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We’ve written about how to get an Hilton Honors status match quite regularly over the years here at InsideFlyer. After all, who wouldn’t want free breakfast, upgrades and bonus Points on their stays?
The new year is now here and that means it’s the perfect time to request a status match, if you haven’t already done so. Remember that Hilton status lasts:
- for the rest of the calendar year in which you earned it;
- for all of the subsequent calendar year;
- until 31 March of the year subsequent to that full calendar year.
What this means is that if you apply for a Hilton Honors status match now (and meet the requirements), you will get to keep your status until the end of March 2020 – that’s more than 2 years of elite status!
How to request an Hilton Honors Status Match
You need to start out with elite status from one of Hilton‘s competitors. They list the usual suspects, but will definitely consider many other chains such as Best Western or Club Carlson.
In general, Honors will match the competition’s top level status to Honors Diamond (i.e. Diamond, Globalist, Spire, Platinum, etc.) If the competing chain has a relevant mid-tier status, such as Marriott Gold, then this can occasionally be matched to HHonors Diamond, but you might only be matched to Gold. Interestingly, recent reports suggest that IHG Platinum and Best Western Diamond still seem to be getting matched to Diamond.
If approved, HHonors members will enjoy their matched status for a period of exactly 90 days. This can be extended until 31 March, 2020 by completing:
- 4 stays for Gold status
- 8 stays for Diamond status
Note that these need to be separate stays, not just 4 or 8 nights.
The process of requesting a status challenge is simple. You must fill in the online form with your first name, last name, email address, HHonors account number, and the status you’re hoping to match. You must also upload proof of your competing status, as well as proof of a stay within the past 12 months with that hotel chain.
Meeting the Requirements
8 stays within 90 days is quite ambitious, but is obviously based on the fact that regular Diamond qualification requires 30 stays in a year (so 8/90 is roughly one quarter of the stays in one quarter of the year). This works out well for those who can accumulate many one-night stays, but is quite difficult for those who have less frequent, but longer hotel stays.
It’s worth knowing that Points stays count towards qualifying for elite status. There are several Category 2 hotels in the United Kingdom costing 10,000 Points per night. As regards cash rates, Fridays and Sundays tend to offer the best prices.
The current Hilton promotion effectively offers 2,000-4,000 Bonus Points per night, so you could accumulate a nice little Points balance at the same time as confirming your status too.
Conclusion
Hilton Honors Gold is excellent, and Diamond guarantees executive lounge access on top (when the hotel has one!).
With the upcoming changes to how Hilton calculates Points earnings and free breakfast being introduced at Waldorf Astoria properties, elite status is arguably more useful than ever. Being able to match and get 90 days status for free, and a big short-cut to keeping it (for more than 2 years!) is fantastic.
Apply for your Hilton Honors Status Match here.
What’s the best ever upgrade or amenity you’ve received as a Hilton Honors Gold or Diamond?
I can confirm HH are still giving Diamond match against IHG Platinum, I got this 3 x weeks ago. I’m not going to be able to make even four stays so will upgrade my Amex gold, bag HH Gold and the amex bonus then cancel.
The link says until March 2019
Yes, I was waiting until the website was upgraded but Joe jumped the gun.
It doesn’t really matter what the website says. If you qualify for Gold or Diamond now, you will have it for the rest of 2018, all of 2019 and the first 3 months of 2020. The Honors IT systems aren’t set up to penalise fast trackers / status matchers / etc.
Yeah, but that’s just because they haven’t updated it I think. Hilton status has always lasted for the current year, the next year and until the end of March the year after – so 2020 now.
Data point: status match is only valid until March 2019. Best to wait! I got caught out
Can you provide further details Vin? Did you sign up for the status match, complete your required stays, then find out that your status is only valid for 2018?
It would be a bit surprising if Hilton Honors changed their system so that an upgrade to Diamond (after 8 stays in 90 days, which is the pro rata equivalent of the full year requirement) doesn’t last longer than the current membership year.
Is this a one-time only offer? I could get reasonable use out of the gold status in the next couple of years but I’m not sure if I’d have enough stays after that to maintain the status. Could I then status match again or would I have to go down the Amex platinum route? I’m not sure whether to use my Le Accor Gold to status match over now or hold off until I have a very Hilton heavy couple of years.
Technically, I’m pretty sure it’s supposed to be once in a lifetime, but there are lots of reports of people successfully managing to get a match multiple times historically. There are also the regular Gold fast track offers (also for 4 stays) that pop up from time to time, and if you’re a little bit cheeky (and don’t have a massive Points balance you wouldn’t want to risk) you could always just set up a new Hilton account I suppose. Also, these offers may or may not be around in 2 years time (there might be better ones, there might be worse ones, or nothing), so personally I would go for it now and work out what you need to do in future if and when that time comes. As you say, there’s always the Amex Plat route in future too if there’s nothing else.
Instead of status matching to Gold, I would do a fast track.
In theory, you could do 4 stays now and have Gold until 2020. Do another fast track and another 4 stays in early 2020 and you’d extend until 2022.
Everything I’ve seen suggests that Hilton are happy to give away Gold status to anybody that shows some sort of commercial value (credit card, attachment to specific companies, etc.) and there’s usually a wide-open Gold fast track available at any given time.
Where can I confirm (from Hilton) that point stays count toward the status match as stated? It’s worth knowing that Points stays count towards qualifying for elite status. There are several Category 2 hotels in the United Kingdom costing 10,000 Points per night. As regards cash rates, Fridays and Sundays tend to offer the best prices.
Hi Gregory,
As far as I can recall without looking it up, Hilton just use the word “stays” and doesn’t qualify the term further re cash or points. Points stays have definitely counted for a long time though in practice, and I can personally confirm this was the still the case as recently as July this year: https://insideflyer.co.uk/2018/07/points-stays-definitely-count-towards-hilton-honors-status-matchchallenge/
If you’re at all concerned though, I would suggest asking Hilton to confirm that’s the case for you in writing (social media is probably quickest way to do it).
They count. They counted for me, and (as you note) it’s very clear in the Hilton Honors terms and conditions that points stays are stays:
For purposes of counting stays and nights for Elite tier qualification (as explained below) elite status gifting (as explained below) and milestone bonuses (as explained below), Reward Stays will count towards the number of overall stays and nights.
For further comfort, they are not specifically excluded from the “stay” definition either:
Specifically excluded from the definition of “stay” are the following types of ineligible stays:
– wholesale/tour operator packages;
– contracted crew rates;
– travel agency discount rates;
– packages exclusively for casino player card holders;
– unauthorized Members staying on Go Hilton Team Member or Family & Friends Travel Rates;
– stays secured utilizing Hilton Grand Vacations Club and Hilton Club timeshare programs, Hilton Grand Vacations marketing packages with a
sales presentation requirement;
– complimentary or barter rooms;
– NET Group rates;
– Series Group or IT Group rates;
– contracted Entertainment or Encore rates;
– third party websites bookings (irrespective of rate paid); and
– “opaque” channel bookings where the brand may or may not be known at the time of purchase.
So you’re on very solid ground here.
I would normally say that Hilton doesn’t care at all about award vs. paid, but the Lufthansa promo seems to require a paid stay.
But all the data points I’ve seen suggest that award stays work perfectly fine for status and status challenges.