John, my guess is the agent told you total nights vice lifetime nights. I too called the Diamond Desk shortly after the program details came out and asked how many more nights do I need to achieve LT Diamond as was told I was only 71 nights away. Have over 20 paid nights since then and called again last week, and the agent gave me an updated number of nights that matched the sum of what I was told previously and additional recent nights spent since then - BUT informed me that she and the other agents are only able to see TOTAL nights spent to include redemption nights that don't count for LT status and that a case would need to be opened.

I was sent an e-mail follow-up yesterday from the case she opened indicating I am just shy of 120 nights away of LT status due to paid vice total nights.

Experiences of being Lifetime Diamond
 

Hi all

I got my email advising I would be Lifetime Diamond a few months back and was really excited when the packages arrived 3 weeks ago. One was the new membership card, which is black and heavy (I like!), the other was some headphones, which I am not bothered about - they may have been interesting if I were 20 years younger! There was also a HH points bonus but that was less than 2% of my current points balance so was largely irrelevant.

Anyway, since receiving the card a few weeks ago, i have stayed at 5 different hiltons in 3 countries for a total of 11 nights and these are my findings of using the Lifetime Diamond card at check in...
- None of the reception staff who checked me in had been trained on Lifetime Diamond or knew of it. None recognised or understood the card.
- One reception staff member assumed it was just an old Diamond card from years ago. (You may recall after many years of white Diamond cards they went through multiple different patterns for Diamond for a few years before settling on Grey)
- One reception staff member said they ignored it as they didn't know what it was
- One reception staff member said they just go off what it says on the computer so again ignored the card
- No hotel treated me any differently to being plain Diamond, which is what I had been led to expect in terms of no extra benefits, however I was disappointed to not get an extra verbal response at check in, eg raised eyebrows, "I don't see many of these", etc
- One reception staff, once I had explained it to her, said "thank you for your loyalty" but said it in a much more flambuoyant and exaggerated way than usual. I liked that. I smiled at that. But I can imagine that too would get boring after a while
- One hotel had a reception supervisor who overheard my chat with the reception staff member and he advised the staff member that he had a powerpoint on it and would share it with her later. But said nothing to me, which surprised me.

So overall, really pleased with the look and feel of the Lifetime Diamond card but disappointed that hilton has not trained its reception staff on it yet

What experiences do other Lifetime Diamond members have of using their new cards?

And a question for hilton management...when will training be rolled out to reception staff?

All lifetime Diamond means is you don't have to qualify anymore. It does not bestow any extra benefits above Diamond. It doesn't mean you get put ahead of other Diamonds for upgrades etc unless the hotel wants to. It just means you can slow down and still enjoy Diamond benefits without having to do the annual nights/stays/points to qualify.

When you will really appreciate it is when you stop doing the traveling you are doing now and still get Diamond benefits.

And welcome to FlyerTalk.

Probably being laughed at behind their backs for being DYKWIAs who run around flashing physical cards at FD agents.


Training in what? As Baze stated, Hilton has not announced any added benefits to be conferred on LTDs beyond those allotted to regular diamonds.

+1. Why would you A) feel a need to show your card or B) expect anything different than normal check-in??? Disappointed at no "raised eyebrows"? Really? :rolleyes: I'm just happy when I'm provided the benefits to which I'm entitled and checked-in efficiently. No need to have my self-worth enhanced by the actions of a FD agent.

I should have known I was going to start rolling my eyes when I decided to click on this thread.

The following comment is just too much:

And a question for hilton management...when will training be rolled out to reception staff?

:rolleyes:

I mean seriously, the perk of being Lifetime Diamond is that you can stay at a Hilton one night a year for the rest of your life and still be treated as a Diamond.

Talk about how to ingratiate yourself to the front desk staff

^

I'm curious if the OP has read FlyerTalk at all before diving in with this first post. A brief search would have saved him from being on the bottom of a large pile. Have fun!

Wow. So someone is really expecting to get an extra verbal response or raised eyebrows when being a lifetime Diamond?

And why would you flash your card anyway? It does not matter at all, as they can see your status in the system. Seems that your behavior might actually stamp you as DYKWIA and thereby DECREASE your chances of upgrades etc.

Whoever shows their card anyway?

I have never done so, and do not believe it would make any difference if i did as a diamond.

Does anyone else?

"OK staff, I want to inform you about a new problem with this powerpoint presentation: Lifetime Diamond members.

If anyone drops a metal card on the desk in front of you or gently pulls it out of a presentation case to present it to you, be prepared to respond like you would to a kindergarten student showing you their artwork and make an unrealistic fuss about it. These folks are needy and want to feel special."

At least Hilton gives a special card. :rolleyes:

Marriott doesn't give a special card. I am a lifetime Marriott Platinum, but have the same platinum card anyone else has.
The only difference is if I don't hit the threshold, I am still Platinum.
The same thing occurs with being a Lifetime Delta Platinum.

Wow you guys are brutal. I wouldn’t flash my card but I would think they would say something about Lifetime at check-in. I am always greeted with a thank you for being diamond currently.

Quite honestly, it means less than nothing to me when they mention it. It is a canned response and intended to manipulate me. I put the mention of it down along with fake upgrades as something that causes me aggravation rather than pleasure.

If they actually do something extra for me, that shows that it has some meaning to them.

I do - it is a lot easier for the FD staff to find / spell my name in their system when English is perhaps not their first language.

I'm not LT Diamond, but like the OP I would expect at least some recognition. Yes it brings no additional benefits, but you have spent over 1000 paid nights in their hotels and a simple "thanks" would set a more positive customer interaction tone and costs nothing.