Last week, Hilton treated Mrs. Jeffsetter and me to a concert experience in San Jose. They offered tickets to see Maroon 5 at the SAP Center and a car service to get us there from San Francisco. We accepted.
While Maroon 5 is not a band I would pay to see on my own, I knew a few songs and figured the concert would be fun.
Our tickets were pretty close to the action, and I managed to take 1 or 2 non-blurry photos of the lead singer during the 1.5 hour show. Not a bad way to spend a Tuesday night.
Redeeming Hilton Points for Experiences vs. Hotel Nights
Our tickets were provided with no strings attached, but I figured I would write about how you can use Hilton Honors points to redeem for more than hotels. This seems to be a timely topic, because Gary at View from the Wing also covered a similar topic today.
If you want to learn about redeeming your Hilton points for something other than hotel nights, check out the Hilton Auctions website. The lowest redemption appears to be 30,000 points for two tickets to a concert and a welcome reception. Depending on the face value of the tickets and how much you value your HHonors points, this could be a great deal.
The key here is to understand:
1) How much you value Hilton Honors points to begin with. Sometimes you can find greater value for these redemptions than you would for hotel nights.
2) Know what else you can get for your value. For example, would you rather redeem those points for 2 concert tickets or 1 night in a category 4-7 hotel?
My experience redeeming points for non-travel items
I have not personally redeemed my points for anything other than travel, but there are times when I would do this. For example, I put in a bid for dinner at the French Laundry restaurant last year, because it is usually ridiculously hard to eat there. I didn’t win the auction, but I found it would have been a good use of points.
The same can be said for concerts. Hilton has access to concert ticket inventory that most of us will never be able to access. If the price is right and a concert is sold out, these redemptions make a lot of sense. Add exclusivity into the mix and it may become a great use of points.
Hilton has strong credit card signup bonuses right now
One way to get the experiences is to take advantage of the bonus offers Hilton currently has in place for their co-branded Amex cards. If you have a good credit score and understand the responsibility that goes along with signing up for credit cards, this may be a good option for you.
From April 1 – May 5, 2015
- The Hilton HHonors™ Surpass ® Card from American Express – is offering: 80,000 Hilton HHonors Bonus Points if you spend $3,000 in eligible purchase within the first three months of Card membership. (Annual fee: $75)
- More info (not an affiliate link): http://amex.co/19VAOnY (Live from April 1-May 5 only)
- The Hilton HHonors™ Card from American Express – is offering: 60,000 HHonors Bonus points with $1,000 spend in the first 3 months of Card membership. (No Annual Fee)
- More info (not an affiliate link) http://amex.co/1E6zdIu (Live from April 1-May 5 only)
You can also double your points on stays through May 31, 2015 with Hilton’s current promotion.
Redemptions are always about finding the most value for YOU
Remember, this game is all about finding what makes you happy. If tickets to see U2 this summer is on your bucket list, get your points ready! If you would rather plan the stay of your dreams on a tropical island, then do that!