I have some work trips coming up over the next few months that would allow me to achieve Hilton Gold status on a challenge. I’m questioning whether or not it would be worth doing for me.

While I’ve stayed at Hilton properties before, the main reason that I have any association are the Visa and AMEX cards. I specifically collected HHonors points so that I could redeem an AXON award for 4 nights at the Hilton Munich City during Oktoberfest. I am considering staying at the Tropicana in Vegas with my family this summer for a couple nights as well. (1 night paid with Capital One No Hassle Rewards; 2 nights paid with my HHonors card) Beyond this, I don’t have anything planned with Hilton. Both of my cards are paid off and sitting in a drawer as they don’t carry an annual fee and I’m not actively attempting to obtain more points. I have other areas that are higher priority.

My issue is that the only real reason that I would try to achieve Gold status is for upgrades, an internet fee waiver and access to the Executive Lounge. I may be able to swing an upgrade for a paid stay at the Tropicana, but I’m fairly certain that I’ll be SOL in Munich during a peak travel time on a points-based stay. I’m also reading that Executive Lounge access is only granted to those that are staying on the Executive Level floor. (5th in this case) Since the hotel in Munich will be sold out, I don’t think that my chances of moving up are all that great. The Tropicana, from what I have read, reserves their lounges for high rollers more than Elite status members. So, in the end, the only perk that I may receive is free internet.

I thought about upgrading to the Surpass card, or one of the other options, to get Gold status automatically. However, I just got my HHonors cards last October and am unsure whether or not AMEX would reward me twice with an 18 month stipulation in the terms. Plus, the annual fee is $95.00. If all I’m getting is free internet, and won’t be in my room all day to use it, then I might as well just pay the hotel as a Silver or use my international data plan with AT&T.

Am I misreading the situation? Do you feel that Gold is valuable enough to attempt in my case or should I stick with earning points in brands that I go to more often?