[Anonymous]

[NTarrant]

Have just received this email from Hilton:

Dear Nigel,

Thank you for making Hilton HHonors™ your guest loyalty program. With ten distinct hotel brands, you have endless ways to experience the benefits of being an HHonors member.

Over the past few years, we have expanded the benefits for our guests with Gold and Diamond status. They can now enjoy benefits such as complimentary space-available room upgrades, high-speed Internet access, breakfast, and up to a 50% bonus on all Base Points earned on every stay.

Periodically, we need to adapt our program based on industry trends. For the past ten years, we have not changed the qualifications for Gold and Diamond status. As of January 1, 2013, we will adjust the requirements to qualify for elite status in 2014. To qualify for Gold status, HHonors members must complete 20 stays, 40 nights, or attain 75,000 Base Points within the calendar year. To qualify for Diamond status in 2014, members must complete 30 stays, 60 nights, or attain 120,000 Base Points in 2013. All other tier level qualifications, as well as elite status received through Hilton HHonors credit cards and partners, will remain the same.

We thank you for your loyalty, and we look forward to seeing you at one of our 3,900 hotels and resorts in 2013.

Sincerely,

Jeffrey Diskin
Executive Vice President, Commercial Services
Hilton Worldwide

Rather a high hike in stays for Gold.

[SimonRowberry]

Nigel,

It doesn’t surprise me at all.

And yet doubtless they will continue to status match…..

Cheers, Simon

PS Forgot to mention – the only additional benefit I can identify is free wifi. They have actually reduced benefits overall, e.g. by removing automatic access to the Exec Lounge for Golds and abandoning the rolling 12-month qualification period. I’m now on something like 32 stays this year (with at least one more to come) – I would have greatly benefitted from retention of the rolling qualification period.

[LuganoPirate]

I received the same email Nigel. I’ll just scrape to maintain Gold for next year so unlikely to qualify in 2014. Knowing this I won’t even bother trying now.

Apart from free wifi, you also get free breakfast. As to lounge access, I’ve not yet stayed in a Hilton that had one, so can’t confirm either way.

[SimonRowberry]

Hi LP,

The free breakfast isn’t new either. When Golds automatically gained access to the Exec Lounge, they would obviously get free breakfast and, in those hotels without an Exec Lounge, free brekkie would be provided in the restaurant.

When they abolished the automatic right to the Lounge, they introduced “free breakfast” as a “new benefit”…..Hmm.

As I said, there have been few, if any, real “improvements” in the programme at all.

Cheers, Simon

[Swissdiver]

Funnily enough, I did NOT receive this email… While I got the Gold through a link posted on this very forum, the renewal for 2013 will be “regular”, mostly (but not only) thank to stays in one single hotel… Are they going to country specific targets?

Also I often got access to the Exec Lounge (OK, in a dry country, still…).

[prosborn]

Responding to Simon N’s first post:

I tink you’ll find that if you are good, faithful, discrete, quiet-about-it and always just above your annual requirements (speaking as a Diamond here), for year after year, you might just find that a future “annual” renewal pops into your letterbox with a card that expires some three or more years into the future.

shhh.

– Paul

[SwissExPat]

Got this too as a diamond for the last 2 years (comfortably over the 100′,000 requirement this year but who knows about next year.

Not impressed with this penny pinching.

Also never really felt very welcomed in any Hilton property despite being diamond level especially in NYC Waldorf Astoria where ” we have over 200 diamonds here every night so we cannot provide an exec lounge” … !

[Binman62]

I understand changes also to priority club with only base points and status bonus points counting towards gold and platinum status. All the points gained via promotion and on special deals will no longer count but can still be collected.

Given that you get I platinum free with £99 Visa card in the UK one wonders what this can achieve.

SPG gold and Accor le club platinum are both free with Amex for as long as you have the card. Hilton gold for year

[Swissdiver]

Got the message this morning…

[SimonRowberry]

Me too…

Paul – that used to happen to me when there was the rolling 12-month qualification period. I remember once getting it renewed for almost 3 years at Diamond level. I wonder whether they are so generous nowadays.

Simon

[Rickers]

Not too happy about this at all — this just means a 20% increase in the number of Base Points I need to collect to retain Diamond for 2014, which is going to be extremely tricky to achieve.
Fingers crossed for a Diamond Challenge offer late next year if I am coming up short ………………………………………………………………………..

[VintageKrug]

I find Hilton the least pleasant hotel chain to frequent, the loyalty scheme is average and it’s not really a brand I use unless there is no other choice.

However, the principle is sound; there are way too many “elite” customers chasing a limited menu of perks.

Something’s gotta give, and as Priority Club has also tightened up its elite criteria recently, I’d expect others to follow.

[wilson3]

I am a Hilton Diamond member and have been for more than ten years.Remember that Hilton at present are opening a large number of new hotels in the Uk and also worldwide……….thus the choice is growing in size. I find Hilton excellent and am virtually always upgraded and my tier status recognised.Two extra stays in a year is not a problem and they seem to have an offer for the new year, in that a 2 night stay represents 2 stays towards tier status,

[Senator]

As a Hilton Diamond VIP since 2005, I will be impacted by this but more from changing travel patterns than from changes to the programme itself.

I would like to defend HH programme for a second. It is the only programme (to my knowledge) that allow members to earn on:
Number of nights (frequency)
Number of stays (frequency)
Points (spending)

That means that both frequent users of their facilities and high spenders are rewarded for their loyalty.

Whilst my sample size of status with other programmes is very limited, I am a very happy HH Diamond VIP. The number of small and large perks I’ve received over the years are excellent. I experience the complete opposite of SwissExPat at the Waldorf where I stay at most; once a year at quite low rates and feel like I am truly valuable customer. I even have special “privileges” provided by the excellent staff in the Diamond Reception.

Hilton overall, with their properties across the different brands are perhaps not has good as Intercontinental Group and Starwood, but for my need; they have always delivered. In the few cases of issues; they have been solved swiftly.

[Author]

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