Last-minute strategies for earning Hilton Honors elite status

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With less than three months left in 2023, now is a good time for Hilton Honors members to determine what they need to do to qualify or requalify for elite status.

If you spend much time on the road, you may have seen how valuable hotel elite status can be. From premium early check-in and late checkout to room upgrades, there are benefits to having hotel elite status with hotel chains. And as you’d expect, Hilton is no exception.

Fortunately, there are numerous ways to earn Hilton Honors status, including staying at hotels, earning base points and having a cobranded credit card.

Here’s what you can do before the end of the year to earn your desired Hilton Honors status.

Hilton Honors status

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The Hilton Honors loyalty program has a base-level member tier when you join, but then you can earn Hilton elite status by reaching specific thresholds for nights, stays or base points each calendar year.

There are three tiers in the program: Silver, Gold and Diamond.

Here’s a look at how many nights, stays or base points you typically need for each Hilton status tier:

Following pandemic-related reduced qualification requirements in previous years, Hilton has now returned to its standard elite qualification requirements.

You earn Hilton base points at a rate of 10 points per dollar at most Hilton hotels, and you can earn base points on up to four rooms per stay. Stays and nights booked with points or free night rewards also count toward elite qualification.

Hilton uses a calendar year as its qualification period, so you have from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31 each year to qualify for your desired elite membership tier. Your status is then valid through the end of the following calendar year.

Related: Which hotels count award stays toward elite status?

Hilton promotions

Hilton frequently offers promotions that may help you earn elite status and bonus points.

HILTON.COM

In past years, Hilton has offered a Double Your Nights promotion. With this promotion, you could earn double elite-qualifying nights when you stayed in the last three months of the calendar year.

During these past promotions, every night could count as two nights toward Milestone Bonuses and rollover nights. As such, these promotions could also help you qualify for Hilton status for the next year.

These offers were a handy shortcut if members were close to qualifying or requalifying status to book a few extra stays before the end of the year.

Related: 8 tips to help you upgrade your hotel room for free

Status match

You can request a status match if you are currently an entry-level Hilton member or have Silver status.

All you need to do is submit your proof of a recent stay and proof of elite status in another competitor’s loyalty program through Hilton’s dedicated status match page. If Hilton approves your status match, it will upgrade your status to Gold for 90 days.

You can keep Gold status through March 31, 2025, if you stay eight nights within your 90-day trial period. And you can snag top-tier Diamond status through March 31, 2025, if you stay 14 nights within your 90-day trial period.

This is a great opportunity to quickly earn Gold or Diamond status with Hilton if you have planned upcoming travel and aren’t looking to sign up for a Hilton credit card that provides elite status as a cardmember perk.

However, reward stays do not count toward achieving the status match requirements. And you can only do a status match with Hilton once in a lifetime, so be sure to time your status match carefully.

Related: 8 ways to maximize Hilton Honors redemptions

Open a cobranded credit card

Finally, Hilton Honors status is easy to earn with a Hilton Honors credit card. Here’s a quick look at your options.

Diamond status

The Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card is spectacular because you can snag top-tier Hilton Diamond status just by having the card. Sure, you have to pay the recently increased $550 annual fee (see rates and fees), but that’s significantly less than paying for hotel stays outright. It also comes with a number of other perks and statement credits that can easily offset that out-of-pocket cost.

The information for the Hilton Aspire card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

Hilton Diamond status offers a variety of perks, including suite upgrades, a daily food and beverage credit (or continental breakfast outside the U.S.) for you and a guest, and executive lounge access at eligible properties.

Gold status

The Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card and The Hilton Honors American Express Business Card offer complimentary Hilton Gold Status as a cardmember perk.

Both cards also let you spend your way to Diamond status. You can get Hilton Diamond status through the end of the following calendar year when you spend $40,000 on your card in a calendar year. However, I recommend getting the Hilton Aspire card if your goal is Diamond status.

It’s also worth noting that cardholders of The Platinum Card® from American Express and The Business Platinum Card® from American Express get complimentary Hilton Gold and Marriott Bonvoy Gold elite status as cardmember perks. However, you must enroll in these perks.

Related: 6 reasons to get the Hilton Honors Amex Surpass card

Silver status

Lastly, you could apply for the Hilton Honors American Express Card if you want Hilton Silver status, though this does not come with nearly as many benefits as Hilton Diamond or Hilton Gold status. Still, Silver members are eligible for the fifth night free on award stays.

Related: The best Hilton hotels in the US, from luxury to budget stays

Bottom line

With the end of the year nearing, now is a good idea to consider your Hilton Honors elite status plans. After all, Hilton elite status is generally quite valuable, especially internationally.

Although you can stay your way to earning Hilton Honors status, opening a credit card with Hilton status is usually faster and easier. Best of all, you can maintain Hilton status without needing to requalify each calendar year if you have a credit card that provides the status you want as a perk.

For rates and fees link of the Hilton Honors Aspire Card, click here