I rarely would "complain" about what a company chooses to set their bar at. But from a practical standpoint, if Lifetime Diamond is an INCENTIVE to make me spend more money with the chain, then setting the bar too high or too high in relation to competitors means their program isn't optimized to incentivize me.
I have 10 years of Diamond (stays, not any CC spend). I have a million or so points in my account. I have maybe 600 nights. I'd like to keep my business loyal to Hilton for the rest of my career, as well as the fun travel I plan on when I retire.
BUT, if I see that it'll take another decade to get there, vs. jump ship (even after all I've invested) with a status match to some competitor brand with a lower Lifetime reward... then the incentive isn't gated correctly for Hilton to retain me and people in my position.
So, I understand and will accept that the bar is too high for me - and potentially may go elsewhere. Which is the end result anyway: if I DON'T make LD by the time I retire, there is zero reason to have brand loyalty - for my active retiree spend on world travel, I'll go with whatever brand gives best experience and value at that time.
So, uh, Hilton - give me a reason to stick around.
Even offering Lifetime Gold for someone that's been D for a decade (and perhaps some other qualifications sprinkled in) seems a reasonable scheme to retain customers in my strata's business.
TDM (who wants LD, wants to spend money at Hiltons in retirement, but can't see another decade at this travel pace to achieve another 400 nights.)