Is Hilton Diamond Elite Status Worth It? Depends How You Earn It

Hilton is one of the largest hotel groups in the world, and Diamond status is the top tier status in the Hilton Honors program. What makes Diamond status unique is that it’s also the easiest top tier hotel status to earn with any US-issued credit cards.

In this post, I want to take a closer look at the benefits of Diamond elite status, including the easiest ways to earn it.

How to earn Hilton Diamond elite status

There are several pathways to earning Diamond elite status — you can earn it through stays, you can earn it through a status match challenge, and you can earn it with credit cards.

Earning Diamond status with hotel stays

If you want to achieve Diamond elite status through hotel stays, you need to earn any of the following in a calendar year:

• 60 nights
• 30 stays (with each check-in and check-out counting as one stay)
• 120,000 base points (you typically earn 10 base points per dollar at most brands, so that’s like spending $12,000 per year)

Note that both award and revenue stays count toward the night and stay total. The qualification requirements are in line with other top tier status programs, though fortunately there’s a much easier way to earn Diamond status if you have access to US credit cards.

Earning Diamond status with status match challenge

Hilton Honors has a status match challenge program. Those who have status in a competing loyalty program can register and then stay 14 nights within 90 days in order to be upgraded to Diamond status through the end of the program year. Obviously this still takes some effort, but it’s a major shortcut compared to the standard qualification requirements.

Earning Diamond status with credit cards

Hilton has a suite of co-branded credit cards that can earn you status. The easiest way to earn Diamond elite status with a credit card is to simply have the Hilton Honors Aspire Card from American Express (review).

The Hilton Aspire Card offers Diamond status for as long as you have the card, in addition to a slew of other amazing benefits that more than justify the annual fee. These benefits include an annual free night certificate, up to $400 in annual Hilton resort credits, up to $200 in annual flight credits, up to $199 in annual CLEAR® Plus credits, and more. The Hilton Aspire carries a $550 annual fee.

Alternatively, you can earn Diamond elite status by spending $40,000 in eligible purchases in a calendar year on either of the following cards:

• Hilton Honors American Express Surpass^® Card (review) — $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $150 annual fee (Rates & Fees)
• Hilton Honors American Express Business Card (review) — $195 annual fee (Rates & Fees)

If you’re unable to meet the $40,000 of eligible purchases in a calendar year spending requirement, keep in mind that both the Hilton Surpass Card and Hilton Business Card come with Gold elite status for as long you are a cardmember.

The information and associated card details on this page for the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card has been collected independently by OMAAT and has not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

Hilton Diamond elite status benefits

With the requirements to earn status out of the way, what are the benefits of Diamond elite status? Below are the benefits, roughly in the order that I value them.

Executive lounge access

For Hilton-family properties with executive lounges, Diamond members receive access. This applies regardless of whether or not there’s availability to upgrade the Diamond member to an executive room.

Executive lounges offer complimentary breakfast, evening snacks, and a place to grab a coffee or drink during the day. You can generally expect that executive lounges outside the United States (in particular in Asia) will be significantly better than domestic ones.

Complimentary continental breakfast or hotel credit

For properties outside of the United States without executive lounges, Honors Diamond members are entitled to complimentary continental breakfast. At a minimum, this is a choice you can select at all properties in eligible regions.

There are a couple of things to note:

• While the benefit is technically only for continental breakfast, in practice many hotels will offer Diamond members full breakfast
• Technically this benefit only applies at properties without executive lounges, though there are also hotels that will give Diamond members the option of dining either in the restaurant or in the lounge

For properties in the United States, Honors Diamond members receive a hotel credit in lieu of complimentary breakfast.

The amount of the credit ranges from $10-25 per person per night, and depends on the brand and location. For full service and lifestyle brands, high-cost markets include Boston, Chicago, the District of Columbia, Key Largo, Key West, New York City, San Francisco, the county of Los Angeles, and the state of Hawaii.

When it comes to breakfast benefits at major hotel chains, where does Hilton Honors rank for high tier elites?

• I’d say World of Hyatt wins, as Globalist members receive either a hot breakfast in a restaurant or executive lounge access at all properties globally; gratuity is included, and there are generally the fewest limitations on what you can order
• I’d say IHG One Rewards is pretty competitive too, as Diamond members receive a good breakfast offering, with a hot breakfast at all brands; the catch is that many hotels have a stringier interpretation than with World of Hyatt, specifically about what one can order
• I’d say Hilton Honors ranks next, as breakfast for Diamond members is technically limited to being continental (though lots of hotels go above and beyond), and on top of that, properties in the United States only get a food & beverage credit
• I’d say Marriott Bonvoy ranks last, as Platinum members and above receive continental breakfast at some brands, while other brands are excluded (including EDITION, Ritz-Carlton, etc.)

Room upgrades

Diamond elite members are entitled to room upgrades, though individual hotels have a lot of discretion. As the terms explain, Diamond elite members may receive upgrades to preferred rooms, and that may include upgrades to junior, standard, or one-bedroom suites.

All of these upgrades are at the discretion of the hotel, and are granted on a space-available basis for the entire duration of the stay at the time of check-in (though at some hotels upgrades start to clear in advance on an automated basis).

This language is a bit different than what you’ll find with Marriott Bonvoy and World of Hyatt, which promise suite upgrades for top tier elite members subject to availability, rather than at the discretion of the hotel.

As a Diamond elite member, I don’t expect (or ask for) suite upgrades, and that way I’m not disappointed. However, I do find that I’m upgraded to suites fairly often. It doesn’t happen much within the US, while I’d say outside the US I get a suite upgrade about 50% of the time.

It’s worth mentioning that technically, Hilton Honors elite members don’t receive upgrades at nine brands, including 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, and Tru by Hilton. However, in practice you may still find that elite members often get upgrades at these properties.

100% bonus points

Diamond elite members receive a 100% points bonus on Hilton Honors stays. Members ordinarily earn 10 base points per dollar spent, so Diamond members earn an additional 10 points per dollar spent.

Hilton Honors also often has global promotions to earn more points, and Hilton’s co-branded credit cards offer an excellent rate of return for Hilton spending.

When you combine all of these factors, racking up Hilton Honors points for hotel stays is quite easy.

Hilton MyWay Benefits

Diamond members receive what’s known as a “MyWay” benefit with each stay, which varies by brand:

• At Waldorf Astoria choose two of the following: 1,000 Honors bonus points, one in-room movie, or a spa, golf or restaurant discount
• At Canopy, Conrad, Curio Collection, DoubleTree, Hilton, LXR, Motto, Signia, and Tapestry: receive 1,000 Honors bonus points
• At Hilton Grand Vacations: receive 2,000 Honors bonus points
• At Embassy Suites choose one of the following: 1,000 Honors bonus points or three snacks/refreshments
• At Hilton Garden Inn choose one of the following: 750 Honors bonus points or a hot breakfast for up to two guests
• At Hampton by Hilton choose one of the following: 250 Honors bonus points or your choice of a snack and non-alcoholic beverage
• At Homewood Suites by Hilton choose one of the following: 250 Honors bonus points or two bottles of water and a sweet snack
• At Home2 Suites by Hilton choose one of the following: 100 Honors bonus points or your choice of a snack and bottled water
• At Tru by Hilton choose one of the following: 250 Honors bonus points or your choice of a snack and bottled water

Premium Wi-Fi

As a Diamond elite member, you receive premium lobby and in-room Wi-Fi at Hilton brands. Interestingly Hilton doesn’t offer premium internet to mid-tier elite members, unlike some other programs.

Fifth night free on awards stays

While this is a perk for all Hilton Honors elite tiers, I still consider it to be extremely valuable. Hilton Honors elite members receive a fifth night free on award redemptions, which can stretch your Hilton Honors points further.

Late check-out, subject to availability

This is an area where Hilton Honors lags. Technically all Hilton Honors members receive late check-out subject to availability. However, this is entirely at the hotel’s discretion. Unlike at Hyatt and Marriott, Hilton’s top tier members don’t get guaranteed 4PM check-out.

Two bottles of water

Again, this is a benefit of all elite tiers — you receive two complimentary bottles of water per stay.

Guaranteed room availability

Diamond elite members can receive guaranteed room availability when booking at least 48 hours in advance. There are a couple of reasons this isn’t particularly valuable to me, though:

• When taking advantage of this benefit you can expect to pay the highest possible rate, so you’re not going to get a discounted rate with this deal
• There are limits to this benefit, like when a hotel is overbooked, so don’t expect this to work during major conventions, sporting events, etc.

Elite status gifting

Diamond elite members can gift elite status to others, but only if they actually earn a certain number of elite nights (in other words, you don’t get this if you earn status through a credit card):

• If you achieve 60 elite nights, gift Gold status to another member
• If you achieve 100 elite nights, gift Diamond status to another member

Diamond status extension

Honors Diamond members have a one-time opportunity to extend Diamond status if they didn’t qualify in a particular year. This isn’t available to those who earn Diamond status through a credit card, but rather only applies to those who earn it via nights, stays, or base points. In order to be eligible you need:

• At least three total years of Diamond status (they don’t have to be consecutive)
• At least 250 elite nights or 500,000+ earned base points

Earn lifetime Diamond status

Hilton Honors offers lifetime Diamond status, which has the following requirements:

• Members must have maintained Diamond elite status for 10 years (the years don’t need to be consecutive)
• Members must have stayed a total of at least 1,000 nights (either paid or award) OR must have accumulated at least two million base points since joining the Hilton Honors program

What are the differences between Hilton Diamond & Gold status?

Gold is Hilton Honors’ mid-tier status, so what are the major differences between Gold and Diamond? I’d say there are a few most significant differences:

• Diamond members receive a 100% points bonus, where Gold members receive an 80% points bonus
• Diamond member upgrades include standard suites (at the discretion of the hotel), and Gold member upgrades exclude standard suites
• Diamond members get executive lounge access regardless of the room they’re in, whereas Gold members only get executive lounge access when upgraded to an executive room
• Diamond members receive complimentary premium Wi-Fi, while Gold members receive free standard Wi-Fi

The differences between the two elite tiers aren’t huge, though you’ll definitely notice some differences if you stay at Hilton properties often, especially outside the United States, where treatment is more differentiated.

Is Hilton Diamond elite status worth it?

Is earning Diamond elite status worth it? It depends on how you’re earning it, what the opportunity cost is, and what you’re hoping to gain from status.

Let me put it this way — if earning Hilton Diamond status through actual stays, I’d say:

• It might not be worth the incremental nights compared to Gold status
• Personally I like that Marriott Platinum and World of Hyatt Globalist offer more guaranteed benefits, at least on paper (this applies to suite upgrades and late check-out)

That being said, I think Hilton Diamond elite status is the all-around best value top tier status you can earn, when you consider that you can get the status just by having the Hilton Honors Aspire Card.

You’re paying $550 per year for a card that not only gets you top tier Diamond status, but also gets you up to $789 in credits, a free night certificate, and more. Personally I value the perks of the card at more than the $550 annual fee, not even factoring in the Diamond status, so I basically consider the Diamond status to be “free.”

The information and associated card details on this page for the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card has been collected independently by OMAAT and has not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

If you have a similar valuation, then yes, Diamond status is oh-so-worth-it. I think Diamond status is worth it if you’re earning it through a co-branded credit card. However:

• For actual stays I’d probably prefer going for status with Hyatt or Marriott
• Gold elite status is great as well, for someone who only stays at Hiltons every once in a while

Bottom line

Diamond is Hilton Honors’ top tier status, and comes with perks like free breakfast (or a food & beverage credit in the United States), lounge access, bonus points, and room upgrades. While the benefits of Diamond status aren’t quite as “guaranteed” as they are with other programs, I’ve consistently gotten great value with my status.

Getting Diamond status with the Hilton Honors Aspire Card is a phenomenal value, in my opinion, as this is no doubt the easiest way to get top tier status with any major hotel program.

If you’re a Diamond elite member, what has your experience been?

The information and associated card details on this page for the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card has been collected independently by OMAAT and has not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

The following links will direct you to the rates and fees for mentioned American Express Cards. These include: The Hilton Honors American Express Business Card (Rates & Fees), and Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card (Rates & Fees).