9 Jan9 January 11:31

          In case you’re missing it, the details of the 10% offer are:
          offerId=4198B9E8BAAC0FFDDFA5FD1FEF5C3083
          offerSourceId=324B05F7120CC500D5EC9B4E7B1A30F3
          offerFullfillType=COUPONLESS

          😉

  • ee says:
    9 Jan9 January 06:43

    Very timely – we are staying in this property next week! I missed a couple of tricks with this trip though:

    When I booked (pre Brexit) the refundable rate was slightly cheaper than non refundable but I wanted to lock in the FX rate so I went with the non refundable. Then they took 2 months to process the payment which was after Brexit! And then I cottoned on to the value a points redemption would have been!

    Secondly I have just become aware that Qatar is now offering QR ticket holders free 96 hour visas if you register 7-30 days in advance on their website. This avoids the usual QAR100 (?) fee for a visa on arrival and is useful if you have a long transit and want to see a bit of Doha! I realised this new free visa existed 1 day too late!

    • James67 says:
      9 Jan9 January 07:11

      In a 100% buy HHonors points promo you can effectively get the hotel for about $40/night. If you have currency issues like that again you can just call or email hotel and ask them to process payment immediately. If connections are over 8h in DOH you would get the complimentary layover deal but since most are in middle of the night it’seems not very useful for visiting.

      • ee says:
        9 Jan9 January 07:17

        Don’t rub it in 🙂 think we ended up paying just shy of £80/night… You live and learn!

        Think the layover deal is only if no quicker connection available? We built a ‘day time’ 14 hours into this trip specifically to see a bit of Doha! They do offer 3 hour escorted trips but think that’s only for up to 12 hour connections!

        • James67 says:
          9 Jan9 January 07:35

          Sorry, did not mean to do that, just pointing out buy option too in event you overlooked that. On the bright side you will earn some decent points. Some we win some we lose; a week after I applied for amex nectar with 20k points I got the email with 40k offer.. I’m sure we all know how you feel from time to time ourselves.

  • ee says:
    9 Jan9 January 06:45

    And a question for those that have stayed!

    Can diamond guests use the main breakfast rather than lounge?

    • James67 says:
      9 Jan9 January 07:12

      Yes, you get full buffet.

    • Kevin Lee says:
      9 Jan9 January 07:33

      I was told ‘no’ as I booked a HHonors redemption. I see that others who have booked a paid stay received the full breakfast buffet.

      • James67 says:
        9 Jan9 January 07:46

        Were you told that at hotel, did they tell you to take breakfast in the lounge? I’ve stayed thre twice on points in the last three years and got full buffett both times as diamond. I also got a room upgrade both times but not to a suite as others have reported. My most recent stay was September.

      • Mr Dee says:
        9 Jan9 January 17:06

        It shouldn’t matter if its a redemption or not at any Hilton and I would ask them to confirm with someone else.

  • Genghis says:
    9 Jan9 January 06:56

    Look forward to staying at Easter. I think it was Anon that highlighted it a while back as I cancelled the aloft at sentral (3,500 SPGs) to book this DT.

    • James67 says:
      9 Jan9 January 07:14

      Short memory haha

      • Genghis says:
        9 Jan9 January 08:09

        Sorry James! My wife complains all the time. Thanks for your tip!

        • James67 says:
          9 Jan9 January 08:21

          Not an issue Genghis, hope you enjoy your stay, sounds like a good Easter vacation coming up.

    • rams1981 says:
      9 Jan9 January 09:44

      where else you going other than KL? ill be there as well lol, arrive good Friday. We are planning to go to Vietnam and Cambodia as well.

      with Buenos Airies as well, are you copying my holidays? 🙂

      • Genghis says:
        9 Jan9 January 12:48

        🙂 Land in SIN Thu before Easter, head to Bali after a few days and then head to KL on 1 May. Really looking forward to it. My wife is a bit disillusioned with holidays at the moment after our China trip in Sep.

        No longer thinking Argentina for Q1 18. Mrs G (the boss) will be deciding between Chile, Mexico or South Africa very shortly.

        Vietnam is fantastic! We went in 2015 for 3 weeks and loved it. Go to any shack and get top food. If you let me know what kind of things you want to do, happy to give some advice.

        • Kirill says:
          24 Jan24 January 14:08

          We just came back from Vietnam (really recommend visiting Con Dao).

          Also booked Bali for Easter, going to travel around a little bit and 7 day stay at Courtyard in Seminiyak as well. Funnily enough, the economy Malaysia Airlines flights were just as much as taxes in economy. Also hat off to Rob for the Expedia trick!

          Just booked the DT for the last night before our flight from KL, thanks for the tip Rob.

          Just out of curiosity, how much should the KUL-DPS flights cost with AirAsia? Wondering if it is worthwhile to wait for a sale of theirs, perhaps for Lunar New Year.

    • Anon says:
      9 Jan9 January 21:51

      Not me on that one.. I see James67 is the KL expert. 🙂

      Ironically I may consider a stopover in KL for a future trip on the way back from Perth..

  • Johnnycl says:
    9 Jan9 January 07:06

    OT – loads of new Amex offers this morning….
    Mayfair Pizza £25 off £50
    Blackwell £10 off £40
    Amex Travel Insurance 23% off
    Gordon Ramsay £20 off £100
    Toms Kitchen £10 off £50
    Chemist direct £5 off £50
    Amex gage insurance £10 back
    Real Greek £10 off £50
    Pets at home £10 off £50
    The week £20 off £30
    Home wine tasting (!) £70 off £99
    Onefinestay £100 off £300

    • Charlie says:
      9 Jan9 January 07:21

      Thank you. Made me check my account.

      Oddly, but brilliantly I have 5% back when spending £5+ AND 10% every time on Nero on my Nectar Amex. Coupled with above that all sounds very good!

    • Wally1976 says:
      9 Jan9 January 08:54

      I also got the Holiday Extras 15% off (on BA cards but not PRG) that I’ve been waiting for -)

    • Genghis says:
      9 Jan9 January 09:42

      Mayfair Pizza sells “Krug-Brut NV” for £140. Anyone know if this is the Grand Cuvee?

  • Kevin Lee says:
    9 Jan9 January 07:30

    I just returned from a trip to Kuala Lumpur and stayed at both Hilton properties. I fully endorse the DoubleTree KL. We stayed 5 nights so 8000 HHonors per night. We had two standard rooms booked and received upgrades to a suite and an executive room. The only noticeable difference from a ‘standard’ to ‘executive’ room is the higher floor and Aroma Actives toiletries. The hotel’s policy is to upgrade two rooms per booking for HHonors Diamond and one room per booking for HHonors Gold.

    The other Hilton property in the Malaysian capital is the Hilton Kuala Lumpur at KLSentral, which costs 40,000 HHonors points a night. This can be more than a redemption for a ‘Premium Room’ rewards which is based on the cash price! Location wise it is spectacular and exceptionally convenient for the KLIA Ekspres (KL’s answer to the Heathrow Express). My HHonors Diamond status only got me a ‘Hilton Plus’ room on the Executive floor. There is a full service Executive Lounge with b’fast, afternoon tea and Evening reception. The evening reception had sparkling wine and spirits (loved the Chivas Regal). This property also offers the full Breakfast Buffet (not just limited spread in the Executive Lounge) to HHonor status members. As is the norm in Asia, the breakfast buffet is enormous.

    • Crafty says:
      9 Jan9 January 07:42

      Kevin – we are staying at the Hilton KL Sentral in a couple of weeks’ time. Any tips you could pass on to make the most of our stay? We are a couple with a 6 months old daughter, if anything particular springs to mind.

      Is breakfast worthwhile compared with local options?

      • Jon says:
        9 Jan9 January 09:37

        The north side (overlooking the gardens rather than Sentral station) is usually quieter – there quite often tends to be construction noise around the station, even at night, plus the Aloft opposite has a noisy-ish rooftop bar that (believe it or not) you can sometimes hear from inside your (Hilton) room if you’re a light sleeper and on that end of the building (the higher-numbered rooms). If you’re getting free breakfast (e.g. via status) then yes, definitely worthwhile. Otherwise take a GrabCar or Uber round to Jalan Telawi 2 round the corner in Bangsar – plenty of breakfast and coffee options there, from local to western. For getting to KLCC area, the LRT (subway) is in the main Sentral Station, but for Pavilion / Bukit Bintang, walk through Sentral, then through Nu Sentral mall, and onto the Monorail to either Bukit Bintang or Raja Chulan station.

      • Wayne Phillips says:
        9 Jan9 January 09:55

        We stayed with a 6 month old back in 2014, and doing the same in March with a now 2 year old and a new 4 month old. We’re kiwis living in London and via KL is now our preferred route back and forth.

        Rooms are large and good for kids. The pool is amazing. I think this time around we’ll just laze beside it. We intend to check out the butterfly park in the botanical gardens.

        Last time we were there we were out and about quite a bit. The monorail gets jammed at times, it’s only 2/3 carriages so I don’t think. Especially with a buggy during rush hour I wouldn’t recommend. Walking around town with a buggy is ok in the central area, but lots of high kerbs and smoggy traffic in parts. The hotel isn’t easy to walk anywhere from really, tourist wise The malls are nice to duck into for cooling off.

        There’s a porter service at the airport which I recommend with kids, they’re in the baggage hall and bring everything with you down to the train station then come on the train. They connect there to a cab, but if you’re brave it’s much easier to walk through KL Sentral station to the hotel while they bring your bags instead of going around the block (the hotel is connected directly to the station).

        Heading back to the airport, if you’re travelling on certain airlines you can check in your bags and get boarding passes at Sentral station which is brilliant.

        We walked to a nearby night market for dinner most nights, and might do the same, but the exec lounge has enough for a light meal.

        Have fun, we really enjoy our time there.

    • James67 says:
      9 Jan9 January 07:50

      Did you get buffet breakfast at DT? Wondering if thats changed recently based on earlier comments.

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