First off I want to apologize I didn’t post this earlier as it has been out for a couple of weeks now and am just getting around to writing about it now! Granted with the current state of travel I would tend to believe this is an offer to keep in your back pocket for when you may start traveling again as there is set time period associated with it to complete the offer.
For years on end Hilton Honors has offered an elite status and fast track program (you can always find offers like these on our Honors bonus points page) that provides elite members of other hotel programs a status match to Gold for 90 days and fast tracks to keeping that status or upgrading to Diamond. Up until this year the offer required 10 nights in 90 days to keep the Gold Status or 18 nights to get that upgrade to Diamond. As the title of our post suggest, Hilton has cut those requirements in half for this year! It is quite apparent the current travel situation globally is the reason behind this. That being said you only need to complete 9 nights in 90 days to achieve that coveted Hilton Honors Diamond status! Or just complete 5 nights to keep that Gold status.
To take part in the status match and fast track you have to provide proof of elite status in another hotel program:
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| Hilton needs to update Accor 😉 |
As well you need to upload a copy of your statement from the hotel program you are submitting that shows at least one stay in the past 12 months. Do keep that in mind if you do want to take on this challenge and are trying to time it right so that you can complete 5 or 9 Hilton nights in a 90 day period because if you can’t show that you’ve had a stay in the last 12 months with the competing program they may not extend this offer to you. Hilton does state they will only match the hotel programs listed in their drop down menu so I’m not sure how the ‘Other’ option would work. Here are the key terms for this status match to be aware of:
Acceptable forms of status validation include a screenshot of your
current and active account status. Acceptable forms of stay validation
include a screenshot of your recent reservations or hotel receipt,
redacting any personal information other than your name and membership
number. We accept .jpg files only. Please do NOT send us any personal
information (including your phone number, address, social security
number, date of birth, user name, passwords, or credit card
information). Only elite statuses from another hotel loyalty program
that are listed in the status dropdown menu are eligible for status
matching.Hilton reserves the right to decline any application at any time for any
reason. Please allow 5 -7 business days for Hilton Honors to process
your request. Hilton may require additional validation in its complete
discretion which may take an additional 5 -7 business days. The 90 day
status match trial period starts once approved. Only members who have
not previously completed a status match challenge are eligible. Reward
stays do not count toward achieving the status match requirements.
There you have it, if you know you can complete 5 to 9 nights with Hilton within a 90 day period go for it. Here’s what you can expect from each status level:
There are a lot of benefits there for Gold and Diamond but some of the key ones are the fifth night free benefit which provides you with one free night when you redeem points for award stays of 5 nights or longer. The bonus points of 80% for Gold and Diamond add up fast, and if you get to the Diamond level you can gift elite status to one other person.
You can learn more about this Status Match & Fast Track opportunity here.
But wait! There is another way to get Hilton Gold status:
There is a way you can get Hilton Gold Status without even completing a stay or trying this status match and that is by getting yourself the Platinum Card from American Express. The number one Ultra Premium Card in Canada provides automatic Hilton Honors Gold status as well as Marriott Bonvoy Gold, Radisson Rewards Gold and until March 31 it also provides Shangri-La Golden Circle Jade status (read more about losing Shangri-La here). Those can then be parlayed into status from other hotel chains as well. Yes the card carries an annual fee of $699 but right now if you get the card you’ll earn 25,000 bonus points when you spend $2,000 on the card (Worth $250+), a $200 annual travel credit and until July a $200 statement credit for select grocery and Uber Eats purchases. Not even taking the hotel statuses and other benefits into account that’s $650 in value alone! This avenue is always an option to get that Hilton status if you have no travel planned at all right now.