Bits: Hilton Weekends sale on, good Marriott Moments events launched

News in brief:

Hilton 2017/18 Weekend Sale now on for Hilton Honors members

Hilton has launched a week-long pre-sale event of its major ‘Weekends’ sale for Hilton Honors members.

You can see full details on the Hilton website here.

The main sale kicks off on 14th November and will be accompanied by heavy advertising.  Hilton Honors members – and if you’re not a member, you can join for free at hilton.com – can book the European hotels (not the African or Middle East hotels) now before the PR push.

Here are the headline details:

Valid for participating hotels in the UK and Europe

Discounts are up to 25% off ‘Best Available Rate’ and ‘Best Available Rate With Breakfast’

Bookings are non-changeable and non-refundable (so, let’s be honest, it isn’t a full 25% discount as a non-refundable rate is usually 10% cheaper anyway)

You must book at hilton.com here 

Bookings valid for WEEKEND STAYS at any point between now and the end of 2018

Given that you can book for the whole of next year, you may be able to lock in a deal for any weddings or other events which you know are coming up.

We will take another look at the sale when it opens up and adds the Middle East and Africa properties next week.

The photo below is the new Hilton Tallinn Park which we reviewed here.

PS.  American Express has launched a new Hilton cashback deal, offering £50 back when you spend £250 at selected UK and European hotels.  More on this tomorrow, but if you are booking today then look in the ‘Offers’ section of your online Amex statement first to see if you have it and can opt in.  It is, in theory, only valid on ‘pay on departure’ rates though.

A couple of Marriott Rewards Moments of interest

Marriott Rewards Moments, the ‘special events’ redemption option, has added a couple of London events which might be of interest.

First up is a high value New Years Eve package.  This won’t go cheap but, at 150,000 Marriott Rewards points at the time of writing (it is an auction item) it is arguably decent value.

You’re bidding on a New Year’s Eve champagne reception and five course dinner with paired wines at the Marriott County Hall, a room for two nights with a Big Ben view, in-room breakfast, afternoon tea and a bottle of champagne on arrival.  You will also, of course, have an outstanding view of the New Year’s Eve fireworks display.

The second package is far sillier but has a hidden extra benefit.  For 30,000 Marriott Rewards points – this is a fixed price – you get a private hour-long cookery class for two people at the Marriott County Hall to learn how to make the perfect Christmas Pudding!

The package also comes with a champagne afternoon tea (the champagne is ‘unlimited’) for two people before the lesson.  I would value 30,000 Marriott Rewards points at £150.  Given that the afternoon tea would usually cost £92 including service for two people, it isn’t a bad package overall.

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As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Avios points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses!

In February 2022, Barclaycard launched two exciting new Barclaycard Avios Mastercard cards with a bonus of up to 25,000 Avios. You can apply here.

You qualify for the bonus on these cards even if you have a British Airways American Express card:

There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:

You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points. These points convert at 1:1 into Avios.

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There are also generous bonuses on the two American Express Business cards, with the points converting at 1:1 into Avios. These cards are open to sole traders as well as limited companies.

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.