Hilton is offering instant status match to Hilton Honors Gold status with an easy pathway to upgrade to Diamond. Once you qualify, your earned status will be valid until 31 March 2025. That is nearly 2 years worth of elite status which makes this quite a good deal.
To apply for the status match, you will need to have a current elite status in any one of the following Hotel Loyalty Programs :
- Marriott Bonvoy
- IHG One Rewards
- World of Hyatt
- Best Western Rewards
- Choice Privileges
Note that if you hold elite status in a Hotel Loyalty Program outside of the one’s listed above (such as All Accor LIVE) you are still able to request a status match, although acceptance isn’t guaranteed.
Needless to say, you must also have an account with Hilton Honors to participate in this promotion. If you don’t, you can create one over here. There is no cost for creating a new account.
Requesting a Status Match
To request a status match, you will need to show Hilton evidence of your current elite status as well as some kind of proof of a recent stay. This can be in the form of a digital membership card that you can generally download of the app. For proof of a recent stay, you could send Hilton a screenshot of the Activity Statement or a copy of the Folio.
Waldorf Astoria Bangkok
Be sure to redact any personal or sensitive information such as the membership number or your address and so on. Once ready, head over to this link to upload the documents. It really is quite a painless process and shouldn’t take you no more than 10 minutes.
Match to Gold and Upgrade to Diamond
If Hilton approves your application, you will be immediately bestowed the Hilton Gold status for 90 days from the day of approval. If you stay at a Hilton property in that time, you will receive all the Hilton Gold benefits (more on this later) during the stay.
However, if you are able to clock just 8 additional nights with Hilton during the trial period, you will keep your Gold status until 31 March 2025.
But wait, it gets better.
Stay 14 nights within the trial period and you will be upgraded to Hilton Diamond and you will keep your status until 31 March 2025.
When you consider that it ordinarily takes 40 nights to earn Gold and 60 nights to earn Diamond with Hilton, the promotion is almost a no-brainer if you have ever considered earning status in the Hilton Honors program.
Benefits of Hilton Gold Status
Hiton Gold is possibly the most valuable mid-tier status of any hotel loyalty programs. As a Gold elite, you can expect the following benefits when staying at participating Hilton properties:
Free Continental breakfast or Daily Food & Beverage Credit
Hilton Gold members receive free continental breakfast for up to 2 Guests, except at U.S. properties where they receive Daily Food & Beverage Credit of up to USD 50 per day.
Hilton Gold elites receive complimentary continental breakfast
The monetary value of the benefit depends on the type of property and location, with premium properties in high cost locations such as San Francisco eligible for the highest credit. You can find more details of this benefit over here.
Complimentary space-available room upgrades
The complimentary upgrade is generally in the form of a room allocated at a higher floor or a corner room. If you score an upgrade to an Executive room, you will also receive access to the Executive Lounge.
These lounges typically offer complimentary breakfast in the morning and drinks and canapes in the evening. Besides the food and drinks benefit, the lounges can sometimes also provide an excellent working space which many business travellers will appreciate.
80% bonus points on stays
All Hilton Honors members earn 10 Hilton points per USD. As a Gold elite, you receive an 80% earnings boost and earn 18 Hilton points per USD. This does not include any bonus points that you may earn from Hilton’s frequently offered quarterly promotions.
Fifth night free on Award Stays
This is a benefit available to all Hilton Honors elite, including those with the entry level Hilton Silver status. The way this works is that if you redeem points for 5 consecutive nights, you will only be charged for 4 nights with Hilton picking up the tab for the fifth night.
Redeem Hilton points at Conrad Koh Samui and get 5th night free
Furthermore, you are not required to pay any fees or taxes on award stays making this a genuinely exceptional deal.
Free Water and possible late check-out
All Hilton elites including Silver elites receive 2 complimentary bottles of water. Gold elites may also be able to get a late check-out if available. However, this is not a guaranteed benefit and it is entirely up to the hotel whether they grant it to you.
Benefits of Hilton Diamond Status
Hilton Diamond is Hilton’s top tier elite status, and while you can earn Diamond merely by opening a Hilton Credit Card in some countries such as the United States, unfortunately for most Australian’s, this wouldn’t be possible. This is where the fast-track pathway can come handy.
While some of the benefits you receive as a Diamond elite overlap with Gold, there are other more meaningful benefits exclusive to Diamond members. As a Diamond elite, you can expect the following benefits at participating Hilton properties:
Guaranteed Executive Lounge Access
All Hilton Diamond members receive access to the hotel’s Executive lounge regardless of the category of room they book. This is a significant upgrade from the Gold elite status where lounge access is conditional upon you either booking or receiving an upgrade into an Executive level room.
Hilton Diamond elites receive guaranteed lounge access
Free Continental breakfast or Daily Food & Beverage Credit
Free Continental breakfast in the hotel restaurant for 2 people at properties without an executive lounge.
Again this benefit applies everywhere except at U.S. properties where you will receive Daily Food & Beverage Credit of up to USD 50 per day, this is the same as the benefit extended to Gold elites.
Complimentary space-available room upgrade
As a Diamond elite, you are eligible for complimentary room upgrade. While this is mostly in the form of a room allocated at a higher floor or a corner room, occasionally though you may receive an upgrade to the level of the standard suite.
Hilton Diamond members may receive an upgrade into Standard Suite
This is less common at Hilton properties in Australia or North America but is much more likely in Asia.
100% bonus points on stays
All Hilton Honors members earn 10 Hilton points per USD. As a Diamond elite, you receive a 100% earnings boost and earn 20 Hilton points per USD. This does not include any bonus points that you may earn from Hilton’s frequently offered quarterly promotions.
Fifth night free on award stays
This is the same benefit as the one available to Hilton Gold elites.
Free Water and possible late check-out
You will receive 2 complimentary bottles of water, which all Hilton elites receive. In terms of late check-out, although there is an expectation that Hilton Diamond elites receive a more favourable treatment than Gold elites, in practice, that rarely happens.
Since the late check-out is not a guaranteed benefit, individual properties hold sway and there isn’t really a way to leverage your status in a more definitive manner.
In Conclusion
Unlike Frequent Flyer Programs which tend to attract loads of people, Hotel Loyalty Programs remain pretty niche. But it need not be. I would argue that holding status in a Hotel Loyalty Program can potentially be much more rewarding than with an airline program.
Personally speaking I have been a Hilton Diamond member for few years now, and although I do not seek out Hilton properties as my first choice when I am travelling, I do find that I get a lot of value out of my status on occasions when I do stay with them.
Hilton have not published an end date to the promotion, this generally means that it can shut shop any time it feels like it has received enough applications. If you do wish to make a move on this, I suggest you throw your hat in the ring sooner rather than later.
Do you wish to take advantage of the status match offer? Leave a comment below.
