In a press release, Hilton Honors announced that its members will now be able to redeem their points on Amazon.com. It’s not earth-shattering news, but the announcement does illustrate two converging trends: First, the trend of hotels and airlines striving to make their loyalty currencies more flexible and fungible in order to drive engagement – particularly amongst low-earning members – and reduce program liability; second, the trend of Amazon embracing loyalty along multiple fronts as both a program operator and a redemption partner in a wide variety of programs.
By Wise Marketer Staff
In the press release, Hilton Honors announced that their 66 million members can now use their Honors points to purchase nearly any item on Amazon.com. Hilton is the first hotel brand to offer customers the ability to shop with points at Amazon. Other Amazon Shop With Points partners include American Express, Chase, Citi, and Discover.
Money quote from Hilton SVP Mark Weinstein:
“At Hilton, we are always looking for ways to deliver unique experiences to customers. By teaming up with Amazon, we are able to offer our Hilton Honors members yet another choice in how they redeem their Hilton Honors Points. Amazon Shop with Points gives our members greater flexibility with their Points and the chance to offer more of what matters most to our Hilton Honors members.”
This new benefit is free to use and available to all eligible Hilton Honors members. Members must complete a one-time link of their Hilton Honors account to their Amazon.com account. Once complete, Hilton Honors members can choose the amount of points they wish to use when checking out their purchase at Amazon.com.
Money quote #2 from Amazon Payment Products president David Williams:
“Amazon Shop with Points provides customers the convenience to use their favorite reward points to shop for millions of items at Amazon.com. We are excited that customers can now use yet another one of their favorite rewards programs – Hilton Honors – to shop at Amazon.com. Amazon continuously strives to delight our customers with new paying experiences and we are pleased to launch this new program with Hilton Honors.”
Amazon Shop with Points is the fourth new Hilton Honors benefit launched this yearother recent benefit launches include points pooling, Diamond Status extension, and the “Points and Money Rewards” hotel reward night slider.
For more information on the Hilton-Amazon partnership, click here.