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

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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.


How to earn Avios from UK credit cards

How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (April 2024)

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:

Barclaycard Avios Plus card

Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard

Get 25,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £10,000 Read our full review

Barclaycard Avios card

Barclaycard Avios Mastercard

5,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £20,000 Read our full review

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

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

25,000 Avios and the famous annual 2-4-1 voucher Read our full review

British Airways American Express

5,000 Avios for signing up and an Economy 2-4-1 voucher for spending £15,000 Read our full review

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.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express

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

Run your own business?

We recommend Capital on Tap for limited companies. You earn 1 Avios per £1 which is impressive for a Visa card, along with a sign-up bonus worth 10,500 Avios.

Capital on Tap Business Rewards Visa

Huge 30,000 points bonus until 12th May 2024 Read our full review

You should also consider the British Airways Accelerating Business credit card. This is open to sole traders as well as limited companies and has a 30,000 Avios sign-up bonus.

British Airways Accelerating Business American Express

30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review

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.

American Express Business Platinum

40,000 points sign-up bonus and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review

American Express Business Gold

20,000 points sign-up bonus and FREE for a year Read our full review

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

Comments (119)

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

  • Alan says:

    With the Hilton Amex deal does anyone know whether it has to be one booking for £250+? I have a need for 2 or 3 separate nights that I can book but would it qualify for the offer?

  • Richard says:

    BE CAREFUL of the Hilton cahsback promo. You will have to book a flexible, refundable rate not one in the sale price. The terms say that no online payment can be made and your card much be charged at checkout at the hotel. This means it won’t work with the sale prices. I already confirmed this with Amex and subsequently booked with another hotel chain instead.

    • Alan says:

      Ah, thanks Richard. Good to know

    • Rob says:

      Thanks, will edit.

    • Johnny_c-l says:

      They had the same terms on the 3,000 MR promo, but in practice it worked on prepaid rates.

    • John says:

      In most UK hotels when you book a prepaid rate someone at the front desk manually charges it at some point between booking and staying, so Amex wouldn’t know.

      In US Hiltons it’s different as Hilton charges you when you book online and I guess it pays the hotels later and in bulk.

    • Jimmy says:

      How can they tell? (if online payment v hotel checkout)

      • Rob says:

        In the UK, they can’t as far as I see. My Hilton Brighton stay last night was processed by the hotel, looking at my statement, and not by Hilton centrally.

    • David says:

      Hi Richard, that’s not my experience from both the last £50 statement credit and the 3,000 MR points offers. On both occasions cumulative spend in advance triggered the reward.

  • Will says:

    Sat in the T3 Cathay lounge now on a tier point run to Tallinn.
    Will be staying at the Hilton for 3 nights, thought I’d mention it on the off chance another HfP reader finds themselves there.

  • JacobG says:

    OT for the connoisseurs out there. 4-day trip to NY for second time. Have done all the touristic stuff last time so what do you suggest doing these 4 days – actually 3 as one day will be spent to Woodburry Outlet 🙂

    Any day trips or areas that are worth visiting?

    • Clive says:

      Have you considered Staten Island? Not sure what will be open this time of year but could make a nice change

    • TripRep says:

      Coney Island for tacky fun & drive along Long Island to tge Hamptons for afternoon tea and a walk on a beach (pick a sunny day)…

      • Alan says:

        Agree re Hamptons, we went on the train. Some very impressive houses in that neck of the woods!

    • Andrew (@andrewseftel) says:

      You surely haven’t seen all the art that NY has to offer if you’ve only been once. Assume you might have been to Met/MOMA/Guggenheim, but how about Frick or Whitney? Cooper-Hewitt is interesting too.

    • Alan says:

      Did that include the High Line? Well worth a walk if not. Roosevelt Island Tramway also fun for something a little different.

  • RTS says:

    Hilton’s “sale” cracks me up… the exact same room last weekend for the same dates costs £70 more… lol

  • chris says:

    Flying out to NYC next wednesday (using plenty of points and miles gained from the helpful info on this site (thanks Rob!))

    I’ve got 2 night at the Conrad on points, another 2 cash nights is planned further up Manhatten (but not Times Square).

    I made a flexible booking for Friday to sunday at the Hilton Garden in on 35th. The weekend sale means i can save ~$150 on this rate.

    Can anyone recommend any nearby hilton (Gold status, just 2 adults). Looking at the Renwick but within the good reviews there a few bad ones about noise and cleanliness.

    Any other ideas? looking at $200-$220 per night

    Thanks

    • Andrew (@andrewseftel) says:

      Going in the wrong direction, but have you looked at the Millennium Hilton? Fulton St is next door and great for getting uptown or over to Brooklyn. Great views if you get a north-facing room on a high floor.

    • Tracy says:

      I stayed at the Renwick in September this year and really didn’t rate it. It smelled like smoke, wasn’t very clean, small cramped layout and gold/diamond breakfast was a separate poor relatives option lol. Location was pretty good though….

  • Gavin says:

    Off topic – any recommendations for a hotel in Cambridge? Got an invite for a wedding at Trinity College. The Hilton appears to be £200! Think it will be a bit too late in the year to use my Hilton voucher.

    • simon says:

      Hotel Du Vin have some good deals on at the moment I believe.

    • Jon says:

      Depending on your dates:
      The University Arms should reopen after its refurb early next year
      There’s the Hilton you’ve mentioned,
      The Doubletree Hilton by the river,
      The Varsity is nice albeit I’ve only had afternoon tea,
      A short way out of the centre there’s Hotel Felix.

      • Gavin says:

        thanks all!

      • Genghis says:

        My wife (then girlfriend) and I stayed at the Varsity quite a few years ago and thought it was great (albeit a bit pricy, but it was Valentines Day weekend).

      • Leo says:

        Varsity is ok but massively overpriced I certainly wouldn’t go back. Breakfast also expensive. Possibly coloured somewhat as had a bit of a parking disaster. Very hard dropping the car off in the narrow street. If the Hilton (wasn’t this a Crowne Plaza once upon a time?) is £200 the Varsity could easily be double that. I’d try the Doubletree. Nice location.

    • Yan says:

      Most hotels in Cambridge, especially the Hilton and Doubletree are massively overpriced.
      Premier Inn and iBIS are both new and offer good value. It would be a short taxi ride (£7) from Trinity to either.

  • Doogie says:

    OT Bits: Update on Marriot More – Amazon activity on the first day definitely updated my last qualifying activity date. Unfortunate that they dropped Amazon so quickly, hopefully it will come back again!

    • Alan says:

      Beware they’re also useless at replying to emails – still trying to chase my 1k first purchase bonus…

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