the more important question isn't how many diamonds are out there but are diamonds being treated like diamonds. meaning treated like the high revenue and frequent stay customers that they are. as for me, hilton doesn't seem to provide much added benefit for a diamond. upgrades are hit and miss. staff doesn't seem to provide any extras. i get more pts and hilton has a lot of different stay options in lots of towns and at varying price ranges in the hilton family. that's pretty much the only reason i stay with them.