It’s easy to forget when you first got introduced to the world of points and miles. For me, it was way back when my father signed up for the Holiday Inn Priority Club over 30 years ago. After that, we started to join every program we could. I think my first airline program was Continental OnePass, which was the airline we used to fly from Newark to our vacation destinations, usually Orlando.
However, there’s a large percentage of people who don’t sign up for loyalty programs. That could be because they feel the programs are only for business travelers or those who travel often. While it’s true that the programs do have a component to reward those who reach the top levels, there’s more to them than that.
While we might think that it’s only the occasional traveler who ignores loyalty programs, that’s not the case. Many people who often travel for business or pleasure are still uninformed about the benefits of joining reward programs.
I was reminded of this when reading a post on Yahoo! Finance. It said how inflation is out of control and prices for travel have increased dramatically.
This wash followed my road trip to DC last week to cover the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Summit — where it cost Yahoo Finance $502.34 to put me up for a one-night stay in a zero-frills Hilton.
I had a bed, a TV, a bathroom, a place to sit, and paid separately for Wifi. No mints on the pillow or free water bottles — apparently the water bottles are for Hilton rewards members.
I understand the point the author was trying to make. Paying $502 for a Hilton brand hotel (while we don’t know if this was a Hilton or a hotel in the brand’s portfolio) is quite expensive. We don’t know the details of the stay, like if this was the conference hotel or how full the hotel was, so I don’t think it’s a good example of out-of-control inflation. Hotel prices can always fluctuate based on demand.
The shocking thing to me was that the author, an editor for Yahoo! Finance, doesn’t have a Hilton Honors account. He also doesn’t seem to understand how the program works.
Just by signing up for Hilton Honors, you get some benefits (Here’s what each hotel loyalty program provides just for signing up).
Base members earn 10 Honors points per dollar for stays, so he lost out on earning 5,000 points for that one-night stay. Members also receive free Wi-Fi access. Hilton Honors Silver members and above get a free bottle of water.
The next time you feel that you’re not maximizing every dollar of spending or getting the best value for your redemptions, remember that some people are still paying for Wi-Fi because they didn’t sign up for a loyalty program.
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