Question
I am applying for a visa card for hotel programs. Could any experienced members give me some help in choosing the Hilton HHonor Signature Visa vs Priority Club Plantinum Visa Card?
The links are here:
http://citi.bridgetrack.com/usc/Affiliates/hilton/15k/default.htm?BTData=C02117A74667E605E574B4CABB0A1AC AB889A8382F6E1E6F0D8B3C62&app=UNSOL&sc=FPSHW034&m=NHIP6G4FD0W&uc=F3M&s1=FGPHW0B4&d1=D&o1=01&AID=10357942&PID=1508353&SID=ecreditcards&BT_TX=1
http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/h/d/pc/1/en/c/2/content/dec/pc/0/en/partners/us/platvisa.html
Both have nice signing bonus. I am mainly concerned about the Hotel Value, Hotel Variety and Global Presence, my territory includes USA and China.
A very simple calculation that I saw other member posted is it takes $30,000 charge to get the first class Priority Club stay (a dollar a point), and only $15,000 charge to get a first class Hilton stay (a dollar two points). Is this a fair comparison?
Any comments would be greatly appreciated. :)
Answer
I would make the decision based on which chain I planned to stay in more often. Personally, I like the Hilton family better. Hotels, including Hampton Inns (lowest level), have been much nicer than Holiday Inns and treatment of elites has been much better. I used to choose Holiday Inns, but so many of them have dropped in quality that I quit looking for them and cancelled my Priority Club card. Besides, there are more ways to rack up points for Hilton Honors, i.e., mypoints and e-rewards.
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Thank you for your reply. Looks like many people prefer Hilton for its recognition and quality.
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I do have to point out one clear advantage-at least I have found it to be so. Holiday Inn has the easiest redemption policy of any chain I know of. My wife and I have redeemed many a free night sitting in the parking lot of the hotel. Call the 800#, redeem the night and check in-no wait. Fits our travel style perfectly on long trips. We get to wherever we wind up at and stop for the night. HI Expresses are cropping up all over the place. They are the cheapest point redemptions and are actually quite a bit nicer than regular HI's-an irony that I'm in no hurry for them to fix! Toss the book of HI properties in the backseat and you're set. I've been a Plat for 3 years and a PC member for 6.
Also...... I hit the PC Mastercard for the bonus TWICE by judicious cancellations/reapplying and am considering a third time with this current 21K promotion. Two free nights, + about 300 points (I used the card sparingly) for no cost over the charges which I paid off immediately. Don't know if HH Honors would let you do that.
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I would go with the HH Visa. Citibank has better service and Hilton has better properties world wide for free stays.
Good Luck! Peace!
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In the long run, I think the Hilton Visa card is a better value because you get more points per dollar than with the PC Visa. I have the Hilton Visa and AMEX and have redeemed free night awards with little difficulty. I'm thinking about getting the PC Visa because of the 21k promotion, but beyond that I don't think I will use the card that much due to the point earning structure.
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Well I currently have the PC Visa. I got the 21K points and then enroled my wife in PC and got a card for her also. She will reveive 21K points also. (Given that I can stay at a great HI Express for 10K per night (Suite) outside of Monterey, CA ==> that's 4 nights. I also agree with "no fly zone" that it is far easier to redeem reward nights with PC Points.
Now that aside, I don't have the HH Visa - so I need to go look at the promos avail. , but I just got the Marriott Rewards with 15K points plus 1 free weekend night cert for a category 1 - 4 property and silver elite status.
I know I didn't answer the original question, but the main point is you know where you stay I do not. For me I use the following strategy:
When in Europe I stay at Holiday Inn or Marriott
When in Australia (Adelaide) I stay at the Hilton
When in the US I stay at Embassy Suites (HH Points), Residance Inn (Marriott Points), Marrriott, Holiday Inn Express [ in that order ].
So for me, I have points from various vendors - so I go for the accumulating points as I can where I can. Eventaully I will spend them and have a good time. [BTW: Right now is a good time to accumulate at Holiday Inn - see the link in that forum regarding current bonus availability]
Hope this helps ;)
Answer
I am applying for a visa card for hotel programs. Could any experienced members give me some help in choosing the Hilton HHonor Signature Visa vs Priority Club Plantinum Visa Card?
The links are here:
http://citi.bridgetrack.com/usc/Affiliates/hilton/15k/default.htm?BTData=C02117A74667E605E574B4CABB0A1AC AB889A8382F6E1E6F0D8B3C62&app=UNSOL&sc=FPSHW034&m=NHIP6G4FD0W&uc=F3M&s1=FGPHW0B4&d1=D&o1=01&AID=10357942&PID=1508353&SID=ecreditcards&BT_TX=1
http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/h/d/pc/1/en/c/2/content/dec/pc/0/en/partners/us/platvisa.html
Both have nice signing bonus. I am mainly concerned about the Hotel Value, Hotel Variety and Global Presence, my territory includes USA and China.
A very simple calculation that I saw other member posted is it takes $30,000 charge to get the first class Priority Club stay (a dollar a point), and only $15,000 charge to get a first class Hilton stay (a dollar two points). Is this a fair comparison?
Any comments would be greatly appreciated. :)
You haven't explained how easy it is for you to earn hotel stays other ways, and if you collect both or want to focus on just one program (both stays and credit card).
Making the analysis confusing is that IF you have a lot of stays, and also have a lot of credit card charges, you may be able to earn better with one program for stays and better with the other program for credit card charges!
For example, right now if you go to the Priority Club section (under Hotel Programs) here on FT, and browse the promo threads, you'll quickly discover that it's not hard to get 36000 bonus points for just 7 nights, or 49000 bonus points for just 9 nights (this in addition to your NORMAL and elite bonus point earnings for those nights), because of "concurrent" promos which periodically are found and posted by people on FT (but not documented anywhere else).
If you have opportunity to take advantage of those, you may find that you're earning all the Priority Club points you need (and more!) just from their stay-oriented promos, and that you then want to focus your credit card on HHonors.
But keep in mind that redemption is much easier at Priority Club (you can clearly see online what's available and how many points in takes in a list of all hotels for a city for a given date), and you don't need to qualify for the preisthood to redeem. OTOH, many people feel that redemption at HHonors is hit and miss, at least if you're not Diamond status (which requires at least 28 one-night stays a year). So just earning points (but not staying a lot) at HHonors may not get you easy redemption (especially at higher-demand locations/dates).