zing2istanbul

I was very happy to reach Hh Diamond status this year. I religiously kept my stays to Hilton properties to achieve it. In the end I was expecting more luxurious upgrades. Unfortunately it's turning out to be curse. Have been Hh Gold for past many years. As a Hh Gold I had 100% success in upgrades to the properties I frequently visit and also all the new properties I visited. All upgrades were to Executive Floor/rooms. Loyalty was always recognized during checkin.


As a Diamond I continue to receive the upgrades to Executive Rooms in properties I frequently visit. However my luck has hit the wall for new properties. More than 10 plus new properties I haven't received any upgrades at all. Many times even loyalty not recognized.

There seems hardly any difference between Gold and Diamond expect for the extra points. The journey to Diamond has been disappointing.

neo_781

Sorry you are finding out the hard way that the incremental differences between Gold and Diamond are minimal. However, I will say that generally speaking when traveling outside of the US, I do see slight better treatment as a Diamond but nothing earth shattering.

san888

Exactly why I get Gold through the credit card now and book hotels based on price and location.

I was a 10 year diamond till this year.....went out of my way to stay at Hilton brand hotels. No more. You would think that Hilton would treat Diamonds better....puzzling.

craigthemif

There IS very little difference between Gold and Diamond. And with HHonors willing to liberally give away status to credit card spenders and status matchers, it's no surprise that:

a) some individual hotels don't bother to train their staff to treat status guests as important

b) there are so many elite members staying that the hotel either upgrades whoever they can or just ignore anybody who isn't a repeat guest to that specific hotel.

jeffandnicole

You answered your own question. You went out of your way to stay at Hilton. Why should Hilton jump hoops for you, when you're already doing it for them?

helosc

As a Gold, I very rarely got upgraded to executive rooms and therefore had no access to executive lounges.
That makes Diamond worth it for me (I like lounges, both in hotels and in airports).

shorthauldad

What does this statement actually mean?

Is it the moment when the check-in agent says "We have your HHons # in our system, I see you are HH Diamond, thank you for your loyalty"?

If so, it's meaningless and I think they should ditch it.

arlflyer

Welcome to Flyertalk!

Z Man

we had 7 people / 7 rooms for a recent stay in China. One Diamond - me, 3 golds, and 3 no status. Guess what? All had the same room type on the same floor, and all were granted lounge access at checkin. Who paid the most per night? Diamond. Who got no points / qualified nights? Diamond - non-qualifying rate....

we stayed at a Crowne Plaza next, and i was given a nice two room suite and lounge access. everyone else paid for lounge access

We stayed at the JW marriot during this trip as well, and gold got me in the lounge, plus free breakfast...

Why would I ever prioritize Hilton brand based on this trip? For the hotel that i stay 40 nights+ per year, i get a nice room (typically best available), otherwise very little difference between gold and diamond....

pinniped

The non-qualifying rate is frustrating, but overall I might not complain about that too much: getting 7 rooms all lounge access is a pretty solid perk from the front desk. (I'm assuming here that you weren't on rates that already provided it...)

If I'm solo in a room, I'd happily live with no upgrade in exchange for above-and-beyond lounge access for my group. (As long as they got the basic bed/smoke type right.)

To the OP, I felt like HH Gold and Diamond were both fantastic 10-15 years ago. I think they're still pretty good outside the U.S. Inside the U.S., it's just wallet candy. Extra points, mainly.

arlflyer

Were you on explicitly non-qualifying rates at the Crowne Plaza and JW too?

jacobac00

I made an effort to get to Diamond level last year and will not be making that effort this year. I had a handful of international stays this year and I think Diamond paid off in that respect. Well, of the 5 stays abroad, I had one upgrade at the Curio Hamburg to a nice large room. I guess that isn't really paying off. To me, the lounge access really only matters internationally.

I've already secured Gold and that is where I will stay. Especially in a domestic property, the breakfast at a Homewood, even a Hampton, is better than what a Diamond gets at a full Hilton property. That is the real joke. I book away from Hilton proper in the US.

ehallison

We rarely stay in Hiltons, so the upgrades & lounge access aren't that important (kind of hard to get a meangingful upgrade at a suburban HGI...)

But we like to keep the Hilton status for the extra points which really add up, and the Diamond award room availability. The Diamond awards have saved us a ton of money/points. To me, that's the big difference between Gold and Diamond.

SS255

It would require some serious mattress running for me to make Diamond. It's more worth it for me to buy the Exec level room when lounge access is really important to me. Sometimes I just book one or two categories below Exec lounge, and hope for the best.

My father's been a Diamond for about 7 or 8 years, an SPG Gold for about the past 5 years, and a Marriott Gold this year, thanks to rollover nights. He's actually considering pushing more stays to Marriott/SPG in 2017 to get Platinum, and dropping down to HH Gold because he likes my strategy and the outcome. I told him that he might want to wait one year until we see what the new Marriott program will look like, and then go with one that treats the top tier the best.

Hilton has an opportunity now to sweeten the pot for Diamonds. They can start with a guaranteed 4PM checkout, 4 suite upgrade certs, and a full breakfast for at least the Diamond and a companion.

freestay

All I can add is that you never know when being a Diamond can be most important: my husband passed away (peacefully but unexpectedly) at sea between Sicily and Mallorca in September. Upon docking in Mallorca the next day, the port agent had arranged for a hotel for me. It was high season in Mallorca...despite the consulate's assurances that the property selected was 4-star, it was NOT a good place/location for me and they could only keep me for one more additional night. Knowing that there was a Hilton somewhere in Mallorca, I called immediately. They were also full but, as a Diamond, said they'd accommodate me.

The Hilton Sa Torre happens to be a beautiful, serene, magical resort in a 14th century castle...not only did the hotel keep extending my stay for the 9 days I needed to remain in Spain but they assigned me a private casita at a reduced diamond rate and the staff was very helpful and protective. At check-out, the Manager insisted that half of my considerable telephone charges be removed as they knew I hadn't chosen to make the calls but had to. The extensive breakfast buffet was also a helpful Diamond benefit as it was served until 11.

I, too, have been disappointed with diminishing Diamond perks, especially in the US. However, without being honored and assisted as a Diamond so graciously at the Sa Torre, I would not have known where to find hotel space in Mallorca at such a difficult time.

I'm very grateful and will remain a loyal Hilton member.