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Hilton Honors launches cricket, golf and McLaren redemption events

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Hilton Honors has launched some new sporting redemptions if you are looking for ways to spend your Hilton Honors points.

It is worth saying upfront that two of these are not bargains.

They will sell out, so arguably Hilton is pricing them correctly from the point of view of classical economic theory. I’m just not sure if it isn’t against the spirit of these redemptions to put a price tag on them which excludes the majority of members.

BMW PGA Golf Championship, Virginia Water, 10th September

This deal IS a bargain, I think. For 80,000 Hilton Honors points – which we’d value at around £265 – you can enjoy VIP hospitality on the 18th green, including food and drink all day from breakfast onwards, for the BMW PGA Golf Championship. The package is for TWO people.

There were originally packages for every day but during yesterday most were snapped up. At 10pm last night, only Saturday 10th September remained.

England vs South Africa cricket, Manchester, 22nd July

For 280,000 Hilton Honors points – which we’d value at around £900, so not cheap – you can redeem for two VIP hospitality packages for the 2nd one day England vs South Africa cricket international at Old Trafford.

The package includes reserved seating in stand E or the balcony viewing area, Q&A with a cricket legend, official commentary radios, official programs and complimentary food & beverage offerings throughout the day including breakfast, lunch and afternoon tea.

Alternatively, Hilton is auctioning off a balcony room at the Hilton Garden Inn Old Trafford which overlooks the pitch! You get to sleep in the room after the match, with breakfast included the following day.

McLaren Technology Centre visit, Woking, 28th July

Hilton Honors has arranged another tour of the McLaren F1 factory at the Norman Foster-designed McLaren Technology Centre in Woking.

The date is 28th July.  The cost is 130,000 Hilton Honors points for two people and includes a buffet.  There were five packages left at 10pm last night.

No time is given, annoyingly. The main ticket holder must be 18+ and the guest must be 16+

The factory is not normally open to the public so this is a rare opportunity to take a look inside.

These packages were originally 50,000 points when Hilton started doing these tours about eight years ago, then 75,000 points and then 100,000.  Given my 0.33p valuation for a Hilton Honors point, you are effectively trading off £430 of free hotel stays by going. For an F1 fan it is definitely worth it, but the value is getting a little strained.

You can redeem these deals via the Hilton Experiences website here.


How to earn Hilton Honors points and status from UK credit cards

How to earn Hilton Honors points and status from UK credit cards (December 2024)

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.

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.

The Platinum Card from American Express

Huge 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:

and for small business owners:

The conversion rate from American Express to Hilton 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

(Want to earn more hotel points?  Click here to see our complete list of promotions from the major hotel chains or use the ‘Hotel Offers’ link in the menu bar at the top of the page.)

Comments (37)

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

  • C says:

    It looks like Amex referral bonus has been cut by half to 12k for platinum. Would the bonus increase back again at some point?

  • Thywillbedone says:

    A question re compensation:

    I recently flew Wizzair back to LTN from Skopje. I received a text prior to leaving for the airport notifying me that the flight was going to leave “2 hours 55 minutes later than scheduled”. Ultimately, the flight landed 3 hours and 7 minutes after scheduled arrival time.

    I submitted a claim for compensation pursuant to Article 7 (which should = c.£350). I have had the following response from the airline:

    “Please accept our sincere apology for the inconvenience caused by the delay in your flight. Upon checking your reservation [XXX} in our system, we confirm that there was a delay in the arrival of your flight W9 7701 SKP-LTN on 01.06.2022 due to an extraordinary circumstance that could not be avoided by our company. We would like to assure you that our priority is our passenger’s safety, and that is why in this type of situation, we are forced to make decisions that are not always easy, but necessary.

    As this incident could not be predicted by our company, regardless of our efforts to avoid it, point (14) and Article 7 of European Regulations 261/2004 exempt the carrier from the obligation to provide compensation in case delay of the flight was caused by an extraordinary circumstance. Therefore, we regret to inform you that no compensation is due.

    However, in accordance with EC Regulation 261/2004, we will reimburse the expenses encountered directly due to the delay, such as meals and refreshments. We can offer up to 80 EUR per person. We kindly ask you to forward all related invoices/receipts in the English language, as an attachment to your reply, so that we can determine a possible compensation.”

    My questions are:

    (1) Can I verify the true reason for this delay? Their response seems suspiciously non-specific – surely all airlines could hide behind similar excuses if they chose?

    (2) I don’t have any expense receipts for food and drink although I did have to book a taxi back to my home due to unavailable public transport. Would this be covered by their offer?

    Thanks!

    • Jonathan says:

      An airline can refuse to pay compensation on things that’ll delay a flight that are only outside their complete control, so weather conditions for instance are classed as an extraordinary circumstance, delays caused by their staff problems aren’t, but airport staff problems are.

      They’ll need to give you a valid reason why it was delayed.

      Also many airlines try to fob their passengers off by claiming ‘extraordinary circumstances’ where they know it the cause of the delay wasn’t, they just hope that people will accept their response, and not bother with pursuing it any further.

    • ADMO says:

      I’ve had the exact same reply from them and have chased them twice without success. Log a complaint with ADR.

      • Nick says:

        To answer your specific question, taxis are not covered under duty of care provisions.

        • ChrisC says:

          Yes they are. Although not specifically mentioned they are surely covered if the airline does not provide free transportation.

          From Article 9

          (1jWhere reference is made to this Article, passengers shall be offered free of charge:

          (1c) transport between the airport and place of accommodation (hotel or other).

          No exclusion there for a taxi.

    • Thywillbedone says:

      Thanks for the replies thus far. Suspected it might be a fob off by the airline and will chase up at least one to them directly but will pursue ADR if I get nowhere.

  • Voldemort says:

    More chance of falling down an escalator at the airport and breaking your leg than getting into an airport lounge in the UK at the moment with PP.

    • Jonathan says:

      Lots of people would be stuffed if BA took the approach to earning tier points in WTP, CE/CW/CS, First like it does in ET/WT, basing how many tier points are earned based on what type of ticket class you’ve brought, so deeply discounted Club would earn minimal TPs compared to fully flex Club bookings

      That’d be when everyone feels the bite of not being allowed into LHR lounges !
      Apart from those who do a lot of travelling, and would never think about the need to do a tier point run

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