With less than two months left until 2025, now is a good time for Hilton Honors members to decide what they need to do to earn (or regain) elite status.
If you spend any significant amount of time on the road, you’ve probably discovered just how valuable hotel elite status can be. From premium early check-in and late check-out to room upgrades, having elite status with a hotel chain comes with many benefits. As you might expect, Hilton is no exception.
Fortunately, there are many ways to earn Hilton Honors status, including staying at a hotel, taking advantage of promotions and status matching, and holding certain credit cards. Here’s what you can do before the end of the year to reach your 2026 Hilton membership goals.
What is Hilton Honors tier?
The Hilton Honors loyalty program has a base membership level when you join, but you can then earn Hilton Elite status by reaching certain thresholds of nights, stays or base points each calendar year.
The program is divided into three levels: Silver, Gold and Diamond.
Here’s how many nights, stays, or base points are typically required for each Hilton tier:
- silver: 10 nights, four stays or 25,000 base points
- gold: 40 nights, 20 stays or 75,000 base points
- diamond: 60 nights, 30 stays or 120,000 base points
Basic members earn 10 Hilton Basic Points for every $1 spent at most Hilton hotels, up to four rooms per stay. Stays booked using points or free night awards also count toward elite status.
Hilton uses the calendar year as its eligibility period, so you can qualify for your desired elite level from January 1st to December 31st each year. Your status is valid until the end of the next calendar year.
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Earn membership with Hilton promotions
Hilton often offers promotions that can help you earn or get closer to elite status.
For the past few years, Hilton has run a “Double a Night” promotion that lets you earn double elite-qualifying nights by staying during the last three months of the year. Each night counts as two nights for Milestone Awards and rollover nights, so these promotions will help you qualify for next year’s Hilton membership, too.
These offers provide a convenient shortcut for members who are close to qualifying or re-qualifying.
Hilton is also known to send targeted membership offers to certain members. For example, travel writer Rachel Craft received the following offer as a shortcut to Silver status.
If you’re looking to score last-minute Hilton Honors status this year, keep an eye out for helpful Hilton promotions like this one.
Related: Deal Alert: The Latest Points and Miles Travel Deals
Use status matching
If you are currently a Hilton Starter or Silver member, you can also request a status match.
All you need to do is submit proof of a recent stay and proof of elite status from a competitor loyalty program through Hilton’s status match page. If Hilton approves your status match, it will upgrade your status to Gold within 90 days.
If you stay 8 nights during the 90-day trial period, you can retain Gold status until March 31, 2027; if you stay 14 nights during the 90-day trial period, you can earn top-tier Diamond status until March 31, 2027.
If you have an upcoming trip planned and haven’t yet planned to sign up for a Hilton credit card that offers elite membership, this is a great way to quickly earn Hilton Gold or Diamond status.
However, award nights do not count toward meeting tier match requirements. And you can only be matched with Hilton once in your lifetime – so be sure to time your status match carefully.
Use a credit card to gain elite status
The right Hilton Honors credit card can make earning status a breeze. Here’s a quick look at some of your options.
diamond grade
this Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card This is amazing because you get top-tier Hilton Diamond status just by owning the card.
Of course, you have to pay an annual fee of $550 (see rates and fees), but that’s much less than paying outright for 60 nights or 30 stays. It also comes with several other perks that can easily offset out-of-pocket costs, including up to $400 in annual Hilton property points (up to $200 in bill credits every six months), up to $200 in points on air tickets (up to $50 in bill credits every quarter), car rental elite status, and cell phone protection. *
*Eligibility and benefit levels vary by card. Terms, conditions and restrictions apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by AIG’s New Hampshire Insurance Company.
Hilton Diamond status comes with great benefits like suite upgrades, daily dining credits (or continental breakfast outside the U.S.) for you and your guests, and executive lounge access at eligible hotels.
Related: How to Earn Hilton Honors Lifetime Diamond Status
gold level
this Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card and Hilton Honors American Express Business Card Offers free Gold membership as a card member benefit.
Both cards also allow you to earn Diamond status by spending $40,000 in qualifying purchases using the card in a calendar year. However, if your goal is Diamond status, we recommend the Hilton Aspire Card.
It is also worth noting that cardholders American Express Platinum Card® and American Express Business Platinum Card® Get free Hilton Gold and Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite membership as a cardmember benefit (registration required).
Related: 5 Reasons to Get the Hilton Honors Amex Surpass Card
silver status
Finally, you can apply Hilton Honors American Express Card If you want a Hilton Silver membership, though this doesn’t offer as many benefits as a Hilton Diamond or Hilton Gold membership. Nonetheless, Silver members are still eligible for the fifth free award night.
RELATED: America’s Best Hilton Hotels, From Luxury to Budget Accommodations
bottom line
As the end of the year approaches, now is a good time to review your Hilton Honors account and finalize your elite status plans. After all, having elite status with a Hilton is often quite valuable, especially internationally.
While you can work your way up to Hilton Honors status and still have time to run mattresses, it’s often quicker and easier to open a credit card that offers Hilton Honors status. Best of all, you can maintain your Hilton membership as long as you hold the card without having to requalify each year.
For Hilton Honors Aspire Card rates and fees, click here.
