Hilton Just Announced New Changes to Their Loyalty Program. Here’s What You Need to Know
Caroline Lupini January 08, 2018
Hilton has just announced some changes to their loyalty program — and it’s mostly good news! Here’s what you need to know.
1. Gold and Diamond elite members will earn points faster, but non-elites and Silver elites will earn more slowly and you can no longer earn points and miles.
As of now, base-level Hilton members earn 10 points per dollar spent on their room and elite members receive a percentage bonus depending on their elite level.
Starting in April 2018, Hilton is removing the option to earn points and miles, and you’ll only be able to earn points for stays. Along with that change, the number of points you’ll earn is changing.
For those with Gold and Diamond status, this is a pretty favorable change, even considering that you’ll no longer be about to earn points and miles. For Silver elites and those without Hilton status, this change is a bit of a hit.
2. Earn a Milestone Bonus
After you stay at least 40 nights with Hilton in a year, you’ll be eligible to earn Milestone Bonuses. Every 10th night after your 40th, you’ll be awarded 10,000 bonus Hilton points. Additionally, those with Diamond status will be able to earn another 30,000 bonus points after staying 60 nights within a year.
These bonuses will start in April, and Hilton will count all of the nights you’ve stayed in 2018 prior to April for these bonuses.
3. Elite Rollover Nights
Starting in 2018, elite members will be able to rollover elite-qualifying nights to the next year. You won’t be able to rollover elite-qualifying nights from the Hilton credit cards, however. This will make qualifying for status easier for many. Elite-qualifying stays and points will not rollover to the next year.
4. Gift Gold Status
If you stay 60 or more nights within a calendar year, you’ll be able to gift Gold status to someone. If you stay 100 or more nights, you can gift Diamond status! This is a great additional perk for those very frequent travelers.
Overall, these changes are mostly positive, especially for those with Gold and Diamond status. Those without status or with Silver status will take a small hit on points earning, but it is possible to earn Gold status automatically through some credit cards like the Hilton Honors Surpass Card from American Express.
What do you think of these changes?
For the FlyerTalk on this topic, head to the Hilton forum thread here.
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Agree with Shoelessj, massive devaluation and constant chipping away at benefits drove me away from Hilton tens years ago after 15 years as a full paying diamond! SPG took over and quickly earned my loyalty despite a few hiccups along the way as they resisted the devaluation trend for the most part and continued to provide very desirable benefits fitting my travel patterns and desires. not necessarily the best for everyone, but suits me fine.
I was a loyal Hilton Diamond for some years and jumped ship to Marriott. Outside of some indifferent customer service experiences the massive Hilton points devaluation was primary reason for leaving. Am happy as a Marriott Plat and only stay at Hilton as a last 'resort'. IMHO Hilton has a rewards program that drives customers away as their Garden Inn and Embassy are generally nice mid priced props.
I have had the AMEX Hilton Card for almost 30 years and over that time I enjoyed earning points with Hilton. Back in the day, it was a nice program to accumulate points to stay at one of the "elite" hotel brands. My favorite hotel for casual traveling is the Hilton Garden Inn as they set themselves apart with their cooked to order breakfast. At one time I was Diamond for several years during my business travel but now that I'm retired I'm down to Silver. With the devaluation of Hilton points over the years the value and perks for the points required no longer sets them apart from other hotel brands. As is true with most brands, nowadays you have to be a "road warrior" to get status and spend literally weeks at one brand. What irks me is that Hilton won't give me a sign-up bonus to upgrade to a Surpass Card after 30 years of loyalty!
As a lowly Silver member, I have already become lukewarm toward Hilton, due to the low value of HH points (half a penny) and the recent changes to cancellation policies. These additional changes will certainly do nothing to engender my loyalty. I have already migrated to last-minute bookings at the lowest possible price, and loyalty points be damned. If I can save $20 through Priceline, and also get a kickback from eBates, that is worth far more than a bottle of water and a few points from Hilton. Of course, I am self-employed, so every dollar saved is a dollar in my pocket. If I were somebody else's employee, I would probably behave differently.
Diamonds already earn a 100% bonus - 5 points with Points + Points and 5 bonus points as a Diamond so no change there.