[ARCHIVE to 2014] Hilton Honors Diamond VIP Status: Is It Really Worth It?
#721
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: RSW
Programs: Delta - Silver; UA - Silver; HHonors - Diamond; IHG - Spire Ambassador; Marriott Bonvoy - Titanium
Posts: 14,184
Also, the $200 cash-on-the-spot penalty is an incentive for them NOT to walk you if, say, you have a seriously delayed flight, arriving very late and exhausted at a sold out property.
$400 seems well worth it if your stay count is going to end up closer to 15 than 25 stays.
$400 seems well worth it if your stay count is going to end up closer to 15 than 25 stays.
#722
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Astraveln
Programs: AA ex Plat, IC Plat , Hilton Diamond
Posts: 491
International is the tipping point on this, as many have said. I get great upgrades, especially in Asia! Difference in room cost would be 100+ a night on most of my stays! The Conrads make this a great value as well, they are even better than Hilton properties. With the points you get, its not the full $400, so would factor that in as stated. Use them only for high dollar properties, like Conrad Singapore etc.
If in the US only, dont think I would bother....
If in the US only, dont think I would bother....
#723
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: NYC/SYD
Programs: Virtuoso Travel Advisor. FSPP, Ritz STARS, Rosewood Elite, Belmond BelliniClub. SPG PRO
Posts: 2,445
International is the tipping point on this, as many have said. I get great upgrades, especially in Asia! Difference in room cost would be 100+ a night on most of my stays! The Conrads make this a great value as well, they are even better than Hilton properties. With the points you get, its not the full $400, so would factor that in as stated. Use them only for high dollar properties, like Conrad Singapore etc.
If in the US only, dont think I would bother....
If in the US only, dont think I would bother....
For me it is a year to year thing which i'm going for based on my plans for the coming year. When I have a want or need for diamond I go for it. When I don't I settle for gold or even silver (all stays in my world, no cc's)
But it doesn't take much at an intl property to make it worth a lot more than $400.
#725
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: SEA
Programs: AA LT PLT; HH Diamond; AS 75K
Posts: 2,877
It's impossible to say if Diamond is worth it unless you've been down that road. For me, it is certainly worth $400+ per year.
#726
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Toledo, OH
Programs: Delta DM & MM, Hilton DM, Marriott gold, Hyatt Globalist, Alaska 75K, Wyndham Diamond,
Posts: 15,391
Not a stated benefit but there are many properties that will still honor that benefit.
I am getting the Trafalgar on an AXON this summer thanks to the Diamond desk even though they only have premium rooms available on hilton.com and the rate is over 400GBP per night. I also was able to get the diamond desk to get me the Bentley Miami as a diamond for points and certs before when the room rate was $1,000 a night.
Another factor to consider is if the OP stays at properties with resort fees. Every Hilton property I know of waives the resort fee for diamonds and those can add up fast. I have a stay at the Tropicana in Vegas in a few weeks and I am paying no resort fee. If I was gold that would be another $20 plus tax per night for the resort fee.
I am getting the Trafalgar on an AXON this summer thanks to the Diamond desk even though they only have premium rooms available on hilton.com and the rate is over 400GBP per night. I also was able to get the diamond desk to get me the Bentley Miami as a diamond for points and certs before when the room rate was $1,000 a night.
Another factor to consider is if the OP stays at properties with resort fees. Every Hilton property I know of waives the resort fee for diamonds and those can add up fast. I have a stay at the Tropicana in Vegas in a few weeks and I am paying no resort fee. If I was gold that would be another $20 plus tax per night for the resort fee.
#727
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Aug 2003
Programs: UA 1K 1MM (finally!), IHG AMB-Spire, HH Diamond
Posts: 60,121
Gold is certainly worth $400 over silver (free Internet and breakfast worldwide) except for folks that stay exclusively at Hamptons.
Diamond....it depends. 10+ planned nights at a Hilton or Conrad is probably my breakeven for $400.
Diamond....it depends. 10+ planned nights at a Hilton or Conrad is probably my breakeven for $400.
#728
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: CMH
Programs: Delta Gold, HH Diamond, SPG Gold, Marriott Silver
Posts: 52
#729
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: All over
Programs: Most
Posts: 10,839
This is not the same as the previous Diamond Special Arrangement.
#730
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Southern California (LAX)
Programs: Marriott Gold, Identity Platnium (Cosmopolitan), Palladium Card, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 177
Keep in mind, 60K points could be worth a lot more than $400, depending on when/where you use it. For example, DT Time Square during New years was $6000+ for 4 nights but I just used 145,000 points using AXON rewards.
#731
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Toledo, OH
Programs: Delta DM & MM, Hilton DM, Marriott gold, Hyatt Globalist, Alaska 75K, Wyndham Diamond,
Posts: 15,391
Also, the $200 cash-on-the-spot penalty is an incentive for them NOT to walk you if, say, you have a seriously delayed flight, arriving very late and exhausted at a sold out property.
$400 seems well worth it if your stay count is going to end up closer to 15 than 25 stays.
$400 seems well worth it if your stay count is going to end up closer to 15 than 25 stays.
Another benefit is if you have a flight that cancels due to irops after the cancel deadline (providing it isn't a prepay stay). I have had a couple flights cancel past the deadline and have called the diamond desk and they have managed to find me a room during bad weather in a city near the airport (the diamond desk phone number is another lifesaver in those cases with people trying to make hotel reservations due to their flights being cancelled) and have managed to get the properties to waive the first night charges for me. I have travelled with golds and silvers in the past on the same flights staying in the same properties and there were times where they were charged the first nights room when I wasn't.
#732
Moderator: American AAdvantage
Join Date: May 2000
Location: NorCal - SMF area
Programs: AA LT Plat; HH LT Diamond, Matre-plongeur des Muccis
Posts: 62,948
If I were raveling mainly in the US and staying at Hamptons, HGIs, DoubleTrees - not worth it. My actual travel plans include Central and South America as well as North, Europe, Asia - and then Diamond is well worth $400 - or more.
#733
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Nashville, TN
Programs: WN Nothing and spending the half million points from too many flights, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 8,043
You can dramatically reduce your costs for the additional spend by using the Amex Blue Bird; purchase VRs with your HHRV at $500/$3.95 or 0.8% of transaction cost vs your 2%, then make your payments via BB online payments with no transaction fee. Total out of pocket cost for the $20k would be $158 wich is offset by the additional HH points you will earn and the Diamond status.
Thanks.
#734
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: DTW/FNT
Programs: Delta (nee NW), Hilton Diamond. IHG (PT)
Posts: 4,823
There's another issue the OP need to think about -- are the points you get from using the credit card worth more somewhere else, perhaps to get Delta MQMs.
For example, most of us value Hilton points at .5 cents each, but Delta points earned with the same effort have more value.
DTWBOB
For example, most of us value Hilton points at .5 cents each, but Delta points earned with the same effort have more value.
DTWBOB
#735
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Toledo, OH
Programs: Delta DM & MM, Hilton DM, Marriott gold, Hyatt Globalist, Alaska 75K, Wyndham Diamond,
Posts: 15,391
There's another issue the OP need to think about -- are the points you get from using the credit card worth more somewhere else, perhaps to get Delta MQMs.
For example, most of us value Hilton points at .5 cents each, but Delta points earned with the same effort have more value.
DTWBOB
For example, most of us value Hilton points at .5 cents each, but Delta points earned with the same effort have more value.
DTWBOB
I charge the first $50K a year on my delta plat card for the 20K MQMS and then it goes in a drawer until 1/1. I value a hilton point more than I do a delta rdm, and you get at least 3 points per $ charged on a Hilton card as opposed to 1 mile on the Delta card.
Even when it comes to Delta charges, the 5 hilton points per $ charged on delta fares are worth more to me than the 2 miles/$ charge I get.
Of course YMMV, but I have received some VERY expensive hotel stays at Hilton on Axon rates (i.e. times square Dt on New years eve). I have a very expensive hotel stay booked at the Trafalgar in London using Hilton points and I can't even find avialablity to use an SUV to upgrade to business class on Delta those days if I were to pay for an M fare and the mile redemption rate is crazy.
I think Delta has a great benefit program for frequent flyers but it is an awful program for finding low redemption rates and for using SUV's and miles to upgrade