This is the fourth installment in a series about the different Hilton Honors status levels. You can check out the other guides here:
If you stay frequently at their brands, you might eventually earn Hilton Honors Diamond status. This is their top tier status and ensures you receive special recognition and benefits during your stay.
Diamond status includes all the benefits you receive as a Gold member, along with several others. Here’s a guide to the additional benefits you’ll receive and the different ways you can earn this status.
Important Note: You’ll only receive these benefits when you book a hotel stay directly with Hilton, either on their website, mobile app or by phone. If you book a stay using an OTA (Online Travel Agency) like Expedia, you’re not eligible to receive any of these benefits.
Hilton Honors Diamond Status Benefits
1) Diamond Status Extension
This benefit was introduced in 2017 and starts taking effect in 2018. It allows eligible Diamond members to extend their status for an additional year. You can do this one time only and for one year only.
There are a few eligibility requirements:
- Your Diamond status expires on March 31, 2018 (the year will presumably change every year)
- You’ve had Diamond status for three years, although those years don’t have to be consecutive
- You’ve stayed 250 nights or earned at least 500,000 Hilton Honors base points since joining the loyalty scheme
2) 50% Elite Status Bonus
You earn 10 base points per dollar at most Hilton brand hotels, so this benefit means you earn an additional 5 points per dollar on stays.
3) 48 Hour Room Guarantee
This guarantees you a room when you make a reservation at least 48 hours prior to arrival. This guarantee is only available on paid stays, so doesn’t apply to stays where you use points or free night certificates.
4) MyWay Hotel Benefits
With Diamond status, you’ll receive additional benefits which are based on the particular Hilton brand you’re staying at. Any brands offering room upgrades are subject to availability.
Some of these brands provide a choice between two or three specific benefits. Once you become a Diamond member, log in to your Hilton Honors account, go to your profile and select ‘MyWay Hotel Benefits.’ You’ll then be able to select your preferences at each of the brands (where applicable).
Waldorf Astoria
- Room upgrade
- Choice of two of the following benefits:
- 1,000 bonus points per stay
- Spa, golf or restaurant discount (designated by the hotel)
- Complimentary continental breakfast for you and a guest every day of your stay OR 1,000 bonus points per stay
Conrad, Curio, Hilton, DoubleTree and Tapestry Collection
- Room upgrade
- 1,000 bonus points per stay
- Complimentary continental breakfast for you and a guest every day of your stay
- Executive Floor lounge access. This is only at hotels with lounges and doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ll receive an upgrade to a room on the Executive floor
Canopy
- Room upgrade
- 1,000 bonus points per stay
Embassy Suites
- Three snacks / refreshments per stay OR 1,000 bonus points per stay
Hilton Garden Inn
- Complimentary hot cooked-to-order breakfast for you and a guest every day of your stay OR 750 bonus points per stay
Hampton
- One snack or non-alcoholic beverage OR 250 bonus points per stay
Tru
- Snack and two bottles of water per stay OR 250 bonus points per stay
Homewood Suites
- Sweet snack and two bottles of water per stay OR 250 bonus points per stay
Home2 Suites
- Snack and bottle of water per stay OR 100 bonus points per stay
Hilton Grand Vacations
- 2,000 bonus points per stay
These benefits are in addition to the benefits you receive with Gold status:
- Earn Points & Points or Points & Miles
- Guaranteed discount
- Complimentary internet access
- Late check-out
- Digital check-in
- Express check-out
- Second guest stays free
- Quick reservations and check-in
- 5th night free
- 25% bonus on base points (superseded by 50% bonus on base points)
- Two complimentary bottles of water
- MyWay hotel benefits (superseded by enhanced MyWay hotel benefits)
How To Get Hilton Honors Diamond Status
There are several different ways that you can become a Diamond member:
1) 30 Stays In A Calendar Year
A stay is classed as “the total number of consecutive nights spent at the same hotel, whether or not a guest checks out and checks back in again.” That means you can’t book thirty consecutive one-night stays at the same hotel and check in and out each day, although you could book thirty one-night stays in a row at different hotels.
The stay can be either paid stays or reward stays using points.
2) 60 Nights In A Calendar Year
This is based on the total number of nights you spend in Hilton brands rather than the number of stays. It can be achieved by two stays of thirty nights, four stays of fifteen nights, six stays of five nights, etc.
These nights can be either paid nights or reward nights using points.
3) 120,000 Hilton Honors Base Points In A Calendar Year
Given that most brands earn 10 base points per dollar spent, you can earn Hilton Honors Diamond status by spending $12,000 at those brands in a year.
4) Hilton Honors Surpass American Express Credit Card
The Surpass card comes with automatic Gold status, which is a great benefit in and of itself. However, you can also earn Diamond status by spending $40,000 in a year on this card.
5) Citi Hilton Honors Reserve Credit Card
Similar to the Surpass card, you can become a Diamond member by spending $40,000 in a year on the Reserve card.
6) Status Match
If you have status with any other hotel chains, Hilton sometimes offer to match your status. The availability and terms of the status match change throughout the year, but check this official Hilton site to see what the current offer is.
Shae and I currently have Diamond status and we both got it by taking advantage of this status match. We both have IHG Platinum status thanks to the IHG credit card. Hilton therefore matched us to their top tier, even though Diamond with Hilton is significantly more valuable than Platinum with IHG.
Summary
If you’re able to earn Hilton Honors Diamond status using one of the above methods, it’s well worth having. The Executive Lounge access at many of their brands is probably the most valuable benefit. We had lounge access during our recent stay at the Hilton Norfolk The Main and it was a great experience.
The 50% bonus on base points can help boost your points balance and the status greatly increases your chance of a room upgrade.
Question
If you have (or used to have) Hilton Honors Diamond status, what was your best experience due to having the status? I’d love to hear about it in the comments below.
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