Got Hilton Diamond? You can give free Hilton Gold hotel status to a friend

Hilton Honors has launched another special deal to keep its elite members on side. This is on top of the exceptionally (over?) generous measures we have already seen:

• having all nights count as two elite nights for the past few months

• rolling over all elite nights into 2021

• cutting Diamond Elite qualification to just 30 nights in 2021 (and those rolled over nights from 2020 count towards it)

• extending your existing status for 2021

With the new offer, all Hilton Honors members with Diamond Elite status will be able to gift Gold Elite status to a friend.

What is the time frame?

Invitations are meant to be going out next week.

Nominations must be made by 31st January.

Status will last exactly 365 days from the date of nomination.

Doesn’t Hilton already offer this?

Yes, but slightly differently.

If you achieve 60 elite nights in a year, Hilton allows you to gift Gold Elite to a friend. This would also be enough to trigger Diamond Elite status for yourself.

However, it is possible to be Hilton Honors Diamond Elite without having done 60 qualifying nights:

• you could have earned Diamond via the status challenge

• you could have got it free from – for example – an American Express Centurion card or British Airways Gold Guest List

• you could have earned it the hard way last year but not earned 60 nights this year to requalify

• you could have earned Diamond partly on the back of rollover nights from the previous year – but rollover nights do not count for the purposes of calculating the 60 nights needed to gift Gold Elite

If you are in any of these categories, this is an extra bonus.

For people who have done 60 elite nights this year – as I will have done by the end of the year – you will get two Gold Elite nominations. You will probably see mine offered in a HfP competition at some point!

If you have Hilton Honors Lifetime Diamond Elite status ……

Lifetime Diamond members will be able to gift Diamond Elite status to a friend. You can learn about Lifetime Diamond in this article.

Is Hilton Honors Gold Elite status useful?

Yes, it is the most valuable mid-tier hotel status in my view. This is because it gives you free breakfast.

You are also meant to receive some sort of upgrade, although this is often just to the best room in the category you booked.

You will also receive 80% bonus base points on every stay.

Elite members, of any level, also receive ‘5 nights for the points of 4’ when redeeming Hilton Honors points for standard reward nights.

You can see the full list of elite benefits on the Hilton website here.

How long does gifted status last?

As far as I can tell, it does NOT follow the usual rules, which sees all status levels being adjusted at the end of February.

If this follows the usual pattern, gifted status lasts exactly 365 days from when the nomination is made.

How do I gift Gold Elite to a friend?

Hilton Honors will be emailing Diamond Elite members in the next few days to explain how the process will work. You need to be patient!

Given that the status is likely to last exactly 365 days, however, it makes sense to make the gift as late as you can, assuming that the recipient has no stays planned.

More details should emerge as the emails arrive.

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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.

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:

• American Express Gold (20,000 bonus Amex points)
• American Express Rewards Credit Card (10,000 bonus Amex points)

and for small business owners:

• American Express Business Gold (20,000 bonus Amex points)
• American Express Business Platinum (40,000 bonus Amex points)

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.)