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All Hilton Honors status downgrades reversed, and your existing status extended

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Hilton Honors has just launched a very impressive response to the coronavirus crisis.  The company has really stepped up to the plate here and put down a marker.  It will be VERY interesting to see how Marriott, IHG and Hyatt respond.

What is Hilton doing about your status due to coronavirus?

Here is the one I didn’t expect:

If your status was due to be downgraded on 31st March 2020 you receive an automatic extension to 31st March 2021

This is really very generous.  After all, people who did not requalify due to lack of nights in 2019 did not do so because of coronavirus.  The only real loss has been the inability to use my status during February and March 2020.

Hilton Honors status extension coronavirus

Given that Marriott Bonvoy has just dropped me from Titanium Elite to Gold Elite, I can see Hilton getting more of my business later this year.

If you earned status during 2019, you will keep it until 31st March 2022

If you have status now due to your stays last year, you don’t need to worry about requalifying before the end of 2020.  Your status is locked in until 31st March 2022.

This is a smart move.  People who did make an effort to requalify last year won’t feel let down by the fact that people like me have been gifted an additional year regardless.

There are two other announcements:

All points expiry has been paused until 31st December 2020

This isn’t really a big deal, since it was incredibly easy to avoid expiry anyway.  This article explains how to stop your Hilton Honors points expiring.

For US credit card holders, all free night awards earned by 30th August 2020 will be extended to 31st August 2021.

What are the Hilton rebooking rules due to coronavirus?

Hilton has also extended its coronavirus rebooking policy:

ALL bookings at Hilton hotels, even non-refundable ones, for stays up to 30th June can be changed or cancelled up to one day before arrival

All NEW reservations you make between today (25th March) and 30th June 2020 for ANY future arrival date can be changed or cancelled at no charge, up to one day before arrival

For clarity, this means that there is no reason not to book a cheaper Advanced Purchase room whenever you are booking a Hilton property up to 30th June, for any future date.

If you cannot make the change you need online, you can submit a request via this page of the Hilton website.  This only applies to bookings made directly – if you used a non-Hilton website or a travel agent to book you will need to speak to them.

Taken overall, I don’t think anyone could have expected more from Hilton.  Let’s hope that we see some similar moves from other chains.  With Hilton refusing to drop status for anyone it will put pressure on the other brands to act.


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

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

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

There are two dedicated Hilton Honors debit cards. These are especially attractive when spending abroad due to the 0% or 0.5% FX fee, depending on card.

You also receive FREE Hilton Honors status for as long as you hold the debit cards – Gold status with the Plus card and Silver status with the basic card. This is a great reason to apply even if you rarely use it.

We reviewed the Hilton Honors Plus Debit Card here and the Hilton Honors Debit Card here.

You can apply for either card here.

NEW: Hilton Honors Plus Debit

12,000 bonus points (special offer), Hilton Gold status and NO FX fees Read our full review

NEW: Hilton Honors Debit

3,500 bonus points (special offer), Hilton Silver status and 0.5% FX fees Read our full review

There is another way of getting Hilton Honors status, and earning Hilton Honors points, from a payment card.

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

50,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large fee Read our full review

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 (70)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • Si**o says:

    Perfect response!

    Let’s hope others continue!
    Accor won’t let me cancel a booking of 10 rooms for 10th April. (There website says only upto 1st April still).

    • Oliver says:

      I’m with you – I have an ibis booking on 08/04. It’s only €170, so likely not worth claiming on travel insurance, but I’ll think twice about using Accor ever again if they don’t let me cancel. Fingers crossed they’ll see the light!

  • N says:

    I imagine someone at Marriott is feeling very very silly right now.

  • The Streets says:

    Fantastic news. I’m sure we’ll be hearing from Marriott again soon

  • BJ says:

    How do we cancel an advance purchase stay made via Hilton for a refund? Do we have to call or email them, or do we get a refund if we just go ahead and cancel online or via the app?

    • Brighton Belle says:

      On every case I emailed the hotel direct with the confirmation number. But you need to monitor if the refund turns up. I had 10 post refunds within 5 days of cancelling but 2 bookings are still not refunded after 8 days. Hilton Croydon never replied to my email I so cancelled by phone at Hilton UK customer service 08457466677. The funds still haven’t turned up and since Hilton are being so good about cancellations and refunds I’m content to let them work through the tsunami.

      • BJ says:

        Thanks, I’ll see if I can find the emails for the hotels in question and go via that route in the first instance.

    • Spursdebs says:

      I did the same, emailed Conrad Tokyo direct and asked them , no problem refunded on to card within two days great customer service. Now my status has been extended even tho it was lowly silver I appreciate that every little helps.

  • w says:

    How do you validate your status expiry date?

  • Henry says:

    Diamond till 2022.
    Fantastic news Hilton

  • Secret Squirrel says:

    Just received the email direct. Welcome news as due to be downgraded.

  • Neil Donoghue says:

    Absolute game changer! I squeezed 42 stays in last year and was already up to 16 for 2020. It’s time like these, you learn which companies appreciate your business and which don’t.

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

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