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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 (April 2024)

There are various ways of earning Hilton Honors points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses.

Do you know that 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

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

Did you know that the Virgin Atlantic credit cards are a great way of earning Hilton Honors points? Two Virgin Points can be converted into three Hilton Honors points. The Virgin Atlantic cards are the only Visa or Mastercard products in the UK which can indirectly earn Hilton Honors points. You can apply here.

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.)

Category

Hilton Honors

Comments (38)

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

  • Ro says:
    30 Jun30 June 06:29

    Slight OT

    LHR T4 priority pass.
    I emailed plaza premium regarding reopening date and below is the response received.

    Greetings from Plaza Premium Group!

    We regret to inform you that Plaza Premium Lounge London Terminal 4 is currently closed until further notice. Lounge management will continue to review the situation and hopefully, very soon we will be back to regular operational timings to enhance guests’ airport experience and make travel better.

    We would like to suggest you to check on our webpage: https://www.plazapremiumlounge.com/en-uk/landing-pages/we-care-for-your-wellbeing for the latest operating hours.

    Thank you.

    So not sure if this lounge will open by the peak summer travel date.

  • Andrew J says:
    30 Jun30 June 06:41

    I thought Priority Pass holders were always turned away from lounges these days anyway?

    • Mike says:
      30 Jun30 June 06:48

      They certainly are at MAN T1 and T3, tried four times in 6 months at different times of the day, all unsuccessful.

    • Ken says:
      30 Jun30 June 06:49

      Perhaps this would be a big improvement.

      Surely more difficult to suddenly say “sorry we are full” after swiping your credit card.

      • Thegasman says:
        30 Jun30 June 07:08

        It won’t make a difference. The credit card will function the same as a Priority Pass card & the lounge would therefore get the standard PP rate (regardless of whether the cardholder was then billed or not)

        • Ken says:
          30 Jun30 June 07:13

          I understand that, but do lounges turn away people turning up looking to pay full rate ?

          If so they wouldn’t get to the swipe the credit card stage.

          Or is it just priority passes they turn away ?

        • Track says:
          30 Jun30 June 09:15

          It’s going to be credit card charge. The lounges might not get functionality to chose and to not let you in after the swipe, they are going to issue a refund.

          And if they start issuing hundreds of cancelled charges/refunds per day..

    • Rui N. says:
      30 Jun30 June 08:38

      You thought wrong. That might be so in the UK, but there are 1 or 2 lounges in other countries that accept people.

      • EOC says:
        30 Jun30 June 15:42

        I find there are lots that take PP overseas. Tenerife last week no trouble. A good lounge as it happened , with hot food which was a bonus given EZY complete failure to run any food at all.

    • Frances Morris says:
      30 Jun30 June 09:30

      was refused access at Edinburgh last week. Only leting in Business class customers. It’s not a benefit I value any more.

      • Rob says:
        30 Jun30 June 09:32

        The 2nd Aspire lounge has now reopened AND Plaza Premium opens in a couple of weeks, so that should ease off.

        • Alan says:
          1 Jul1 July 11:43

          Glad to hear PP is opening, was such a waste that nice lounge sitting empty when the Aspire next door was at capacity.

    • Alan says:
      1 Jul1 July 11:41

      They certainly were at LGW on Wed evening (not exactly a peak travel time). Thankfully had Amex Plat with me so got into Plaza Premium without an issue.

  • Barnaby100 says:
    30 Jun30 June 07:05

    As both priority pass and dragon are pretty much useless at the moment any benefit is rather moot. No entry for either at every airport I have been too this year except PMI.

  • Alex says:
    30 Jun30 June 07:13

    HSBC premier lounge key already works this way.

  • JohnTh says:
    30 Jun30 June 08:00

    Drat – they went fast and seem to have been released earlier than last year. Was so hoping to go again. Just the “bid to play and watch” left.

    • JohnTh says:
      30 Jun30 June 08:00

      For Wentworth..

      • JohnTh says:
        30 Jun30 June 11:17

        There were still 2 packages left for Saturday Wentworth (80k) – so bagged one of those! Just one left now…

  • FFoxSake says:
    30 Jun30 June 08:12

    McLaren – we did this last October for 100K points and loved it. Wasn’t a buffet, was fine dining in the Senna room. As well as the Boulevard of historic F1 and road cars you get to see the current assembly lines (from a fixed vantage point). I would still rate it as good value for 130K points.
    These were the timings we had:
    11:00 – Arrival & Refreshments
    Welcome & Introductions from our hosts
    Group Photo & Tour Commences
    Lunch is served in an exclusive dining room
    Lunch finishes
    15:30 – Guest Departure

    • Benilyn says:
      30 Jun30 June 09:32

      I did the Marriott Mercedes F1 tour + viewing of the match, enjoyed it so really wanted to go to McLaren but it’s too expensive for me unfortunately.

  • rams says:
    30 Jun30 June 08:19

    I did Mclaren for I think 50k and it allowed 3 guests. Buffet rather than fine dining though. Was a great experience

  • Brian78 says:
    30 Jun30 June 08:24

    You’re better off buying a double/twin hotel room overlooking the pitch for £650ish than using £900 of points for a hospitality package for Old Trafford

    • The Savage Squirrel says:
      30 Jun30 June 13:07

      It’s basically the cash cost of the package converted into points as they generally go for around £450ish a head for cash.
      I’ve been to a few cricket hospitality things (that I didn’t pay for) and would describe exactly none of them as even remotely “worth it” for the cash price. To be fair The Point’s viewing angle is a lot better than most, even if Old Trafford is in unintended competition to win “cricket’s ugliest ground”.

      • Entitled says:
        30 Jun30 June 15:03

        Which ground is OT competing with? They might be disappointed to hear they have competition.

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