Maximise your Avios, air miles and hotel points

Another UK Hilton hotel adds a pool charge

Links on Head for Points may support the site by paying a commission.  See here for all partner links.

As we’ve covered in other articles recently, there seems to be a co-ordinated move by many Hilton hotels in the UK to add charges for their swimming pools.

We recently called out Hilton Nottingham which added a fee from 1st February. Hilton Glasgow is amongst others to have jumped in over the last 12 months. Hilton Puckrup Hall in Tewkesbury added a charge from 1st January and is even insisting on advance booking.

DoubleTree by Hilton Newbury North pool charge

The latest reader report comes from DoubleTree by Hilton Newbury North which seems to have added a fee in recent weeks.

Hotel guests now pay £5 per person or £10 per ‘2+2’ family group to use the pool, pictured above. There is an additional charge of £1 for towels.

The entry and towel fee is waived for Diamond members of Hilton Honors and, bizarrely, anyone who books via Booking.com.

The gym remains free to all hotel guests.

I am typing this article at Hilton Newcastle Gateshead – review to follow – where the pool still appears to be free …..

PS. If you are not a regular Head for Points visitor, why not sign up for our FREE weekly or daily newsletters? They are full of the latest Avios, airline, hotel and credit card points news and will help you travel better. To join our 65,000 free subscribers, click the button below or visit this page of the site to find out more. Thank you.

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 (67)

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

  • phantomchickenz says:
    23 Apr23 April 07:44

    Off to Intercontinental Berlin tomorrow – where they charge to use the pool! Ridiculous.

    • Stu_N says:
      23 Apr23 April 12:33

      Pool charges are unlikely to be your biggest issue with IC Berlin.

  • Bob says:
    23 Apr23 April 07:47

    can’t login on the new link , get error saying the below since last night, I can login fine on the normal “old” way though…

    Account details unavailable
    Sorry about that. It might be a temporary hiccup on our side or your internet connection

  • KS says:
    23 Apr23 April 07:55

    Better than expected, I’m also able to see my partially used voucher (one leg booked and waiting on availability for return leg).

    • degsy says:
      23 Apr23 April 08:04

      Agreed, it’s actually a step change from what it was. It now almost feels modern

  • Nick G says:
    23 Apr23 April 08:00

    Bit like Hilton Reading now charging £10/night to use the car park unless gold and above. Also last week when I checked in the first thing the receptionist said is how I would like to pay for the breakfast of our 10 yr old (was gold)…..stayed there loads of times and never been asked to pay for a breakfast as good and in fact in any Hilton! I know they’re strictly true but all he eats is a bowl of cereal and some toast!

    Also the Hilton Syon Park is a total rip off re the pool. Never stayed again after that charge which is a shame as it was lovely

    • Nate1309 says:
      23 Apr23 April 08:39

      That’s really annoying to read. I know as per the rules that is what it states. But my kids have always had free breakfast due to my diamond status. As you say it’s just a bowl of cereal.

      • Nick G says:
        23 Apr23 April 09:40

        Contrast the week before I booked two rooms at the Hilton deansgate for 4 adults. Fully expected the other room for my in laws to have to pay for breakfast but no all 4 adults free….and received points on both rooms!

        • Nate1309 says:
          23 Apr23 April 13:07

          Same for me in St George’s Park a couple of months back. 2 rooms, 4 adults 2 children. Both upgrade to a massive suite. Lounge access and free breakfast for all. (And pool!)

          • NorthernLass says:
            23 Apr23 April 18:07

            Fortunately this never happened to us when my son was small, but I think I would have just said, “I’ll have one less slice of toast then … “

    • Lou says:
      23 Apr23 April 18:14

      I had no idea Hilton Reading now charges for parking!!! I’ve got a week long stay with them

  • Ben says:
    23 Apr23 April 08:07

    Anybody received an email from virgin saying you have qualified for a voucher but then not actually received it? I got the email 2 months ago but no sign of the voucher. I spoke to virgin money who sent me to virgin Atlantic and then to virgins atlantic who sent me to virgin money. So far, no luck…

  • Jonathan says:
    23 Apr23 April 08:36

    Who else got an email from VS this morning announcing the launch of a new route to a city (in south India) I’d never heard of until today ?

    Given how quickly they can start up a new route then scrap it a short time later (by airline standards) is quite amazing !
    There’s also been a route that’s been scrapped before one of their aircraft went into the sky for the destination !

    • cin3 says:
      23 Apr23 April 09:07

      I find it hard to believe you haven’t heard of it…

    • Andy says:
      23 Apr23 April 09:09

      You’ve not heard of Bangalore?

    • Rhys says:
      23 Apr23 April 09:12

      Bengaluru / Bangalore is the IT capital of India.

      • Sundar says:
        23 Apr23 April 15:28

        India is a sweet spot with Virgin…..Waiting for Virgin to start Chennai next, hopefully soon 🙂
        Bangalore direct is good, only Mumbai and Delhi earlier were connecting options for Virgin and either used to be a pain to connect with Indigo/other airlines.

    • TGLoyalty says:
      23 Apr23 April 09:30

      No one because who hasn’t heard of Bangalore 😂

  • cin3 says:
    23 Apr23 April 09:05

    Shame the login has been broken for over a year.

    • Colin_Thames says:
      23 Apr23 April 09:16

      Worked fine for me yesterday. I just clicked on the link in their email. Maybe bookmark it, in case your old link was dodgy?
      The other enhancement is an easier login. I noticed they’re just asking for email and password now. Pretty sure they used to ask for surname and/membership number as well, which often seemed to fox my password manager.

    • Blair Waldorf Salad says:
      23 Apr23 April 10:25

      Still terrible for me too. I have to do a password reset every time I use the website.

      • NorthernLass says:
        23 Apr23 April 18:10

        I had this for a while, but one day I changed the password using my phone (I must have been away somewhere, and touch wood, it’s been ok since then! Still wants the surname though, on my laptop.

  • Grant says:
    23 Apr23 April 09:17

    Doubletree Glasgow have also now adopted the same charging policy as Newbury North it seems – £5pp or £10 per ‘family group’, although no additional charge for a towel each.

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

New to Head for Points?

Welcome!  We’re the UK’s most-read source of business travel, Avios, frequent flyer and hotel loyalty news. Let us improve how you travel. Got any questions? Ask them in our forums.

Get 25,000 Avios with the Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard

GET A SIGN-UP BONUS OF 18,000 VIRGIN POINTS!

Latest Forum Posts

Get 80,000 bonus points (worth 80,000 Avios) and £400 of dining credit with The Platinum Card (Offer ends 27th May)

Check reward flight availability instantly for free!

See a whole year of reward seat availability on one page at SeatSpy.com

Get up to 10,000 bonus Hilton Honors points

Booking a luxury hotel?

Our luxury hotel booking service offers you GUARANTEED extra benefits over booking direct. Works with Four Seasons, Mandarin Oriental, The Ritz Carlton, St Regis and more. We've booked £1.7 million of rooms to date. Click for details.

SME? GET THE ONLY FREE SMALL BUSINESS CREDIT CARD WHICH CAN EARN AVIOS

Get points worth 30,000 Avios with 'first year free' American Express Gold (ends 27th May)

The UK's biggest frequent flyer website uses cookies, which you can block via your browser settings. Continuing implies your consent to this policy. Our privacy policy is here.

Got it!