limey1K

I typically qualify for Diamond via many one & two night stays in Hamptons and HGIs in the US, so there's not really mcuh they can give me in the way of additional on-property perks . I rarely stay in Hiltons and when I do, I've never been upgraded but I have been told that I can access the lounge when they've had one.

The only real benefit for me is Diamond point earning rate which allows me to take more frequent vacations with my family.

azepine00

Minimal program benefits and getting worse every day.
Hilton washed their hands and basically told individual properties to treat guests as they want so some still offer perks and some couldn't care less. As a diamond you have no recourse. A loyalty program my foot...

lemfc

This is my first year to qualify for Diamond after a three year stint as gold. Better service, more upgrades, more points and always having lounge access are tangible perks. I'm not sure how diamond compares to other hotel chains - but it is certainly better than gold status.

limey1K

I'd say 90% of the time when I check in at a Hampton, HGI, DT, my Damond status means nothing to the front desk person. Most will say "We've got your Honors diamond number in there..." but thats it.

Again, perhaps its different at Hilton & Conrad but I think theres an awful lot of us out there earning status bouncing all over the country staying at Hamptons, etc. and we get no real benefits from Diamond over Gold

LauraTR

I totally agree. And that's really about it. My diamond status doesn't really do anything else for me.

Not complaining, but let's get real. It's just a motel room.

pinniped

If you tend to do motel stays (Hampton, Fairfield), then the reservations guarantee may be of use to you as well. It's hit and miss...hotels can game their way out of the obligation...but I have had a few successes on Fairfields that were sold out.

marybdisney

I've found the diamond status most helpful for getting rooms in otherwise sold out hotels. Traveling to some popular tourist areas during prime holiday periods I've been able to use diamond status to book rooms with points where I would not have been able to get a room at all without it. To me, this is the most important reason to keep diamond status.

aku

I'm with the OP. I made the same decision last year, to give up Diamond and live with Gold. If I had more international travel, I might keep the higher level. Given that it's November and I still haven't qualified for Gold (2 stays left), this was the right decision for me--I couldn't justify the cost of 12 more stays for potential Diamond benefits.

My annual hotel nights have gone from 180 to 60, and I've also dropped Hyatt Diamond and IC RA. I kept Starwood Platinum, but only because I'll reach LT Plat in a couple of months and can stop trying there, too. Everyone's story is different; I realized that I was wasting money to build up my ego at being top-level everything. In general, the second-level status tier for many of these programs is so much easier to maintain than the top-level, and the benefits are good enough for most of my stays. I decided that when I want an exceptional hotel experience, I'll pay for it.

mshimansky

Hi,

I am a newbie business traveler still figuring out which hotels/airlines to be 'loyal' to. I chose Hilton pretty much by default, and received Diamond status last month via 100k points. Even I get what people are saying here regarding perks.

From everything I've read on FT and other miles/points blogs so far, in the end it comes down to personal preference, and how you are using the perks. For me, I plan on using both the points and perks for international travel with my family at the Hilton Tel Aviv. If it works out well, I will continue in the program (next year they are opening a Waldorf in Jerusalem). If not, I will consider switching to Starwood based on how flexible the points are, and those lifetime status benefits.

Football Fan

Because of the recent changes in the HH program, I dropped back down to Gold, after almost 10 years as Diamond. I just didn't see the point anymore in trying to get to 28 stays, as opposed to keeping Hyatt Diamond, SPG Plat and Club Carlson Gold.

hard2please

Maybe better upgrades when staying at INappropriate properties?

CrizzleColts

I agree with this. I have been treated very well as a Diamond, and while upgrades aren't all that common as I'm often not at full service properties, I have gotten more than my share of them.

TallestHotelInJapan

My words and also my situation!

FOX85

As mention, I think it really depends on the properties you stay at.

Very few properties have lounge access but if you stay at conrads for flagship hiltons they will.

If you are spending 300-400 per night you can also earn a ton of points.

However, I have not got much in the terms of upgrades.
If you stay at smaller airport hotels then you might want to check out starwood instead if you want substantial upgrades at lower category hotels.

Action Man

I have been an HHonors VIP since 1996 and have watched the steady decline and sadly I think the solution is simple.

My first card was Silver VIP because of my initial stay. Even as a Silver VIP cardholder, back then, I felt recognised and the few benefits it offered distinguished it from basic membership. Eventually there were airline-sponsored 4 stay/90 day Gold VIP promos, which allowed frequent travellers to attain Gold. As I moved to Gold VIP, the difference was immense. Executive Floor upgrades, etc. but with my travel habits at the time Diamond seemed out of reach. When the Diamond promos did arrive, the requirements were reasonable all things considered but a bit of a stretch. But when I finally moved into Diamond there was again a huge difference to Gold.

These promos always made sense. They were offered to people who fly a lot and would likely re-qualify (as I have ever since) if they liked the programme.

I know this may be beating a dead horse so bear with me, but the real problem started with the credit card VIP handouts. It has ballooned the membership numbers, of ALL cards, with people who use the services in sufficient numbers to create strain on the system but not frequently enough (or with enough annual spend) for Hilton to be able to justify extending extraordinary benefits to people they may never see again.

There are now simply too many Diamonds VIPs. But there are not too many earned Diamonds. The solution is not to raise the requirements for people who actually earn it or to create another "exclusive" card. HHonors needs to go back to basics and remember that they are at heart a frequent hotel guest programme, and that the way they distribute these cards, and the reasoning behind it, should be consistent with this. I would even be happy seeing lower RE-qualification requirements. But I'm sorry, people that actually get their cards by staying in hotels deserve distinct recognition at the top tier and it will prove increasingly difficult to do this if the same benefits can be obtained by applying for a banking service.