I just don't understand why anyone would drop this level of spend with Hilton to qualify for Diamond Reserve when there are FAR better alternatives. The benefits are fairly meh in the context of the wider Hilton offerings.

I have been Diamond now for over 20 years. For at least the last 15 years I have done the bare minimum needed to renew (typically the 30 stays, sometimes only every other year, if I can time stays for the first quarter of a year).

I used to qualify on both spend/stays and nights for the first few years with the emphasis heavily upon Spend. I matched to Starwood which offered for a while a far more compelling proposition to me. I spent over 10 years as a IHG Royal Ambassador/Kimpton Inner Circle, which I enjoyed immensely until my stay patterns changed.

Now HH is a pale shadow of its former self, the properties (with a few hhonorable exceptions) are tired, with poor staff and poor exec lounges where they exist. The upgrades are often non-existent. The loyalty points are almost worthless or accrue at a poor rate compared to just taking a cashback booking via a third party and saving the money.

When there are better options via Hyatt and IHG particularly why would Diamond Reserve be that appealing? It seems you now get some of the benefits that used to be the norm as a Diamond (like a genuine late checkout), other chains though give you this for far less investment. With some changes to stay patterns I could easily qualify next year at least for DR but I just see no reason to do so.