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.
Earned lifetime Diamond in 2018. Still see no reason to go back
I wonder how they will treat lifetime diamond holders ? I earned it in 2020.. basically stopped staying at Hiltons, no noticeable difference – switched to Marriot, earned Ambassador Elite, made more please ever sense –
“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.)
This makes Diamond status kind of a joke. Gold Status (Hilton Surpass / Amex Plat) offers almost identical benefits as Diamond (Hilton Aspire). It feels like Hilton was forced to keep that tier due to credit card agreements.
(@Gary Leff — Also, like, congrats on not using Cloudflare; this morning, Twitter, a lot of sites, even Doctor of Credit, is down at the moment. VFTW-tech for the win!)
Only ONE suite upgrade award for earning top tier status?
This is a joke…would in their right mindset would stay 80 nights and spend $18K just for one suite upgrade award…
Wow, so the ability to earn points that counted towards lifetime status during COVID… that was all for naught?
Hyatt Globalist still far superior all the way around.
So for the Gold and Diamond (not Reserve) levels. . . any downgrade in their benefits? Particularly curious if Gold will still get free breakfast/food-and-bev credit.
@Oskiboski – from time stamps I can see, it appears I posted before there was a FlyerTalk thread. I don’t know what Head For Points had because that site has given me an error this morning. Nonetheless it appears there’s still information in this post that doesn’t exist elsewhere, even now. [Update – I can now see I was hours ahead of Head For Points in the middle of the night, as well.]
@Chris W – yes, Marriott does guarantee late checkout, it is not “always subject to availability” (only at resort properties etc).
@Gary Leff — “because that site has given me an error this morning”… Crowdflare outage. You lucked out Gary!
So…am I reading this correctly? The biggest – or only – benefit(s) to banging out 80 n ights and $18K in spend are:
* two upgrades (mediocre at best)
* Guaranteed 4 PM checkout (premium benefit; but only if your flight or plans require you to need that benefit?)
* Lounge access to lunges that aren’t actually there yet???
What am I missing???
All the chains with reward programs that are anti third party bookings can piss off. It’s such a fun rule and having to hear it in stereo before, during and sometimes at checkout is so annoying.
@TravelWarr — You (and Immortan Joe) said it best: “Mediocre.”
I guess this helps those Hilton Hostages, but it’s not attractive enough to pull in folks that actually have choice.
4pm checkout is so stupid. Better get ready to watch hotel checkin time change to 5 or 6pm. And if you get to a hotel and your room isnt ready you better not bitch – unless its directly to corporate.
Worldwide exclusive!
Too bad they didn’t give an option for earning via Aspire spend like the typical $75K you see or something of the like.
@TravelWarr — Don’t forget the “exclusive customer service”!
@1990 — Maybe they’ll hand out shiny and chrome Diamond Reserve membership cards
@Gary Leff – any clarity on how base point progress toward Lifetime Diamond through 2025 will be converted to the dollar requirement or not? I am at 8 years old Diamond and 1.5 million base points (heavily from pandemic credit card spend that I made specifically for Lifetime Diamond qualification purposes). The officoa Hilton page.
The post and the official Hilton page are ominously silent on this:
“Lifetime Diamond Membership
To achieve Lifetime Diamond Membership, you must earn Hilton Diamond status for 10 (non-consecutive) years, and complete one additional milestone:
– Stays totaling 1,000 paid and reward nights
– Earn 2 million base Points through December 31, 2025
– Starting January 1, 2026, after $200,000 USD in eligible spend
Once you’ve met the requirements, you’ll be notified via email from Hilton of your Lifetime Diamond status.”
@Gary US Credit Card Guide had the screenshot of the email sent to GM’s before midnight US time. Then it was in Flyertalk comments and Head for Points comments.
@Gary: “yes, Marriott does guarantee late checkout, it is not “always subject to availability” (only at resort properties etc)”
My understanding is that there are basically two different benefits, one for Gold and one for Plat and above.
What you said applies to Plat and above: 4 pm guaranteed (only subject to availability at resorts and convention hotels).
But Golds get 2 pm, *not guaranteed*, always subject to availability. Per Marriott’s benefits page, under Gold Elite: “Get a checkout time as late as 2 p.m. (subject to availability) so you can spend more time doing what you love.” Note the contrast in language from Platinum: “Guaranteed 4 p.m. late checkout, subject to availability at resort and convention hotels.” Also note, on the benefit chart, “Guarantee and timing are based on Elite status.”
They almost seem to make it as deliberately confusing as possible on the benefit chart page, but they make it clearer on the help page, “What is the Late Check-Out Benefit?” [https://help.marriott.com/s/article/Article-22369] They spell it out by separating the Gold (2 pm) and Platinum (4 pm) benefits: “2 p.m. Late Checkout: This benefit is based on availability.” “4 p.m. Late Checkout: … This benefit is guaranteed at all Participating Properties, except at resort and convention hotels, StudioRes, and Design Hotels, where it is based upon availability.” (I actually didn’t know it didn’t apply to StudioRes until looking that up just now.)
Exclusive?!
Were you at the event yesterday? Or did you get talking points from those in attendance or otherwise leaked?
Do better.
@ Gary — Where’s DCS? Dead?
Diamond through Amex Aspire for the last 6 months. Card opened before a trip to Asia. Status was somewhat useful there, mostly for the free breakfasts. No upgrades, unless higher floor counts. Status is completely useless in the US in terms of breakfast, upgrades, or (especially) late check-out. I can never get any hotel to agree to even 2 PM. 1 PM is the limit and they act like it’s a huge favour. False advertising. I’ll book Hyatt whenever I can and reconsider keeping the card.
@WhyNotDoBetter – I did not attend a Hilton event, nor did I receive information from anyone that did.
(@L737 — Btw, I finally caught up to S13, E19, withe truffles and Mad Max parody. ‘Zut alors!’)
@1990 — The truffles must have been wonderfully decadent! (Ps hope Hedonism Bot survived the crushing)
@L737 — Send in Zoidberg 5 to check. Great finale too. 10/10.
So, I’ve now had all day to digest this…have read all the travel site coverage and have read through everything Hilton said officially. Gotta be honest…STILL not seeing the overwhelming value proposition?
It’s actually ONE guaranteed suite upgrade (yawn)
Guaranteed 4 PM checkout (ok…but how many times do you really need to hang out on checkout day that long?)
Premium lounge access (but yet I can’t find anywhere that has these phantom lounges?)
A more dedicated phone line than the already dedicated Diamond line (not a game-changer)
120% in points (marginally better than the 100% you’re already getting if Diamond)
For that I need 80 nights and 18K in spend??? Assuming – big assumption here – they don’t cut the Diamond benefits in the future, this just made the Diamond level the new Hilton sweet spot!
This is an awful change by Hilton. I have been a Hilton Honors member for over 20 years and have about 900 nights with them toward the 1000 nights needed to make Diamond Lifetime Status. I feel stepped on with these new changes, and actually became a ‘free agent’ around 5 years ago when Hilton tinkered with the Breakfast benefit in the U.S. I currently have Diamond Status based on the Amex Aspire Card, and only use Hiltons when travelling in Europe where my wife and I always get a full free breakfast, room upgrade, and executive lounge access. In Europe (and Asia) Hilton is still a decent value as a Diamond. But creating a higher-level tier than Diamond without lowering the number of nights (1000!) needed to make lifetime Diamond just denigrates the whole program. This will turn people away and make more free agents. Also the higher tier that Hilton is creating I don’t feel will draw more people in – how many people are going to spend $18,000 with ONE hotel chain for so FEW additional benefits they are offering??? And finally – how many people are going to do this when Hilton continues to devalue the overall program? People like me (900 nights in) that have been suckered before won’t be suckered again. Hilton doesn’t care (at least long-term) about its loyal customers……