2026 Hotel Elite Status Strategy
I recently described our airline elite status situation with the big three domestic carriers. Naturally, I also figured it’s an opportune time to complement that piece with how I’m going about hotel elite status this year. Indeed, I place a higher value on hotel elite status since my family and I spend more waking hours there. In my experience, the benefits of higher hotel status easily outpace what airlines have provided us. While airline programs are catching up, I continue to enjoy the variety of avenues for reaching hotel elite thresholds. Here’s how our 2026 hotel elite status qualification is looking, in no particular order.
Our 2026 Hotel Elite Status Plans
Hilton Honors
I start with the hotel program I’m more loyal to than any other. After years of then-top-tier Hilton Honors Diamond status, I dropped down to Gold for a few months in 2025. But I upgraded a Hilton Honors Amex Surpass to an Aspire soon after and returned to Diamond status. I’ll be doing the same on another Surpass account later this year, so I expect to stay within the friendly confines of Diamond for the foreseeable future. Meanwhile, my wife is on quite a Diamond streak and shows no signs of slowing, either.
Hilton Honors now offers a new top tier – Diamond Reserve status – something I don’t have any plans on achieving. For what it’s worth, I haven’t noticed any substantial downgrade in recognition or service since this new level came on the scene. We’ll see how long that lasts.
Choice Privileges
I recently described how I wanted to plus up my Choice Privileges points balance due to my healthy redeeming of late. Conveniently, doing so will now come with the program’s top-tier status, Titanium. I’ll hit Titanium’s 110k elite qualifying credit threshold with $22k spend on my Wells Fargo Choice Privileges Select card in 5x categories. Titanium benefits aren’t exactly mind-blowing, but they’re a marked improvement over the forgettable elite perks prior to the recent Choice Privileges refresh. I’ll keep redeeming these points while getting a bit more along the way, primarily through a 50%-off award stay and status breakfasts – both which I may overrate.
Marriott Bonvoy
My wife and I each hold Marriott Bonvoy Platinum status from Bonvoy Brilliant cards we’ve since closed. But we’ll lose that soon and may have to settle for Bonvoy Gold from our Schwab Platinum cards until our next move. That will hopefully be new Brilliant cards with elevated NLL signup bonuses, hopefully sooner rather than later. But that’s a lot to ask, and it may not come any time soon, if at all. Barring such an arrival, we may opt for a Brilliant without a signup bonus more immediately since we have planned vacation stays at Marriott properties starting this summer. Our Marriott elite situation may be the biggest open question out of all programs in this article. Stay tuned for more as things develop!
IHG One Rewards
We each had a good run of almost two years with IHG One Rewards Diamond status. My wife and I achieved this by respectively spending $40k on our Chase IHG Premier cards in early 2024. Benefits have been solid, where we’ve routinely obtained significant room and suite upgrades and remarkable breakfasts. As of last fall, we decided my wife wouldn’t requalify in 2026, and I deferred, hoping for clarity early this year.
That time has come. Last month, I decided to spend my way to Diamond status again ASAP to obtain Diamond for the rest of 2026 and 2027. I can efficiently do so in 5x categories, stacking targeted spend and attractive card-linked offers along the way. Indeed, with no active 5x capacity on my active Ink Cash accounts, I’m having more fun spending on my IHG Premier than any other Chase cards.
Wyndham Rewards
I don’t have any Wyndham Rewards status nor do I recall ever having it. That’s fine. My wife has Platinum status as a Wyndham Earner+ cardholder; she also has the legacy card. We’re okay paying these cards’ annual fees ($144 combined) for 22.5k anniversary points without even thinking about status. I enjoy using these points on Vegas dining just as much as any other redemption, which are mostly flophouses on road trips. Regardless, we have zero need for Wyndham status.
World of Hyatt
After years as a top-tier elite in Hyatt’s previous Gold Passport program, I’ve been a nobody for well over a decade. We’ve had infrequent needs for Hyatt stays, primarily due to their footprint – still too limited for our needs. But when a Hyatt stay is the best match for aligned travel goals, we’ll gratefully leverage a Guest of Honor stay from a Globalist friend.
This year, I endeavor to reach probably-meaningless Explorist status, though. The only reason to do so is it’s remarkably easy. I unlock this Hyatt level with AAdvantage status I’m obtaining, anyway. Regardless, I need to remember to click the button in my AAdvantage online account, something I inexplicably haven’t gotten around to in prior years.
Conclusion
That’s it for now. I could even be accused of overdoing it. Having a ton of elite status is like paying for too many streaming services, in my view. Neither comes with more time to enjoy them. But I’m fine with my plans. I know that other compatible reasons exist for my activities that come with such oh-by-the-way status levels. That said, I’d happily change my mind if programs give me a reason to. In our dynamic hobby, the surprises can be part of the fun.
What are your 2026 hotel elite status qualification plans?
