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- Understanding the Double-dip Options
- Redeeming Points Utilizing Hilton AXON Awards
- Redeeming Points Utilizing Hilton’s 5th Night Free Awards
- AXON vs. 5th Night Free Award – Which One is Better?
- The New Hilton Honors Program
When someone says the word “Double Dip” the first thing that comes to my mind is Hilton. Essentially what this means is with ALL Hilton stays, you can double dip your points, which will earn you more Hilton points or airline miles – the choice is yours.
What are the double dip options?
With the double dipping options, you have two choices:
- HHonors Points and HHonors Points: 10 HHonors Base points + 5 bonus points per eligible U.S. dollar spent
- This option means you’ll earn 15 points per dollar spent. However, when there are double/triple point promotions you will only earn double/triple points on the 10 base points, not the 5 additional points. So if you are eligible for receiving double points, you will actually earn 25 points per dollar spent (10 base points + 10 bonus points per promotion terms + 5 bonus points for selecting this option).
- Additionally, if you have status, the bonus points earned (for example, 50% bonus if you have Diamond status) are only earned on the 10 base points, not the additional 5 points. For example, if you take advantage of the current Hilton promotion (where you earn double points weekday stay/triple points weekend stay), if you have status (where you earn between 1.5-5 points per dollar depending on your status), if you use a Hilton points earning card (where you earn between 6-10 points per dollar depending on the card you use), and if you select the Points + Points double dip option you can earn between 32.5 and 50 points per dollar spent – which is amazing!
- 10 (base points) + 10 (double points with current promo) + 5 (double dip bonus) + 1.5 (Silver status bonus) + 6 (Citi Hilton Visa credit card usage or Hilton American Express usage) = 42.5 points per dollar spent
- 10 (base points) + 20 (triple points with current promo) + 5 (double dip bonus) + 5 (Diamond status bonus) +10 (Citi Hilton Reserve credit card usage) = 50 points/stay
- **You can learn about the points you receive using the four different Hilton branded credit cards at the bottom of this post.
- HHonors Points and Variable Miles: 10 HHonors Base points + 1 airline mile per eligible U.S. dollar spent
- If you want to earn miles in addition to your Hilton points this is a great option. You can increased your desired airlines balance without actually flying!
- Not all airlines participate in the variable miles option, so make sure to look at this participating list.
What is my strategy when staying at Hilton Hotels?
Assuming there is no mileage earning promotion (which there sometimes is, more on that in a bit), I go for the Points + Points option. I used to opt for the Points + Fixed Miles option in the past, but unfortunately Hilton has discontinued this Double Dipping option. I used to select that option on inexpensive hotel stays of 1 night, and then the Points + Points option for more expensive hotel stays. Now that they have discontinued the Points + Fixed Miles option, I select Points + Points for all my hotel stays (unless there is a airline promotion). Hilton points are typically worth about .7 cents per point (although it does range depending on where you are looking to redeem) and the average mile is worth 2 cents per mile (although much higher if redeeming for business first class). With these averages, you’ll get 3.5 cents per point worth with the Points option, but only 2 cents per point with the Fixed Miles option. This selection really will depend on where you are trying to grow your balance and how you typically redeem.
There are times, however, when Hilton runs a double miles promotion. During these times, selecting the miles option as your double dip option can be very lucrative. When these promotions appear, I’ll be sure to put them on the blog, not to worry.
How do you change your earning preference?
First let me start off by letting you know that you can change your earning preference for each stay. You must, however, do this prior to checking in for your stay. This will allow you to maximize your point/mile earning potential with each stay, which is great!
To do this, first sign into your Hilton Honors account. On the left-hand side of the page go to My Profile –> Preferences. Half way down the page you’ll see the “MYWAY EARNING STYLE PREFERENCES” section. Click the “Change Earning Style” link next to your current earning preference. If you’ve never changed this before, your default earning preference will be Points + Points.
In the new popup window, select the radio button for the Double Dip option you prefer for your next stay then click Submit. If you stay often, make sure to select the option that you primarily desire in case you forget to change it every time based on your stay details.
If you selected to earn variable, ensure you update your profile with your frequent flyer account number. You can do this by clicking the Add New Travel Partner button. You can add as many as you like and just set one of them to be your preferred account. A frequent flyer account can only be added to one Hilton account as a time. Make sure to SAVE PREFERENCES at the bottom of the page!
You are now all set to maximize your earnings!
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links for some of the credit cards. All of these are the best offers available. As always, thanks for your support and happy traveling on a deal! You can learn more about all four Hilton sign up offers here.
The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.
Why not use bmi as your mile earning partner? Hilton gives you 1,000 bmi miles/night up to 3 at all chains. Coincidentally, they only give 500 avios/stay at the pricier brands for BA and 100 avios/stay at Hampton Inn.
Does Hilton have a promo for October? Current one expires Sept 30
I have a very expensive 4 nights stay at Hilton Sydney over New Years for over $2,000.Which double dip choice should I pick? Sorry, this is a bit too complicated for me and I am confused. I would appreciate it if you could suggest what I should do. I do have Gold thanks to the reserve card.
@Sonya – Is this for personal or personal vacation? Do you have multiple rooms or just one room? At $500/night, I’d suggest seeing if you can use points to pay for the room, if possible.
In regards to the double dipping option, you absolutely want to do 5 points per dollar or 1 mile per dollar. The additional 5 points per dollar spent will net you an additional 10,000 Hilton points, where the 1 mile per dollar will give you an additional 2,000 miles for the airline you select. It really depends on how you value your Hilton points vs. airline miles. I personally select Hilton points since I am trying to grow my Hilton point balance, but it really depends on how you redeem.
Thank you for your reply. It is a personal vacation. The reason why it is so expensive is because the stay will be over New Years. I did check the option to redeem points but the amount of points required for this period is astronomical. I thought I would transfer my Hawaiian miles otherwise but decided that miles are worth much more. I should be receiving 2 nights free certificates for my Reserve card in time and I will see if I can use them to cover 2 of the 4 nights but I highly doubt that I can do that with the stay being over New Years and all. (They say there is no black out dates for point redemption but New Years seems to be an exception.)
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