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Hilton Diamond status is one of the most valuable hotel elite statuses, offering perks like free breakfast, suite upgrades, and lounge access. While you can earn it annually through credit cards or stays, Hilton also offers a Lifetime Diamond status — granting permanent top-tier benefits with no need to requalify each year. But how do you earn it, and is it worth the effort?
Here's how you can earn Hilton Lifetime Diamond status, and the perks it will earn you.
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Hilton Honors Elite Status Tiers and Benefits
Hilton Honors has four status levels: Member, Silver, Gold, and Diamond — with Hilton Diamond being the highest. Here are the key benefits you receive at each tier:
| Status Tier | Requirements | Benefits |
|---|---|---|
| Member | Sign up for Hilton Honors | Hilton Honors Discount Rate Earn points toward free nights & more No resort fees on reward stays Digital Check-in option and Digital Key Free WiFi |
| Silver Elite | 10 nights OR 4 stays OR 25,000 Base Points | All Member benefits plus... 20% Bonus Points on stays (12 Honors points per $1 spent) Fifth night free on reward stays Two free bottles of water per stay Elite Rollover Nights |
| Gold Elite | 40 nights OR 20 stays OR 75,000 Base Points | All Silver benefits plus... 80% Bonus Points on stays (18 Honors points per $1 spent) Space-available room upgrades, up to rooms on the executive level (at property discretion) Daily food and beverage credit or continental breakfast at select brands (varies by hotel) Milestone Bonuses |
| Diamond Elite | 60 nights OR 30 stays OR 120,000 Base Points | All Gold benefits plus... 100% Bonus Points on stays (20 Honors points per $1 spent) Space-available room upgrades, up to standard suites (at property discretion) Executive lounge access Diamond status extension Premium WiFi 48-hour room guarantee Elite status gifting |
As you can see, Diamond has much to offer, with 100% Bonus points to a 48-hour room guaranteed. Also, get access to the Hilton fifth night free on reward stays, and the daily food & beverage credit (or full breakfast outside the U.S.) for up to two persons per day can save you money on your travel!
Related: How To Get Free Breakfast at Hilton Hotels
How to Earn Hilton Diamond Status
Hilton Diamond status typically requires staying 60 nights or completing 30 stays at Hilton properties in a calendar year. Thankfully there's an easier way.
Via Hilton credit cards
The simplest way to gain Hilton Diamond status is by holding the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card. You are granted Hilton Diamond status by just having this card.
While the Aspire card has a hefty $550 annual fee , it comes with lots of additional perks such as a free night certificate good at 99% of the Hilton properties in the world, $200 airfare credit per year, $400 resort credit per year, annual CLEAR reimbursement and so much more. The Hilton Aspire card is a great card to own if you stay at Hiltons regularly.
- 14X Hilton Honors Bonus Points for each dollar of eligible purchases charged on your Card directly with a hotel or resort within the Hilton Portfolio
- 7X Hilton Honors Bonus Points on flights booked directly with airlines or amextravel.com, car rentals booked directly through select rental companies, and at U.S. restaurants
- 3X Hilton Honors Bonus Points for all other eligible purchases on your Card
Next, you can spend towards Hilton Diamond status. You can spend $40,000 annually on eligible purchases to reach Diamond status if you own the Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card or the The Hilton Honors American Express Business Card.
Both of these cards start you with Hilton Gold status. The Surpass card has an annual fee of $0 intro annual fee for the first year, then $150 (Rates & Fees) and includes $200 credits annually for staying at Hilton properties. The Hilton Business Card charges an annual fee of $195 (Rates & Fees) and includes $240 credits annually for staying at Hilton properties.
- Earn 130,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points after you spend $3,000 in purchases on the Card in the first 6 months of Card Membership. Offer Ends 8/13/2025.
- Get up to $50 in statement credits each quarter for purchases made directly with a property in the Hilton portfolio on your Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card. That's up to $200 in statement credits annually.
- Earn 12X Hilton Honors Bonus Points for each dollar of eligible purchases charged on your Card directly with a hotel or resort within the Hilton portfolio.
- Earn 6X Points for each dollar of purchases on your Card at U.S. restaurants, at U.S. supermarkets, and at U.S. gas stations.
- Earn 4X Points for each dollar on U.S. Online Retail Purchases.
- Earn 3X Points for all other eligible purchases on your Card.
- Earn a Free Night Reward from Hilton Honors after you spend $15,000 on eligible purchases on your Card in a calendar year.
- Enjoy complimentary Hilton Honors ™ Gold Status with your Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card.
- Spend $40,000 on eligible purchases on your Card in a calendar year and you can earn Hilton Honors™ Diamond Status through the end of the next calendar year.
- As a Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card Member, you can enroll to receive complimentary National Car Rental® Emerald Club Executive® status through the link on your American Express online account. After you're enrolled, you can reserve a rental car by calling National Car Rental directly, using your travel service, or by booking online or through the National Car Rental mobile app. Terms apply.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees. Enjoy international travel without additional fees on purchases made abroad.
- $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $150.
- Apply with confidence. Know if you're approved for a Card with no impact to your credit score. If you're approved and you choose to accept this Card, your credit score may be impacted.
- Terms Apply.
- Rates & Fees
- 12X bonus points for each dollar of eligible purchases charged on your card directly with a hotel or resort within the Hilton portfolio
- 6X bonus points for each dollar of eligible purchases on your card at U.S. restaurants, U.S. supermarkets, and U.S. gas stations
- 4X bonus points on U.S online retail purchases
- 3X bonus points for all other eligible purchases on your card
Finally, if you have top-tier status with other hotel providers such as Marriott or Hyatt, you may be able to status match with Hilton, providing you with Hilton Diamond status. This typically requires a certain number of Hilton stays within a certain amount of time. After fulfilling the status match requirements, you generally receive Hilton Diamond status for one to two years.
Related Links: Power Duo: Leveraging the Hilton Aspire and Hilton Surpass Cards for Maximum Value
How to Earn Hilton Lifetime Diamond Status
To become a Lifetime Diamond Member, you must earn Diamond status for 10 years plus complete one additional milestone from the following list:
- Complete stays totaling 1,000 paid and reward nights
- Earn 2 million base points.
The 10 years don't need to be consecutive — so don't worry if you don't earn Hilton Diamond for 10 years in a row.
Once you have met these requirements, you will receive your welcome kit with your Lifetime Diamond card in the mail in about 8-12 weeks.
Is Hilton Lifetime Diamond Status Worth It?
It is easy to achieve regular Diamond status with Hilton by owning the Hilton Aspire card. And it's doable to spend $40,000 on eligible purchases yearly either with the Hilton Surpass card or Hilton Business Card. However, it is not so easy to achieve Lifetime Diamond status.
The above covers the 10 years of being a Hilton Diamond member. However, to meet the first additional milestone in the same 10 years, you'd also need to spend 100 nights per year. If you only earned the minimum of 60 nights per year to reach Diamond status, it would take almost 17 years to earn Hilton Lifetime Diamond status.
Alternatively, you could try earning 2 million base points. Just note that base points don't include bonus points earned via of your current Hilton elite status level nor points earned via credit card purchases. So, it would require a ton of Hilton-related spending to reach the 2 million base points necessary for Hilton Lifetime Diamond status.
While Lifetime Diamond members receive prioritized upgrades over regular Diamond members, this is based on current availability at the hotel. Unless you stay and spend a lot with Hilton properties, it is better to focus on maintaining Hilton Diamond status than focusing on earning Lifetime Diamond status.
Final Thoughts
Hilton Diamond status can be well worth it because of the perks received onsite. While you can earn Hilton Lifetime Diamond status, it will require many stays and/or spending at Hilton properties to get there.
Hilton makes it easy to get regular Diamond status based on simply owning the Hilton Aspire or spending $40,000 on eligible purchases annually on either the Hilton Surpass card or Hilton Business Card. Even if you don't have one of these cards, you can get to regular Diamond status with a reasonable number of stays at Hilton properties per year.
Are you shooting for Hilton Lifetime Diamond status? Let us know in the comments below.
For rates and fees of the cards mentioned in this post, please visit the following links: Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card (Rates & Fees), and The Hilton Honors American Express Business Card (Rates & Fees)
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