GUWonder

They told me it takes 7-10 days and if it doesn't show up by the coming Monday to call back. This was for requests made Wednesday last week.

jamesteroh

Has anyone here been able to upgrade their HH Am Ex to the Am Ex Plat.??? I know there is a large annual fee but have a paid business class international flight on Delta coming up soon and want ot shift more business to SPG and think the annual fee might pay for itself with all the extra SPG point's I'll be getting by getting gold status with the card along with the airline credit and being able to use the nicer lounge in F at Atlanta and having lounge access at LAS again.

I just don't want another credit pull from Am Ex and really don't need the Hilton Am Ex card any longer.

mia

It is not possible to "upgrade" from a credit card to a charge card. You will need to apply for the charge card.

GUWonder

It was showing as updated to Gold, on Monday or Tuesday -- so more than 7 but less than 10 days in this situation.

af fp

I just spent 7 nights at Hilton in November without noticing this new benefit :-(.
And this week I am qualifying for gold anyway...

AviatorAce

Took 3 days for the updated Gold status to take effect. I tried it out during a 2 day stay in HNL and didn't notice any benefit except the continental "breakfast." I received the exact same room I booked (no upgrade, not even to a better view), on the lowest floor possible (I request high floors), an overcharge of $60, and a continental breakfast that while nice was nothing like I remember when I was gold a few years ago.

I hadn't been a Gold member since 2012, but man does it seem like the new HHonors Gold status has become devalued. With that said, I'm still appreciative of the status from AMEX. Any status is better then no or low status.

gooselee

Which property was this? I'd be curious to see what other experiences are like in that property's thread.

HH Gold isn't much, but depending on the brand and circumstances around your particular stay (ex., upgrades unlikely if a property is fully booked), it can be nice (particularly free wifi). And as you said, it's better than a swift kick in the pants.

jamesteroh

Gold is a LOT easier to get now than it was just a few years ago, so it isn't like it anything hard to achieve in the US anymore. Seeing you can buy gold status for only $45 a year there are a lot more golds to compete with for upgrades.


And diamond benefits are going downhill as well. We have lost the diamond force for on point stays (even though Hilton has drastically devalued the points) and a few properties such as the Trafalgar in London and Checkers in LA that use to provide diamonds with a full breakfast are no longer offering that benefit.

It is still better than Hyatt Platinium. Gold's get free breakfast and are eliigble for upgrades to the exec level (benefits you don't get with Hyatt Plat). Even if you don't get an upgrade the breakfast and wifi are nice benefits for just having a credit card.

GUWonder

Hyatt Platinum has far easier qualification requirements than Hilton Gold, at least based on just ordinary stays absent promotions and/or program partner-based activity. The difference in benefits is significant too.

jamesteroh

You can get Hilton gold by just having 1 of several credits cards or only stays with the MVP fast track

javabytes

For what it's worth, rep I spoke to this evening said it was a new permanent benefit, not a one-time promotion.

mattp1987

Has anyone tried gifting the status to someone else? I understand that you can do that with the SPG status, but I didn't have any status with them. I already have 2014 Gold with Hilton, so I was thinking of giving it to my dad for at least 2014 since he is now retired and doesn't travel enough to earn status but would enjoy the free breakfasts.

Edit: Apparently you can't actually gift the SPG status that comes with the card.

gooselee

How did you do that with SPG? I thought it was supposed to only be for the cardholder.

I already registered myself for HH Gold, then got sucked away for the entire month and will be requalifying for Gold anyway after this week. If we were able to gift, I would have offered the status to my wife.

OTOH, you could add your dad as an add'l cardholder and he should then be able to get HH Gold on his own, along with all the other add'l card benefits (SPG, lounges, National, etc.). Possibly worth the $175.

mattp1987

I think I read about the SPG one on a blog. I'm off to work, but I'll try to track it down tonight. I've actually been meaning to add him as an additional cardholder anyway because I already pay the fee for my fiancee. I wasn't aware I could get it for them as well. I'll call and take care of that tonight. Thanks!

jamesteroh

I hope Hilton never allows gifting of status. Gold is already way too easy to get. If he lives in the US just have him sign up for a Hilton credit card, it's only $75 to $90 a year.

How does someone gift SPG status??? I have a couple friends with Plat Am Ex cards that I know never use SPG.

This could be a good tradeoff in the coupon collection as well with the Delta crossover.

A delta diamond could gift delta gold status to an SPG Platinum in exchage for getting SPG gold status gifted to them