With less than two months left in 2022, now is a good time to Honorable Hilton members to determine what they need to do to qualify or qualify for elite status.
If you spend a lot of time on the road, you may have seen the value of the hotel’s elite status maybe. From premium Wi-Fi to room upgrades, there are benefits to getting premium hotel status with hotel chains. And as you’d expect, the Hilton is no exception.
Fortunately, there are many ways to earn Hilton’s Honorary Status, including hotel stays, earn base points, and have a co-branded credit card. Today’s post will focus on what you can do before the end of the year to achieve your desired Hilton Honor status.
Hilton’s Honorary Status
You can earn elite status with Hilton by reaching specific thresholds for nights, length of stay, or basis points per calendar year.
The Hilton Honors loyalty program has a basic membership level and an elite level Silver, Gold, and Diamond.
You can earn Hilton elite status by accumulating qualifying nights, qualifying stays, or qualifying points. For reference, here’s a table of how many nights, stays, or base points you’ll typically need for each Hilton status class:
- Silver: 10 nights or four stays or 25,000 basis points.
- Yellow: 40 nights or 20 stays or 75,000 basis points.
- Diamond: 60 nights or 30 stays or 120,000 basis points.
In 2022 you can earn Hilton Silver after seven nights, Gold after 28 nights and Diamond after 42 nights. But next year, Hilton will return to its standard requirements for elite qualifications.
You earn Hilton base points at a rate of 10 points per dollar at most Hilton properties. You can earn base points for up to four rooms per stay. Stays and nights are booked in points or free night rewards also count towards an elite degree.
Hilton uses the calendar year as the eligibility period, so you have between January 1 and December 31 of each year to qualify for your desired elite membership. Your status is then valid until the end of the next calendar year.
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Related: Which hotels count for an elite stay award?
Hilton Diamond Extension
If you already have Hilton Diamond status, you can use Diamond Status Expansion program in early 2023 to extend your status for one more year. However, the terms are quite limited. To be eligible, you must meet all of the following requirements:
- Currently a Hilton Diamond member with status expiring on March 31, 2023.
- Hold Diamond Status for at least three years (the number of years does not have to be consecutive, but the number of years you use the matching status to achieve Diamond Status does not count).
- Stayed at least 250 nights with Hilton (both premium and bonus nights qualify) or earned at least 500,000 basis points since joining Hilton Honors (points earned through bonuses, promotions, and loyalty cards). co-branded credit does not count).
Note that you can only use Diamond Status Extensions once in your life.
Related: This is what I want to see from the Hilton Diamond + elite hotel
Hilton Promotions
Hilton regularly offers promotions that can earn you elite status and bonus points.
Example: Hilton currently offers Promotion to double your nights. With this promotion, you can earn twice as many elite-eligible nights when staying between October 11 and December 31, 2022.
Each night during this promotion period will count as two nights towards the Milestone Reward and the transfer night. Therefore, this promotion may also qualify you to be a Hilton next year.
Related: 8 tips to help you upgrade your hotel room for free
Matching status
You can claim a matching status if you’re currently an entry-level Hilton member or have Silver status.
All you need to do is submit proof of recent stay and proof of other competitor’s loyalty program participation status through Hilton’s dedicated service status match page. If Hilton approves your status match, Hilton will upgrade your status to Gold for 90 days.
You can keep Gold status until March 31, 2024, if you stay seven nights during the 90-day trial. And you can win top-tier Diamond status until March 31, 2024, if you stay 12 nights during your 90-day trial.
This is a great opportunity to quickly win Gold or Diamond status with Hilton if you’re already planning your upcoming travel and don’t want to sign up for a Hilton credit card that offers elite status as a perk of the cardholder.
Note, however, that the stay bonus does not count towards achieving status matching requirements. And you can only do state matching with Hilton once in your life, so be sure to time your status matches carefully.
Related: 8 ways to maximize your Hilton Honors redemption
Open a branded credit card
Finally, you can easily earn Hilton Honor status with Hilton Honors Credit Card. Here’s a quick look at your options.
Diamond status
The Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card it’s spectacular because you can win premium Hilton Diamond status just by having the card. Sure, you have to pay $450 annual fee (see rates and fees), but that’s significantly less than paying for hotel stays.
Information about the Hilton Aspire card has been independently collected by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Premium Hilton Diamond status with the Hilton Aspire card offers a lot of value. For example, the Hilton Diamond status offers you a suite upgrade, a daily food and drink credit (or continental breakfast outside of the US) to you, and access to the Executive Lounge.
Golden status
The Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® card and American Express Business Card by Hilton Honors offers complimentary Hilton Gold Status as a card perk.
Both cards also allow you to use your way towards Hilton Diamond status. You can get Hilton Diamond status through the end of the next calendar year when you spend $40,000 on your card in a calendar year. However, I recommend getting the Hilton Aspire card if your goal is Diamond.
It should also be noted that cardholders of Platinum Card® from American Express and American Express Business Platinum® Card pick Free Hilton Gold and Marriott Bonvoy Gold elite status as a cardholder’s privilege. However, you must register for these privileges.
Related: 6 reasons to get a Hilton Honors Amex Surpass card
Silver status
Finally, you can register Hilton Honors American Express Card if you want Hilton Silver status.
Key point
As the end of the year approaches, now is a good idea to review your Hilton Honors elite status plans. After all, Hilton’s elite status is generally quite valuable, especially internationally.
While you can still earn Hilton Honors status, it’s often quicker and easier to open a credit card that offers Hilton status. Best of all, you can maintain Hilton status without having to claim each calendar year if you have a credit card that offers the status you want as a privilege.
For Hilton Aspire Card prices and fees, click here.
