Your Hilton status has been extended to 2022 – plus qualification levels cut and elite nights rolled

Hilton Honors has made a major announcement this afternoon about your status level for 2022.

This is important because, even if Hilton Honors is not your major programme, the other big chains are likely to take careful note of what Hilton is doing.

There are a lot of moving parts here to get your head around, but it is all very positive. In general, the 50% cut in targets for 2021 has become a 30% cut in targets for 2022, which feels fair.

You can find out more on hilton.com here – scroll down to the ‘Keep Your Status & Benefits through March 31, 2023’ link.

Your existing Hilton Honors status has been rolled over

Whatever level of Hilton Honors status you have, you will keep it for 2022.

Because of the three month stub period, you are guaranteed to keep your current level until 31st March 2023.

Your points won’t expire

All points expiry has been paused until 31st December 2022. To be honest, this was never a major problem with Hilton because any activity, not necessary a stay, was enough to keep your points alive.

It will be far easier to earn status in 2022

Hilton has reduced its status requirements for 2022 from its usual level. This will make it easier to retain your current level for 2023.

This is what you will need to earn in 2022 to gain or renew status:

• Silver – seven nights, three stays or 17,500 base points

• Gold – 28 nights, 14 stays or 52,500 base points

• Diamond – 42 nights, 21 stays or 84,000 base points

This is roughly a 30% reduction on the usual levels.

Your 2021 nights will be rolled over

To make it even easier to get status in 2022, your elite nights from 2021 will be rolled over.

(For clarity, this excludes any nights rolled over from 2020. My Hilton account currently shows 62 nights, for example, but 60 of those were rolled over from 2020. I will only carry two nights into 2022.)

This means that if you have 42 elite nights in the bag by 31st December 2021, you will renew Diamond for 2023 automatically. This is because your 42 nights from 2021 will be carried over into 2022.

Stays do not rollover – only nights. This is a bit odd but Hilton did the same thing with 2021 extensions.

Milestone bonus targets

This is less important for most people, but the 2022 milestone bonus targets will be:

• 10,000 bonus Hilton Honors points at 30 nights
• 10,000 bonus points fo every additional 10 nights after that
• One-time 30,000 points bonus at 60 nights

Anyone with 40 nights can gift Gold status to a friend, which can be upgraded to Diamond status at 70 nights.

Conclusion

This is an impressive move by Hilton and will put pressure on Marriott, IHG and the other big chains to reciprocate.

The smart move is the rolling over of 2021 nights into 2022. This will encourage people to move their stays for the rest of 2021 to Hilton in the knowledge that they count for next year. In effect, Hilton is giving you 15 months to earn the nights required for 2023 status.

Let’s see what the competition does …..

You can find out more on hilton.com here.

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How to earn Hilton Honors points and status from UK credit cards (June 2025)

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.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 14th August 2025, the sign-up bonus on the Hilton Honors Plus debit card is TRIPLED to 30,000 Hilton Honors points. You will also receive Gold Elite status in Hilton Honors for as long as you hold the card. Click here for our full card review and click here to apply.

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.

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 The Platinum Card from American Express in detail here and you can apply here.

You can also earn Hilton Honors points indirectly with:

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

and for small business owners:

• The American Express Business Gold Card (20,000 bonus Amex points)
• The American Express Business Platinum Card (50,000 bonus Amex points)

The conversion rate from American Express to Hilton Honors 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.