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Diamond status is the top tier in the program, and it is one of the largest hotel groups in the world. Diamond status is the easiest top tier hotel status to earn with any US-issued credit cards.
I wanted to take a closer look at the benefits of Diamond status, including the easiest ways to earn it.
How to get a Diamond status.
You can earn the Diamond status through stays, you can earn it by having a premium credit card, and you can earn it by spending on certain credit cards.
Diamond status is earned with hotel stays.
You need to earn any of the following in a calendar year if you want to achieve Diamond status through hotel stays.
60 nights.
Each check-in and check-out counts as one stay.
You typically earn 10 base points per dollar at most brands.
The situation has led to a reduction in elite requirements. You only need 42 nights, 21 stays, and 84,000 base points to get Diamond status. Both revenue and award count towards the total.
If you have access to US credit cards, you can easily earn Diamond status if you meet the standard qualification requirements.
You can earn status with a suite of co- branded credit cards.
The easiest way to earn Diamond status with a credit card is to use the American Express Hilton Honors card.
The annual fee is not justified by the many benefits of thehilton aspire card, such as Diamond status for as long as you have the card. An annual free weekend night certificate is one of the benefits. A $450 annual fee is charged for the Hilton Aspire card.
If you spend $40,000 on either of the following cards in a year, you can earn the Diamond status.
If you can't meet the spending requirement, you can still get the Hilton Business Card and the Hilton Surpass Card with the same status as a cardmember.
There are credit cards that offer elite status.
Diamond status benefits for the Hilton.
What are the benefits of being a Diamond member? The benefits are in order of importance.
The executive lounge has access.
Diamond members have access to the executive lounges. This applies regardless of the availability to upgrade the Diamond member to an executive room.
Executive lounges offer complimentary breakfast, evening snacks, and a place to grab a coffee or drink during the day. In particular in Asia, executive lounges will be better than domestic ones.
The executive lounge access for the members of the Diamond is given to them.
Continental breakfast is free for members of the Honors Diamond program at properties outside of the United States. This is a choice you can make at all properties.
There are some things to note.
Many hotels will offer Diamond members full breakfast, even though the benefit is only for continental breakfast.
Diamond members can eat in the restaurant or in the lounge at hotels that give them the option.
In the US, members of the Honors Diamond program receive a hotel credit in lieu of breakfast. It was introduced in 2021, but has been extended into 2022.
The amount of credit varies from $10 to 25 per person per night. Boston, Chicago, the District of Columbia, Key Largo, Key West, New York City, San Francisco, the county of Los Angeles, and the state of Hawaii are high-cost markets for full service and lifestyle brands.
I think World of Hyatt is the winner when it comes to breakfast benefits at major hotel chains, with Globalist members receiving a hot breakfast at all properties globally, followed byHiltonHonors and Marriott Bonvoy.
Members of the Diamond program receive complimentary breakfast outside of the United States.
The room has been upgraded.
Individual hotels have a lot of discretion when it comes to room upgrades for members of the Hilton Honors Diamond program. The terms of the program state that members of the program can receive upgrades to preferred rooms, junior, standard, or one-bedroom suites.
All of these upgrades are granted at the discretion of the hotel, and are granted on a space available basis for the entire duration of the stay at the time of check-in.
This language is different from Marriott Bonvoy and World of Hyatt, both of which promise suite upgrades for top tier elite members subject to availability, rather than at the discretion of the hotel.
I don't expect suite upgrades as a member of the Hilton Honors Diamond program. I am upgraded to suites fairly often. I get a suite upgrade about 50% of the time, but it doesn't happen much in the US.
As a member of the Diamond program, I get suite upgrades a lot.
100% bonus points.
A 100% points bonus is given to Diamond members of the Hilton Honors program. Diamond members earn an additional 10 points for every dollar spent.
The rate of return on credit cards issued by the hotels is excellent, and there are global promotions to earn more points.
It's easy to rack up points for hotel stays when you combine all of these factors.
As a Diamond member, the points rack up really quickly.
The benefits of the Hilton My Way.
Diamond members receive a benefit called "My Way" when they stay, which varies by brand.
You can choose between a spa, golf or restaurant discount or a 1,000 Honors bonus points.
Conrad, Curio Collection, and DoubleTree have bonus points.
The bonus points will be earned at the Grand Vacations location.
One of the options at Embassy Suites is to get 1,000 Honors bonus points or three snacks.
A hot breakfast for up to two guests is available at the Garden Inn.
You can choose between a snack and non-alcoholic beverage at the hotel.
You can choose from two bottles of water or a sweet snack.
You can choose between a snack and bottled water at Home2 Suites by Hilton.
Bonus points can be earned at the DoubleTree hotels.
Premium wi-fi.
Premium lobby and in-room wi-fi are available to members of theHiltonHonors Diamond program. Premium internet is not offered to mid-tier elite members.
The fifth night of free on awards is still here.
I still consider it to be extremely valuable, even though this is a perk for all of the elite tiers. You can stretch your points further if you receive a fifth night free on award redemptions.
Receive a fifth night free on award redemptions if you are a Hilton elite member.
This is an area that lags behind. Late check-out is a requirement for all members of the Hilton Honors program. The hotel has the final say on this. Unlike at Marriott and Hyatt, the top tier members of the hotel don't get a guaranteed 4PM check-out.
Two bottles of water.
You receive two bottles of water for every stay you make.
There is guaranteed room availability.
When booking at least 48 hours in advance, members of the Hilton Honors Diamond program can receive guaranteed room availability. There are a couple of reasons this isn't very valuable to me.
You will not get a discounted rate with this deal because you will pay the highest possible rate.
Don't expect this benefit to work during major conventions, sporting events, or when a hotel is over booked.
You will receive guaranteed room availability for at least 48 hours.
Status gifts are given by elite status.
If you earn status through a credit card, you don't get elite status if you don't earn a certain number of elite nights.
If you achieve 60 elite nights, you can give another member gold status.
Diamond status is given to another member if you achieve 100 elite nights.
The diamond status is extended.
If you didn't qualify in a particular year, you have a chance to extend your Diamond status. This is only available to those who earn Diamond status via nights, stays, or base points, and not through a credit card.
You need to be eligible.
They don't have to be consecutive, but at least three years of Diamond status.
At least 250 elite nights earned base points.
Diamond status is earned if you earn lifetime Diamond status.
The requirements for lifetime Diamond status are as follows:
The years don't need to be consecutive, but members must have maintained their Diamond status for 10 years.
The members must have stayed at least 1,000 nights and accumulated at least two million base points since joining the program.
What are the differences between Diamond and Gold status?
What are the differences between Gold and Diamond? There are a few differences.
Gold members receive an 80% points bonus.
Standard suites are not included in Diamond member upgrades and Gold member upgrades.
Gold members only get executive lounge access when they upgrade to an executive room, whereas Diamond members get executive lounge access regardless of the room they are in.
Gold members receive free standard wi-fi, while Diamond members receive complimentary premium wi-fi.
The differences between the two elite tiers are not huge, but you will definitely notice some differences if you stay at a hotel more often.
Breakfast is also given to members of the Hilton Gold.
Is the Diamond status worth it?
Is earning the Diamond status worth it? It depends on how you are earning it, what you are hoping to gain from status, and what the opportunity cost is.
I would say that if you earn the Diamond status through actual stays, you are done.
It may not be worth the nights compared to Gold status.
Marriott Bonvoy Platinum and World of Hyatt Globalist offer more guaranteed benefits, at least on paper.
I think that the best value top tier status you can earn is the Diamond elite status, if you have theHiltonHonorsAspire Card.
You pay $450 per year for a card that will get you top tier Diamond status, and also give you up to $500 in credits, a free night certificate, and more. I consider the Diamond status to be free because I value the perks of the card at more than $450.
I used my free night certificate at the hotel.
Diamond status is worth it if you have a similar valuation. Diamond status is worth it if you earn it through a co- branded credit card. However:
I would prefer to go for status with Marriott or Hyatt.
For someone who only stays at the hotel once in a while, it's great that they have a gold status.
Diamond is the top tier of the program and comes with perks like free breakfast, lounge access, bonus points, and room upgrades. Diamond status isn't as guaranteed as other programs, but I've gotten great value with it.
The easiest way to get top tier status with any major hotel program is with theHiltonHonorsAspire Card.
What have you experienced as a member of theHiltonHonors Diamond?
The rates and fees for American Express cards can be found in the following links. The American Express Business Card and the American Express Surpass Card are both rates and fees.
