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Hilton opens a brand new Embassy Suites hotel in New York

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Hilton opened its newest New York property, Embassy Suites by Hilton New York Midtown Manhattan, this week.

It is so new that the website doesn’t even have room photographs and when I wrote this yesterday it had zero TripAdvisor reviews.

The location is very handy, located between 5th Avenue and 6th Avenue on 37th Street in the Garment District.  It is a brand new 39-storey tower and, as most of the area is low rise, it claims to have excellent views.

The good thing about Embassy Suites is that they are designed for families – although no rooms here take more than three people – on longer stays, although you can book for a night.  Rooms are large by New York standards and most have sofas and microwaves.  Free breakfast is included for everyone.

As a brand new hotel you are guaranteed, if nothing else, to find everything new and shiny.  Rates are as low as $199 next month – and $149 this month – looking at the website.

It caps out at 70,000 Hilton Honors points per night although it is well below that at the moment due to the cheap opening rates on offer.  The hotel website is 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 (101)

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

  • Simon says:
    19 Jan19 January 12:46

    Thanks I like it! much neater than my efforts. Tho I do want to know where you get these 2000 avios earning flights for £200 😉

    • Genghis says:
      19 Jan19 January 12:53

      Made up numbers just for some testing but 2,000 isn’t too unreasonable. A BA Gold would earn c.2000 avios return on the cheapest LHR-MAD economy ticket.

  • Bill says:
    19 Jan19 January 13:35

    Thankyou for the spreadsheet

  • JohnW says:
    19 Jan19 January 13:38

    You’re a top man for sharing/building this model.

    Will make these decisions a lot easier/faster for me. Usually do these calculations on a bit of paper.

    Cheers

  • Q says:
    19 Jan19 January 14:36

    OT: What’s the best way to tell Amex that you’re cancelling your card only to reapply in 6 months for the rewards?

    • Mark Smith says:
      19 Jan19 January 14:44

      Just phone them up and tell them you want to cancel, if I feel compelled to give a reason I normally say my wife has just gotten an Amex (usually because I have referred her and it was 6 months since she last had one!) and I am just going to be a supplementary cardholder on that. I have phoned Amex to check exactly when my 6 months is up if I have forgotten and they have always been very helpful.

      • The Real Mark Smith says:
        20 Jan20 January 00:07

        Spooky… Same name and same approach to card churning. You could almost be me! 🙂

    • Louise says:
      19 Jan19 January 14:53

      On the chat the last few times I’ve cancelled

    • Genghis says:
      19 Jan19 January 14:56

      I always do it on the phone as it’s quicker than chat / writing a letter etc. “I just don’t think I’m going to use the card anymore”.

    • Doug M says:
      19 Jan19 January 16:18

      I always feel guilty, because I’ve always just churned for my points later. Mind you, not so guilty I’ll stop, well until they make me.

    • Steve-B says:
      19 Jan19 January 18:15

      I always just send a letter (just amend one of my previous ones!)…. do you need any other options 🙂

  • Adam says:
    19 Jan19 January 16:12

    Really like the sound of Helsinki to Tokyo but where are you getting that price from? Can’t seem to find it for any dates on Qatar 🙁 Cheapest I can find is around £1,800 Google flights is also misleading as it shows prices for £1,300 on Qatar but when you go to select flights, it reprices to £1,800

    • Rob says:
      19 Jan19 January 17:07

      Someone mentioned a couple of days ago they were struggling with that one (it was wide open when the sale started). Either Qatar has sold the sale seats it allocated or it has been pulled ….

    • Bariummeal says:
      20 Jan20 January 08:30

      I got it for October, fly out Thursday, fly back two weeks later Sunday night with only two hour stop overs – ideal, but that was in the first day of the sale.

  • Lady London says:
    19 Jan19 January 16:13

    Very very nice Genghis. Thank you.

  • Anna says:
    19 Jan19 January 17:18

    OT – I’ve just got an email with a £5 voucher code from Tesco as an apology for their shortcomings over Christmas – and I didn’t even get one of their stinky turkeys!

  • Cate says:
    19 Jan19 January 18:35

    Looks really good Genghis! Usually I just look at an award seat, have I got enough avios – yes/no – and spend them. This will be really useful for keeping tabs on spending.

    Is there any reason one could use this for hotel points to?

    • Cate says:
      19 Jan19 January 22:28

      Can’t remember Hilton but I’d agree the top part lends itself to hotel points.

      Just thinking out loud I think the bottom section could also be useful in determining if it’s more economical to book an SPG property with SPG points or a Mariott property on Marriott points.

      But it’s great as it is – very useful tool.

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

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