Aldebaran

++1 OP

Another issue about the disadvantage of an european member respect a similar tier US member: with my Amex card and the membership rewards program I can earn only 1 HHonors point each membership reward point.
That does mean 1 HHonors point per euro spent (or 1 HHonors point per 1.40 US dollar spent at the present exchange rate).
With an AMEX Surpass card the rate starts with 6 HHonors points every dollar spent and can increase up to about 30 points every dollar spent.
In this way the acrrual rate for an US based member is on average 15x faster than in my case.

kmwjes

There's a BIG difference between Diamond and Gold (besides Diamond Force):

"If you are a Diamond VIP, you’ll enjoy access to the Executive Floor lounge, even if you don’t receive a room upgrade to the Executive Floor, including daily complimentary Continental breakfast."

Gold VIPs only have access to the EL if they received the upgrade.

My family and I spent a month last July in Europe staying at the Paris ADT, Hilton Sorrento, Florence Metropole and Cavalieri. As a Diamond, we did NOT get upgraded to the Executive Floor at the ADT however thanks to Diamond membership we did have access to the EL. Had I been Gold we would have had two complimentary Continental breakfast(s) only. An assured ADT Executive Lounge experience coupled with a glass of champagne sets Diamond apart.

travelinfoo

I actually think the OP has a very valid point. As a Diamond member for just 5 yrs, I have seen the program change for the better with the clarification of the MyWay benefits 2 yrs ago (before no EL if no ER upgrade & no free breakfast) and enjoyed the perks of great upgrades. But in the past 6-12 months, I've noted a marked decline in Diamond treatment.

When I first became a Diamond, I would have said that there was a big difference between Diamond & Gold. I had 100% upgrade as Diamond as well as fruit baskets/wine/chocolates in the room. As Gold I was upgraded most of the time but not the type of upgrades (suites) I had gotten as Diamond but rarely any extra goodies in the room.

In the past yr or so, I have gotten lesser upgrades and even noted lower level upgrades c/w Golds! I have to attribute this to the blurring of the tier levels and decreased benefits due to greater competition due to sheer numbers of Golds and Diamonds. Why should I continue to spend 60+ nights in the hotels (I don't travel for work) if I am no more valuable than a repeat Gold fast-track who does 4 stays/yr to snatch Gold bennies at popular hotels/resorts. Meanwhile they scheme and complain how to get more while taking away from those of us who earn the benefits. If you think these "fools Gold" don't diminish your experience, imagine one of them standing in front of you to check in and hearing him upgraded to a suite (1st visit). Your turn: here's your upgraded room -ta-da, a room with a bathrobe! Thank you for being a Diamond and a repeat customer. Asking about the difference in upgrade and told : sorry no more suites! Yes, I really feel valued.

divemistressofthedark

I'll agree more needs to be done to augment Diamond, but I gotta tell you: as a Gold, I don't think I've ever been upgraded to a suite. Might not be a bad idea to get some sort of hard data on this before folks take up the pitchforks against we Gold members.

Argonott

I was a very frequent traveler when Hilton first rolled-out Diamond status. I believe this was around 1993-4, but I don't remember for sure. I was in the first group of people given Diamond status. Back then, it was truly an elite status. I was treated like royalty at every hotel I stayed at, suite upgrades were frequent, gift baskets, open access to lounges, and the manager usually took time to greet me when I checked-in. Hotels that I stayed at frequently would give me other gifts. Many hotel staff had never even seen a Diamond member. I felt special and appreciated. I enjoyed the special status for several years.

I then took a job for 10+ years that required little travel but maintained Gold status through the Hilton Amex. Now I'm back into a traveling job, and I'm back at Diamond status. I didn't see much, if any, difference from being Gold, other than the higher bonus points. I don't know for sure, but it seems like there are too many of us. There's a bunch of rules about what they can and can't give us (which becomes a right and doesn't make us feel really appreciated). It almost seems adversarial.

For the most part, I don't really care. I just want a relatively nice place to sleep with a clean room and a good mattress. If they have a nice lounge, that's a plus. Suites aren't that big of a deal to me when I'm on business, as I'm alone and can't really take that much advantage of it. What I really want is a nice suite, executive lounge, etc. when I'm traveling with my family on vacation. That's when it counts. I've got two weeks of vacation scheduled--one at Hilton Times Square and the other at Hilton Sedona. I'd love to get a suite, but I don't expect it.

I would love for Hilton to do something to make Diamond special again, but I don't expect they will.

moman

I totally agree with this sentiment. I made Diamond for the first time last year and don't see any reason to maintain it. At least with Gold I didn't expect anything.

MacDaddie

Well I'd have to disagree with the original poster.

I've been Hilton diamond for more than a decade now and I'm pleased overall with the program. Diamond members receive more bonus points (ie more free stays), and we get the diamond desk to make requests for award stays at sold out hotels or high demand periods.

With the enforcement of the HH rules, Diamond members get access to the lounge period. That is a big benefit IMO. That ensures we get breakfast and internationally means you can sit and relax and have a drink in the evening.

The only change I could see them making would be to offer Diamond members free internet access. But given that most Hilton hotels seem to have some sort of outsourced internet provider thats a likely a costly benefit for the hotel.

Why complain that Gold members receive a lot of benefits? Good for them, and good for me as a diamond member that I receive the additional items above.

serfty

What rot! If Upgrade is requested Diamonds get access to the lounges whether upgraded to an executive floor room or not. Gold's have to get the room upgrade first to be entitled to EL access.

I agree with this; Gold should be earned as per the T&C (from 16 stays, 36 nights, 60,000) or a once off comp due to equivalent status or representative activity.

Yes, I was comped gold but only after ½ a dozen stays in a 5 month period. SInce 2005 I have always had at least the 16 stays per year required.

Gold for Airline elites - no!

Hilton Racing fast track (or similar) - yes! (It's representative [¼ stays in ¼ year], but only once per membership.)

This is what should happen and I believe generally does. Of course there is always the chance of a few exceptions due to cancelations/late bookings etc.

FWIW, suite upgrades are not a defined benefit of HHonors for neither Golds nor Diamonds.

+1

kevino

The OP is correct that for Hilton and Marriott there is not much distinction in benefits between mid tier and top tier, considering how much harder it is to maintain top tier. I always advice people new to HHonors to go for gold only. Of course there might be reasons to attain Diamond and it's good that some people here are happy with their Diamond status, but the OP is asking whether it's worth it to be a Diamond, and for most people, it is not.

Hyatt and Starwood have a bigger difference in benefits between their mid and high tiers.

I agree with Argonott. Diamond benefits have decreased over time. In addition, it has become easier to get Gold status while the difference between Diamond and Gold benefits has diminished. Hilton is starting to realize this, I think, and that's why they gave most Diamonds the free night with the devaluation announcement. It's too little to late though. I'm sure they will lose many Diamonds this year. Whether it hurts their bottom line is a different question.

Action Man

As a Diamond I have a few thoughts:

- I agree with those that see Diamond as virtually indistinguishable from Gold. On a recent stay a Hilton employee referred to 'Gold & Diamond' benefits

- I am not bothered by Golds getting upgrades and the stay promos. So someone gets Gold on a 4 stay promo - why should this bother me? To use get and use the benefits they have to actually stay in a Hilton property. (prepares to get flamed by credit card fans I personally have more of an issue with people racking-up points exclusively through credit card spending and not spending money at hotels. Combine this demographic with an easy-access Gold/Diamond tier and then, yeah, definitely you have someone with disproportionate benefits. A credit card should not give someone the status of a customer who stays 30+ times in a hotel.

- Personally, I think it's unfair to think of Gold as a 'mid-tier'. Looking objectively at the benefits, it is in fact positioned as a top tier and Diamond as an exclusive/elite/special tier. If Gold were diluted further there would be little purpose for its existence, let alone for Silver which has seen benefits knocked back to the point there are virtually none left.

- IMO, a benefit they could introduce for Diamonds that I would go for in a big way would be confirmable upgrades 48hrs before check-in. That would certainly differentiate us from Gold without tampering with their benefits.

notquiteaff

A perspective from a HHonors Gold (that may or may not be representative, but that's probably true for a lot of what's said here):

- I've never seen a lounge (at a HHonors property) from the inside.

- I've never been upgraded to a suite

- HHonors Gold is *a lot* more attractive to me than SPG Gold because of the breakfast or internet benefit. This gave Hilton a majority of my hotel nights last year (which all come out of my own pocket)

NickB

From my perspective as a Gold, the OP's statement is two years out of date. With the 'clarification of rules', it is not just that the treatment of Diamond has been ameliorated but also that that of Golds has deteriorated. Until then, as Gold, I was routinely upgraded to the Exec floor and/or given access to the lounge. Since then, at least as far as US Hiltons are concerned, upgrades to Exec floor have become very scarce. It seems to me that Hilton properties have read the rules as meaning 'we should upgrade Diamonds but do not have to upgrade Golds to Exec floor' and so we won't. Typically, it is no upgrade of any kind whatsoever, let alone an Exec floor room.

While somewhat disappointing, I'd still be OK with that if the comp breakfast instead was OK. But in an increasing number of properties, the 'continental breakfast' is an utter joke. A recent one that really took the biscuit (or should that be the toast? ) for me was MIA Airport, where they do not even let you have the continental buffet but instead give you two sad pieces of toast and a hot drink and call that 'continental breakfast' (with, of course, the possibility to 'upgrade' to the continental breakfast buffet against $$). I found it so petty that this property has ensured that I will do my utmost never to set foot there again.

I have become so disenchanted with Hilton as a Gold, at least in the US, that I don't think that I will even bother to renew Gold this year.

European Hiltons, OTOH, are another story, though. Many of them still offer upgrades, including upgrades to Exec floor, to Golds and, when they don't, at least the breakfast is a proper breakfast instead of the sad excuse that passes off as 'continental breakfast' at an increasing number of US Hiltons.

travelexpert

In some ways this is good news. Historically, Hiltons outside the US gave elites very little compared to domestic properties. Had a lot to do with Hilton being two separate entities. When Hilton International merged into Hilton Corporation, all properties were intended to operate under a single set of rules.

But you also bring up the point of lack of consistency across properties. Hilton is pitiful at enforcing brand integrity when it comes to elite recognition (and that is the tip of the iceberg--we all know that a few FS Hiltons are gorgeous, many are awful)....

cblaisd

I think this is very, very well put.

At the same time, I'm pretty sure that there is Hilton management lurking here.

And, fwiw, babies dying of diarrhea from lack of clean water, say, is "outrageous," but the devaluation of points for privileged folks who get to travel and stay in hotels (which, unlike the daily situation of over one billion people in the world, have toilets) is annoying and frustrating.

But it's not "outrageous."

IMO.

MIKESILV

As a 20 year member of the HH I find this statement patently untrue.

In my experience the treatment received at International properties has been and is still far better than domestic properties and when it comes to executive lounges the worst International ounge I have been in is way far, far, better than the very best NA lounge.

mike