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Last year, Hilton announced several positive changes for members in response to the Covid-19 worldwide pandemic. Initially, these changes were meant to expire in March of 2022. But, as the pandemic continues to rage on, Hilton is stepping up once again. Hilton is extending elite status and other benefits for another year.
Key Terms
- All elite statuses with Hilton Honors will be extended through March 2023 — even if you didn't requalify in 2020 or 2021
- Nights earned in 2021 will roll over to next year
- Points expiration pause is extended until December 31, 2022
- Requirements for status will continue to be lower
- Free Weekend Night Certificates can be used on any night of the week
- Continue to earn Milestone Bonuses faster
- Hilton Honors Bonus Points earned through eligible purchases will continue to count as Base Points through December 31, 2022
Breakdown of Hilton Elite Status and Benefit Extensions
Elite Status Requirements
In addition to extending elite status, Hilton Honors is reducing what you'll need to earn in 2022 to earn elite status. All requirements have been reduced by about 30% off the standard rates. This means that you can achieve the following status levels by completing the respective requirements:
- Silver: 7 nights, 3 stays, or 17,500 Base Points
- Gold: 28 nights, 14 stays, or 52,500 Base Points
- Diamond: 42 nights, 21 stays, or 84,000 Base Points
Those requirements are about 40% higher than the Hilton Honors elite status requirements for 2021:
Rollover Nights
For every night you stay at a Hilton in 2021, those elite nights will roll over toward 2022 elite status requirements. If you stayed 25 nights in 2021, you'll get a kickstart toward status and begin 2022 with 25 elite-qualifying nights.
Base Points
Base points are what you need to achieve status with Hilton. Normally, you can only earn Base Points when you pay for a room and stay with Hilton. But, through at least 2022, you can earn Base Points when you spend on a co-branded American Express Hilton credit card.
Milestone Bonus
Members can continue to earn Milestone bonuses at a faster rate. In 2022, after a member has stayed 30 nights, they can get a bonus of 10,000 Hilton points for every 10 nights stayed. Once a member hits 60 nights in a calendar year, an additional 30,000 Hilton points will be awarded.
That matches what Hilton is offering for 2021:
Free Weekend Night Certificates
As the name implies, Weekend Night Certificates normally can only be used on weekends. But for the remainder of 2021 and until December, 31 2022, these certificates be used on any night.
Expiration of Free Weekend Night Certificates also has been extended. For certificates set to expire by August 31, 2021, expiration has been extended through January 3, 2022. Free Weekend Night certificates issued in 2021 will not expire until December 31, 2022.
For further details, you can read the full announcement from Hilton here.
Hilton Credit Cards
Having a co-branded Hilton credit card is the best way to take advantage of and maximize these temporary benefits — over both the short-term and long-term. Here are the current welcome offers:
- Hilton Honors American Express Card: Earn 80,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points after you spend $1,000 in purchases on the Hilton Honors American Express Card in the first 3 months of Card Membership. Plus, earn an additional 50,000 bonus points after you spend a total of $5,000 in purchases in the first 6 months.
- Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card: Earn up to 180,000 bonus points. You'll receive 130,000 Bonus Points after you spend $2,000 in purchases on the Hilton Honors American Express Surpass Card in the first 3 months of Card Membership. Plus, you can earn an additional 50,000 Points after you spend a total of $10,000 in purchases on the Card in the first 6 months.
- Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card: Earn 150,000 Bonus Points after you use your new Card to make $4,000 in eligible purchases within the first 3 months of Card Membership. Plus, enjoy a free Weekend Night Reward within your first year and every year after renewal.
Related Content: Hilton Honors Cards From American Express
Final Thoughts
Hilton has really stepped up during this time of uncertainty by giving customers plenty of flexibility while we all navigate through these uncertain times.
Now, it's your move, Hyatt and Marriott.
What do you think of these changes as Hilton Honors extends elite and benefits?
The comments on this page are not provided, reviewed, or otherwise approved by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.
Some companies actually understand customer loyalty. Status costs Hilton so little, a free breakfast or room upgrade costs them almost nothing but goes a long way towards retaining customers. Unfortunately many don’t get this.
I wish Hilton had more eligible rooms and offers in Hawaii….
This certainly buys my loyalty for another year
The Hilton Hotel was one of the most beautiful hotels that I stayed in when I traveled to Cartagena. It is expensive, but very pretty.
Hilton has had to adjust with good reason during this time period and has had mostly positive changes. The properties I visit have all recovered significantly since the spring. So that helps. Unfortunately, they have been stung by the same problems other businesses face. Inflation and continuous labor shortages for all levels of employees they utilize have eaten into their overall profit margins. I think Hilton has done a better job of preserving benefits than the other major chains.
This just makes me think that there’ll be a lot more diamonds out there. I wonder how well the hotels will want to follow the upgrades, etc. Since credit cards can give you status with Hilton, I don’t chase after them that much. I can see that at least with the lower requirements that I wouldn’t have to try too hard to reach Diamond without a card though.
I can only imagine how much this pandemic has impacted Hilton. They probably extended benefits again because otherwise, they will lose a huge portion of their elite-level base. Extended status keeps many in the fold when things return to normal – hopefully soon.
C’mon Hyatt and Marriott. You need to step it up!!
I AM VERY GRATEFUL WITH THE COMPANIES WHO UNDERSTAND THAT THE PANDEMIC IS THE CORRECT TIME TO SHOW HIS CLIENTS THAT THEY ARE COMPROMISED WITH THEM.
This is definitely good news. Especially during this time when people are still restricted from traveling or are not willing to travel yet.
Kudos to Hilton for doing the right thing. Hope other chains will follow.
Good of Hilton to extend their elite status as were not fully back to pre-pandemic times!
Very generous of Hilton to extend our current status into 2023….that kind of generosity breeds a lot of loyalty down the road….it will be very interesting to see how Marriott/Hyatt/IHG, etc. respond with their elite status members.
Great news. Waiting for Radisson and IHG!
So if you actually earned status in 2021, you get nothing.
me parece muy bueno este articulo, me interesa.
There’s no mention of extending expiration of Free Night certificates. That’s disappointing, as I’m not comfortable traveling yet and have no plans to travel until 2022 at the earliest.
This is great news for Hilton Honors members. Hyatt are you listening?