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Hilton changes the rules of its ‘three stays for Gold’ hotel promotion

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In late July I wrote about an ‘open to all’ promotion that Hilton HHonors was running with airberlin.

My original article is here – I won’t repeat all of the details again.

You receive Hilton HHonors Gold status if you complete just three stays at any Hilton Group hotel.  Even reward stays count.   The Gold status will last until March 2017.

Hilton Gold 350

Hilton HHonors Gold status has the best mid-tier benefits of any hotel loyalty scheme.   The full list is here but the key ones are an upgrade (which you usually get) and free breakfast, except at Waldorf-Astoria properties.

Hilton has now changed the promotion rules.

How has Hilton changed the rules?

The promotion says that you must complete your three stays within 90 days of registration via this website.

Originally, the final day for registration was December 31st.  This meant that it was possible to complete your 3rd stay in 2016 – and this would have meant your Gold status would run until March 2018.  The rule is that you get status for the remainder of the year you earn it, all of the following year and until March of the year after that.

Hilton has changed the closing date for registration to September 30th.

This means that it is now impossible to finish this promotion in 2016 and thus get status until March 2018.  Whenever you sign up, your Gold status will ‘only’ last until March 2017.

This is still an excellent promotion, and one which is worth moving three stays to Hilton Group hotels this Autumn, but it is a little less exciting than it was.

You can register for the promotion here.  The 90 days starts ticking from the date you register.


How to earn Hilton Honors points and status from UK credit cards

How to earn Hilton Honors points and status from UK credit cards (April 2024)

There are various ways of earning Hilton Honors points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses.

Do you know that holders of The Platinum Card from American Express receive FREE Hilton Honors Gold status for as long as they hold the card?  It also comes with Marriott Bonvoy Gold, Radisson Rewards Premium and MeliaRewards Gold status.  We reviewed American Express Platinum in detail here and you can apply here.

The Platinum Card from American Express

40,000 bonus points and a huge range of valuable benefits – for a fee Read our full review

Did you know that the Virgin Atlantic credit cards are a great way of earning Hilton Honors points? Two Virgin Points can be converted into three Hilton Honors points. The Virgin Atlantic cards are the only Visa or Mastercard products in the UK which can indirectly earn Hilton Honors points and they come with generous sign-up bonuses. You can apply here.

You can also earn Hilton Honors points indirectly with:

and for small business owners:

The conversion rate from American Express to Hilton points is 1:2.

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which can be used to earn Hilton Honors points

(Want to earn more hotel points?  Click here to see our complete list of promotions from the major hotel chains or use the ‘Hotel Offers’ link in the menu bar at the top of the page.)

Comments (48)

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  • Dynamo says:

    Do I need to book direct with Hilton in order for a stay to qualify as one of the three?

  • Mycity says:

    If I’m already gold til March next year can I use this to extend my gold status?

    Thanks

    • Joe says:

      I’ve found that usually that is the case. I’m Gold until March 2016, I’ve got three Hilton stays next week and have registered for this – so will find out soon!

      • Ian says:

        Most other gold promotions does not extend the time – only works if you are less than Gold

  • Dean says:

    I just completed this. And now I’m gold for next year too. It’s just a shame that I need 18 stays for diamond and not 10.

    • ComeFlyWithMe123 says:

      May I ask, where do you find out the expiry date of your gold card (without receiving the actual card or assuming it lasts until Matc 2017?)

    • Daftboy says:

      @Dean – just to check, did your stays include any that you had booked before registering? And were any of them reward stays or cash+points?

      Useful to get the datapoints from someone who has completed the challenge!

  • ian says:

    I’ve registered for this but unlike other accelerated night promotions this one doesn’t seem to change the ‘counter’ to show how many / few nights I need to reach gold

    • RICO says:

      Probably because the promotion is based upon nights rather than stays.

      • ian says:

        OK. Quite right I should have said stays instead of nights. But this promotion still doesn’t show an accelerated counter

  • j peters says:

    It seems a shame to me when BigCo backtracks. At least Gold remains available via other channels very cheaply, not forgetting to mention the current fast track to Diamond

  • MARY ELLEN HOCKENHULL says:

    if I join via the airberlin site that counts as one stay. I then have a night booked in August so that is number 2. I am thinking then that number 3 then has to be sometime in September/October/November – can I book via the Hilton website and use Tesco deals?
    (slightly confused about the difference between what is a stay and what is a night)

    • Rob says:

      How does joining via the airberlin site count as one stay?

      A Tesco deals stay WOULD count as a stay. For certainty, book it via the Hilton website using code PR20TC instead of calling.

    • Mycity says:

      Sorry have I missed something? Where does it say joining through Air Berlin counts as one stay?

  • James says:

    I’ve had so many problems with Hilton during my diamond challenge that I can’t even be bothered to finish it. Stays not posting, hhonors points not posting, charged two or three times for reward stays(!) and just canned responses and no resolution. So frustrated.

  • Rob says:

    Read the whole T&C’s, it explains that reward stays trigger stay credit.

    • Nick M says:

      Apologies, yes can see that now… slightly confusing though!

      Does anybody know if a reward stay would trigger the 2500 bonus for having the credit card? Or should I compare the cash price to reward cost+2500?

      Thanks!

      • Rob says:

        It often does, but I didn’t get mine from the Hotel Reichshof stay in Hamburg. This may have been because it was a brand new hotel and not set up properly on the Barclays system.

      • mark2 says:

        It pays to buy something, anything on the Hilton credit card.

        • mark2 says:

          at the hotel, obviously!

        • Richmond says:

          I didn’t buy anything in the hotel and I didn’t use Barclaycard to pay for stays. Got bonuses after 1 paid stay and 3 reward stays.

      • Richmond says:

        Yes, reward stay triggers bonus from Barcylacard. Got bonuses for 3 reward stays.

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