Dec 16, 2014, 2:26 pm
Last edit by: JDiver
Lifetime Diamond Status with HHonors is now reality. ^
More recent information posted by Lauren (Hilton Honors Representative) reflects changes in the Honors Lifetime Diamond qualifying criteria:
Previous:
Details for the first inductees were announced on the 11th Feb. 2015. Erin (HHonors Rep here on FT) posted the announcement shortly before the emails were sent out to members on the same day.
[B]Initially, Lifetime Diamond Status will go to a select group of members who met all of the following criteria as of December 31, 2014:
All paid stays count — not just the paid stays during the years a member is a Hilton HHonors diamond.
As more information becomes available it will be added here. Should you have any updates please post them in the thread or in this wiki to keep the most pertinent info quickly available to those interested.
For those interested, the development unfolded as follows:
Erin, the HHonors rep on FT posted the following on 16/12/2014: (after some eagle eyed attention by adambrock from an email sent out by Hilton and which he thankfully posted here on FT: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hilto...tus-email.html Kudos to adambrock for noticing and sharing it with the community. ^)
HHonorsRepresentative (Erin) wrote in that thread:
In 2015, HHonors will begin introducing Lifetime Diamond Status! As you may know, we’re always looking for new ways to reward you and we take into consideration your feedback on ways to recognize our most loyal members. Over the past several years, we’ve heard from you that Lifetime Diamond Status is important to you and I’m thrilled to announce that we will be inviting some of our most tenured Diamond members into this status.
I’ll have more details for you in early 2015 and I understand our first Lifetime Diamond members will receive their invitations in the early part of 2015. At this time, this is all the information I have on Lifetime Diamond Status, but I will do my best to keep you all updated as I hear more!
levman wrote in a post on Jan 24:
The best source of info I've found is the email address [email protected]. It seems to be staffed with people dedicated to the Lifetime Diamond program.
More recent information posted by Lauren (Hilton Honors Representative) reflects changes in the Honors Lifetime Diamond qualifying criteria:
Hi all,
A few months ago, we received some great feedback in the Q&A thread with our VP of Hilton HHonors, Aaron Glick. While the team explores a number of initiatives, one area that we could change quickly was our Lifetime Diamond qualifications. As of January 2017, we will grant Lifetime Diamond to all members who have met the following criteria:
• Members who have maintained Diamond status for at least 10 years (years do not need to be consecutive)
AND
• Have stayed at least 1,000 nights - either paid or reward (as you may know, only paid nights were eligible before)
OR
• Have accumulated 2 million Base Points since joining the Hilton HHonors program (this is a new feature to enable more members to enjoy Lifetime Diamond status; also as a reminder, only Base Points are eligible...Bonus Points earned via promotions, co-brand credit cards, or other means do not count towards status)
So now, there will be essentially two ways you can qualify for Lifetime Diamond:
1. 10 years at Diamond with Hilton HHonors + 1,000 nights (including paid and reward)
2. 10 years at Diamond + 2 million cumulative Base Points
An email notification will go out in February to members who have qualified for Lifetime Diamond as of December 31, 2016. If you want a sneak peek to find out if you will qualify, you can contact the Diamond Desk and the team will be happy to help.
Please reach out with any questions or comments, and I’ll be sure to share them directly with Aaron and team.
Thank you!
Lauren
A few months ago, we received some great feedback in the Q&A thread with our VP of Hilton HHonors, Aaron Glick. While the team explores a number of initiatives, one area that we could change quickly was our Lifetime Diamond qualifications. As of January 2017, we will grant Lifetime Diamond to all members who have met the following criteria:
• Members who have maintained Diamond status for at least 10 years (years do not need to be consecutive)
AND
• Have stayed at least 1,000 nights - either paid or reward (as you may know, only paid nights were eligible before)
OR
• Have accumulated 2 million Base Points since joining the Hilton HHonors program (this is a new feature to enable more members to enjoy Lifetime Diamond status; also as a reminder, only Base Points are eligible...Bonus Points earned via promotions, co-brand credit cards, or other means do not count towards status)
So now, there will be essentially two ways you can qualify for Lifetime Diamond:
1. 10 years at Diamond with Hilton HHonors + 1,000 nights (including paid and reward)
2. 10 years at Diamond + 2 million cumulative Base Points
An email notification will go out in February to members who have qualified for Lifetime Diamond as of December 31, 2016. If you want a sneak peek to find out if you will qualify, you can contact the Diamond Desk and the team will be happy to help.
Please reach out with any questions or comments, and I’ll be sure to share them directly with Aaron and team.
Thank you!
Lauren
Details for the first inductees were announced on the 11th Feb. 2015. Erin (HHonors Rep here on FT) posted the announcement shortly before the emails were sent out to members on the same day.
Hi all,
Thanks for your patience as I gathered more details on our Lifetime Diamond rollout. As we’re in the New Year, I have some additional details to share with you.
Initially, Lifetime Diamond Status will go to a select group of members who met all of the following criteria as of December 31, 2014: Members that met this criteria as of December 31, 2014 will be notified via email and receive their Lifetime Diamond Status in the mail at the physical address on their account at the end of February. Members that meet Lifetime Diamond Status criteria in the middle of the year will receive Lifetime Diamond Status at the beginning of the following year.
Please note that we are in early stages of this benefit, which means that elements of this offering may evolve and may change over time. As I hear of any updates, I will be sure to share those here.
As always, your input is truly valued and we welcome your thoughts and feedback during this launch period. We’re here and listening!
Thanks,
Erin
Thanks for your patience as I gathered more details on our Lifetime Diamond rollout. As we’re in the New Year, I have some additional details to share with you.
Initially, Lifetime Diamond Status will go to a select group of members who met all of the following criteria as of December 31, 2014:
- Have maintained Diamond Status for at least 10 years (consecutive or concurrent) and
- Completed paid stays totaling at least 1,000 nights
Please note that we are in early stages of this benefit, which means that elements of this offering may evolve and may change over time. As I hear of any updates, I will be sure to share those here.
As always, your input is truly valued and we welcome your thoughts and feedback during this launch period. We’re here and listening!
Thanks,
Erin
All paid stays count — not just the paid stays during the years a member is a Hilton HHonors diamond.
As more information becomes available it will be added here. Should you have any updates please post them in the thread or in this wiki to keep the most pertinent info quickly available to those interested.
For those interested, the development unfolded as follows:
Erin, the HHonors rep on FT posted the following on 16/12/2014: (after some eagle eyed attention by adambrock from an email sent out by Hilton and which he thankfully posted here on FT: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hilto...tus-email.html Kudos to adambrock for noticing and sharing it with the community. ^)
HHonorsRepresentative (Erin) wrote in that thread:
In 2015, HHonors will begin introducing Lifetime Diamond Status! As you may know, we’re always looking for new ways to reward you and we take into consideration your feedback on ways to recognize our most loyal members. Over the past several years, we’ve heard from you that Lifetime Diamond Status is important to you and I’m thrilled to announce that we will be inviting some of our most tenured Diamond members into this status.
I’ll have more details for you in early 2015 and I understand our first Lifetime Diamond members will receive their invitations in the early part of 2015. At this time, this is all the information I have on Lifetime Diamond Status, but I will do my best to keep you all updated as I hear more!
levman wrote in a post on Jan 24:
The best source of info I've found is the email address [email protected]. It seems to be staffed with people dedicated to the Lifetime Diamond program.
Consolidated "Lifetime Diamond - Experiences, Questions, Is It Worth It?" thread
Jan 5, 2015, 6:14 pm
#153
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Connecticut
Programs: Hilton Diamond, Delta Gold, Marriott Gold
Posts: 342
I would love lifetime diamond status (been diamond about 10 years) but to be honest Diamond is not really respected much in the U.S. and I refuse to beg for upgrades. So except for the breakfast and an occasional lounge that takes care of diamonds I don't get to excited anymore.
Hilton really needs to change in the U.S. so that we start thinking of Diamond as a a real status upgrade. Hell some Hotel staff need me to tell them about the HHonors program when they see all my points and want to know what that means.
Hilton really needs to change in the U.S. so that we start thinking of Diamond as a a real status upgrade. Hell some Hotel staff need me to tell them about the HHonors program when they see all my points and want to know what that means.
Jan 5, 2015, 6:32 pm
#154
In Memoriam, FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Durham, NC (RDU/GSO/CLT)
Programs: AA EXP/MM, DL GM, UA Platinum, HH DIA, Hyatt Explorist, IHG Platinum, Marriott Titanium, Hertz PC
Posts: 33,857
Jan 6, 2015, 2:19 am
#155
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: LAX/SYD
Programs: BA GGL/CCR, AA EXP, QFF WP, HH D, SPG G, Hertz PC
Posts: 245
I would love lifetime diamond status (been diamond about 10 years) but to be honest Diamond is not really respected much in the U.S. and I refuse to beg for upgrades. So except for the breakfast and an occasional lounge that takes care of diamonds I don't get to excited anymore.
Hilton really needs to change in the U.S. so that we start thinking of Diamond as a a real status upgrade. Hell some Hotel staff need me to tell them about the HHonors program when they see all my points and want to know what that means.
Hilton really needs to change in the U.S. so that we start thinking of Diamond as a a real status upgrade. Hell some Hotel staff need me to tell them about the HHonors program when they see all my points and want to know what that means.
In other parts of the world (Asia) they fawn over HH Diamond members. It's nothing like the US experience. If you're planning on retiring and travelling the world, Lifetime Diamond would come in handy.
Jan 6, 2015, 5:50 am
#156
Join Date: Feb 2013
Programs: Hilton Diamond
Posts: 4,252
Its always good to keep a proper perspective. It always amazes me how long this takes Hilton each year, pretty much every other travel provider has long since updated their status counter to roll back to zero at the start of the year.I would love lifetime diamond status (been diamond about 10 years) but to be honest Diamond is not really respected much in the U.S. and I refuse to beg for upgrades. So except for the breakfast and an occasional lounge that takes care of diamonds I don't get to excited anymore.
Hilton really needs to change in the U.S. so that we start thinking of Diamond as a a real status upgrade. Hell some Hotel staff need me to tell them about the HHonors program when they see all my points and want to know what that means.
Hilton really needs to change in the U.S. so that we start thinking of Diamond as a a real status upgrade. Hell some Hotel staff need me to tell them about the HHonors program when they see all my points and want to know what that means.
I may have commented this previously on the thread, but if they are doing Lifetime Diamond they really should do something to reward longtime Gold members who have earned gold the old fashioned way. This is a group that over the past few years has had its ranks overwhelmed by the credit card golds. I bring this up because I was going through a stack of old paperwork last night and came across an old room folio for an Hilton stay 10 years ago when I was Gold and while this may just be "good ole day thinking" it seems like Gold back then was equal or better to Diamond for me today.
On the employee recognition (full comprehension) of Diamond, my experiences so far at Hyatt Place as a Hyatt Diamond have been a lot worse than my stays at Hamptons over the years (which is odd considering the how good most of the upscale Hyatt brands are about Diamond relative to Hilton)
Jan 6, 2015, 7:42 am
#158
Suspended
Join Date: Nov 2007
Posts: 6,189
I would love lifetime diamond status (been diamond about 10 years) but to be honest Diamond is not really respected much in the U.S. and I refuse to beg for upgrades. So except for the breakfast and an occasional lounge that takes care of diamonds I don't get to excited anymore.
Hilton really needs to change in the U.S. so that we start thinking of Diamond as a a real status upgrade. Hell some Hotel staff need me to tell them about the HHonors program when they see all my points and want to know what that means.
Hilton really needs to change in the U.S. so that we start thinking of Diamond as a a real status upgrade. Hell some Hotel staff need me to tell them about the HHonors program when they see all my points and want to know what that means.
It wasn't that long ago that 75,000 points would do us a lot of good where we like to travel. Now it won't pay for one room which goes for a very moderate cash price anyway because of the premium room scam. I also feel annoyed by the process of looking for good points value on leisure trips when I would rather look for good value and good location. The potential savings is not worth the aggravation.
Like other parts of the program, the delays and shortcomings and history of devaluation don't make lifetime status very desirable to me. I'd take it, but Hilton hasn't convinced me that it would have great long term value anyway.
Jan 6, 2015, 11:17 am
#159
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: UK
Programs: BA S, VS S, SQ G, HH D, IHG D/A, Marriott G, Radisson G, Hertz PC
Posts: 3,945
In the US it's much easier to achieve Diamond, so they're probably more common.
In other parts of the world (Asia) they fawn over HH Diamond members. It's nothing like the US experience. If you're planning on retiring and travelling the world, Lifetime Diamond would come in handy.
In other parts of the world (Asia) they fawn over HH Diamond members. It's nothing like the US experience. If you're planning on retiring and travelling the world, Lifetime Diamond would come in handy.
Jan 6, 2015, 12:08 pm
#160
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Austin
Programs: AA EXP +2MM- LT PLT! HH Diamond
Posts: 6,087
Indeed - after all in the US one is able to have Gold for free with a credit card and Diamond for (IIRC) $10k spend on the card? All with meaty HHonors points earning rates too - sadly nothing nearly as generous anywhere else so perhaps not surprising give the numbers with status they don't really provide much for it either.
Jan 6, 2015, 12:22 pm
#161
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: UK
Programs: BA S, VS S, SQ G, HH D, IHG D/A, Marriott G, Radisson G, Hertz PC
Posts: 3,945
Ah, OK a bit more than I thought 
Although for those that can hit this (either normally or through manufactured spend) the earning rates are amazing - 12X Hilton spend; 6X U.S. restaurants, supermarkets, and fuel; 3X everywhere else - cf 1.9x Hilton and 1.25x elsewhere for the UK card (when converted across from GBP to USD). I'm not jealous, honest 
Although for those that can hit this (either normally or through manufactured spend) the earning rates are amazing - 12X Hilton spend; 6X U.S. restaurants, supermarkets, and fuel; 3X everywhere else - cf 1.9x Hilton and 1.25x elsewhere for the UK card (when converted across from GBP to USD). I'm not jealous, honest
Jan 7, 2015, 1:40 pm
#162
Suspended
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: In order of nights spent: MSP, ORD, OGG, FCO, LHR
Programs: DL 1MM Dia, AA Plat, UA 1MM Gold, HHonors LT Dia, Marriott/SPG LT Plat Prem
Posts: 473
I wish they would hurry up and announce the requirements. Depending on what they are, I will either have reached lifetime Diamond already, I am close enough to attain it, to make it worth while for me to strive for it, or it's so pie in the sky I keep my infrequent stays with Hilton as I am doing since the devaluation 22 months ago. Currently I'm 32 nights away from lifetime Platinum with Marriott now, and about 200 nights and 3 years of platinum status away from SPG so I would keep the focus on those. If Hilton's is good, I probably would forget about SPG as they don't have as good of locations for where I travel for work.
I only want the status for when I retire, the upgrades and lounge access when overseas traveling would make it worth while for me.
I only want the status for when I retire, the upgrades and lounge access when overseas traveling would make it worth while for me.
Jan 8, 2015, 9:45 am
#163
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: PHX
Programs: HHonors Lifetime Diamond, UA Million Miler Gold, Marriott Platinum
Posts: 1,142
I just do not see Hilton offering Lifetime membership to their highest level. I feel it will be a very short amount of time after this is announced that Hilton will have a new tier level that is above Diamond.
Perhaps a very exclusive tier. 90-100 nights per year or $100k spend on a credit card.
Like anything else, over the years, there will simply be too many people at Diamond if they don't
Perhaps a very exclusive tier. 90-100 nights per year or $100k spend on a credit card.
Like anything else, over the years, there will simply be too many people at Diamond if they don't
Jan 8, 2015, 10:04 am
#164
Join Date: Jan 2012
Programs: HH Diamond
Posts: 695
I just do not see Hilton offering Lifetime membership to their highest level. I feel it will be a very short amount of time after this is announced that Hilton will have a new tier level that is above Diamond.
Perhaps a very exclusive tier. 90-100 nights per year or $100k spend on a credit card.
Like anything else, over the years, there will simply be too many people at Diamond if they don't
Perhaps a very exclusive tier. 90-100 nights per year or $100k spend on a credit card.
Like anything else, over the years, there will simply be too many people at Diamond if they don't
On the road in Europe no chance to get to 100 nights/year with Hilton (or any hotel brand really) unless you are project bound somewhere for an extended period. The Hilton footprint is simply too small. Also no easy shortcuts to Diamond with credit card & manufactured spending.
Jan 8, 2015, 1:44 pm
#165
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: PHX
Programs: HHonors Lifetime Diamond, UA Million Miler Gold, Marriott Platinum
Posts: 1,142
The trouble with that is that that would only really work in the US, where you can obtain your Diamond with Credit Card and Hilton has locations just about anywhere.
On the road in Europe no chance to get to 100 nights/year with Hilton (or any hotel brand really) unless you are project bound somewhere for an extended period. The Hilton footprint is simply too small. Also no easy shortcuts to Diamond with credit card & manufactured spending.
On the road in Europe no chance to get to 100 nights/year with Hilton (or any hotel brand really) unless you are project bound somewhere for an extended period. The Hilton footprint is simply too small. Also no easy shortcuts to Diamond with credit card & manufactured spending.