This article looks at how you get a status match in Hilton Honors.
Hilton Honors has extended its status match programme. This is how you can take part.
I mentioned this in passing in the article on Friday on the Hilton Summer Sale but I wanted to run through the match in more detail today because it is very generous. I did it myself in 2017!
How do I get a Hilton Honors status match?
Via this link, you can match your existing status with another hotel loyalty programme into Hilton Honors. Mid-tier status will receive Hilton Gold, whilst top tier status will receive Hilton Diamond.
They definitely accept all of the major programmes shown in the dropdown menu on that page. If you have status with a smaller scheme it may or may not be accepted. I seem to remember that Wyndham Rewards is not accepted for some reason but don’t quote me on that.
The match rules are simple:
You will receive your new status benefits for 90 days from the date of acceptance (usually 4-5 days after you email your request)
To keep Gold until March 2021, you need to complete four stays (cash or reward) within the 90 days
To keep Diamond until March 2021, you need to complete eight stays (cash or reward) within the 90 days
If you match to Diamond but only manage 4-7 stays then you receive Gold until March 2021
Note that, as well as having status in another programme, you must also have evidence of a stay within the last 12 months with that programme. If, for example, you have IHG Rewards Club Platinum status via the IHG Rewards Club Premium Mastercard, you would also need to show evidence of an IHG stay in order to be matched.
Is a Hilton Honors status match worth doing?
Potentially, yes.
Hilton Gold is generally seen as the best mid-tier hotel status because it gets you free breakfast. You don’t get free breakfast with IHG Rewards Club even if you are a top tier Spire Elite member!
Hilton Diamond comes with guaranteed lounge access, where the hotel has a lounge. Again, good luck with that as an IHG elite member.
Timing is key, of course.
Once you are accepted, you get the benefits of your higher status for 90 days. This could save you a LOT of money on breakfast if you are heading to a Hilton property this Summer.
If you are planning to do the full 4 or 8 stays (note Hilton wants stays, not nights) in order to retain status until March 2021, you also need to be confident that you can squeeze them in.
(You might want to do the maths on a mattress run – booking a local hotel, checking in and immediately leaving without telling anyone – to get the extra nights you need. Would you get enough value by March 2021 to justify spending £200-£300 on mattress run nights? One thing to remember is that – over the Summer months – cheap mattress run opportunities may be harder to find.)
If you have specific hotels in mind, you should also research how they treat Diamond members. Imagine you were planning to stay at Conrad New York for example. This is unlikely to offer you much as a Diamond member:
Conrad New York has no executive lounge
American hotels in the Hilton chain tend not to offer good upgrades, because the country is awash with status members
Even the basic rooms are suites (it is an all-suite hotel) so an upgrade isn’t even that important
I would get breakfast – breakfast is a la carte and you can choose from a small selection – but New York is not short of options
In this scenario, I might prefer to trigger my status match another time when I know I will get better value during the following 90 days.
You can request your Hilton Honors status match here.
PS. Remember that free Hilton Honors Gold status is a benefit of the The Platinum Card from American Express.
You may want to get Amex Platinum for a few months (just long enough to trigger the 30,000 Amex Membership Rewards bonus points, worth 30,000 Avios) and trigger Hilton Gold that way. If you later cancel your Platinum card, you should retain your Hilton status until March 2020.
You will also receive status in Melia Rewards, Shangri-La Golden Circle, Marriott Bonvoy and Radisson Rewards. My review of Amex Platinum is here.
How to earn Hilton Honors points via UK credit cards
As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Hilton Honors points from UK credit cards. Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses!
Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Hilton Honors points. That page is regularly updated with the latest special offers and will still be accurate even if you are reading this article months after publication.
(Want to earn more hotel points? Click here to see our complete list of promotions from the major hotel chains or use the ‘Hotel Promos’ link in the menu bar at the top of the page.)
About Head for Points
Hmm. All hotel schemes annoy me these days (now there’s no SPG). Hilton I find especially annoying as I’ve NEVER had a stay post automatically, every single night requires chasing… Marriott are only slightly better, they post a random number of points after a stay that’s never correct, so chasing required. And IHG? Need better properties…
Will IHG Gold match to Hilton gold?
Iv clearly done this wrong, I dropped from Diamond to silver in March and instead of getting a status match Iv been given a challenge 4 stays in 90 days for gold however within that 90 days I’m still silver.
They may do.
Mark – yes, IHG Gold to Hilton Gold has worked for me and for my husband a couple of times.
Slightly OT, I have a small amount of Hilton points expiring in August as don’t use Hilton now. Any suggestions what I can do with them?
Convert to Avios or Flying club miles
Read this https://www.headforpoints.com/2019/04/07/how-to-use-small-orphan-amounts-of-miles-and-points-part-1-hotels-4/
how can anyone tell when points are about to expire?
It’s simple, 12 months of zero activity. Or Awardwallet will tell you.
Awardwallet aside, you must have little going on in your life if you can accurately track your precise activity in any preceding 12 month period.
Perhaps he logs in online and looks at account history? … or gets his assistant to do it…
Umm, just log in and look at your account history.
You literally login, look at your activity, and perform simple arithmetic to determine whether the date is >/<12 months ago.
you get an email from Hilton telling you they are going to expire!
I didn’t get a points expiry email. I did email them and get them back though…
OT: Hi Rob, quick question will day stays count towards the 4 stays?
Yes, they should do
Not sure.
Hilton’s (semi-)official answer is that you earn stay credit but not night credit. Although hotels tend to interpret it at their own discretion and but you may need to make claims.
Hi, I thought only Diamond could redeem 5 nights for 4 day’s points – but now looks like Hilton Silver and Gold can also, or have I misread their website ?
Thanks
Any status member.
Hi Rob any news on the Hilton Uk card yet? Think i remember reading on here that it could be possible in the near future ?
There isn’t going to be a new card at the moment.
Hilton have flatly refused a status match when I similarly applied as I’d already previously had one – I followed up with three further notes trying to argue the point – same response.
Went through chat and was quickly offered a 10 stays to Diamond – just need to complete by end of 2019.
I too was refused a match earlier this year on the basis that I’d had one before. Didn’t try to challenge via chat though so I had to get it back the old fashioned way!
Will remember to try chat if I have to go down the ‘match’ route again.
Because of a stay at Edinburgh Waldorf a week after being accepted for Amex Platinum I applied for status match against IHG gold/Ambassador platinum. I was turned down on the grounds of a previous match a couple of years ago. I then pointed out that I was about to gain Hilton Gold status via Amex Platinum anyway and was only pursuing the matching request to ensure I have Gold prior to arriving IN Edinburgh and met with a flat refusal in both chat dialogue, and via email, even when I supplied unequivocal evidence in the form of a picture of my Amex Platinum card!,
Because of a WA stay booked a week after being accepted for Amex Platinum I applied for status match against IHG gold/Ambassador platinum. I was turned down on the grounds of a previous match a couple of years ago. I then pointed out that I was about to gain Hilton Gold status via Amex Platinum anyway and was only pursuing the matching request to ensure I have Gold prior to arriving and met with a flat refusal in both chat dialogue, and via email, even when I supplied unequivocal evidence in the form of a picture of my Amex Platinum card!,
I have gold….planning California and Hawaii in August. Should I go for diamond match?
Also what hotels would people recommend in New York, Anaheim and Oahu-Hilton, IHG or others?
Little benefit between Gold and Diamond in the US – remember that Hilton gives out Diamond for free with one of its US credit cards. Your chance of an upgrade won’t be high and you’re getting breakfast anyway. Unless you were at a lot of hotels with lounges there is unlikely to be much benefit.
If you were touring Asia or Europe I’d possibly advise differently.
Accor have a great NovoTel on 52nd street with a rooftop bar.
Stayed there for a week in June.
I need to earn 57 Bonvoy points to round off to near 1000 to empty my account.
I do not have Amex MR account anymore due to recently cancelled Platinum card.
Any easy way to get this less than 100 point?
Some of the social media sign-ups still give a few quick points. I would ring Marriott and ask nicely for a comp.
ring them on 020 7012 7312 and ask .they may help.
If one does a status match based on a mid tier to Gold, but happens to do 8 stays, will Hilton upgrade to Diamond?
Is there an easy solution for searching the cheapest prices for Hilton stays?
The Status match email I just got said March 2020.
Probably not updated yet. The website says 2021 and I would be very surprised if you had any issues. I can help you chase it up with Hilton if necessary.