jeffers

Hi all,

I'm a 6 year HH diamond, and this year was pretty close. I had calculated with stays at the end of 2018 that I would reach 120,000 base points, and was surprised to receive an email last week stating that I hadn't re-qualified. It seems I made a mistake as a 4k points stay in Madrid was Jan 1-3...damn!

Just called and HH said I had 116k points (I always qualified thru points, not stays/nights). I asked if there's anything they could do as I am pretty loyal to Hilton and achieved 97% of the spend requirement. They offered the diamond extension (waste), and after being pushed, they said call back in March and they "should be able to do something" (as status continues until April, and somehow they can't do anything now).

Does anyone have experience of them extending status if close to the targets? Whilst I understand I did not meet their requirements, it would be nice to get *some* leeway given how close I was. I will cancel all planned stays and switch to Marriott if they don't help me on this as I will feel pretty p***ed off.

Thanks

BlueZebra

Oh boy....just how much "leeway" should Hilton give? 5K points? 10K points? Of course that would just make the 120K requirement meaningless.

jerry a. laska

Just call in April after you drop, they often will offer you a fast track/challenge back to diamond that is similar to the challenge they have been offering to elites from other programs (something like 10 stays/18 nights in 3 months). If you don't want to do that then use your diamond extension.

jeffers

Oh boy...I don't think it's unfair to ask for 4k leeway for a 6 year diamond. Particularly as I checked out of a stay on Jan 3 that was 4K worth.

Baze

So the requirements should just be guidelines. Don't really need to meet any of the requirements to get or maintain status? As most say not much difference between Gold and Diamond why not just swallow your pride and take what you actually earned. Or use your extension. Or call in March as they suggested. Sorry, but there are so many ways to get Diamond and you didn't meet any of them. I have been in similar situation and took my lumps and worked harder the next year to meet at least one of the requirements.

BlueZebra

I am a 8 year Diamond. Do I only need 110K for Diamond this year? I had 203K base points last year...Can I get by with 90K base points in 2019. Very slippery slope.

You didn't make it. Move on.

mucius

Since they give away the status for a credit card, I agree that it's not unreasonable to ask. If you are eligible, however, the Aspire more than pays for itself between resort credit and airline fee credit, not counting the value of the sign up bonus.

jeffers

I'll just laugh off the comments. I will move on, all I was asking is if anyone has any experience with this. Why not try and push for diamond if you're close? Nothing to lose.

Going by some of the replies it sounds like I'm asking something completely crazy. Forget it!

jeffers

Thanks. I'll look into the Aspire

RogerD408

As the saying goes: If you don't ask you don't get.

Only issue is when asking on FT you get all different answers many with different agendas and not helpful. I find asking nicely gets me much further than being a DYKWIA demanding something I'm not entitled to.

neo_781

I fully agree. There is nothing wrong with politely asking for an exception. It is up to Hilton to decide if they want to grant it. Hopefully someone will be able to chime in with a data point if they asked for something similar and if it was granted.

NDDomer86

There is certainly no harm in asking when the date rolls around (as encouraged by the Diamond Desk associate that you spoke with) but certainly ask with knowledge that you are not entitled to it.

As for the 4,000 points stay from January 1-3, that is $200/night so probably won't give you much bargaining room when asking.

jerry a. laska

The OP has already called once they said no. Over the last 17 years or so of diamond, I missed once or twice (once with 29 stays) and each time was given a fast track/challenge back to diamond after asking nicely in April. II don't remember reading a report where someone had their diamond status renewed in January after failing to meet the requirements. Plus Hilton recently introduced the diamond extension to cover this situation but the OP doesn't want to waste it. Like some recent threads in the AA forum where a couple people complained of losing CK and EXP after not flying enough and moving all their business to another airline, this seems a little DYKWIA and the OP probably wrote it after he got off the phone and after he expected to receive some consideration. Nowadays though, airline and hotel programs aren't providing the exceptions they used to provide. It seems they are now only there to reward present flying and stay patterns (until one reaches a Lifetime status). I think FT members just get tired sometimes of reading posts where the poster says they are moving to another airline or hotel chain if they don't get what they want.

Sure they OP can call again, but based upon my own experience and from what I read here, I don't think Hilton will do anything until April and then it will be a fast track or challenge unless the OP can articulate some other method of communicating the value to Hilton by him remaining a diamond member without doing a fast track or challenge. But if the OP feels that he will be better served at Marriott then he should do that and not think that Hilton or Marriott owes him some sort of loyalty because that is not how these companies operate any more.

puchong

As an earlier comment stated, "if you don't ask, you don't get" - so ask, by all means. The problem is that of late, in my experience, the Diamond line calls have been answered by people who seem to be nincompoopps who often do not know Hilton's own program and would fail a simple school test in comprehension; so there may not be much mileage in asking.

jeffers

Pretty much what I got. She told me how many stays and nights I had, then said "so I'm afraid you didn't requalify". So I waited for her to mention points, which didn't happen

Anyway...perhaps my original post came across as DYKWIA, I was mad at myself more for miscalculating (still no idea how that happened) and after getting off the phone with someone who was pretty useless. Wasn't my intention to come across like that at all - I realise I didn't requalify and am just a pawn in all this. It's just a corporate game really and gold~diamond...we just have a second stay at the Conrad Maldives coming up for our anniversary, and I'm annoyed to have lost status for that over a miscalculation.

I'll call again in April, see what happens.