Visit the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking with Hilton Honors

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

The date is Thursday 12th October.  The cost is 130,000 Hilton Honors points for two people.  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+, but as the trip is during the school term it wouldn’t work for younger children anyway.

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 ten 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.

One upside is that this tour sees the return of the three course dinner. These were a feature of the early tours but were replaced by a more casual lunch in recent years.

Those who went to the events with a dinner were very positive about them – above is a picture from a 2017 tour, taken specificially for us, when virtually everyone there was a HfP reader.

No travel or accommodation is included.

You can redeem via the Hilton Experiences website here – search for UK events. Our full review of Hilton Honors is here.

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How to earn Hilton Honors points and status from UK credit cards (September 2023)

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.

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.

SPECIAL OFFER: The sign-up bonus on the Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Mastercard is doubled to 30,000 Virgin Points (45,000 Hilton Honors points) if you apply by 2nd October. You receive 15,000 Virgin Points with your first purchase and a further 15,000 Virgin Points if you spend £3,000 within 90 days. Apply here.

You can also earn Hilton Honors points indirectly with:

• American Express Gold (20,000 bonus Amex points)
• American Express Rewards Credit Card (10,000 bonus Amex points)

and for small business owners:

• American Express Business Gold (20,000 bonus Amex points)
• American Express Business Platinum (40,000 bonus Amex points)

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.)