SFO 1K

Be careful going on this quest for status matches. In a lot of cases, the chain you get a match with will expect you to give them business or else they will drop the match and then deny future requests for a period of time. I have seen them hold you back up to 5 years before asking again.

If you don't have a lot of confirmed business with another chain, don't waste the opportunity.

PayItForward

Agree that caution is needed. I regretted doing a status match to United with Delta two years ago which I ended up not using at all and remains a Delta flyer... Now I am on the bench for 5 years.

On the other hand, a lot of programs who used to status match (or give status for "free") no longer do so e.g. Le Accor and IHG. Then programs who never matched suddenly does so e.g. HHonors. No way to figure out what will happen 1-2 years down the road.

grayh

Are there currently any Diamond challenge offers? I'm Gold for years but have lots of stays coming up in June and July -more than I usually have - but probably still not enough to get Diamond the regular way.

scubaccr

If you can't show stay pattern/nights needed to re-earn such status the following year then HH tend not to offer the challenge to you.
If your increased June+July stays are insufficient to earn HHD then they are also insufficient to requalify. Sounds like HHG is your correct status.

For HHG/HHD challenges, HH have wanted proof of both status and stays the previous year with the other hotel chain.
o The normal HHD challenge is 21nights in 90days.
o The 10stays in nn days is something HH often offer to HHDs that narrowly fail to requalify by 31Dec cutoff, and is not offered as a challenge.

This is to ensure those given a fastrak/challenge have enough stays a year to maintain the requested status.

HH are avoiding giving status to someone who just wants a nice room upgrade for eg 14night honeymoon/vacation who will not stay again after that.

ps
That said HH have been matching to HHD without such ability to keep status checks for high level elites from Marriott/IHG/SPG/Hyatt who provide proof of elite status AND ... "Just one current year stay"
(obviously to filter out CC status members with zero stays)

pps
Get IHG @Rewards Platinum with CC, stay 1x paid IHG night, then ask for match, HHG's reported sucess with that match and getting updated to HHD
OR
Find IHG Spire member/colleague to gift you Platinum Status (instead of them taking 25k IHG Points worth us$175) and then stay 1night and ask for match
OR
Try you CC Gold, Accor Platinum, though not sure if those hotel/elite pairs get matched to HHD (suggest you read the thread, looking for Accror and Club C)
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hilto...ru-2018-a.html

grayh

I think I haven't been clear. I have many stays in June/July upcoming (more than I usually have), plus the normal number of stays that I always have in a year anyway (which qualifies for Gold comfortably). So, it might even be possible that I get the number of stays necessary to get Diamond status the regular way, but I can't guarantee it. Obviously, should they allow me to complete a challenge, I'd book a lot more Hilton hotels than I currently do, so it's not like I'm planning a nice room upgrade for a vacation. I will definitely try to keep the status, and I do think it's possible when I move my business reserverations completely to Hilton in the future - but that's something that I will only start doing once I've actually received Diamond status to justify the price differences compared to other hotel chains.
(Btw - not a big fan of status matches and can't understand why Hilton would rather match the status of another chain than to offer challenges to people who would be committed)

aceman

I emailed HH a general question about gold to diamond being comped gold, and they sent me a form reply giving me a diamond challenge, 21 days within 90 days of the days date. Bit annoying, since I wouldnt want to start it until late in the year.

Can I either ignore it and email later asking for another diamond challenge, or should I email them and ask them to cancel it?

scubaccr

You only get 1x challenge so ignoring a bad start date gives you less than 90days after your planned first stay.

Email back right away, that you wish to start challenge on dd/mm/yy , though I'd choose day before planned first stay as my start date.


Why challenge late in a calendar year as you gain HHD for remainder of year and next year. Better to chalenge in February2017 so you get 2years HHD from the challenge.

Tilly71

Can anyone give me any advise on how long status match is taking at present, it's been fI've days and response as yet even though they state it takes five days to process.

miadukes

Mine was definitely within a week

Benco

I have Gold with Hilton which I got after a status match (challenge as they called it) until 2019. Do you know of a way to get it upgraded to Diamond without staying 30 days or so?

UpgradeMe

One stay will suffice, so long as it is at least 60 nights:
http://hiltonhonors3.hilton.com/en/e...its/index.html

cblaisd

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hilto...ght=Fast+Track

StayingHomeIsBetter

^^^

"Help me get the benefits in a way such that I don't have to earn them."

mingzie

No fast track offers atm that I know of except for the 4/8 stay status match challenge, not sure if they're doing the 21 nights still that they've done past few years. They didn't when I asked about it, although YMMV.

Also, doing a fast track or status match IS earning status. You need status in another chain to even get registered. They also seem to be more strict with this new one judging from statusmatcher.com

If it costs less, or requires less, and is encouraged by the company, and you fulfill the requirements legitimately then that's earning status.

It's a bit silly, I mean there are some people that have their entire nights paid for by their company, and that's considered earning. There are some people who live next door to a Cat 1 hotel. But someone who follows the rules is not earning just because its a status match or fast track?

Don't get that elitist mindset. FT is about helping others and making the most out of FF/points redemptions/hotel programs/status matches/fast tracks, not belittling them.

Baze

Leave who pays for the room out of the equation, that is an old beaten to death thing people like to bring up that is meaningless. It is my butt in the bed no matter who pays for it.

And they are already on a status match and now they want a status match to a higher level? Why didn't they status match to Diamond in the first place? Have they stayed enough to re-earn what they matched them to in the first place?