The Hilton Honours Status Match is accepting applications for a fast-track to either Gold or Diamond status with the hotel brand’s loyalty program through to March 2020. We suspect this is partly due to the SPG/Marriott merger that has not gone well and has some looking to switch loyalty programs. In this post, we share information about the Hilton Honours Status Match opportunity and discuss some of the perks associated with Hilton Gold and Diamond.
The Offer:
After you submit proof of stays and status with one of the following loyalty programs (Choice Privileges, World of Hyatt, IHG Rewards Club, Marriott Rewards/Bonvoy, Starwood Preferred Guest or other), Hilton will review your application and either approve it or reject it and then offer you Gold status after 4 stays or Diamond status after 8 stays. You have a period of 90 days to complete the minimum number of stays at any Hilton brand hotel.
For more information: https://statusmatch.hiltonhonors.com/
Member Benefits by Tier:
The chart below shows the member benefits associated with each tier.
Hilton Honours makes the claim that elite members “Earn more points than any other hotel loyalty program”, which might be true but it’s also because they often charge way more points than anyone else for rewards stays at certain properties and times of the year. Recently, Hilton introduced variable pricing for rewards stays which makes it very difficult to plan on how you will use your points. As an example, the Hilton Tokyo Odaiba doesn’t have a base room available for points so they are asking 449,000 points as a minimum, which is insane and bullshit (pardon my language). In this case, you are better off to find another hotel with a lower redemption rate or pay cash. While it wasn’t our top choice, we are thankful to have been able to use 12,500 Hyatt points per night to secure a room at the Hyatt Regency Tokyo and applied a suite upgrade and will have lounge access to save about $1,000CAD per night. Sorry Hilton, but this is when you suck the most as a program.
Hilton has properties in 78 countries and 17 brands which means there will most likely be a Hilton where you’re traveling. In addition, they definitely do have some aspirational properties that are worth saving points for redemptions, like the Conrad Koh Samui.
More information: https://hiltonhonors3.hilton.com/en/explore/benefits/index.html
Our Experience as Hilton Gold and Hilton Diamond:
We have had both Gold and Diamond status with Hilton for a number of years. We once did the Hilton status match to get Diamond status and now get Gold status through our American Express Platinum card.
The one major difference between Gold and Diamond is guaranteed lounge access. As Gold members, you only get lounge access if you are upgraded to an Executive Level room, which has happened to us more often than not.
If there is one thing that is disappointing with the Hilton program, it’s the room upgrade options and we consider them to be the worst of any hotel loyalty program. As Diamonds, we have asked countless times for a suite upgrade with mixed success. If suite upgrades are a top priority for you, World of Hyatt is a better program.
One perk of Hilton Diamond though is the status gifting to one other person. For example: As a Diamond member, Jason could gift me Diamond status which would be great. Another program that has a similar perk is IHG’s Spire Elite status.
Factors to Consider:
After the Hilton devaluation in 2013, we have moved away from HHonours but we are always looking at various offers to see if it makes sense especially since Hilton has made changes to their program in the last year or so.
- Do you already have top tier status with a program?
At this time, we will not be completing the Hilton Status Match because we’re happy with our Marriott Platinum status (earned through stays, not a credit card) and don’t want to divert 8 stays from Marriott Bonvoy to HHonours this early in the year. With our Platinum Status, we get free breakfast, lounge access, and most of the other benefits so it’s just not worth it to us at this point.
- Will you be traveling enough to meet the requirement?
We will be traveling a lot this year so it makes sense to consider this status match opportunity. That being said, we still have Hyatt points to use and the hotels we want to stay at on our projected trips aren’t part of the Hilton brand, they’re either Marriott, Hyatt, or boutique hotels. It doesn’t make sense for us at this time. This offer is good through to March 2020 so best to complete the requirements sooner than later to maximize your enjoyment of the benefits.
Summary:
The Hilton Status Match offer is a great opportunity to fast-track to Gold or Diamond status if you currently already have elite status. That being said, these offers aren’t always around and so it’s wise to evaluate if it’s the best time to take advantage of it based on your projected travels for the next 1-3 years.
Will you sign-up for the Hilton status match?
Related Posts:
- Save 20%: Hilton HHonors MVP Rate for Americas and Caribbean
- 5 Tips to Get Upgraded to a Suite
- How We Use Points for Hotels and Flights – Our Trip to the UAE, Maldives, Qatar, and Indonesia
- How We Use Points for Hotels and Flights – Our Trip to Vietnam, Malaysia, and Sri Lanka
- Plan: Air Canada Status Challenge
- Car Rentals Tips and Why you should rent from Silvercar
- World of Hyatt Cash and Points Devaluation Starting November 1, 2018
- Tips to Maximize Hotel and Airline Points for Travel
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