Hello DCShungu:

Thank you for your message to Hilton Reservations and Customer Care. It is my pleasure to assist you today with your inquiry regarding information posted on FlyerTalk.

We apologize for any confusion or inconvenience. We are unable to comment on the status of another HHonors member and without actually viewing the information on an account we would not be able to determine the facts in regard to status.

We appreciate this opportunity to assist you and thank you for your continued loyalty! If you have any further questions or concerns, please let us know.

Thank you for the quick response. I actually had not requested that you comment on the status of anyone in particular. I had just requested general clarification on the reports that certain diamond VIP members have had their tier status extended to 03/2012 instead of 03/2011, apparently following qualification to Diamond VIP through AMEX Surpass spending in 2009. A general statement as to whether this is the case or a system glitch would end the discussion. Again, there is no need to comment on any specific individual as I do understand the need to maintain and respect privacy.

For me personally, the issue is how consistently HH is determined to implement and abide by their own stated terms and conditions for the HHonors frequent guest "loyalty" program. If there are unstated terms under which certain members can have their VIP tier status extended for a year longer than the HH program terms and conditions state, it would be greatly helpful to those who have been loyal to HH to be notified of any programmatic amendment so as to keep the playing field level for all. Anything short of this would have some of us trying to re-qualify through stays at Hilton properties, while others who might not even be spending a night at any of the Hilton properties would have a year during which they would have nothing to do, except maybe to take their spending elsewhere since they would not need to re-qualify their HH VIP status. I hope the glaring inconsistency and lack of programmatic uniformity is apparent.

Thank you again for considering this request for general clarification.

We appreciate your e-mail and are dedicated to provide "Best in Class" service by responding to all queries as quickly as possible. We are currently experiencing higher than usual volume due to recent changes in the HHonors program and apologize that we may not be able to answer your email within our typical 24 to 48 hours timeframe from receipt. We appreciate your patience and assure you that we will respond to your inquiry just as quickly as possible.