Rapid Travel Chai

There is so much to keep track of in travel miles and points that try as he might, The Rapid Traveler always finds something that has slipped through the cracks. Such with Hilton, who helpfully wrote Mrs. Rapid Traveler:

Say the word, and we’ll reward you.‏

Everybody’s different. That’s why your Hilton HHonors™ membership comes with so many options. Perhaps one of the most gratifying choices you get to make as an HHonors member is this: How would you like us to reward you for your Hilton Worldwide stays?

You have three Earnings Styles to choose from. Select the one that’s right for you; you can even change your selection with each and every stay.

Points & Points
For the fastest way to a free night with Hilton HHonors, choose this Earnings Style. You’ll earn 10 HHonors Base points + 5 bonus points per eligible US dollar spent.

Points & Variable Miles
This option is a great way to turn longer stays into free nights and reward flights. You’ll earn 10 HHonors Base points + 1 airline mile per eligible US dollar spent.

Points & Fixed Miles
Here’s how you can maximize your airline miles during shorter stays. You’ll earn 10 HHonors Base points + 500 miles per stay (100 miles per stay at Hampton® and Homewood Suites by Hilton® hotels).

Select your preferred Earning Style by logging in to your HHonors membership profile at HiltonHHonors.com/myway. Your selection automatically defaults to Points Only if you haven’t specified otherwise, so you never miss out on earning rewards.

We look forward to rewarding you your way every time you stay at one of our 3,600 hotels worldwide.

Mrs. Rapid Traveler has been, and currently is, Gold status with Hilton despite having a point balance of zero, thanks to frequent giveaways. But someday she might stay and it was a kick himself moment for The Rapid Traveler to realize he had overlooked this key step in her account setup.

Hilton’s Double Dip is a great, set and forget, way to earn a lot more for each stay. But the account default is no Double Dip, as in this screenshot. So if unsure, take a peek at your HHonors account.

As for which to choose, The Rapid Traveler will not be playing Dr. Points on this show, but for short, low-cost stays (except at Hampton/Homewood), he prefers the Points & Fixed Miles. For long or high-cost stays Points & Points and Points & Variable Miles come down to personal ability to get value out of the resulting rewards.

For reference, the Citi Hilton Visa earns two HHonors points per dollar spent for general spend but there are bonuses for various categories. The AmEx Hilton cards earn three for basic spend, but each has numerous category bonuses all the way up to nine points per dollar for spend at Hilton properties on the Hilton Surpass AmEx. So the value is somewhere around the 5 point = 1 mile of the Double Dip tradeoff, but as always, comes down to personal value.

Readers, what are your Double Dip strategies?

(Disclaimer: the above credit card links are for reference only, are not necessarily the best signup bonus offers available, are not affiliate links, and The Rapid Traveler will not receive compensation in any way for anything readers do with them. Phew! Does that cover all the bases? The Rapid Traveler does not want to set a personal comments per post record on that debate).