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Hilton is a massive hotel chain with over 8,000 properties worldwide across 24 distinct brands. Whether you opt for budget-friendly options like a Hilton Garden Inn or splurge on luxury stays at the Waldorf Astoria, Hilton has options for everyone in its portfolio. When you find a hotel brand you connect with, it can pay to stay loyal.
Hilton Honors is the loyalty program for frequent Hilton guests. The more you stay at a Hilton property, the higher you can climb in the elite status tiers. Hilton Diamond is the top-tier Hilton status for the most loyal guests, and offers perks like bonus points, upgrades, and more. Here's everything you need to know about earning Hilton Diamond and maximizing its benefits.
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Hilton Diamond Benefits
As a top-tier Diamond member, you will receive several lucrative benefits, as highlighted below.
100% bonus points on stays
Hilton Diamond Elite members receive a 100% points bonus on stays. That means you'll earn an impressive 20 points per dollar on stays at most properties in the Hilton portfolio. At Tru & Home2 Suites, you'll earn 10 points per dollar, and at LivSmart Studios, you'll earn 3 points per dollar. If you have a co-branded Hilton credit card, you'll earn even more.
Related: When Do Hilton Honors Points Expire?
Space-available room upgrades
Hilton Diamond members can be upgraded up to a one-bedroom suite, as available. According to user reports, these upgrades are somewhat rare, especially if you are traveling in the U.S. However, you might have better luck when traveling abroad, especially on shorter stays.
Executive lounge access
Diamond members receive access to executive lounges during their stay. Unfortunately, Hilton doesn't provide a master list of properties with a lounge. However, you can filter for properties with an executive lounge when searching for hotel options for your next trip.
However, when traveling in the U.S., be prepared to be disappointed. After performing a quick search in major U.S. cities, executive lounges are few and far between. Here are the number of hotels with lounges in the top 10 biggest cities in the country:
- New York: 2 — New York Hilton Midtown and Hilton Brooklyn New York
- Los Angeles: 1 — Hilton Arcadia Los Angeles (opening Dec 2025)
- Chicago: 0
- Houston: 1 — Hilton Americas-Houston
- Phoenix: 1 — Arizona Biltmore, LXR Hotels & Resorts
- Philadelphia: 0
- San Antonio: 0
- San Diego: 0
- Dallas: 0
- Jacksonville: 0
So, this isn't a particularly valuable benefit for travelers within the U.S.
Diamond status extension
Once you've been a Diamond member for three years and stayed 250 lifetime nights or earned 500,000 base points, you can request a Diamond status extension. This allows you to receive an extra year of Diamond perks if you are unable to reach status for that year.
If you never have trouble earning Hilton Diamond status, you might not use this benefit. However, if something happens one year and you need to travel less, it's nice to know you won't necessarily lose your status.
Elite status gifting
If you stay at a Hilton property at least 60 nights in the calendar year, you can gift Gold elite status to a member. Once you stay 100 nights, you can gift Diamond elite status to a member. This is a great gift for a friend or family member who doesn't travel often enough to earn status on their own but would still appreciate the benefits.
Related: 16 Airlines and Hotels That Let You Share Elite Status
Other Hilton Diamond benefits
As a Diamond member, you'll also receive benefits like premium Wi-Fi and a 48-hour room guarantee.
In addition to Diamond benefits, you also get all the perks of the lower tiers of Hilton status, including:
- Daily food and beverage credit or continental breakfast: You will receive a credit at select brands in the U.S., and Motto by Hilton globally. You'll receive a complimentary continental breakfast at select brands outside of the U.S. This perk is only available at locations that do not have an executive lounge.
- Milestone bonuses: You will earn 10,000 Bonus Points every 10 nights you stay once you have stayed at least 40 nights in a calendar year.
- All-inclusive spa discount: If you visit an all-inclusive spa, you can receive 15% off.
- Fifth night free on reward stays: When you book an award redemption, you'll get your fifth night free.
- Elite rollover nights: Any extra elite nights you earn will roll over to the following years earning.
- Free bottled water: Receive two free bottles of water in your room at select properties.
Related: Guide to Hilton Honors MyWay Benefits: Perks You Choose After Unlocking Gold or Diamond Status
How to Earn Hilton Diamond Status
Luckily, there are several ways to earn Hilton Diamond status, including through stays and credit cards.
Earning Hilton Diamond through stays
To earn Hilton Diamond elite status, you'll need to stay 60 nights, complete 30 stays, or earn 120,000 base points.
Here's how this works in practice. Let's say you take a seven-night vacation to the DoubleTree Resort by Hilton Hotel Fiji – Sonaisali Island. That would count as seven qualifying nights and one qualifying stay. If you frequently book one-night trips, you might reach Diamond status after just 30 nights in a hotel, since these individual trips each count as one stay. If not, then you'll likely reach 60 nights before you reach 30 stays.
Keep in mind that all Hilton Honors members earn 10 base points per $1. If you wanted to qualify for Hilton Diamond through this route, you'd need to spend a minimum of $12,000 at Hilton properties each year.
Earning Hilton Diamond through credit cards
You can receive complimentary Hilton Diamond status as a perk of being a Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card cardholder. In addition to receiving Diamond status, you'll enjoy benefits like up to $400 in statement credits on Hilton Resort purchases, an annual free night award, up to $200 in annual flight credits, and more. Although it comes with a $550 annual fee (Rates & Fees), it's your easiest path to status.
Your other option would be the Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card. It comes with complimentary Hilton Gold status, but if you spend $40,000 on your card in a calendar year, you can upgrade to Hilton Diamond status. If you tend to make a lot of purchases on your credit cards, this could be a viable option. The annual fee is much lower at $150 (Rates & Fees), but it takes more work to earn Diamond status.
(Terms apply)
- 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
(Terms Apply)
- 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
Can You Earn Hilton Diamond Status for Life?
You can achieve Hilton Lifetime Diamond status, but it's not easy to do so. You must earn Hilton Diamond status for 10 years, and either complete 1,000 nights or earn two million base points. That means, apart from maintaining Diamond status for a decade, you'll either need to have spent $200,000 at Hilton properties or spent close to three years staying at a Hilton hotel.
This is an impressive amount of loyalty. If you can reach lifetime Diamond, you've certainly paid your dues and deserve the benefits it comes with.
Is it Worth Earning Hilton Diamond Status?
If you frequently stay at a Hilton property, holding top-tier Diamond status can pay off. Although select benefits like the executive lounge access might have limited utility, other benefits like room upgrades and bonus points can seriously improve your experience. Since you can earn Diamond status by simply adding a new card to your wallet, it's a no-brainer for Hilton loyalists.
That said, if you don't want a new credit card, you can get several of the most valuable perks with just Hilton Gold status, which is much easier to reach through stays or base points. You'll earn 18 points per dollar, and still get the breakfast credit and fifth night free on award stays.
Although you won't be able to be upgraded to a one-bedroom suite, you will receive upgrades up to the executive floor. The fringe benefits of executive lounge access and the ability to gift status might not be worth the upgrade to Diamond for some people.
Related: 9 Things We Love About Hilton Honors
Final Thoughts
Hilton Diamond status provides solid benefits to its most loyal travelers. If you stay at a Hilton property several times per year, you should consider applying for the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card. Not only will it fast-track you to receiving Diamond benefits, but it also provides several other lucrative perks in exchange for a reasonable annual fee.
For rates and fees of the cards mentioned in this post, please visit the following links: Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card (Rates & Fees), and Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card (Rates & Fees)
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