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Hilton Honors is known for offering generous fast tracks and status matches, although they are structured as a challenge. The terms are published online. These have recently been updated to reflect that your status would be valid until 31 March, 2025, as long as you meet the requirements of the challenge of course.

What must I do?

Once you have successfully been approved for the status challenge, you have a 90-day trial period where you enjoy Gold status.

To keep Gold or upgrade to Diamond until 31 March, 2025, you must stay (within those 90 days):

• 8 nights for Gold status
• 14 nights for Diamond status

(this is a small increase versus prior years, where you needed 12 nights for Diamond…)

Historically, reward nights have counted for these fast track challenges – it helps to charge something to your room (to earn a few points) – even though the terms specifically exclude reward nights.

It might take 7-10 days for your status match application to be approved, so I would recommend signing up two weeks in advance of a planned stay. That way, you would be sure to have Gold status for that stay, as well as maximise the 90-day period to complete the rest of the night requirements.

How do I qualify?

The most important factor is that you must CURRENTLY be a Base or Silver member.  (historically, people have tried to renew their Gold status with fast tracks, without ever dropping below Gold – this isn’t allowed)

You must also have elite status with one of:

• Marriott Bonvoy
• IHG Rewards
• World of Hyatt
• Best Western Rewards
• Choice Privileges

Other programs are apparently no longer eligible.

You must send a copy / screenshot of your membership card and proof of a stay at a hotel (such as a screenshot of a hotel receipt or the points crediting to your account).

The full terms are available here…

Bottom Line

If your Hilton Honors account was downgraded at the end of March 2023 to Silver or Blue status, now might be the time to go for a status challenge to earn Gold or Diamond status again…

If you don’t have an eligible elite status to match from, you might want to consider signing up for IHG’s Ambassador programme – click here for details – and complete a stay. That would give you Platinum status with IHG One Rewards – more than enough to get you started on this Hilton status challenge…