In a worldwide exclusive, View From The Wing can confirm major changes to the Hilton Honors program. I previously wrote that Hilton would be announcing a new Diamond Reserve top elite level. Here are additional details of the upcoming changes to the Honors loyalty program.
Conrad Koh Samui
How Status Will Be Earned In 2026
Hilton is lowering the requirements to earn Gold and Diamond status, and introducing new top tier Diamond Reserve Status. Status will require fewer stays or nights, and they replace the ‘base points’ qualification method with with just “spend.”
- Gold at 25 nights; Diamond at 50 nights
- Diamond Reserve: 80 nights + $18K spend
While Gold and Diamond will require fewer elite nights to earn, they are eliminating rollover nights, arguing that this “was rarely used and not well understood” and that dropping it allows them “to provide space for more meaningful benefits” according to internal materials reviewed by View From The Wing.
- “Rollover nights accumulated in 2025 will count towards status in 2026” and they “will be applied towards elite status in 2026, but not in 2027.”
Lifetime Diamond status remains 10 years of Diamond and 1,000 nights, however the nights alternative of 2 million base points changes to $200,000 spend.
Resorts World Las Vegas
You Won’t Start Qualifying For Status This Way Until Next Year
New status qualification starts January 1, 2026. That means this is how status is earned next year. Guests who stayed enough to earn these new levels in 2025 will not receive them – the status they’ve earned this year to enjoy next year will be based on currently published levels. (“All changes will launch Jan. 1, 2026, and will be based on 2026 stay behavior.”)
- Put another way, a Hilton Honors member who stayed 55 nights in 2025 will be Gold, not Diamond, even htough staying 50 nights in 2026 will earn Diamond.
- And a Hilton Honors member who stayed 80 nights and spent $18,000 in 2025 will not be a Diamond Reserve member. They need to achieve this feat in 2026 for Diamond Reserve status.
Conrad Bora Bora
New Benefits For Diamond Reserve
I previously wrote that Diamond Reserve members would receive 120% bonus points (versus 100% for Diamond members). Hilton’s materials show that Diamond Reserves will also receive:
- Confirmable Upgrade Reward at booking. “Confirm your premium room or suite upgrade at the time of booking” in addition to “Highest priority for space-available room upgrades.” This is valid on a stay of up to 7 nights.
Applicable to any upgradeable room up to a 1-bedroom Suite
Up to two Confirmable Upgrade Rewards can be earned in a calendar year; one upon achieving Diamond Reserve status with the option to earn a second at 120-nights [choice of upgrade or 30,000 bonus points]
Certificates expire after 12 months from issuance - Guaranteed 4:00 p.m. late checkout – automatic, no request necessary.
- Dedicated customer support via phone, email and chat.
- Premium lounge access. “Complimentary access to all lounges, including our expanding collection of Premium Clubs.”
Hilton was surveying a Diamond+ status in 2016. The Honors porgram tested confirmed-at-booking suite upgrades with a small group of top elite customers in 2019. So this has been a very long time in coming.
Indeed, the lack of any guaranteed late checkout even for Diamond members was – and remains – a huge gap in the program. Indeed, Marriott offers guaranteed 2 p.m. late checkout to Gold members, and that’s a giveaway level offered to all Amex Platinum cardmembers.
Marriott offers 4 p.m. late checkout to mid-tier Platinums, and Ambassador members can request ‘Your24’ check-in at any time and check-out 24 hours later (or 4 p.m. if checking in 9 a.m. or later). Hyatt guarantees 4 p.m. late checkout for Globalist members.
Hilton’s Diamond Reserve thus looks uncompetitive, though an upgrade reward at booking will be welcome – something Marriott does not offer, but that Hyatt trumps significantly.
Conrad New York Downtown
What’s Next
Hilton employees will receive training on new Honors status starting December 1. The program reports that,
Had this program been in place in 2025, fewer than 4% of Diamond members would have qualified for Diamond Reserve, making it a truly elite recognition.
According to the chain, they believe that these changes will generate “$500 million in incremental annual revenue” at its hotels worldwide from the 235 million members who have joined the program.
Fewer points will be earned at Homewood Suites and Spark properties: “The new Base Point earn rate for Homewood Suites and Spark is 5 Pts/$1 USD of Eligible Spend (previously 10 Pts/$1 USD)” effective January 8, 2026. In addition, Milestone Rewards will be earned up to 180 nights.
“Worldwide exclusive?” it was on Flyertalk and Headforpoints hours ago.
“Diamond Reserve”… requires 80 nights plus $18,000 spend… or, just pay the $550 annual fee for Diamond-Minus (or whatever they’ll call the O.G.), get and use the free night (for breakeven), and still occasionally get free breakfast. Meh, I’ll take the latter, until they nerf it, too. The industry-wide (hotels and airlines) shift from nights/miles to ‘spend’ continues (probably better for business, not necessarily great for frequent flyers/guests.)
@Oskiboski — Shh..shh..shh.. let’s just Gary have his ‘win’… *cough*
No way to top tier via base points/ spend leaves out the lower night high ADR guest . I can get the spend but not the nights or stays so no reason to leave Hyatt and Accor . Shortsighted ala Bonvoy .
@Maxie Dean — So this-there Hilton done got Bonvoy’d, s’that whatchur sayin’?
Mild correction, but Marriott doesn’t offer *guaranteed* 2 pm checkout for Gold members; that’s always subject to availability. (It’s only Plat and above who receive guaranteed 4 pm, except at resorts and convention hotels.) But Hyatt *does* guarantee 2 pm checkout to Discoverist and Explorist members (subject to availability at resorts and casino hotels).
Agreed that this seems woefully uncompetitive considering that it requires $18K in spend. If it was earnable with 40 one-night stays at Hampton Inns, then maybe. Hyatt and Marriott will remain my top two programs, with IHG likely staying in 3rd. (And bummer about the earning rate at Homewood Suites, which I consider one of Hilton’s good-quality but affordable brands with a decent footprint that I can often rely on to have central air in the rooms and a pool and hot tub on-site. Though for some reason I thought they already had a reduced earning rate; I must be confusing them with IHG’s Staybridge Suites and Marriott’s Residence Inn.)