There are pros and cons to each major hotel loyalty program, including when it comes to suite upgrades. For many, the prospect of a suite upgrade is one of the most valuable perks of a high hotel elite tier, though understandably, not all programs are created equal.
I recently wrote about the suite upgrade policy for Marriott Bonvoy Platinum members and above, and a reader asked if I could write a similar post for Hilton Honors Diamond members. So here we go…
In this post:
Hilton Honors’ elite suite upgrade policy explained
Hilton Honors Diamond is the program’s top-tier status, above Hilton Honors Gold status. So, what’s Hilton’s upgrade benefit for Diamond members? Here’s how Hilton Honors describes its Diamond upgrade policy, on its member benefits page:
Space-available room upgrades
If we have a better room available, it’s yours – up to a 1-bedroom suite.
Okay, so that actually sounds pretty good. You get a space available upgrade to a better room, up to a one-bedroom suite. However, it’s not marketing bullets we should be focused on, but instead the terms & conditions. What do they say?
Here are some of the key terms & conditions of the Hilton Honors Diamond upgrade benefit:
- Diamond members only receive upgrades at select brands, including Waldorf Astoria, LXR, Conrad, NoMad, Canopy by Hilton, Signia by Hilton, Hilton, Curio Collection by Hilton, Graduate Hotels, DoubleTree by Hilton, and Tapestry Collection by Hilton
- Officially, Diamond members don’t receive upgrades at nine Hilton 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
- Upgrades also exclude select properties or accommodation types, including Napua Tower at Grand Wailea, Imperial Floor at Rome Cavalieri, Waldorf Astoria Maldives Ithaafushi, Conrad Maldives Rangali Island, and Hilton Maldives Amingiri
- Diamond members may receive upgrades to preferred rooms, based on availability at the time of arrival; these may include upgrades to junior, standard, or one-bedroom suites
- The upgrade benefit excludes executive suites, villas, and specialty accommodations, floors, or towers (which may include Vista, Villa, or Club accommodation types), subject to the discretion of the hotel
- All upgrades are granted on a space-available basis for the entire stay, as determined at the time of arrival
- Preferred rooms are identified by each individual property and may vary within each brand
Do Hiltons have to give Diamond members upgrades?
If a Hilton property of an eligible brand has a standard suite available, does it need to upgrade a Diamond member to it? Based on any reasonable interpretation of the terms & conditions, the answer is no, and suite upgrades are at the discretion of the hotel.
Hilton simply promises an upgrade to a better room type, and doesn’t promise what kind of an upgrade that will be. So the company states that Diamond members may receive upgrades to preferred rooms, and that those upgrades may include upgrades to suite. Specifically:
Diamond Hilton Honors Members may receive upgrades to preferred rooms, based on availability at the time of arrival. Upgrades for Diamond Hilton Honors Members may include upgrades up to “junior”, “standard” or “one-bedroom” suites.
There’s a subtle but important distinction here, because Hilton doesn’t promise that you’ll get an upgrade to the best available room, up to a standard suite (as the terms of Hyatt and Marriott promise). For example, here are the relevant terms for Marriott:
Platinum Elite Members and above receive a complimentary upgrade to the best available room, subject to availability upon arrival, for the entire length of stay. Complimentary upgrade includes suites, rooms with desirable views, rooms on high floors, corner rooms, rooms with special amenities or rooms on Executive Floors.
As you can see, the two main differences are that Hilton talks about how upgrades “may” be offered to certain types of accommodations, and Marriott promises the best available room, which Hilton doesn’t promise.
My experience with Hilton Diamond suite upgrades
Despite the difference in terms, I don’t necessarily find there to be a huge difference when it comes to suite upgrade percentage between Hilton Honors Diamond and Marriott Bonvoy Platinum status, for example:
- Ultimately elite ranks with both programs are majorly swelled, given all the easy pathways to elite status, including with credit cards
- The closer to the United States you are, the worse hotels generally are with upgrades; this is both a reflection of the percent of guests with elite status, plus hospitality just not being a big thing here
- I find that most international properties do their best with upgrading elite members
- Even with programs that promise suite upgrades subject to availability, there’s no real transparency there, since there are potentially dozens more suite upgrade eligible guests checking in daily than actual suites
As a Hilton Honors Diamond member, I don’t remember the last time that I received a suite upgrade in the United States. However, I also don’t expect one. Meanwhile international stays, especially in the Middle East and other parts of Asia, I’ve found that I’ve been upgraded to suites more often than not.
What’s my approach to requesting upgrades, if anything? Hilton Honors is actually pretty good about offering automated upgrades in advance, whereby elite members will be blocked into upgraded rooms 72 hours before arrival.
I find that the room I’m blocked into at that point usually sticks. If you didn’t get a great upgrade, there’s nothing wrong with asking at check-in if a suite upgrade is available. However, I’ve never had asking that question actually lead to a different outcome.
When the hotel didn’t proactively put me in a suite, I’ve always been told it’s not available or isn’t offered. That’s fair enough, because like I said, my reading of the terms is that it’s at the property’s discretion.
Honestly, I really can’t complain with my Hilton Honors Diamond setup. I get the status with the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card (review), and the card offers all kinds of valuable perks beyond the status. These benefits include an annual free night certificate, up to $400 in annual Hilton resort credits, up to $200 in annual flight credits, and much more.
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.
Bottom line
Every hotel loyalty program has its own policy when it comes to suite upgrades. On paper, Hilton Honors Diamond doesn’t offer as generous of a suite upgrade policy as you’ll find at Marriott Bonvoy and World of Hyatt. That’s because suite upgrades are at the hotel’s discretion, rather than guaranteed based on availability.
That being said, this is largely a moot point, given how many elite members there are. I find that Hilton Honors is decent with Diamond suite upgrades internationally, especially in Asia, the Middle East, etc.
What continues to be strange is that Diamond members actually don’t receive any upgrades at nearly half of Hilton’s brands, so that’s a major restriction.
To fellow Hilton Honors Diamond members, what has your experience with suite upgrades?
Many of the Hilton brands that don’t offer free upgrades are brands that don’t have upgrades to give, as lower tiered properties don’t always have suites, so your upgrade may be limited to a higher floor or something…
Diamond for Life & very rarely have i had a suite upgrade, IMHO it would be aa good move if Hilton offered Diamond for Life members something extra, having done well over 3,000 nights over 30 years in Hilton properties it feels I've done my bit!
As a Hilton Diamond member for a few years now, I find that I get an upgrade about 50% of the time by messaging in the app about 48 hours prior to arrival. I’ve had some great successes getting an upgrade for busy weekends and week-long stays across the states into junior or one-bedroom suites - primarily Curio, Canopy, and Hilton brands. Hope that’s a helpful tip!
Frankly, many properties have very few suites and lower level brands (upto Garden, but even some Doubletree) don’t have any … If a property has only one or two suites, they may decide not to give it away for complementary upgrades.
I had the most delightful upgrade to a corner suite at the Osaka Conrad recently. We were two parties, each with our own Diamond status and couldn’t have been happier with their hospitality and kindness. Similarly, I had a huge one bedroom suite on a day rate at the Conrad in Macau. Ben’s assessment of domestic Conrads, however, has always been true for me too: don’t get your hopes up in Nashville or Las Vegas.
Diamond and 95% no suite upgrades on Europe, Asia (Türkiye, Thailand, Hong Kong). Specially not in Conrads. 1% success. Hotels give give room you are worth in their opiniion, so take it or leave it.
95% no suite upgrades on Europe, Asia (Türkiye, Thailand, Hong Kong). Specially not in Conrads. 1% success. Hotels give give room you are worth in their opiniion, so take it or leave it.
Other than suite certificates, isn’t every program the same?
Step 1: Is there a suite available? Step 2: Does the specific hotel want to give you an upgrade?
Because any hotel that doesn’t want to give you an upgrade will have some sort of excuse, and no major hotel chain is going to do anything about it.
Europe and Japan treat Gold members better than the US treats Diamond members. I always get executive lounge access and better seats at breakfast. The Food and beverage credit is a joke in the US
Amen. I go to Europe, I get upgrades and awesome free breakfast. In the US, the last upgrade I got was to a suite in Missoula MT of all places.
My years of experience with diamond I estimate that my upgrade to an actual suite overseas have been about 75%...not counting 2024. I feel like something changed in 2024 where instead of suites I've been given a room on the other side of a hotel and the staff exuberantly tells you they upgraded you. Hope it's just an anomaly. In the USA forget it. Upgrades of any variety have been less than 25%. Some regions...
My years of experience with diamond I estimate that my upgrade to an actual suite overseas have been about 75%...not counting 2024. I feel like something changed in 2024 where instead of suites I've been given a room on the other side of a hotel and the staff exuberantly tells you they upgraded you. Hope it's just an anomaly. In the USA forget it. Upgrades of any variety have been less than 25%. Some regions like San Diego they don't even pretend and if you read TripAdvisor comments you'll know they give the same story. I do my part. I rarely stay at Hilton in the us.
Marriott from my experience had been even worse including overseas where it's just about 50% for upgrades. But I've dropped them this year. Ironically, the best suite (more like large luxury apartments) I ever got was via hyatt and paradox hotels when I had zero status of any kind on either platform. To me the writing is on the wall and hotel loyalty is not worth the effort anymore.
We must agree with you Bob. This has happened not only at Hilton but also at Hyatt to us in 2024.
It might not be an anomaly.
Most of the hotels that they don't offer are actually suite room hotels.
Yes, empirically, Hilton Diamond and even Gold gets suite upgrades at times. I have had plenty of domestic upgrades to suites as a Gold member who has never been Diamond.
Close reading of the terms is useless. Hotels are franchised and compliance rates are far from perfect. This is true in every chain. Only if the terms provide specific tangible redress - like Marriott promises an exact denomination of cash to be paid to some...
Yes, empirically, Hilton Diamond and even Gold gets suite upgrades at times. I have had plenty of domestic upgrades to suites as a Gold member who has never been Diamond.
Close reading of the terms is useless. Hotels are franchised and compliance rates are far from perfect. This is true in every chain. Only if the terms provide specific tangible redress - like Marriott promises an exact denomination of cash to be paid to some guests who do not receive their booked bed type - is it useful to know and refer to the terms.
I don’t think it’s that complicated - Gold and Diamond members may receive an upgrade and that may include a suite. In practice, it’s quite similar to other hotel chains (Hilton just don’t over-promise). Upgrades in the US are btw not totally unheard of - I got a suite upgrade at a newer (and actually very good) DoubleTree in Louisiana last week.
Never been diamond except one time I with Wyndham a few years back I played the DYKWIA card because occupancy was low and was about to call customer service or whatever and ended up getting a 2 bedroom bungalow in Kona for 4 nights. I worked at hotels when I was younger and would say just be firm and politely argue with the manager to get what you want.
If you worked at hotels, you know that just because no guest has booked the suite, does not make it available. Suites take longer for housekeeping to clean, what if the hotel is short staffed?
It was at a 600 room 4 star Marriott property in the heart of Hollywood. 16 years ago. We were fully staffed in all departments. A vacant room can be either VC vacant clean or VD vacant dirty. It’s subjective. Sunday would be the main checkout day so it’s likely checking in Sunday night some rooms may be VD. Again depends on the property. If you are being polite and persistent you have a better...
It was at a 600 room 4 star Marriott property in the heart of Hollywood. 16 years ago. We were fully staffed in all departments. A vacant room can be either VC vacant clean or VD vacant dirty. It’s subjective. Sunday would be the main checkout day so it’s likely checking in Sunday night some rooms may be VD. Again depends on the property. If you are being polite and persistent you have a better chance of getting upgraded to a suite. You can always tip me $200 like a rapper and get a one bedroom suite for five nights. I’ll even have room service send over a bottle of champagne.
Sadly I have yet to be offered a single suite upgrade despite multiple Hilton stays per year at a variety of properties (Diamond via Aspire) yet considering how I seem to have very good luck with DS upgrades compared with most commentors on this blog, I will just consider this karma.
Strange... I've been upgraded at Home2Suites before. Also, I agree with the international upgrades... At Conrad Cairo I got upgraded to a 3 room suite.
Me too, despite the brand exclusions, many of those brands will upgrade.
I'm Lifetime Diamond you self anointed gurus.
To me, points are worth the same, I always get a suite upgrade, and $15 is not for breakfast because I don't care if breakfast costs me $80 as long as I can expense it.
Please take more money.
That guy's argument is true if you earn points exclusively through staying with the hotel. Every chain's points program, in isolation, amounts to a 10-15% rebate.
Hyatt may charge 10,000 points a night while Hilton charges 60,000 points per night. But for every stay at Hyatt you earn 100 points and for every stay at Hilton you earn 600 points. So even though Hilton's numbers look inflated, the actual practical value is equivalent to Hyatt.
...That guy's argument is true if you earn points exclusively through staying with the hotel. Every chain's points program, in isolation, amounts to a 10-15% rebate.
Hyatt may charge 10,000 points a night while Hilton charges 60,000 points per night. But for every stay at Hyatt you earn 100 points and for every stay at Hilton you earn 600 points. So even though Hilton's numbers look inflated, the actual practical value is equivalent to Hyatt.
However, most of us earn most of our points through credit cards and for example BILT points convert to Hyatt or to Hilton at the same nominal rate. You can convert 2,000 Bilt points to either 2,000 Hyatt points or 2,000 Hilton points. That is why Hyatt points are worth more.
Long gone are the days when status meant something... I remember when, as a mere HH gold, I booked a regular room at the Doubletree Parque 93 in Bogotá and was upgraded to an executive suite with a jetted tub and a 8-ppl dining room :D
I’ve oddly been upgraded twice in my last few Hilton stays (proactively via the app), the most recent being from an entry level king bed to the penthouse suite that included a baby grand piano, full dining room, living room, separate bedroom/bath, half bath and small gym.
That said, I also received an “upgrade” from a Peloton-equipped room that I booked into, to an entry level room with a “nicer” view. They also love to push “offers” for paid upgrades.
I do not recall ever receiving a suite upgrade as a Diamond with Hilton, until this week. I have one night booked on a Aspire cert at WA Los Cabos and they put me in a 1 bedroom Estrella suite a few days out. Score!
That's brilliant! Out of curiosity, are you just doing a one night stay or are you combining a regular money/points stay with free night cert? I always wonder if they prioritize the latter when it comes to upgrades.
1 night stay to kick off our trip.
*CAUTION* they are notorious for rugpulling upgrades, even up to morning of. If you truly get the Estrella Suite...awesome! Just please temper your expectations.
It happened to me before. I procrastinated and was kicked back to the curb at check-in. This time I did online check-in two days out when it opened and it stuck.
Never been upgraded at all as a Hilton Diamond member in America as far as I can remember. No upgrade in Europe either. I have been upgraded quite often in Asia including HGI.
I've applied 5 SUAs to upcoming reservations with Hyatt. I am confirmed to be in Suites at those properties.
For other stays, I may or may not be upgraded to a suite.
At Hilton, there is only "may or may not be". More often than not, I have experienced "not". But last year was a pleasant change at the W.A Beverly Hills.
Anyways, I'm sure someone will be around to explain how none of the...
I've applied 5 SUAs to upcoming reservations with Hyatt. I am confirmed to be in Suites at those properties.
For other stays, I may or may not be upgraded to a suite.
At Hilton, there is only "may or may not be". More often than not, I have experienced "not". But last year was a pleasant change at the W.A Beverly Hills.
Anyways, I'm sure someone will be around to explain how none of the suites I've booked are actually confirmed, because what if the hotel floods or an asteroid hits?
Thankfully the Hilton Baghdad Bob has retired from visiting OMAAT, so we can have a more unbiased, non-outlier discussion
“Hilton Baghdad Bob” LMAO