Questions and Answers

Lucky, it seems that you value SPG points more than HHonors points hence. However, I am a SPG Gold member but a Diamond member for the HHonors. In this instance, when I stay at a Hilton property, I always get free breakfast, free internet, and Lounge access. Also, only been upgraded to club room level in the past not suite. At SPG, I have had the chance to be upgraded to a suite in Hanover last year. However, since every time staying at SPG I have to spend extra few bucks to get breakfast so my priority has always to stay at Hilton property first, if it is not available then I choose SPG property. I do not think SPG has a status matching program at the moment, if you were in my shoes. Would you manage it differently? I have a ton’s of HHonors points but they seem pointless other than exchanging it for a free stay; they do not have very good value when transferring them to Airline miles. The Airline miles that I look to transfer to would be Asia Miles.

[USER=860]@bgo[/USER] – you’re right in valuing Starpoints differently from HHonors points.

Lucky values HH points at 0.4 cents apiece while he values Starpoints at 2.2 cents each!

The key lies in their flexibility. As you’ve noted, Starpoints can be transferred to a number of airlines at a 1:1 ratio and that’s exactly what makes them so valuable. They’re not that easy to accrue since the SPG credit card only offers 1 point per dollar spent anywhere except at SPG properties.

Meanwhile HH points are best used only for Hilton properties. It often takes a LOT of HH points to get the room you want, but there are 3 different Hilton credit cards available (2 Amex, 1 Citi), each with bonus categories, that make acquiring HH points quite easy.

Plus, with HH points if you want a non-standard room, you can usually find it just by spending more points. I’ll be staying in a 2BR unit next month at a Hilton whereas the SPG resorts in the area wouldn’t even offer anything above a standard room with points. There are 3 adults on my trip and we each wanted our own bed so Hilton won by default.

Hilton’s worldwide footprint is considerably larger than SPG’s.

If you have the ability to get US credit cards if you get a card that earns one of these currencies they can be transferred to Asia Miles on a 1:1 basis:
– Amex SPG
– Any Amex that earns Membership Rewards
– Citi cards that earn Thank You Points

(you can find links for these cards on Lucky’s credit card tab above)

For me, I find the breakfast amenity extremely valuable so I use HH points for hotel stays and save my SPG points for airline transfers.