00:00:00:01 - 00:00:05:21 Chris Hilton honors made some big moves recently. So we decided that was a great time to do a deep dive into the program. 00:00:05:23 - 00:00:16:19 Katie And we're being joined by the vice president of Hilton Honors, Brad Anderson, to get an inside look at what's new, what's changed, and what guests need to know about the brand new Diamond Reserve Elite tier. 00:00:16:21 - 00:00:24:16 Chris Yeah, we're talking new hotel openings, the future of the program and what Hilton is actually doing differently to reward their most loyal guests. 00:00:24:18 - 00:00:36:13 Katie So whether you're brand new to Hilton or you're already their biggest fan, you won't want to miss this episode. 00:00:36:15 - 00:00:39:18 Chris Hey, I'm Chris. Welcome to the Upgraded Points podcast. 00:00:39:20 - 00:01:00:19 Katie And I'm Katie and today is all about Hilton Honors. And it's a really fun episode. We have a special guest, Brad Anderson, the vice president of Hilton Honors, will be joining us to discuss the recent changes to the program. A new elite tier hotel openings, and what the future looks like for Hilton. Before we jump into all of that, be sure to give us a follow. 00:01:00:20 - 00:01:14:17 Katie Leave some positive feedback wherever you are watching or listening. And don't forget to share this episode with a travel loving friend. So we do have a couple things we want to go over first. Chris, I think we have maybe a giveaway you want to remind our readers and listeners and watchers about. 00:01:14:19 - 00:01:41:17 Chris Yes, our wonderful Walt Disney World Resort giveaway entries. Your last day to enter is May 26th. So you got about a week left to do that if you haven't done so already. Quick reminder the grand prize winner will win a trip for four people to Walt Disney Resort in Orlando, Florida, and that includes airfare, hotel, theme park tickets, a gift card, and more. 00:01:41:18 - 00:01:58:22 Chris And we're not going to leave everyone out to dry if you don't win. We have ten first prize winners as well that will walk away with a $50 Disney gift card. It's free and easy to enter for your chance to win. Just go to upgraded point com and you can search for ultimate Summer of magic or check the show notes for the link. 00:01:59:00 - 00:02:23:23 Chris Moving on. We're going to stick with the Hilton theme a little bit. There is a targeted sale right now for Hilton Honors points. You can get up to a 100% bonus through May 29th. The bonus kicks in when purchasing as little as 5000 points, so this is a great deal. As a reminder, these points don't count towards status or anything, but this is a great way to top off your account if you're short for redemption or if you find like a really high end redemption that's really expensive in cash. 00:02:24:01 - 00:02:28:03 Chris Run the numbers. It may actually make sense to buy points and then book an award. Stay. 00:02:28:05 - 00:02:31:13 Katie Yeah. Didn't you do that for one of your stays in in Japan? 00:02:31:15 - 00:02:50:14 Chris Yeah. So we ended up doing it. We did do it for and technically was a top off for the, for the Conrad. I'm trying to. Yeah. Not the Waldorf. Yeah. The Conrad we topped off so that we had enough for five nights. Because when you book for night to get the fifth night free. So it makes even more sense on those longer stays with the Hilton, which is really nice. 00:02:50:20 - 00:02:51:21 Chris Awesome. 00:02:51:23 - 00:03:20:04 Katie And moving on with Hilton, before we get to our interview with, Brad, I wanted to just remind everyone of the changes that Hilton made earlier this year, because they were actually pretty significant and actually really good for Hilton loyalists. There is a new top tier diamond reserve status, and this status requires 80 nights or 40 stays and a spend of $18,000 per year on eligible Hilton purchases. 00:03:20:06 - 00:03:44:12 Katie So this is for the true road warriors. There are no credit card shortcuts. This is for people who are spending a lot of time at Hilton, but it's nice that they're going to have a special level of elite status to be recognized. The the big benefit of this new status is the annual Confirmable upgrade reward, which can be applied at the time of booking, which we love. 00:03:44:12 - 00:04:05:22 Katie So nice. I know for stays of up to seven nights on award stays or cash stays. So that's also amazing. And they can be used for up to a one bedroom suite. So when you qualify for Diamond Reserve you'll get one of those. And if you are almost living in Hilton's you will get another one of those when you reach 120 nights. 00:04:06:00 - 00:04:31:04 Katie So that's a really nice little perk for those people who are traveling probably a lot for work and are spending a lot of time at Hilton's. Some other benefits of that, new level is a guaranteed 4 p.m. check out and premium club access. Also, at the same time that Hilton introduced this new elite level, they also kind of sweeten the pot for the rest of the elites. 00:04:31:06 - 00:04:55:02 Katie So they made it easier to earn silver, gold and diamond status. And the important thing about this is they didn't change anything about the program. So it's easier to earn now. But all of the current benefits, the benefits that you enjoyed last year are intact just the same as they were this year. So that's something I don't think we actually see very much this nice. 00:04:55:02 - 00:05:18:07 Katie Yeah, they made it easier and didn't take any benefits away. So now that we are all on the same page with what's going on with Hilton, we are going to take a quick break and when we get back, we are going to talk to Brad Anderson, who is the vice President of Hilton Honors, to hear what is going on with Hilton Honors in 2026. 00:05:18:09 - 00:05:32:09 Katie Yeah. Welcome back. We are here with Brad Anderson who is the vice president of Hilton Honors. Brad, we are so happy to talk to you today and have you here. Thank you so much for for joining us today. 00:05:32:11 - 00:05:37:15 Brad Oh my gosh. Thank you so much. I'm privileged to be on the podcast. Congrats on your one year anniversary too. 00:05:37:17 - 00:05:39:18 Katie Thank you. 00:05:39:20 - 00:06:02:08 Chris All right. Well, we have a lot to talk about. So we're just going to dive right into the big changes that Hilton made this year. The big one is the new elite tier Diamond Reserve. Now, Brad explained to me, Katie, and to our listeners, why was it important for Hilton to add an additional elite tier to the already impressive, you know, elites that they have? 00:06:02:08 - 00:06:08:04 Chris I'm a Diamond member, and Katie's a gold. I mean, we're already big fans of the program. Why did we need to go another level? 00:06:08:06 - 00:06:30:15 Brad Well, first off, thank you for your loyalty. Of course. So you look over my past nine years at Hilton and with all of that, with the Hilton Honors, it's honestly been one of the most requested areas of interest and big piece of feedback, as we do have a lot of members with significant nights. And while we did add milestone bonuses a while back to reward them, they're asking for that more true marker of that extra loyalty. 00:06:30:15 - 00:06:53:06 Brad So you look at Hilton in terms of what we look at, we believe loyalty should be recognized in every meaningful way, not just acknowledged, but really celebrated. And the goal here is to supercharge that ethos with this new dimmer serve tier. So in addition to listening the feedback we looked across the broad loyalty landscape. We saw that many programs were feeling interchangeable slightly at the near top. 00:06:53:08 - 00:07:10:07 Brad And we knew that if we were going to add this, we wanted to further differentiate Hilton Honors in a way that matters most. So the introduction of Dine Reserve allows us to better align our offerings to the needs of those travelers. So, you know, look, we also understand that not every guest is traveling 80 more nights. You both are different tiers as well. 00:07:10:07 - 00:07:29:22 Brad So, you know, we wanted to make sure it was really delivered on the extra nights they gave. So Confirmable upgrade rewards guaranteed for being late. Check out exclusive premium Club access. We want to make sure we get in that certainty. So you know ideally, hopefully our new tier does all of that. And you know, excited for more feedback as we, see folks get it. 00:07:30:00 - 00:07:41:07 Chris Yeah. The the new perks look like really nice. Now as I mentioned, I'm a diamond member. Are there any impacts that I need to be aware of? The any negative changes coming for me or am I benefits still good. 00:07:41:09 - 00:08:08:00 Brad We love all our tiers. Look, the updates to Hilton Honors were designed to enhance the program while maintaining the value for our current team members. So the good news is the core benefits of dimer serve remains unchanged, including perks like free executive lounge access, the strong 100% bonus points on stays, and some of the industry leading food and beverage credits in the US, or complimentary kind of breakfast or bowl traveling abroad. 00:08:08:00 - 00:08:23:06 Brad So you know, with this change, we did make diamond status more attainable. So we did bring down the thresholds from 60 to 50 nights. So, you know, look, the hopefully doesn't take away anything from the new tier, but is offering a new way to recognize, even more frequent guests. 00:08:23:08 - 00:08:34:02 Chris All right. Nice. And what is the feedback then so far with this new diamond reserve? You got some. You're loyal. You're the most loyal, members. They're getting more benefits. How's the feedback been so far? 00:08:34:04 - 00:08:52:06 Brad Yeah, the feedback so far has been really resoundingly positive on the qualitative side, I started, started a collection of amazing member quotes that come in to me. And they've, you know, talked about their amazing upgraded stay or trip with their family. So I really cherish those. But I'm kind of an analytical data science guy. 00:08:52:08 - 00:09:13:04 Brad And so we're just in the early stage of the status year. So we're starting to see really strong engagement across the program, particularly amongst those very frequent guests. So I think we have some good encouraging momentum. They're starting to experience it. And you know, I've seen you all cover this already. But the really exciting benefit about confirm will upgrade rewards. 00:09:13:09 - 00:09:23:06 Brad Yeah I guarantee they check out really the two that are standing out as we hear members are talking about, you know, confirming, upgrade 11 months at a time, that's like that's a big deal. 00:09:23:06 - 00:09:24:18 Chris Yeah, that's really traveling. 00:09:24:18 - 00:09:25:02 Brad Yeah. 00:09:25:02 - 00:09:42:17 Katie So that's yeah, that's a fantastic benefit for that level. I know it's something that we all really value highly. Are those upgrade awards. So let's move over and talk about some new locations. What new hotel openings can guests look forward to this year? 00:09:42:19 - 00:09:49:01 Brad I always love talking about new openings. We add about to a couple hotels, every couple days, but so couple. 00:09:49:01 - 00:09:49:22 Katie Every couple days. 00:09:49:22 - 00:10:08:04 Brad Couple every couple that comes through, I think a couple to every couple days. We added 1000 hotels last year, if I remember. Right. But look, we expand the whole portfolio, which is the best, one of the best parts of staying with Hilton. And so there's a lot of exciting openings, particularly across our luxury lifestyle and new state category. 00:10:08:04 - 00:10:31:05 Brad So in luxury hotel, we start with luxury, one of our most anticipated openings, which I really am excited about is the Waldorf Astoria Admiralty Arch in London. I don't know if you've heard about this yet. It's an iconic landmark property, and it literally overlooks Buckingham Palace in a, like, historical arch. So it's going to be fun to bring a new luxury hotel along London. 00:10:31:06 - 00:10:57:07 Brad We're also adding, I think, Chris, I think you've stayed at a Conrad, before Conrad ever more, but we're adding, a lot of new Conrad's, some in Athens, Corfu, which is in Greece and Kuala Lumpur. So if you're a Conrad person, that's, more coming soon. And one of our newer brands, I know many folks know about this yet, but, the Nomad, which is our luxury lifestyle brand, we're adding a, pretty significant, number of rooms in Singapore. 00:10:57:09 - 00:11:15:16 Brad And right now you can go to Nomad London if you are into that. And then, a couple more to mention, and canopy, which is another lifestyle brand we're having some new hotels in Deer Valley and Okinawa, in Japan, which I love going to Japan. So there's just a few to name in the in the luxury lifestyle category. 00:11:15:18 - 00:11:18:19 Katie Very nice. And are those all expected this year? 00:11:18:21 - 00:11:21:14 Brad Yeah. In 2026. Yeah. They're all coming. 00:11:21:16 - 00:11:25:18 Katie Anything for 2027 or beyond that you can share with us yet? 00:11:25:20 - 00:11:44:00 Brad We have a robust pipeline. I think we have the largest, development pipeline in the industry. And I think of this stuff as a stat, right? One in every five hotel rooms under construction right now that's slated to join the Hilton system, which is which is insane scale. But, you know, the, as I said before, with a thousand luxury lifestyle properties to choose from. 00:11:44:02 - 00:12:08:14 Brad And so that's really where our focus is to add new. So, there's another one coming in, I think early, Q1 of next year, in Casa Blanca. So it's called Casa Alba. It's an elixir property, which is our luxury collection of books. Interested in that? Back to the Waldorf Astoria brand. We're adding a new one in Sydney for our Australian owners. 00:12:08:16 - 00:12:21:21 Brad So if you're interested in that, and I think I think a brand that that needs more love, curio collection, which is our our collection brand in Grand Cayman, which will be a great redemption opportunity. So keep an eye out for that as well. 00:12:21:23 - 00:12:41:10 Katie Oh, that'll be wonderful. I love Grand Cayman. That's such an easy Caribbean trip. Easy. My heart for that one. Okay, so my next question is kind of a two part question. And this one is just for fun. What is your favorite Hilton hotel that you've ever stayed at? And then part two of that is what hotel is at the top of your list for a future visit? 00:12:41:12 - 00:12:43:02 Brad Oh my gosh. 00:12:43:04 - 00:12:43:23 Katie I know it's a tough one. 00:12:43:23 - 00:12:59:00 Brad I know I have two little kids, I have a five and a seven year old. So it's it's like picking one of your children, your 9000 children. My. What? I love all our hotels dearly. I'll go with, you know, had a really great stay recently. We brought the kids down to Disney, as is the tradition. 00:12:59:02 - 00:13:19:15 Brad And so we actually just stayed at the Waldorf Astoria Orlando. Which is incredible. It's a world of Astoria. So you're getting that similar experience? It's a beautiful property. It's just a perfect oasis to come after the parks. And what's cool about that hotel is that they're connected to the Hilton, the Sydney by Hilton Orlando. They're kind of one big complex. 00:13:19:15 - 00:13:34:20 Brad So they have the lazy river over at Cigna you can use. So you actually use both hotels as if you book at the Waldorf Astoria. So that's that's certainly on the top five left list, for all hotels I've ever stayed at. And then you asked about, the next, the next place, is that right? 00:13:34:22 - 00:13:41:05 Katie Yeah. Yeah. What's on your list next? What? What? Hilton hotel. Have you not stayed at that that you really don't try? 00:13:41:07 - 00:13:58:18 Brad There's many, many, many, but I think, you know, looking, Yeah, this is a pretty classic one. But it is truly on our family's bucket list. And, so the Maldives, which is, like, still so iconic, I think, in the points of Miles, industry Hill Hilton now has nine properties to choose from in the Maldives. 00:13:58:18 - 00:14:16:20 Brad Around nine. There's some small luxury hotels added in recently which we can talk about. But the, the classic Conrad Maldives, which is our first one, I think many, many years ago. And if I could stay in any hotel room anywhere in the world, it's got to be the underwater suite at that hotel. Oh. Morocco. 00:14:16:20 - 00:14:30:06 Brad Right? Yes. If you've. I like to dream, as many of our members do. And if we. At least if we can't stay in that room, we do want to go to the underwater restaurant at that hotel. And then I guess we'll settle for the, overwater bungalows, I suppose. 00:14:30:08 - 00:14:47:22 Katie I looked at that property when I was planning my Maldives trip a few years ago, and I couldn't make it happen, but I would go back to the Maldives just to go to that hotel. And like you said I would, I would settle for an overwater room if I could at least try that restaurant. It looks amazing. 00:14:47:22 - 00:14:51:13 Brad Those are the standard rooms air quotes, so it's incredible. 00:14:51:15 - 00:14:56:09 Katie Oh man, Chris, that, that, one in Orlando sounds right up your alley. 00:14:56:11 - 00:15:14:16 Chris Oh, I've been there, I gotta say. Yeah, yeah, it's great. We've stayed at both, the Waldorf and the Sygnia. On different trips. And. Yeah, the lazy river over at the Sydney is. It's like you can spend the day there, just the floating around. But, Brad, I was going to ask, when you went to the Waldorf, did you eat at the at the steakhouse there. 00:15:14:16 - 00:15:16:17 Chris I think it's the bull and bear or something. 00:15:16:17 - 00:15:22:02 Brad It's there. No, we were at the parks till late, as you can imagine, maximizing our Disney experience. 00:15:22:02 - 00:15:23:02 Chris But I love. 00:15:23:02 - 00:15:24:09 Brad That. Next time. 00:15:24:11 - 00:15:39:00 Chris No, it's the number. It's ranked one of the best restaurants in Orlando. And I went there, had the most incredible steak and Caesar salad tableside. It was I want to go back to stay there just so that I can eat at my restaurant again and build it to the room for my aspire credit. 00:15:39:02 - 00:15:43:13 Katie Oh, that was going to be. My question is, is is it a resort? Hotel for that aspire? 00:15:43:15 - 00:15:45:07 Chris It is. Okay, so it's work. Great. 00:15:45:07 - 00:15:49:14 Brad Your greatest time in food and beverage credits will count as well too. So on top of a double dip. 00:15:49:14 - 00:15:50:22 Chris Yeah. 00:15:51:00 - 00:15:52:20 Katie All right, I have to, add that one to my. 00:15:53:00 - 00:15:53:12 Chris Let's go. 00:15:53:14 - 00:15:54:10 Katie Orlando need to go. 00:15:54:10 - 00:15:57:14 Chris Back and do a little tour of all our points options. 00:15:57:16 - 00:16:00:05 Katie Get that get that set up for us. 00:16:00:07 - 00:16:23:10 Chris We'll talk to them once we end this call. All right, Brad, will you talk about the Maldives? And you mentioned, small luxury hotels. You've Hilton has made some really strong partnerships, including SL, H and Auto Camp. I stayed at an auto camp last year for the first time. For me, the experience was awesome. Have these partnerships, have they met your expectations? 00:16:23:10 - 00:16:25:15 Chris You know, on the on the business side? 00:16:25:17 - 00:16:53:00 Brad Yeah. For sure. So let's let's just talk small luxury hotels for a second. It's really exceeded my expectations personally. Yeah. We we've grown that partnership very quickly. I think we added in 2014, I think we've added on average over talking stats, like one property per week. So we're over 500 boutique. That's the whole luxury hotels around the world as they sign on to the Hilton system, which has really broadened experiences and then certainly added value to our point currency available for our members. 00:16:53:02 - 00:17:14:06 Brad I mean, look, from a from member perspective, it is unlocked. Certainly new aspirational travel opportunities, honestly, in places that Hilton previously had limited or no presence. So we've added a ton of new countries. And so it just, you know, we're seeing very strong usage engagement, which is exactly what we want to see. And it kind of works because it's mutually beneficial. 00:17:14:08 - 00:17:26:01 Brad So those properties maintain their independent identity while they tap into our, really strong over 250 million members now, member based. So, you know, it's just a win win win across all stakeholders. 00:17:26:03 - 00:17:36:11 Chris Yeah, that's awesome. And so you've been you mentioned you keep adding these properties is that you plan to keep that momentum or can we see more and more coming on to Hilton. 00:17:36:13 - 00:17:56:15 Brad Yeah. I mean we're yeah, we're, adding more every single, every single week in some ways. So I forget the exact recent ones. I think Peru Machu Picchu, we just added one isolates. Switzerland, Italy and France are some of the even, you know, blistering growth we've had in recent months, like in the last month. So, yeah, keep an eye out and always come back to the hilton.com. 00:17:56:21 - 00:18:03:16 Chris And the, any other new brands or partnerships down the pipeline that you couldn't, you know, maybe sneak in here? 00:18:03:18 - 00:18:21:08 Brad Yeah. We've been busy. So there's a few, I guess I'll be talking about how we think about this, and that's helpful. Yeah. We're always thinking about ways to add, you know, choice and flexibility. And that adds strength to a loyalty experience. You know, one, recent one that's not in the luxury side, but it's called Select by Hilton. 00:18:21:10 - 00:18:40:22 Brad So it allows us to plug in even more established hotel brands and space. Just announces publicly a few weeks ago. Months ago. I agree with your hotel. So I don't know if you all have stayed at the hotel that, in New York, I think of some in London and Singapore. And so we'll we're working on plugging that in, now that we've announced it. 00:18:41:00 - 00:19:02:14 Brad The other one I want to mention is apartments, permanent collection by Hilton, which, allows us to enter into the furnished apartment space. So this might be really appropriate for families or, you know, a longer business trip if you're in a certain city. So right now, you can book in Atlanta and Salt Lake City. But we're adding more cities in the coming months, so you'll be able to see more of those pop up. 00:19:02:16 - 00:19:04:01 Brad So yeah, those are a few to mention. 00:19:04:03 - 00:19:08:14 Katie That's awesome. And are those going to be bookable with points or how will that work? 00:19:08:16 - 00:19:14:22 Brad Yep. You can earn points. Secured points. Yeah. Or pretty much anything we add in is going to have that situation. 00:19:15:00 - 00:19:31:10 Katie That's that's really nice that these partnerships and these you know extra brands that you're partnering with are really they do feel like they're just part of the program. And you can use and earn points at these properties. That makes it really, really user friendly. And we love that. 00:19:31:12 - 00:19:37:16 Brad And your free night certificates as well. So don't forget about Chris's American Express benefits. 00:19:37:18 - 00:19:43:21 Katie Those free night certificates. We've talked about those on the podcast quite a bit, haven't we, Chris? 00:19:43:21 - 00:19:50:23 Chris Plus, I think you did that. Yeah, with the surpass card too. And you spend 15,000 in a year. That's a really, really good deal. 00:19:51:01 - 00:20:01:22 Brad Yeah. Look, other programs take different approaches, but like, we're for no blackout dates. You can use them every, you know, branded partnership we have. So we take a very different approach. We want our customers to feel that magic. 00:20:01:22 - 00:20:03:01 Chris And we appreciate it. 00:20:03:03 - 00:20:23:01 Katie We really do. Yeah. My the the surpass cards is my plan for my tax payments next year. We just did an episode about that and I kind of afterwards was like, why didn't I do that this year? Because that's such I mean, for 15,000 and spend you get a free night certificate in any Hilton. I mean, that's so valuable. 00:20:23:01 - 00:20:41:09 Katie So yeah, we love those. Okay, let's keep talking about points because that's, one of our favorite topics to talk about. And also credit cards. So for Hilton credit cards, are there any changes coming up that you're able to share with us anything that people should be aware of? 00:20:41:11 - 00:20:57:23 Brad Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. We've made a lot of changes to the cards recently, so, I'll talk a bit about those. But, you know, it's been and I mean, American Express is an amazing partner. We've had a relationship with them for, I want to say seven years, one of our longest partners, ever in our 107 year history here. 00:20:58:01 - 00:21:19:05 Brad But we made some changes. So back in October 2023, we did a pretty major refresh, which which I think you all seen, on the Surpass and Aspire card. So we added more benefits, more value, adding new spend categories like unlike online retail, which is more relevant in the last five years. And so we've continue that momentum on our small business card. 00:21:19:06 - 00:21:36:20 Brad So we relaunched that card in 2024 that offers, you know, our perks like Hilton for business, for those small business owners listening, so that's a great card. If you if you're running that but now nothing to announce on this, this conversation, but you are always looking at our card portfolio. We're always listening to customer feedback. 00:21:36:20 - 00:21:51:14 Brad So, you know, we want to make sure these are the strongest credit cards by, by a strong margin. So, you know, we, I think, you know, just keep out going out there, travel and getting these, credit cards as it makes sense. So, we're we're ready to innovate for the next, next journey here soon. 00:21:51:16 - 00:21:56:17 Katie Yeah. Well, whatever you do, don't get rid of the free night certificate, because we love very scared. 00:21:56:17 - 00:21:59:06 Brad Yeah, I mean, look, we we care about the customer here. 00:21:59:07 - 00:22:02:04 Katie We've got burned, we've gotten bad, and I. 00:22:02:06 - 00:22:06:16 Brad You should have been with Hilton Honors longer, so it's all good. I love it. I'm kidding, I'm kidding. 00:22:06:18 - 00:22:27:10 Katie No. I've been a Hilton member for quite a long time. Okay, so we did an episode. I was a few weeks back, Chris. Few months. I don't remember on how people use their Amex points, and it was very surprising. Do you have any stats or. No. Sort of how most people are using their Hilton Honors points? 00:22:27:10 - 00:22:36:21 Katie Are there like specific hotels that everyone goes for or is it spread out over different, you know, varieties and brands? 00:22:36:23 - 00:22:58:08 Brad Yeah, it's a great question. So a couple things to know. We have a lot of different programs of how you can use your points. But I say this, this may not be surprising, but the vast majority of Hilton Honors members want to use points at hotels. So, we see a lot of that as the overwhelming amount of where the points are used in addition to the Freenet certificates, as you mentioned. 00:22:58:10 - 00:23:14:20 Brad But, you know, we do want to make sure there's flexibility. So a lot of people actually don't know that you can use points. The money slider, which kind of like lets you split pay for the most flexible in the industry there. So, we actually see a lot of people use that function, on kind of how they decide to pay. 00:23:14:22 - 00:23:24:16 Brad Some, you know, the programs require 100% use of points. But in terms of destination, let's talk about a few more hotels. I have a top, top five, top seven list of you. 00:23:24:18 - 00:23:25:06 Katie Yeah. 00:23:25:10 - 00:23:46:19 Brad Okay, so for top five, I think, for Conrad Osaka, we talked about Japan earlier as well. I is on that list. The Hilton Cancun McRib all inclusive is on that top list. The Sygnia by Hilton Orlando, Bonnet Creek, which we've talked about a lot already. And then I guess is top four, but Grand Wailea, a Waldorf Astoria resort, Maui, which I they actually personally stayed at. 00:23:47:01 - 00:24:03:04 Brad Let me take they have seven waterslides. The kids had a blast a few years ago and now is just an incredible destination. But that's the hotel, say, and if you're going there, so those are a few of the top ones. But, you know, look, I think the other piece that people use a lot of points on is healing those experiences. 00:24:03:04 - 00:24:25:12 Brad So this is kind of a sleeper topic, but, the members that know they are using points for like once in a lifetime opportunities and it's not too many points. There's some that are big for and some that are actually fixed. So our partnership with McLaren Formula one, the team was literally just at, the Grand Prix in Miami, this weekend. 00:24:25:14 - 00:24:42:22 Brad You know, we've had millions of points to use there over seven, nearly 700 million use on all of our, you know, F1 experiences. And the Singapore Grand Prix, I think, went for 9 million points. So it can be expensive, but like that is something priceless. So that's that's just incredible experience. So you can't get that even with money. 00:24:42:22 - 00:24:44:17 Brad So points are the only way there. 00:24:44:18 - 00:24:50:13 Katie That's really cool. Well I'm glad to hear that people are using their points for hotels and for cool experiences. 00:24:50:17 - 00:24:51:17 Brad Nice to be used. 00:24:51:18 - 00:25:09:05 Katie Yeah, not some weird gift card thing because that hurts our hearts. So the grand, while I've not stayed there, but I stayed. Yeah, you stayed there. We have a we have a review, I think, on the site. I stayed next door and that and I remember looking over at the Grand Wailea saying, I'm going to stay there someday. 00:25:09:07 - 00:25:21:05 Katie But that that spot in Maui is just so nice. Beautiful. There's the I think there's kind of a walkway. Yeah, that connects a couple of the resorts there, and it's just spectacular shoreline. I really like that. 00:25:21:08 - 00:25:42:16 Chris And they just finished a big renovation. Thanks. $50 million. And Juan just got back there, and he went there in April with his with his wife and daughters for spring break. So we have my review, which was before the renovation and then his after on that creative point scheme. So any listeners that want to redeem their free certificate, that is the place to do it. 00:25:42:18 - 00:25:54:22 Brad Like what we're talking about renovations. Just briefly, we just renovated the finished renovation of the Waldorf Astoria in New York City. So you have like, don't sleep on renovated hotels, like, no, that is the greatest of them all. 00:25:54:22 - 00:25:58:01 Chris Well, yeah. And that was that hotel. 00:25:58:01 - 00:26:11:10 Katie I was there for an event in January. I didn't get to stay there, but I got to go in, you know, the lobby and some of the rooms and some of the upstairs spaces. Absolutely stunning. That is. I mean, you don't get much more iconic than that. 00:26:11:12 - 00:26:16:20 Chris Yeah. Okay. They may have to ship my ship, my summer plans, see if I can squeeze that in. 00:26:17:00 - 00:26:18:21 Katie New York and Orlando. 00:26:18:23 - 00:26:21:04 Chris Yeah. East coast. 00:26:21:06 - 00:26:22:06 Brad Maldives. Small days. 00:26:22:11 - 00:26:23:12 Katie And months. 00:26:23:13 - 00:26:25:17 Chris When I go to the Conrad Osaka while we're at it. 00:26:25:22 - 00:26:27:18 Brad Yeah. You know. Yeah. Well, travelers. 00:26:27:23 - 00:26:45:09 Katie Make it happen, Chris. Make it happen. Okay, so let's talk about the future of the Hilton Honors Program. Are there any new ways to redeem points coming up or anything that that Hilton honors members should keep their eye out for in 2026 or beyond? 00:26:45:11 - 00:27:16:00 Brad Yes. Beyond everything we've talked about, one that we are working on, that you can you can book now and, and earn some points. But Explorer Journeys is a, a new way to experience, luxury ocean travel, if you are familiar with that product. They're they're stunning. Ships. But members can right now promotional they were able to earn some points, for bookings, but we're going to be following them into the full system very soon, where you can earn and redeem points for all of their journeys. 00:27:16:02 - 00:27:35:12 Brad So we're very excited like that. On that opportunity. You know, think of it similarly, like to the auto camp experience where, you know, the a slightly new category of stay for us. But, you know, we're always trying to innovate the program. So, keep an eye on the space. I'm happy to come back on the podcast and talk about new announcements, as we go forward. 00:27:35:12 - 00:27:44:04 Brad But I explore journeys is one you should be. You're constantly looking at the hilton.com, and we'll we'll let people know about it when you can book it. But I'm excited to get on the boats as well. 00:27:44:06 - 00:28:07:06 Katie Yeah, that thank you for the reminder on that one. That I'm, I'm personally so excited about like, auto camp is cool, but it's not my, my type of travel, but that explorer journey that's special. Like, I can't wait for that. And I think that's a huge feather in the cap of Hilton for someone like me who that that's like perfect kind of travel for me. 00:28:07:06 - 00:28:08:09 Katie So I can't, I can't wait. 00:28:08:10 - 00:28:11:16 Brad I gotta say, we would love to see the review. Yeah. Be great. 00:28:11:18 - 00:28:14:05 Katie I would love to to do that review. I need to save my Hilton. 00:28:14:05 - 00:28:16:18 Chris Points I'm sure. Yeah, that'll be cheap. 00:28:16:19 - 00:28:36:16 Katie Yeah. Man. Well, Brad, this has been a really fun conversation. Before we wrap up, is there anything else that we missed that you want to share with our our listeners? You know what Hilton's got going for what they should look out for. Any last words about Hilton honors? 00:28:36:18 - 00:28:53:12 Brad Yeah. Look, this is a passion of, personal, passionate passion of, love for me. You know, I am a consumer. I am a customer. I am a member. So, you know, I just say that, you know, the full Hilton honors team we think about, like, how would a customer feel? What is the customer journey? How is the value being delivered for them? 00:28:53:12 - 00:29:11:02 Brad So, you know, I can't speak for other programs, but I'd say that's really important to us. So I take a customer member first view of the program. And I'd say to like the new hotels every, every day or two. So I think don't, don't, don't don't wait too long. Right. Like, hey, go go shop right now. 00:29:11:02 - 00:29:18:15 Brad Dream. You know, that's for next year. You can you confirm things, 11 months ahead of time. So that's all I wanted to share at the end. 00:29:18:17 - 00:29:37:19 Katie Thank you. Yeah, that Hilton footprint. You can't argue with that. Well, I'm going to go buy something to earn some points on my Hilton card. So I go back to the explorer journeys. Brad, this has been a really fun conversation. We really appreciate you taking the time out of your day to come talk to us about Hilton, and we would love to have you back any time. 00:29:37:19 - 00:29:52:22 Katie There's something cool to talk about. But really, thank you so much for your time and for our listeners out there. If there's anyone that has questions or comments for us, you can always reach us at podcasts at Upgraded points.com. That's going to do it for us. We will see you next week.