Originally Posted by
Need
Looks like OP spent about $500K a year on unlimited (750K UR pts), so missing out on 40K is only a 5% drop in total points per year. I did it with $40k on Hilton Diamond and $70K (I think? been a while) with Ritz/Marriott Plat (later became Titanium). Do I think it is worth it looking back.. not really. But it was nice to have it just to see how it was like. It usually goes like this:
"I see that you are our Diamond/Plat/Titanium member, thank you very much for your loyalty."
"Thank you! Is there any free room upgrade available?"
"No I am sorry, we are completely booked, but here are your complimentary continental breakfast coupons"
"What about the buffet?"
"It will be a $8 up-charge for the full buffet."
That sounds like a Hilton FS USA encounter. With Marriott, you typically get lounge access, and per a thread on the Marriott forum, full breakfast at many properties when the lounge is closed (not counting the Covid era, of course). With Hilton Diamond, you only tend lounge access overseas, not in the USA. And in the USA, Hilton FS hotels are notorious for downsizing breakfasts for elites. IMHO, if you want a full breakfast in the Hilton family, IMHO HGI is much better than Hilton FS. (Not that HGI is that likely to have upgrades, simply because most of the rooms in the whole hotel tend to be identical. But the cooked-to-order breakfast is IMHO better in many ways than the typical Hilton buffet.)