Navigating Hilton Honors loyalty program can be difficult but here’s what you need to know about Hilton Diamond status.
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Hilton Honors Loyalty Program
HiltonHonorsisoneofthemostpopularandwell–knownloyaltyprogramsinthehospitalityindustry.ItsuniquerewardssystemisdesignedtomakesurethatcustomershaveanunforgettableexperiencewhentheystayatanyofHilton’spropertiesworldwide.Whetheryou’reafrequenttravelerorjustlookingforagreatplacetostay,theHiltonHonorsloyaltyprogramcanhelpyousavemoneyandgetmoreoutofyourstay.
TheHiltonHonorsprogramoffersmembersavarietyofwaystoearnpoints.YoucanearnpointseverytimeyoustayatanyofHilton’sproperties,includingHiltonHotelsandResorts,DoubleTreebyHilton,EmbassySuitesbyHiltonandmore.Youcanalsoearnpointsforparticipatinginactivitiessuchasdiningatparticipatingrestaurants,bookingactivitiesthroughtheHiltonHonorsapp,orshoppingwithselectretailers.Pointscanalsobeearnedbytransferringpointsfromotherloyaltyprograms,includingAmericanExpressMembershipRewards.
Onceyou’veaccumulatedenoughpoints,youcanredeemthemforfreenightsatanyofHilton’spropertiesorusethemtowardsotherrewardslikeairlinemiles,shoppingvouchers,andmore.WiththeHiltonHonorsprogram,youcanalsoenjoyelitestatus,whichgivesyouaccesstoexclusivebenefitssuchascomplimentaryroomupgrades,latecheck–outs,andmore.
HiltonHonorsisagreatwaytogetthemostvalueoutofyourtravels.Whetheryou’relookingforagreatdealonahotelstayorjustwanttotakeadvantageoftherewardsthatcomewithbeingamember,HiltonHonorsis an excellent program in which to participate.
More than anything else, Hilton’s brand breadth makes it easy to earn status and redeem points for award stays.
What Are The Benefits of Hilton Honors Diamond
The last few years have made earning and retaining Diamond elite status easier. Here are some of the topline benefits of being a Diamond member.
- Complimentary upgrades:AsaDiamondHonorsmember,youcanenjoycomplimentaryroomupgrades,suchassuiteupgradesoraroomwithabetterview.Thisperkalonecanmakeyourstayevenmoreluxuriousandcomfortable. Hotels that have an executive lounge may have access to it.
- Priority check-in and check-out:Noonelikestowaitinline.AsaDiamondHonorsmember,you‘llbeabletoskipthequeueandenjoyprioritycheck–inandcheck–outservices.Thiswillhelpyougettoyourroomfasterandmakeyourstaymoreconvenient.
- Bonus points:YoucanearnbonuspointsforeverystayorpurchaseyoumakeatanyHiltonproperty.Thesepointscanbeusedforfuturestays,dining,orshopping. Earnings for Diamond members can reach 20 points per dollar spent on a Hilton stay.
- Special amenities:DiamondHonorsmemberscanalsoenjoyexclusiveamenities,suchascomplimentarybreakfast,andlatecheckout. While breakfast is a guarantee outside of the United States (for Hilton Gold too), in the US Diamonds receive a daily credit that can be applied at any time of the day.
- Elite customer service:EnjoythehighestlevelofcustomerservicewithadedicatedconciergeandaccesstotheexclusiveDiamondHonorsDesk.
- Diamond Status Extension: For years where a Diamond may have failed to earn the required 60 nights in a calendar year or 30 stays, they can extend their status by one year so long as they have earned 250 nights and been Diamond at least three years in the last ten.
In my experience, hotels generally try to accommodate Diamond guests with late checkouts and upgrades. Sometimes, guests may need to request these items at the front desk but some are offered automatically.
How Guests Can Earn Hilton Diamond Status
There are four primary ways that Hilton Honors guests can earn Diamond status.
- Stay at Hilton Hotels and Resorts. Staying in Hilton hotels and resorts for 60 nights annually will secure Honors Diamond status, but an easier way for some guests is to complete 30 stays. For example, five consecutive nights at a Hampton Inn is one stay but five status-qualifying nights. If a guest were to stay one night at a Hampton Inn, and one night at a Conrad, that would be two stays but just two nights. Thus, business travelers who travel for short periods of time are able to qualify via 30 stays.
- Complete a Hilton Honors Challenge.Ifyou’vealreadyaccumulatedenoughpointstoqualifyforDiamondstatus,youcancompleteaHiltonHonorsChallengeandfast–trackyourwaytoDiamondstatus.Thechallengerequiresyoutostayforacertainnumberofnightswithinadesignatedtimeperiod,usuallythreemonths.
- Become an Amex Platinum Card Member.Ifyou’reanAmericanExpressPlatinumCardMember, some have been able to benefitfromcomplimentaryGoldstatusandreceiveanupgradetoDiamondstatusaftercompletingfourstayswithina90–dayperiod.That‘sagreatwaytogetthemostoutofyourtravelsandsaveonhotelstays.
- Add the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card. Included among the other benefits of the premium credit card, Diamond Status is an added benefit with no stay or night credits required. The credit card has an annual fee of $450 so it’s not a light consideration, but it also earns Hilton Honors points at an accelerated pace.
Should You Strive For Hilton Honors Status?
Ifyou’reafrequenttraveler,there’snobetterrewardthanachievingHiltonHonorsDiamondstatus.Thiselitelevelofmembershipprovidesguestswithaccesstoexclusivebenefitsandprivileges,makingittheultimatestatustostrivefor.
ThebenefitsofbecomingaHiltonHonorsDiamondmemberareplentiful. You’llenjoya100percentbonusonallpointsearnedduringstays.Plus,you’llreceiveagenerousroomupgrade,complimentarybreakfast,andaccesstotheexclusiveexecutivelounges where available.You’llalsogetexclusivediscountsondiningandshopping,pluscomplimentarylatecheckout.
Finally,beingaHiltonHonorsDiamondmembermeansyougetaccesstoexclusiveeventsandexperiences.YoucantakeadvantageofexclusiveoffersfromtheHiltonHonorsExperiencesStore,whichallowsyoutopurchaseexperiencessuchasticketstoconcerts,sportingevents,andshows.
What do you think? Will you pursue Hilton Honors Diamond Status this year? Do you prefer a different hotel loyalty program instead?
The daily credit is crap. Rarely get a meaningful upgrade as a Diamond.
@Jason – I haven’t always been a fan of the daily credit over included breakfast, but there have been many mornings where I left for early meetings and wasn’t able to (or didn’t want to) participate in breakfast so it’s not all bad. It’s still offered in its original form outside the US.
Gotta say based on experience this is all hype. As a Diamond member myself, I have only gotten an upgrade once, and never get any of the special amenities, credits, “curated experiences” or any of that jazz. Nor have I ever seen a separate priority check-in line. I usually stay in the suburbs, so it may actually be a thing in busier urban or airport locations– but I’ve yet to see it. One time I even asked for a Diamond member upgrade at an Embassy Suites to a top-floor room (which was a bookable room-type) and Front Desk told me there were none available, yet when I checked online, all the specific top floor room-types were still bookable… The only thing you do get is free premium Wi-Fi… and maybe a water bottle. Hype is hype, but then again “status” is a ridiculous concept.
“If you’re a frequent traveler, there’s no better reward than achieving Hilton Honors Diamond status.”
This is a ridiculous claim.
I just realized how messed up this article is. Transferring Citi points? 30 nights for Diamond? Diamond after 4 stays with an Amex Platinum?
Do us all a favor and take this article down.
@Brutus – Citi did drop Hilton as a transfer partner and I missed that so I will edit that piece. But 30 stays for Diamond is absolutely still valid and I clearly explain the difference between stays and nights and provide an example. The Diamond upgrade offer is offered to some holders still, I hadn’t received any indication it wasn’t available to all. Have you tried for this challenge and not received it?
I et free Gold status from one of my credits cards and that is way more than enough for my Hilton needs. Stayed with points at a Conrad with my family of 4 last summer, got 2 rooms and was treated like king. Got free breakfast to all of us, room upgrade, etc… Many hotels don’t have lounge so being a Gold was perfect.
Kyle, you can certainly do better, this is the sort of post that will dissuade readers from returning. Many inaccuracies. Not worth the time to FULLY clean up this post. But, a couple of clarifications: Re: “Diamond Honors members can also enjoy exclusive amenities, such as complimentary breakfast,” Hilton has significantly diluted that benefit in the past few years. Re: “Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card… Diamond Status is an added benefit … annual fee of more than $450 so it’s not a light consideration, …” I believe the annual fee is EXACTLY $450 and easily available annual credits totaling $500 arguably result in a $50 profit (plus a free night) each year.
Hilton has changed the breakfast amenity in the US, but not the rest of the world which I do make clear in the post. I had received information re: annual fee that the fee was increasing to $495 but it was unconfirmed so I unintended to leave it as “at least” but instead wrote more than which was a clear error. I have adjusted it. The offset you mention is one you can’t precisely enumerate (thus you use the word “arguably”.) I don’t make a claim that you can or cannot offset the costs with credits so there’s no inaccuracy there either.
Did Hilton pay you to write this? It reads like they did.
Let’s be serious, we all know Hilton is a program in decline. Their points are useless, upgrades rare, late checkout not guaranteed, breakfast benefit eliminated. And all of this is sort of understandable since they basically give Diamond Status to anybody that puts in even a minimal amount of effort.
@Jerry – I really wish they did pay me for it. I just had an excellent stay at the Canopy by Hilton Paris Trocadero, got a meaningful upgrade (Double Tree in Orlando the week after too), a late checkout, and breakfast (covered in the post) was great in Paris. For Orlando I actually preferred the credit.
I was fair with Marriott when they offered a terrible experience on the same Paris visit. I know people that have had amazing experiences with Marriott (not even speaking to Bonvoy or SPG) but it’s not been great for me.
You say that Hilton points are useless, but Marriott (of similar inflationary pricing) doesn’t include a fifth night free, for example.
It may not be Hyatt Globalist, but that’s not for everyone either.
To be fair, I got a suite at the Hilton Tangier two weeks ago. I was SHOCKED!! I was just surprised about how enthusiastically you seem to write about Hilton. They’ve disappointed me so many times that one off delights don’t even mean much.
Marriott also 100% gives you a 5th night free on award bookings. You may want to re-check your sources. With all their problems, Bonvoy points are far more valuable than Honors points.
You lost your mind ….
I would say that most of the comments are probably coming from folks staying almost exclusively in the US, which from what I understand is a cause for disappointment. However, ex-US is absolutely on point with regards to this article’s description, if my recent trips to Vienna and Malta are anything to go by.
You have got to be kidding. I am sorry but this sounds like it was written to push sign ups by someone that rarely travels. I have been Diamond for years and it’s not that great, program is on the decline. In fact, everyone seems to have been given Diamond since COVID. I’m certainly not making it a priority to renew Diamond this year. Why not be honest with your readers and explain how horrible the point redemption value is?
@Ron – We are as honest as we can be about redemption rates. For example, in my last review for a Hilton property (Canopy, Paris) I said, “In this instance, as we value Honors points at 0.4¢/point (or $.004/point), readers should use points for their stay, unless it drops below €320/night.” (https://liveandletsfly.com/review-canopy-by-hilton-paris-trocadero/)
For what it’s worth TPG rates Hilton points 50% higher than we do at $0.006/point, so did NerdWallet and Bankrate but those are all the same company. Lucky at OneMileAtATime values the points 25% higher at $.005/point. So if anything, I clearly err on the side of abundant caution in valuing Hilton points or undervalue them. I have four sources (plus my own) to support my position, do you have some empirical evidence that suggests my valuation is “horrible”?
All of the people complaining apparently don’t travel to Asia or Europe. Every time I am in Asia (several times a year) I get the FULL benefits: room upgrades, full breakfast, full lounge access, and late check out. Every single time. In Bali, Indonesia, Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong. I also get it in Europe. I stayed at the Hilton Brussels in September and got everything. I don’t understand why so many Americans are so fearful of traveling overseas to the best countries and destinations that Europe and Asia have to offer.
Everything you need to know about Hilton HHonors is that it’s complete crap, offers no value, and 90% of all the properties are tired and dated. As well, how do you get Diamond? Easy, pretty much everyone can with little effort which makes it even worse in being so diluted in being an actual elite level. Sure, it’s slightly better when overseas but barely, and other than a few WA properties here and there why would anyone stay at a Hilton otherwise when overseas.