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
May 27, 2015, 3:59 pm
#616
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: DCA/RIC
Programs: HH LTD, AA LTG
Posts: 1,015
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.
Last edited by isle-hawg; Nov 8, 2015 at 3:42 pm
Jun 2, 2015, 4:31 pm
#617
Join Date: Jun 2015
Posts: 2
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?
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?
Jun 2, 2015, 6:00 pm
#618
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 1999
Location: Ewa Beach, Hawaii
Posts: 10,909
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.
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.
Jun 2, 2015, 6:11 pm
#619
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: DCA
Posts: 7,769
Training in what? As Baze stated, Hilton has not announced any added benefits to be conferred on LTDs beyond those allotted to regular diamonds.
Jun 2, 2015, 6:34 pm
#620
Join Date: May 2005
Posts: 4,871
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.
Jun 2, 2015, 6:39 pm
#621
Join Date: Feb 2013
Programs: Hilton Diamond
Posts: 4,252
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?
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
The following comment is just too much:
And a question for hilton management...when will training be rolled out to reception staff?
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
Jun 3, 2015, 1:38 am
#623
Join Date: Jul 2000
Location: Manhattan NV
Programs: Hilton LTD, Hyatt Glob, Marriott LTTE, AA LTP, Avis PC, National EE, Seabourn DE
Posts: 3,030
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!
Jun 3, 2015, 3:17 am
#624
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: Scandinavia
Programs: Hilton HHonors Diamond, SAS Diamond (*A Gold)
Posts: 96
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.
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.
Jun 3, 2015, 5:54 am
#626
Suspended
Join Date: Nov 2007
Posts: 6,189
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."
Jun 3, 2015, 8:05 am
#627
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Somewhere in the sky or a Marriott
Programs: 7mm DM, FC, Marriott PM (lifetime), HH Diamond
Posts: 749
At least Hilton gives a special card.
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.
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.
Jun 3, 2015, 8:18 am
#628
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: USA FL
Programs: Hilton Honors LT Diamond, Marriott Gold Delta Gold, Avis Preferred Plus,
Posts: 190
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.
Jun 3, 2015, 10:07 am
#629
Suspended
Join Date: Nov 2007
Posts: 6,189
If they actually do something extra for me, that shows that it has some meaning to them.
Jun 3, 2015, 10:19 am
#630
Original Member
Join Date: May 1998
Location: Northern England
Posts: 1,531
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.