iahphx

Thanks to credit card status, I've been an Honors Gold member "forever." And I've generally been satisfied by the on-property perks of Gold. I appreciate the free breakfast at full-service hotels, and I've generally been granted lounge access at hotels that have lounges. I've also usually gotten room upgrades at hotels that have nicer rooms.

I was once -- briefly -- a Diamond member due to some Honors promotion, but I don't recall getting better perks when I was. And given the "trouble" of maintaining that status, I never seriously considered it.

But now AMEX has the Aspire card, so becoming a Diamond is fairly cheap and easy (undoubtedly annoying to those who actually earned it). I've heard rumors that "foreign hotels treat you better as a Diamond" so I'm inclined to get this new AMEX card -- as I have several stays at full service foreign hotels planned for this year. Is there much truth to these rumors, and are the increased benefits at all predictable -- and meaningful? And do I have to read the reviews for each property to predict what I might get (which I assume will influence my decision as to which property to stay in when there are multiple Hilton choices)? Thanks for any wisdom that can be shared.