Frequent readers of the blog may have noticed that I bank a lot of my hotel stays with Hilton. My first job required me to travel and there was an Embassy Suites close to my office. That’s how I got into the Hilton ecosystem, almost 12 years ago. Over the years, the Hilton Honors program has changed a lot with Hilton nuking their award chart and increasing redemption prices without prior notice. Now, it seems like the could soon launch a brand new tier of status above Diamond, called the Diamond Reserve.
Hilton Diamond Reserve
At the moment Hilton has four status levels:
- Member
- Silver (automatic if you get the no annual fee Hilton Honors card)
- Gold (automatic if you get the Hilton Surpass Card or the Hilton Business Card)
- Diamond (automatic if you get the Hilton Aspire Card)
As per screenshots leaked by US Credit Card Guide, Hilton may launch a new top tier Diamond Reserve status, above the current Diamond status, which is the highest tier as of now. Here’s what the new tier could look like:
- In order to qualify, one would need to spend a total of $18,000 in addition to 80 nights per year
- Once you reach 120 nights, you unlock a new milestone award
- 22x points on spend (10x base earning + 12x for Diamond Reserve)
It seems like this was inevitable. Given that the Hilton Aspire card hands out automatic Diamond status to all cardholders, it was a matter of time before Hilton decided to differentiate and add another tier. Once the Diamond Reserve tier level is confirmed, we could also see American Express offer spending thresholds to Diamond Members to spend their way to Diamond Reserve by reaching a spend threshold each year. If they do, I won’t be surprised if that threshold is pretty high, somewhere in the vicinity of $60,000 per calendar year.
The Pundit’s Mantra
Ideally, the Diamond Reserve could do a lot better by offering confirmed upgrades in advance, in addition to benefits that current Diamond members already enjoy. That would go a long way in differentiating not just the higher tier, but also the program. At the moment, the Hilton Honors program has no award chart, doesn’t offer full complimentary breakfast to elites staying at US properties and also doesn’t guarantee late check out.
In short, there’s a ton of room for improvement and I’m hoping that by adding a tier to cater to their most loyal and higher spending members, they are able to fix a lot of the issuers with their loyalty program.
What do you think about Hilton’s newest elite tier level? Tell us in the comments section.
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