BRIT award winner Raye plays Hilton’s Secret Socials gig!

On Tuesday, I attended the latest of Hilton’s “Secret Socials” gigs at a central London hotel – this time the recently refurbished Hilton Park Lane. As you can see below, the hotel went all-out on flower arrangements!

Tickets were available for 90,000 Hilton Honors points per pair, which we’d value around £300. You weren’t told who would be performing (past concerts had featured Kylie, Stormzy and Ellie Goulding) but the tickets did include unlimited champagne pre- and post-concert as well as canapes. Still, you were taking a punt by redeeming blind.

This Secret Socials was a little more special than usual because it was the first one to follow Hilton’s recent partnership with the BRIT Awards. In fact, the awards ceremony had just happened a couple of days before, and Hilton did say when tickets were released that it had nabbed a ‘BRIT nominated’ artist for us.

This is only the fourth time that Hilton Honors members have been invited to one of these events. They are separate to the summer gigs that Hilton used to run pre-covid which were exclusively for Hilton Honors members, and included Bastille and Jessie J.

The seats are usually given to surprised hotel guests who just happen to be booked in that night, with others going to Hilton’s charity partners and members of the artist’s fan club.

Can you guess who the special guest was on Tuesday night? It was no other than Raye, whose life has just changed following her record six wins at the BRITS. Embarassingly for the BRITS, she is the first woman to win songwriter of the year – shocking, given the likes of Adele, Amy Winehouse and others.

The ballroom of the Hilton Park Lane was set up beautifully with rows of love seats and armchairs:

Raye did a 45-minute set with a small string section, some brass and (I counted) eight backing singers! She was chatty throughout, still shocked, I think, that she had taken a record six wins.

Seemingly taking a note from Jacob Collier, she tried to get some audience participation going by splitting the audience into four and teaching us some harmonies. Unfortunately, the people at the front were not particularly musically gifted (they sounded like a bunch of lads at the pub on a Tuesday night….) and she humorously gave up.

We’ll let you know when tickets for the next Secret Socials gig become available, but they have become a victim of their own success and are snapped up very quickly.

You can learn more about how Hilton Honors works in our full review here.

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How to earn Hilton Honors points and status from UK credit cards (April 2025)

There are various ways of earning Hilton Honors points from UK credit and debit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses.

There are two dedicated Hilton Honors debit cards. These are especially attractive when spending abroad due to the 0% or 0.5% FX fee, depending on card.

You also receive FREE Hilton Honors status for as long as you hold the debit cards – Gold status with the Plus card and Silver status with the basic card. This is a great reason to apply even if you rarely use it.

We reviewed the Hilton Honors Plus Debit Card here and the Hilton Honors Debit Card here.

You can apply for either card here.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 30th April 2025, the annual fee on the basic Hilton Honors debit card is halved from £60 to £30. The sign-up bonus is also easier to earn – you need to spend £1,000 either in the UK or abroad within three months. The usual bonus rule requires you to spend the full £1,000 outside the UK.

NEW: Hilton Honors Plus Debit

10,000 bonus points, Hilton Gold status and NO FX fees Read our full review

NEW: Hilton Honors Debit

2,500 bonus points, Hilton Silver status and 0.5% FX fees Read our full review

There is another way of getting Hilton Honors status, and earning Hilton Honors points, from a payment card.

Holders of The Platinum Card from American Express receive FREE Hilton Honors Gold status for as long as they hold the card.  It also comes with Marriott Bonvoy Gold, Radisson Rewards Premium and MeliaRewards Gold status.

We reviewed American Express Platinum in detail here and you can apply here.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to a huge 80,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (80,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

The Platinum Card from American Express

80,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large fee Read our full review

You can also earn Hilton Honors points indirectly with:

• American Express Gold (20,000 bonus Amex points)
• American Express Rewards Credit Card (10,000 bonus Amex points)

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on the ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 30,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (30,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

and for small business owners:

• American Express Business Gold (20,000 bonus Amex points)
• American Express Business Platinum (50,000 bonus Amex points)

The conversion rate from American Express to Hilton Honors points is 1:2.

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which can be used to earn Hilton Honors points.