Hilton Honors Levels: Is Elite Status Worth It?

Hilton Honors elite status offers quite a few perks, even at the lowest levels. Here’s what you get for just signing up for a free Hilton account:

• Lowest price guarantee
• Earn Hilton Honors points for each stay
• No resort fees on reward stays
• Free Wi-Fi (where applicable)
• Digital check-in/out and digital key on your smart device
• Choose your room (as available at check-in)
• Access to exclusive Hilton Honors offers and experiences
• Points pooling (terms apply)

These perks for the free Hilton Honors account offer more value than most competitor entry-level accounts. Most other hotel rewards programs require a higher level of status to access benefits like waived resort fees.

In addition to the basic membership, Hilton also offers three elite status tiers with unique perks:

Benefit	Silver	Gold	Diamond
20% points earning bonus on stays	x	x	x
Free bottled water	x	x	x
Fifth night free on reward stays	x	x	x
Elite rollover nights	x	x	x
All-inclusive spa discount	x	x	x
80% points earning bonus on stays		x	x
Space-available room upgrades		x	x
Daily food and beverage credit or continental breakfast (varies by brand and region)		x	x
Milestone bonuses		x	x
100% points earning bonus on stays			x
Executive Lounge access			x
Diamond status extension			x
Premium Wi-Fi			x
48-hour room guarantee			x
Elite status gifting			x

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Earning Hilton Honors elite status can be earned by staying a certain number of qualifying nights per year or getting a rewards credit card that comes with Hilton Honors status automatically.

If you’re a frequent traveler, choosing Hilton over another hotel chain might be worth it. It depends on your travel preferences, the availability of Hilton hotels at your destinations and what status level you are looking to achieve.

Here are the main benefits of each status level:

Member Status

If you sign up for the Hilton Honors program online, you immediately achieve Member status. The biggest perks at this level are the free Wi-Fi, waived resort fees on award stays and ability to pool your points with others to book award stays at Hilton properties.

There’s no downside to signing up (it’s free), so if you are planning on staying at any Hilton property in the future, this is an easy win.

Silver Status

The biggest perk upgrade is the ability to get your fifth night free on award stays (up to four free nights in a single booking of 20 nights). While this is for standard rooms only, it is available at any Hilton property. If you have travel plans coming up and a pile of Hilton Honors points to use, you can get a great deal of value from this perk alone.

In addition to the fifth night free, you get a 20% points bonus on Hilton property stays, a free bottle of water and discounts on the all-inclusive spa (where available). If you’re aiming for Gold status eventually, any extra stays are rolled over for the next calendar year, helping you achieve an upgraded status more quickly.

Silver status is fairly easy to achieve (four stays or 10 nights) or you can gain status immediately with the Hilton Honors American Express Card with a $0 annual fee (terms apply, see rates & fees).

Gold Status

Hilton Honors Gold status offers one of the best values for a mid-tier status level. In addition to all of the aforementioned perks of Member and Silver status, you also gain access to an 80% points bonus on stays, space-available room upgrades (this is huge), a daily food and beverage credit (or continental breakfast) and bonus points when you hit certain milestones.

The room upgrade can be a valuable perk, since you could be upgraded to Executive room floors and gain access to the Executive Lounge with free food and drinks. In addition, as a Gold member, when you hit 40 nights within the calendar year, you earn a milestone bonus of 10,000 points and 10,000 more bonus points every 10 stays after that. And at 60 nights, you earn an additional 30,000 point bonus.

Hilton Gold status is worth it if you frequent Hilton properties, or if you simply want access to the deluxe perks while traveling.

Diamond Status

Hilton Diamond status is the highest elite status level you can achieve and offers additional perks like suite-level space-available room upgrades, a 100% point bonus on stays, premium Wi-Fi access, a 48-hour room guarantee and even the ability to give Gold elite status to another Hilton Honors member.

Diamond status is the only level that offers complimentary upgrades to suite rooms (when available) and guaranteed access to Executive lounges. But perhaps one of the most valuable benefits is the 48-hour room guarantee, letting you book hotels at the last minute and ensuring a reservation, even if the property is sold out (restrictions apply).

Hilton Diamond status is worth it for frequent travelers that can make the most of the room upgrades, meal credits, lounge access and bonus points. But if you don’t visit Hilton properties often, the perks might not be worth it.

Hilton Honors elite status is only worth it if you frequently stay at Hilton properties, or if you plan on booking a Hilton property on an upcoming vacation. The value you derive from each status tier depends on the ability to use the perks.

For example—If you obtain Hilton Honors™ Gold status by opening a Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card and use it to get an upgraded room for a five-night stay, it can easily eclipse the $150 fee (terms apply, see rates & fees). And if you use the bonus points to earn the fifth night free, your points stretch a lot further than they would without status.

For business travel, if you frequently travel to places with Hilton properties and want to enjoy more bonus points, room upgrades and free nights, switching to Hilton might be worth it. And you might even be able to switch quickly through a Hilton status match.

While Hilton Honors offers quite a few benefits to frequent travelers, if there are no desirable Hilton properties near your intended destinations, or you don’t plan on using some of the more valuable benefits of the program (such as the fifth-night-free perk), it might not be worth chasing Hilton elite status.

Hilton Honors is designed to offer a lot of value to those who often stay at Hilton properties, as the meal credits, room upgrades, lounge access and waived resort fees are worth a whole lot more to guests who stay multiple times per year. If you don’t plan to stay at Hilton properties at least once per year, it’s not worth obtaining Gold or Diamond status, even if you’re just getting it through a credit card.

It may also not be worth it if you typically stay at limited-service properties where upgrades are unlikely and breakfast is free to all. Be sure you evaluate your lodging patterns before you take extra steps to gain status.

You can earn Hilton Honors elite status through qualifying stays (or spending) at Hilton-owned properties:

• Silver status. Silver status requires staying four times or 10 total nights, or by earning 25,000 base points (with $2,500 in spend at a Hilton property) within the calendar year.
• Gold status. You can earn Gold status with 20 stays or 40 nights, or by earning 75,000 base points in a calendar year (with $7,500 in spend at a Hilton property).
• Diamond status. You can earn Gold status with 30 stays or 60 nights, or by earning 120,000 base points in a calendar year (with $12,000 in spend at a Hilton property).

How To Get a Hilton Status Match

If you have elite status with another hotel rewards program, you may be able to obtain a Hilton Honors status match to a similar loyalty tier. While Hilton doesn’t promise that you will earn elite status, they do allow you to apply for Hilton Honors status match online.

You must submit supporting documentation of your status at another hotel chain and Hilton will review your application for approval. If approved, you get Gold status for 90 days as a trial period. To maintain Gold status, you must stay eight nights within your 90-day trial period, or you can stay 14 nights within 90 days to earn Diamond status. Current promotions allow status to continue through March 31, 2025.

How To Get Hilton Honors Elite Status With Credit Cards

There are several credit cards by American Express that offer instant Hilton elite status:

• Hilton Honors American Express Card (terms apply, see rates & fees) ($0 annual fee): Complimentary Hilton Honors™ Silver status
• Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card (terms apply, see rates & fees) ($150 annual fee): Complimentary Hilton Honors Gold status
• The Hilton Honors American Express Business Card (terms apply, see rates & fees) ($195 annual fee): Complimentary Hilton Honors Gold status
• The Platinum Card® from American Express (terms apply, see rates & fees) ($695 annual fee): Complimentary Hilton Honors Gold status
• The Business Platinum Card® from American Express (terms apply, see rates & fees) ($695 annual fee): Complimentary Hilton Honors Gold status
• Hilton Honors Aspire Card from American Express* ($550 annual fee): Complimentary Hilton Honors Diamond status

You can also earn Hilton Honors™ Diamond status by spending $40,000 in a calendar year on either the Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card or the Hilton Honors American Express Business Card.

The cost to earn Hilton Honors elite status will vary by level and the method of attaining it While the Member level is free to all, earning Silver, Gold or Diamond status depends on a few factors. If you want to earn status organically, you need to add up the cost of staying at Hilton properties.

For example, to earn Gold status, if you reach the minimum 20 stays in a calendar year (at one night per stay) and if you average $150 per night, you’d need to spend around $3,000. For Diamond status, if you stay the minimum 40 stays in a similar manner, you’d spend $6,000. If your business travel is reimbursed by your company, then your elite status may be a fun added perk of the job.

But the least expensive way to earn Hilton Honors status is by signing up for a participating credit card. You can earn Gold status for just $95 per year with one of the co-branded American Express cards or even Diamond status for $550 per year.

If you want to get the most out of your Hilton Honors Elite Status, here are a few things you should do:

• Take advantage of room upgrades. Room upgrades can be worth hundreds of dollars per night, so if you’re at Gold or Diamond status, aim to get an upgrade during every stay (when available).
• Always use your meal credits. Hilton Gold and Diamond members get a daily food and beverage credit at select Hilton brands. Use these up to maximize your status perks.
• Book resorts with high fees on points. Even free Hilton Honors members get resort fees waived on award stays, so use your Hilton Honors points to book properties with high resort fees to save money.
• Book five nights on award stays. The “fifth-night-free” perk is one of the best in the business. When booking an award stay at a Hilton property, make sure you book at least five nights to earn a free night.
• Use the Executive Lounge. If you get upgraded to the Executive level as a Gold member or have Diamond status, take advantage of the food and drinks at the Executive Lounge. You can save money on meals and enjoy a great vibe at the same time.
• Pool your points. Hilton Honors members can pool points with up to 10 other members and no additional fees. If you’re looking to book a dream vacation with family or friends, take advantage of this perk.

Hilton Honors elite status isn’t worth it for everyone, but for those who can maximize the perks and take advantage of the upgrades, elite status can be a game changer. As with many reward programs, often the value is in preference. If Hilton properties work for your travel habits, this could be abn excellent loyalty program.

To view rates and fees for Hilton Honors American Express Card please visit this page.
To view rates and fees for The Hilton Honors American Express Business Card please visit this page.
To view rates and fees for The Platinum Card® from American Express please visit this page.
To view rates and fees for The Business Platinum Card® from American Express please visit this page.
To view rates and fees for Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card please visit this page.