Shortcut: How To Get Hilton Diamond Status For 2 Years On The Cheap
Here’s a shortcut for how to get Hilton Diamond status for 2 years cheaply. With any announcement changing status qualifications, my first thought is on how to maximize it. First, we’ll review the shortest path to Hilton Diamond status in the recent changes. Next, we’ll review how to get a big head start on this from 2020. Lastly, we’ll break down the math on this shortcut to Hilton Diamond status. You should be able to get Hilton Diamond status for 2 years from this.
Hilton Diamond Status Changes For 2021
We recently covered the changes here. Hilton’s announcement is here. The most important part for our shortcut to get Hilton Diamond status is this:
- All nights earned in 2020 by Members will count toward earning status in 2021
- Reducing Status Qualification Requirements by 50 percent across all tiers
Thus, anything you earn in 2020 counts towards 2021. Plus, what you need for earning Diamond status in 2021 is 30 nights, not the normal 60 nights.
The Shortcut: How To Get Hilton Diamond Status
I’m looking at this for a 2-year stack of benefits. With all the announcements Hilton has made about earning Diamond status, we can combine these for earning now AND getting a big head start on next year.
Recap: Earn Diamond Status In 2020 With 9 Nights
I previously covered this shortcut here. Through a combination of status match & double night promotions, you can get Hilton Diamond status by staying 9 nights. With Hilton’s status extensions, your top-tier Diamond status will be valid until March 31, 2022. Now, let’s carry that status through 2021 to hold it for all of 2022. Remember only paid stays count during a status match.
Summary: status match + double nights=9 paid nights in 2020 for status in 2021.
Head Start & Shortcut For 2021
Hilton’s latest announcement says that nights from 2020 will roll over into 2021. That includes all nights earned. Above, we earned 18 nights in 2020, so we start 2021 with 18 nights. To get Hilton Diamond status in 2021, you need 30 nights. We need only 12 more nights!
Plus, since we aren’t doing a status match/challenge for this, both paid and award stays will count. If you’re using points or free night certificates, those stays still count. From the status challenge above, you earned a fair amount of points. Using those now will defray the cost involved.
Summary: start the year with 18 nights, earn 12 more via points/certificates/paid stays
2 Years Of Top-Tier Status After 21 Nights
There it is. 21 nights (9 in 2020, 12 in 2021) will earn you Hilton’s top status for 2 years. I’d be remiss to not point out there are other ways to maximize this. You get double nights in 2020. You could go hard from now until the end of the year. Stay 15 nights in 2020, earn 30 nights’ credits, and start 2021 with Diamond status automatically via rollover credits. There are various ways you can stack these promotions, so think outside the box and see what works for you.
Should I Do This?
This isn’t for everyone. I’m doing the status match / 9 nights in 2020 route because I can’t get there the simplest way. The easiest way is just having the Hilton Aspire Card from American Express. Have this card and get Diamond status automatically. Due to the new 4-card limit from Amex, I can’t get this card right now. Plus, I have 2 stays between now and the end of the year where Hilton is the only hotel around, so doing the challenge makes sense for me. Consider your situation.
If you can get the Aspire Card, the $450 annual fee is probably less than what you’ll spend to complete the status challenge. If you can’t get the Aspire card, this is the shortest path to maximizing & stacking the promotions. Thus, you can get 2 years of Diamond status through shortcuts.
Final Thoughts
This doesn’t make sense for everyone. Only pursue status if you’re really going to take advantage of it. Earning status and then staying only 2-3 nights with that hotel chain the following year isn’t worth the effort and cost involved. Look at your situation. If you want to get Hilton Diamond status because it makes sense for you, I hope these shortcuts help.
Are you going to make a run at these promotions to earn Diamond status? Let me know.
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Which Hilton is that in the first picture, with the green lounges and green umbrellas??
Rob – it’s the Hilton Garden Inn, Virginia Beach
I saw you mentioned it at the end but I was half-expecting this entire post to be just a big link to the Hilton Aspire card 😉