Hilton Honors is the official loyalty program of Hilton. While Hilton Honors points are one of the weakest hotel currencies, I still am big on Hilton Honors because it’s easy to climb your way up the different Hilton Honors levels and there are some solid benefits given out even at the mid-tier level.
Here’s everything you need to know about the different Hilton Honors levels: Silver, Gold, and Diamond.
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Hilton Honors levels
The Hilton Honors elite levels are divided up in to the following tiers:
- Member
- Silver
- 4 stays in a calendar year or
- 10 nights in a calendar year
- Gold
- 20 stays in a calendar year, or
- 40 nights in a calendar year, or
- 75,000 Hilton Honors Base Points in a calendar year
- Diamond
- 30 stays in a calendar year, or
- 60 nights in a calendar year, or
- 120,000 Hilton Honors Base Points in a calendar year
One thing that makes the different Hilton Honors levels special is that they can all be obtained via credit card approvals. And not just that, but some of those credit cards are fantastic travel rewards cards that come with valuable perks (which I discuss more later).
So Hilton is definitely a loyalty program that’s not hard to maintain status with even when you’re primarily focused on another hotel loyalty program, such as Marriott/SPG, Hyatt, or IHG.
Hilton Honors Member
Anybody can become a Hilton Honors Member instantly just by signing up online. In fact, you can do this right now — just click here to join Hilton Honors.
Just by signing up you’ll be granted a few perks like:
- Hilton Honors discount rates
- Complimentary in-room and lobby Standard Internet access
- Late check out (must be requested and is subject to availability)
The biggest reason to become a member is so you can start earning points on your Hilton stays. If you’ve recently stayed at a Hilton with the past 30 days but weren’t a member you can still get points but you”ll need to submit a written request to the nearest Hilton Reservations and Customer Care office.
But beyond earning points, it’s also nice to receive complimentary wifi and even late check out when available. While these perks are nice, you’ll want to be at one of the higher Hilton Honors levels to start reaping real value.
Hilton Honors Silver
- Requirement:
- 4 stays in a calendar year or
- 10 nights in a calendar year
Hilton Silver is very easy to obtain since you only need four stays. Since this is the bottom tier status level, you won’t get a lot of super valuable benefits but you do get come solid perks such as:
- 5th night free when booking a reward stay of five nights or more using all Points
- 20% bonus on all the Hilton Honors Base Points you earn
- Complimentary in-room and lobby Standard Internet access
- Two complimentary bottles of water per stay
The fifth night free benefit can end up being an extremely valuable perk, especially if you use your points to cover a night at an expensive Hilton property.
I broke down the costs in points and cash at some of the top Hilton properties like the Conrad, Waldorf, and Curio Collection, so you can see how much value you can get out of this perk alone (it’s a lot).
The 20% bonus on base points is okay but there’s not any notable benefits of Hilton Silver that standard Members don’t get besides the above. Thus, Silver really only adds a lot of potential value with it’s 5th night free perk.
How to get Hilton Silver Status
Hilton Silver status can easily be achieved with the Amex Hilton Honors card. That card earns 7X on Hilton purchases, 5X at U.S. restaurants, supermarkets, and gas stations and comes with no annual fee. So you’re basically getting these perks like the 5th night free for no cost, which is not a bad deal.
Hilton Honors Gold
- Requirement:
- 20 stays in a calendar year, or
- 40 nights in a calendar year, or
- 75,000 Hilton Honors Base Points in a calendar year
Hilton Gold status is where things really start to heat up in the benefits department. With Hilton Gold you’ll be given the following benefits:
- Upgrades (when available)
- Free breakfast
- Lounge access (but only at certain properties or when upgraded)
- 80% bonus on all the Hilton Honors Base Points you earn
Hilton Gold status can land you upgrades at Hilton hotels. While you likely won’t receive as many suite upgrades as a Diamond member, it’s still possible to get bumped up to better rooms. The real benefit to me is the free breakfast, though.
That’s where a lot of the value of Gold status is since many travelers mostly look forward to saving some cash on breakfast each morning with their elite status.
The 80% bonus on base points amounts to a return of about 7.2% for money spent at Hilton properties.
That makes Hilton one of the lowest earning hotel loyalty programs in terms of cash back on dollars spent at the hotel. However, Hilton often runs promotions that allow you to earn more points so their return rate is more competitive than it appears.
- To learn more about Hilton Honors Gold Status, click here.
How to get Hilton Honors Gold
Hilton Honors Gold can be obtained in a number of ways. In terms of credit cards, one popular method is going with the Amex Platinum Card, which comes with a host of benefits but a $550 annual fee.
A cheaper option is to go with the Amex Hilton Ascend which is a new credit card offering 12X on Hilton purchases, 6X at U.S. restaurants, supermarkets, and gas stations, and comes with a free weekend night after you spend $15,000 in a calendar year. The annual fee is only $95 and the card usually comes with a great welcome offer.
Hilton Honors Diamond
- Requirement:
- 30 stays in a calendar year, or
- 60 nights in a calendar year, or
- 120,000 Hilton Honors Base Points in a calendar year
Hilton Diamond is the top tier elite Hilton Honors level and will offer you the following benefits.
- 100% bonus on all the Hilton Honors Base Points you earn
- Executive lounge access
- Free breakfasts
- Eligible Diamond members can choose to extend their status for an additional year beyond the expiration date, one-time, for any reason
- You are guaranteed a room when you make a reservation at least 48 hours prior to your arrival
- Complimentary in-room and lobby Premium Internet access
The biggest perks are the upgrades, executive lounge access, and the 100% bonus on points earned.
A lot of Diamond members aren’t happy about their upgrade experiences. I know they can’t happen all of the time, but honestly I’ve had an overall positive experience with getting upgrades.
Lounge access is another valuable perk of Diamond status. I’ve experienced some nice lounges which is usually where you’ll have breakfast and other light snacks/meals throughout the day. Having access to a quality lounge can really make your stay more relaxing and enjoyable.
The 100% bonus on spending puts Diamond status cash back earning at around 8%. Like Gold, this is not a high return but the constant promos help these earnings to become more lucrative.
- To learn more about Hilton Honors Diamond Status, click here.
How to get Hilton Honors Diamond
Hilton Honors Gold can be obtained by getting approved for the Hilton Aspire credit card.
The Aspire is one of the best travel rewards credit cards. With it you’ll earn 14X on Hilton purchases, 7X Hilton Honors Bonus Points on flights booked directly with airlines or amextravel.com, car rentals booked directly from select car rental companies and at U.S. restaurants. Plus, you get a free night every year.
You’ll also get Priority Pass, a $250 airline statement credit, $250 Hilton resort statement credit, and $100 on property credit at Waldorf and Conrad hotels. All of these perks combine to form one amazing travel card that also gets you automatic Hilton Honors Diamond status.
Lifetime Diamond status
There’s no level above Hilton Diamond status but there is lifetime Diamond status.
Lifetime Diamond status will be given if you have earned Diamond Status for at least 10 years (non-consecutive) and who have completed stays totaling at least 1,000 paid and reward nights OR who as of December 31st, 2016 have earned Diamond Status for at least 10 years (non-consecutive) and who have earned at least 2 million Base Points over life of membership.
You can read more bout lifetime Diamond Status here.
Final word on Hilton Honors levels
It’s incredibly easy to climb up to the top of the Hilton Honors levels via signing up for the right credit cards. A good idea is to just evaluate the perks that come with each Hilton status tier and determine which benefits you value the most. From there you can choose the right credit card that will supply you with all the perks you need.
Daniel Gillaspia is the Founder of UponArriving.com and the credit card app, WalletFlo. He is a former attorney turned travel expert covering destinations along with TSA, airline, and hotel policies. Since 2014, his content has been featured in publications such as National Geographic, Smithsonian Magazine, and CNBC. Read my bio.
Is the complimentary breakfast for Gold status (or Diamond for that matter) at ALL locations? Or is it up the the hotel to participate? I have gold and recently stayed at at Hampton Inn in Vancouver BC, they gave me a bag of chips and a candy bar but no breakfast.