Did you know nine Hilton brands don’t offer upgrades to Gold and Diamond members?

When we cover Hilton Honors on Head for Points, we usually make reference to the fact that it offers the best mid-tier hotel status in the industry.

Whilst Hilton Honors Diamond Elite status requires a bit of effort, Hilton Honors Gold Elite is relatively easy to achieve:

• it comes free with The Platinum Card from American Express

• or Hilton will match most other mid-tier statuses, giving you 90 days of Gold with a challenge to trigger a Gold extension or an upgrade to Diamond to March 2025

(I would expect the match to start offering status to March 2026, rather than March 2025, very soon so don’t rush to apply. It tends to roll over another year at some point in April.)

The key benefit of Hilton Honors Gold Elite is free breakfast at the majority of brands, either given directly or as something you can choose as your ‘My Way’ brand benefit. Hotels in the US give a food and beverage cash credit instead.

Another benefit is some sort of upgrade. These are rarely spectacular as a Gold, but most mid-tier hotel statuses don’t even try to upgrade you.

As a Diamond member, you can expect better – although you won’t get it very often. The rules say that upgrades for a Diamond “may include upgrades up to “junior”, “standard” or “one-bedroom” suites”

Not all Hilton Honors brands offer upgrades

You might be surprised to find that not all Hilton Honors brands offer upgrades.

This is written down, fair and square, in the terms and conditions, but most of the time we don’t know or forget.

These are the Hilton Honors brands which do NOT offer upgrades to Gold or indeed Diamond members:

• Embassy Suites
• Hampton by Hilton
• Hilton Garden Inn
• Hilton Grand Vacations
• Homewood Suites by Hilton
• Home2 Suites by Hilton
• Motto by Hilton
• Spark by Hilton
• Tru by Hilton

As a UK-based Hilton Honors member, most of these exclusions won’t concern you most of the time.

By far the most important exclusion is Hampton by Hilton. Hampton properties have been springing up across Europe in recent years and I am generally positive about them.

Hilton Garden Inn has also seen UK growth recently, most noticeably with the Hilton Garden Inn Heathrow T2/T3 which we reviewed here. This was the second Hilton Garden Inn at Heathrow, after the rebranded Jurys Inn at Hatton Cross.

Which Hilton Honors brands do give upgrades?

The Hilton Honors rules specifically state that Gold and Diamond members are eligible for upgrades at the following brands:

• Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts
• LXR Hotels & Resorts
• Conrad Hotels & Resorts
• Canopy by Hilton
• Hilton Hotels & Resorts
• Curio – A Collection by Hilton
• DoubleTree by Hilton
• Tapestry Collection by Hilton

Does the ‘no upgrades’ rule really matter?

It is debatable whether these rules matter much. Hampton and Hilton Garden Inn hotels often do not have larger rooms to which you could be upgraded.

On the other hand, they definitely do have ‘better’ rooms – perhaps on higher floors, or with better view. Would this count as an ‘upgrade’?

Some hotels will ignore the brand rules anyway, of course. It would be very short-sighted of any hotel to fail to recognise the status of a regular brand guest, as opposed to, say, a tour group or someone who has booked through an online travel agent.

Someone has to be given the better rooms (and the worse rooms, of course) and it would be odd not to reflect status when allocating who goes where.

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

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.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to a huge 80,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (80,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

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)

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on the ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 30,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (30,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

and for small business owners:

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