Hilton’s loyalty programme, which has 60 million members worldwide, announced changes today.
The changes include a rebranding – it is changing from Hilton HHonors to Hilton Honors, which will be a relief to the spellcheck, and also sees “Shop with Points at Amazon” being introduced. This will be welcome for many members with low numbers of points looking to get some use from their points.
In addition, members from April will be able to combine points and money for a hotel stay, again, popular with those who do not have sufficient points to redeem at the hotel of their choice.
In addition the changes allow family and friends to combine their points for a redemption. There is also the ability (from March) for top tier members to extend Diamond status on a one-time, one-year extension of their status.
The benefits extend the methods used by Hilton to tempt guests to book directly with the brand rather than through third-party sites. Other initiatives include offering free wifi to members – provided they booked directly.
“At Hilton, we are committed to continually innovating to deliver exceptional experiences for our guests,” said Christopher J. Nassetta, president and chief executive officer, Hilton. “Enabling our Hilton Honors members to use their Points to shop at Amazon.com, along with the other industry-first perks we’re announcing today, are some of the many ways we are honoring that commitment.”
“These new perks revolutionize how all Hilton Honors members can use their Points. Frequent travelers told us they want more flexibility while less frequent travelers want to be able to use their Points in more ways and more quickly,” said Mark Weinstein, senior vice president and global head, customer engagement, loyalty and partnerships. “Now more than ever, Hilton Honors is the most flexible, useful, and valuable guest loyalty program – giving our members more of what they want most.”
