TravelingForMiles.com may receive commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on TravelingForMiles.com are from advertisers and may impact how and where card products appear on the site. TravelingForMiles.com does not include all card companies or all available card offers.
Some links to products and travel providers on this website will earn Traveling For Miles a commission that helps contribute to the running of the site. Traveling For Miles has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Traveling For Miles and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities. For more details please see the disclosures found at the bottom of every page.
Hilton has just announced a number of adjustments to its loyalty program that should bring smiles to a lot of faces – from further status extensions and reduced status thresholds through lower targets for milestone bonuses to extended benefits for Hilon co-branded American Express cardholders, there’s quite a lot of good news here.
Hilton Honors Status Extensions
Back on 25 March, this is what Hilton announced:
Elite Statuses Expiring In March 2020
All members whose 2019 status was scheduled to be downgraded on 31 March 2020 (irrespective of tier) will automatically receive an extension through 31 March 2021. So, if a guest had Hilton Diamond status in 2019 but didn’t earn enough elite night credits in 2019 to keep that Diamond status for another year, Hilton extended that guest’s status through March 2021.
Elite Statuses Expiring In March 2021
All Hilton Honors members who earned enough status credits in 2019 to earn Silver, Gold, or Diamond status through 31 March 2021 will no longer see that status expire in a little over a year’s time. That status is now locked in through 31 March 2022.
Today, Hilton has announced that Silver, Gold, and Diamond members who were set to have their status downgraded in 2020 or 2021 will now have their status extended through 31 March 2022.
This doesn’t appear to change much for anyone who already had their status extended to 31 March 2022 earlier this year, but it’s a significant step for anyone who was originally set to lose their status in March of this year – they have effectively just been given 2 years of free status.
Hilton Honors Points Expirations Extended
On 12 March 2020 Hilton said that it was pausing the expiration of all points scheduled to expire between now and May 31, 2020 and on 25 March Hilton confirmed that all points expirations will be frozen through 31 December 2020.
Today, Hilton has announced that no points will expire before 31 December 2021.
Hilton Reduces Elite Status Requirements
Hilton’s standard status requirements look like this:
- Silver – 10 nights or 4 stays or 25,000 base points
- Gold – 40 nights or 20 stays or 75,000 base points
- Diamond – 60 Nights or 30 stays or 120,000 base points
Back in July, Hilton announced that all elite nights earned in 2020 will roll over into 2021, and now the hotelier has announced that it is reducing the status qualification requirements for 2021 by 50% across all tiers.
Note: Don’t forget that you can currently use a status match to earn Hilton Diamond status with just 9 nights – here’s how.
Milestone Bonus Thresholds Lowered
Hilton introduced Milestone Bonuses back in 2018 and under “normal” conditions, this is what they look like:
Now, to keep the milestone bonus thresholds in line with the new limited-time elite status qualification thresholds, Hilton Honors members will earn 10,000 bonus points every 10 nights starting at 20 nights in 2021. Members will still earn a bonus of 30,000 points at 60 nights.
Diamond Elite Gifted Status Threshold Reduced
Ordinarily, a Hilton Honors member who earns 60 elite night credits in a year is given Diamond Elite status and is given the option to gift Gold status to another member of their choosing. If they earn 100 elite night credits they can upgrade that gift to Diamond Elite status.
In 2021, however, Diamond status can be earned with just 30 nights so Hilton has adjusted the number of elite nights required for a member to be able to gift status. For 2021 only, Diamond members who stay 30 nights will be able to gift Gold status and if they earn 60 nights they can upgrade that gift to Diamond status.
Hilton Honors Amex Benefits Extended
- All points earned by spending on Amex co-branded Hilton Honors cards (including bonus points) will continue to count as Base Points on eligible purchases through 31 December 2021. These points will count toward Elite tier qualification, including Lifetime Diamond Status.
- All Free Weekend Night Reward certificates issued in 2021 will be useable on any night of the week and will not expire before 31 December 2022.
Note: Any unexpired Free Weekend Night certificates as of 31 December 2020 will expire in accordance with their previously communicated terms. All Free Weekend Night Reward certificates can also continue to be used any night of the week.
Bottom Line
Hilton has extended the elite status of select Honors members by a further year, it has reduced the elite qualification requirements for 2021, it has made it easier to earn bonus points through its Milestone Bonuses, and, among other things, Amex Hilton cardholders have just seen a couple of good benefits extended. For fans of Hilton, it must feel like the holidays have come early 🙂
[…] 2021, we’ve seen Hilton take significant steps to make earning elite status easier, we’ve seen Hyatt make earning top-tier status easier […]
[…] March 2022, confirmation that points expirations have been paused through December 2021, and that elite status requirements for 2021 have been slashed by 50%. As if that wasn’t enough, Hilton has also now made it incredibly easy to earn its top-tier […]