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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.

  • Jimmy says:

    Hi, Might anyone have tips for best Hilton property in London? (Fri/Sat night, using reward vouchers, so cost – thankfully – not an issue) Would also consider one night in two differing properties if viable.

    Thanks

    • Simon says:

      conrad st james gets my vote

      • Simon says:

        waldorf (actually a standard hilton not a astoria) I think is a bit meh but has a pool. Park Lane better but no pool if that’s important.

    • Jimmy says:

      Thanks Guys – also one last requirement is a late checkout on the Sunday – if that is more likely at one property over another?

    • Cate says:

      Trafalgar, London Bank appears from the reviews to have a good exec lounge but haven’t tried it myself.

      • Rob says:

        Conrad also has a very good lounge, but you’d need to be Diamond to get free access. As long as the slightly odd location is not a problem, Conrad is very very nice. Bankside is funky, a bit like Bournemouth which I reviewed recently. Trafalgar was having a refurb this year and haven’t been in since.

    • Clive says:

      Stayed at the Conrad and was very impressed. I have added a few pictures to FT and some comments back in September

  • Jimmy says:

    PS I’m HH Gold if that influences decision (e.g. I’d definitely want lounge access)

    • JamesB says:

      Lounge access is only guaranteed for Diamond. If you are trying to get great treatment as gold then best you stay at one of the less popular hotels outside the centre. There are too many Diamonds around at the moment, at least through March 18.

  • GGG says:

    In the Concorde room now. The place looks like BA’s promotional photos. I like it. It all looks very tasteful, perhaps with the exception of the outdoor cabanas (don’t like the sheer curtains and the ceiling lamp). I really can’t complain as the lounge works. The food and wine are very good. It is not the best lounge in the world but I like that it is practical, warm and cozy. No gimmicks. A sense of proportion. British. That’s what I like about BA. Don’t forget the cabanas are essentially mini hotel rooms and some of the world’s best lounges do not have the feature. I agree the bathrooms really need a revamp. But those who describe these bathrooms or the public ones in terminal as “disgusting” must have had a very privileged life. Well done BA.

  • Mark Smith says:

    O/T…apologies if I have missed this but is there any chatter of another HFP Christmas party this year?!

    • Rob says:

      Date will be announced next week. Hoping to confirm a sponsorship deal on Monday.

      • the real harry1 says:

        is it in Truro? 🙂

        • Genghis says:

          Given how tight you are (kids waiting outside the lounge while you fill your boots with booze), I’m sure a few of us would chip in a few quid for your train ticket. Then there’s a hotel I suppose, unless you have a place in the big smoke?

        • the real harry1 says:

          might set up a crowdfunding page – £1000 to stay at home 🙂

  • GGG says:

    Plaza Premium T5 also very good for a paid-for lounge. Nice design and finishes. Might be much busier once it joins Priority Pass. Manager was friendly and escorted me in and showed me around.

  • Alan says:

    Bits OT – Nectar offer until 15/11/17 – 1,000 bonus points for VTEC booking made for travel before early Jan. This is a separate offer to the recent 500 point one and their Twitter team have confirmed another transaction would make you eligible for this, even if you previously made one for the 500 pt offer. With regards the previous offer I note my Nectar account notes I redeemed it, the bonus points haven’t yet posted, but aren’t due for another 33 days or so.

  • Alan says:

    Bits OT – Clubcard – has anyone yet received their November vouchers (incl Christmas savers)? I want to switch my earning prefs back to VS for the autoconvert bonus but haven’t received them yet so wanted to wait for them to arrive first (even though it appears on the website to have ticked over to the new earning period OK).

    • the real harry1 says:

      they were in 10 days ago – check online

      physical vouchers (post) are not important

      already spent £50 of Xmas Savers to get £5 free back MOC (Amazon)

      • Genghis says:

        Yeah. Tesco vouchers arrived last week. I’ve already used a few Xmas savers on Tesco deliveries.

        • Alan says:

          Bugger – thanks both, quite annoying that they haven’t arrived yet. I couldn’t see the Xmas savers online but I see they’re just mixed in amongst all the others without being specifically identified as such – there’s a £212 difference between available total in my account and the balance available for Clubcard Boost so that’ll account for it. Have also got a couple hundred quid in Tesco GCs via Zeek (15% bonus for going that way with Q/co). Need to make sure I get the Christmas bonus spent in time, most of the rest probably get used on fuel in the coming months!

      • Alan says:

        Re MOC – as in they’d given you a conditional spend coupon? Do you get those online? I’ve never seen any coupons online, only in the post.

  • Andy says:

    No Hilton Amex offer on 3 of my cards and no hsbc visa discount 🙁

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

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