# Hhonors Gold vs Diamond benefits at Hotels



## presley (Jun 23, 2017)

I have Gold Hhonors and I do like getting my water bottles and free breakfast. I am just weird like that. When I stayed at a Hampton a few nights ago, they welcomed me as Gold, but walked me outside and showed me where I could park in reserved spaces for Diamond. They didn't give me any other upgrades other than my regular Gold stuff, but I was wondering what the Diamond members have experienced. Do you usually get a room upgrade? I think I have only been upgraded twice as a Gold member.

I'm just trying to figure out if it's worth it to me to do the $40K spend in a year on my AmEx to get Diamond level or if I am better off doing most of my charging on a normal cash back card. I do love cash back, but usually after a long day of driving, I really appreciate the little things like bottles of water when I arrive, etc.


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## Nomad420 (Jun 23, 2017)

I have only been Gold for past year and have gotten upgrades probably 60% of my stays.  Some have been nice.  They do throw the breakfast at you which was recently helpful on a Boston trip.  I have no experience with the Diamond level benefits but would be interested to hear what they are as well.


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## Shmiddy (Jun 23, 2017)

I'm Diamond - sometimes I get upgraded but other than earning points faster it's not much more. Oh - and you get zilch for HGVC stays as an owner.


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## ljmiii (Jun 23, 2017)

As a Diamond I and my family were upgraded to a suite in London last year. I also had seen 'Diamond only' availability for points stays...but that was before the most recent revamping of the points program to 'demand driven point prices'.


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## ohdewer (Jun 23, 2017)

presley said:


> I have Gold Hhonors and I do like getting my water bottles and free breakfast. I am just weird like that. When I stayed at a Hampton a few nights ago, they welcomed me as Gold, but walked me outside and showed me where I could park in reserved spaces for Diamond. They didn't give me any other upgrades other than my regular Gold stuff, but I was wondering what the Diamond members have experienced. Do you usually get a room upgrade? I think I have only been upgraded twice as a Gold member.
> 
> I'm just trying to figure out if it's worth it to me to do the $40K spend in a year on my AmEx to get Diamond level or if I am better off doing most of my charging on a normal cash back card. I do love cash back, but usually after a long day of driving, I really appreciate the little things like bottles of water when I arrive, etc.



As a Diamond you get access to rooms that may not be available to the public when booking online, some with only 24 hours advance notice.  To be honest, you don't really get to see the difference until you go to the "fancier" hotels.  When I traveled a lot for business, I had Diamond level status and stayed at the Hilton and Conrad hotels in Tokyo, London, Singapore, Berlin, Paris, i.e most of the larger cities in Europe and Asia.  They have a Diamond desk for checking in and sometimes you go to the executive lounge.  There, you get glasses of champagne, beer or wine while you are doing the paperwork.  My wife says those trips turned me into a hotel snob, which if you are treated that way for a few years, you do start to expect it.  I'm Gold now with Hilton and don't miss all the hassles with travelling, but I would love to be Diamond again and stay some of those hotels once more.


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## jd2601 (Jun 23, 2017)

Typically you do not see as much benefit US properties vs international.   Higher level hotels also see more benefits. Hampton not much benefit maybe an occasional upgrade.  Hilton and Conrad lounge and concierge upgrades more plentiful. 

I am not sure if Waldorf Astoria give much benefit to status. It all helps!


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## RX8 (Jun 23, 2017)

Due to work transfers and staying in hotels for a period of time I have been Diamond twice before. My diamond status this time around just ran out and I fallback to Gold (HGVC and Citi card both provide Gold). 

I don't really see a difference other than accumulating more points on hotel stays. One benefit that I did like, but have used only once, is the room guarantee on short notice. I got last minute tickets to see Paul McCartney and all local Hilton hotels were booked. I used diamond status to book a room at a hotel that had no availability within walking distance to the concert. I just hoped that they had a block of rooms set aside for that and that I didn't put someone else out without a room.


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## brp (Jun 23, 2017)

In some places Gold gets Continental Breakfast and Diamond gets Full (but those are rare). Also, Diamond gets Executive Lounge access whether or not they get an upgrade to an EL floor. Really, though, the differences are not apparent often.

We don't use the water bottle option as they're wasteful so that perk is irrelevant to us.

Cheers.


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## DazedandConfused (Jun 23, 2017)

the best perk of Diamond is getting a guaranteed room and this is great for college football games and graduations when they sell out a year in advance and you forget to book a room


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## Helios (Jun 23, 2017)

presley said:


> I have Gold Hhonors and I do like getting my water bottles and free breakfast. I am just weird like that. When I stayed at a Hampton a few nights ago, they welcomed me as Gold, but walked me outside and showed me where I could park in reserved spaces for Diamond. They didn't give me any other upgrades other than my regular Gold stuff, but I was wondering what the Diamond members have experienced. Do you usually get a room upgrade? I think I have only been upgraded twice as a Gold member.
> 
> I'm just trying to figure out if it's worth it to me to do the $40K spend in a year on my AmEx to get Diamond level or if I am better off doing most of my charging on a normal cash back card. I do love cash back, but usually after a long day of driving, I really appreciate the little things like bottles of water when I arrive, etc.


I've been getting Diamond via $40K spending with the Amex but after looking at this in detail this year will be my last.  I don't really use that much and the few times that I do I rarely get an upgrade.  So, I'll stick with SPG/Marriott Plat.


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## Helios (Jun 23, 2017)

DazedandConfused said:


> the best perk of Diamond is getting a guaranteed room and this is great for college football games and graduations when they sell out a year in advance and you forget to book a room


I used this perk once, but the price for the Diamond Guaranteed room was pretty high.


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## Helios (Jun 23, 2017)

Forgot to mention, I'll remain Gold compliments of the Amex Plat without a min spending.  I think that will be good enough for my ocassional use of Hilton.  I think it will be better than forfeiting better rewards on $40K spend on the Amex card.


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## ljmiii (Jun 23, 2017)

Helios said:


> I've been getting Diamond via $40K spending with the Amex but after looking at this in detail this year will be my last.  I don't really use that much and the few times that I do I rarely get an upgrade.  So, I'll stick with SPG/Marriott Plat.


Hilton's decision to restructure their redemption system to make points useful only when/where you can get a cheap room for cash anyway was truly braindead. I just don't stay at Hiltons anymore...once I use the boatload of HHonors points I've built up I'm out.

Like you I might keep the Honors Surpass Amex around.  But if my Sapphire Reserve counts HGVC MFs as 'travel' I might not - 3 Chase points are about as useful as 12 HHonors points under the new regime.  It's a shame...but between the new point system and Hilton's continued denial that HGVC exists (and visa versa) they have pushed me into always staying at SPG/Marriott.


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## Helios (Jun 23, 2017)

ljmiii said:


> Hilton's decision to restructure their redemption system to make points useful only when/where you can get a cheap room for cash anyway was truly braindead. I just don't stay at Hiltons anymore...once I use the boatload of HHonors points I've built up I'm out.
> 
> Like you I might keep the Honors Surpass Amex around.  But if my Sapphire Reserve counts HGVC MFs as 'travel' I might not - 3 Chase points are about as useful as 12 HHonors points under the new regime.  It's a shame...but between the new point system and Hilton's continued denial that HGVC exists (and visa versa) they have pushed me into always staying at SPG/Marriott.


I am thinking about switching to the no fee amex hilton, just to keep a hilton cc.

i have the sapphire reserve and pretty much use it for all travel purchases, even spg or marriott charges.  i have the spg card which is mainly used for non travel purchases that take amex.


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## jd2601 (Jun 24, 2017)

Helios said:


> I used this perk once, but the price for the Diamond Guaranteed room was pretty high.



I have had the same luck with this perk, either it is considered a special event and not eligible for this or price was astronomical.  I also have had them walk me multiple times when sold out as a Diamond when there capacity was oversold.  Typically they give you points to equal the room.  I was surprised they would do this type of treatment.  Main perks I see are Lounge access or free breakfast (typically full breakfast) and more points.


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## Helios (Jun 24, 2017)

jd2601 said:


> I have had the same luck with this perk, either it is considered a special event and not eligible for this or price was astronomical.  I also have had them walk me multiple times when sold out as a Diamond when there capacity was oversold.  Typically they give you points to equal the room.  I was surprised they would do this type of treatment.  Main perks I see are Lounge access or free breakfast (typically full breakfast) and more points.


One thing that really annoys me is how inconsistent the breakfast perk is at properties that don't have lounges.  For instance, at Hilton SF Union Square (just to name one where I have experienced this) they give you a credit for the continental breakfast section.  The continental breakfast credit can be applied to the full breakfast if that is what you want.  Is this really necessary?  Doesn't seem like a way to reward your diamond clients...


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## 1Kflyerguy (Jun 24, 2017)

I have been Diamond for about 10 years now.  At first i was earning via work stays at Hilton properties, but more recently my work travel has slowed and i earn Diamond status via the Amex spend.  I still find value in diamond status, over the years i have received some great upgraded rooms.  But that is really hard to quantify, as you certainly don't always get those upgrades. 

Sometimes at HGVC resorts the desk clerk tells me they gave a better room or location, based on my status... not really sure if that is true or they are just saying that to sound good...

I use my Hilton Amex for most spending, but use my Chase Shappire for all non-Hilton travel.


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## MichaelColey (Jun 24, 2017)

I'm Diamond with Hilton (and Platinum with Marriott and Starwood), but most of the perks I find the most valuable (particularly breakfast at Hilton Garden Inn) are Gold perks.  I almost never get an upgrade (for domestic stays).  The difference between Gold and Diamond is very minimal in most cases.  At some brands (particularly Hampton Inn and Embassy Suites), there are no real perks for ANY status -- everyone already gets breakfast and there are seldom any upgraded rooms to even have a chance to get upgraded to.

If you travel internationally, I think most of the big chains are much better about upgrades.  I've had some fabulous upgrades with Starwood, Marriott and (to a lesser extent) Hilton when traveling overseas.


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## Helios (Jun 24, 2017)

MichaelColey said:


> I'm Diamond with Hilton (and Platinum with Marriott and Starwood), but most of the perks I find the most valuable (particularly breakfast at Hilton Garden Inn) are Gold perks.  I almost never get an upgrade (for domestic stays).  The difference between Gold and Diamond is very minimal in most cases.  At some brands (particularly Hampton Inn and Embassy Suites), there are no real perks for ANY status -- everyone already gets breakfast and there are seldom any upgraded rooms to even have a chance to get upgraded to.
> 
> If you travel internationally, I think most of the big chains are much better about upgrades.  I've had some fabulous upgrades with Starwood, Marriott and (to a lesser extent) Hilton when traveling overseas.


I've also experienced better treatment at international properties as Diamond, but then I have also seen better perks with SPG/Marriott (Plat with them).  So, I usually end up at SPG/Marriott.


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## MikeinSoCal (Jul 3, 2017)

I've been Diamond for about 7 years now.  The only perk I see over Gold is when I check in and they thank me for being a Diamond member <sarcasm>.


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## brp (Jul 5, 2017)

MikeinSoCal said:


> I've been Diamond for about 7 years now.  The only perk I see over Gold is when I check in and they thank me for being a Diamond member <sarcasm>.



We just finished a Hilton stay in Portland. As Diamond:

We were charged $25 for an early check-in, which I would not have expected for a Diamond member. To be fair, this was the *last* King room (and I confirmed that on the App) and they said that they usually hold it for issues, so need to charge the fee. To also be fair, when we found the room simply too small and asked for a different room, even with a different bed configuration, they moved us to another room on the spot even though they would now need to do some housekeeping on the first room.

We got continental breakfast vouchers that had the "Diamond" box checked from the "Diamond/Gold" choices and then had the same $4 up-charge to go from continental to full breakfast. I know it's policy, but why have the check box if there will be no difference in application of policy (when last we were in Santa Rosa, Diamond got full with no up-charge and Gold has to payn the up-charge).

We also got a late checkout to 2PM (instead of the 1PM usual), ostensibly because of Diamond, although that was not stated explicitly.

Overall, some differentiation for Diamond, but not substantial.

Cheers.


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## Helios (Jul 5, 2017)

So, they really push their luck in the event of issues. They charged you $25 for the room used in case there are issues...

I'll say that the up charge is ridiculous IMNSHO.  As a Diamond I have paid, IIRC, $25 at the Hilton San Francisco Union Square in addition to the coupon.  I believe the coupon basically discounted breakfast $10.


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## brp (Jul 5, 2017)

Helios said:


> So, they really push their luck in the event of issues. They charged you $25 for the room used in case there are issues...
> 
> I'll say that the up charge is ridiculous IMNSHO.  As a Diamond I have paid, IIRC, $25 at the Hilton San Francisco Union Square in addition to the coupon.  I believe the coupon basically discounted breakfast $10.



Had they not also moved us to a different room (and incurred cleaning charges on the first room), I would have written to tell them how bush league this is. I didn't because they really were very full and did do something nice for us.

I'm also fine with the upcharge as it's in the rules. $4 is very reasonable. I've had servers at various places that wrote the bill as "continental," thereby eliminating the upcharge. They got bigger tips. Hilton SF Union Square is one of the lamer in this regard.

Cheers.


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## Helios (Jul 5, 2017)

brp said:


> Had they not also moved us to a different room (and incurred cleaning charges on the first room), I would have written to tell them how bush league this is. I didn't because they really were very full and did do something nice for us.
> 
> I'm also fine with the upcharge as it's in the rules. $4 is very reasonable. I've had servers at various places that wrote the bill as "continental," thereby eliminating the upcharge. They got bigger tips. Hilton SF Union Square is one of the lamer in this regard.
> 
> Cheers.


I know, $4 is nothing.  I think it's just the principle.  Charging $4 (or any upgrage) to their Diamonds is not very rewarding to me...


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## GT75 (Jul 7, 2017)

I appreciate the OP starting this thread and asking the question.     I also am HH Diamond level.     I have been upgraded very few times.    I do enjoy the breakfast at Hilton Garden Inns but you get that at gold level.    I really haven't experienced any different except for the designated parking stop at Hampton Inn (Wow, that certainly isn't worth much).    Actually, I was wondering what was so special about being "Diamond level" so I was glad to read about everyone else experiance/comments.


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## Helios (Jul 8, 2017)

GT75 said:


> I appreciate the OP starting this thread and asking the question.     I also am HH Diamond level.     I have been upgraded very few times.    I do enjoy the breakfast at Hilton Garden Inns but you get that at gold level.    I really haven't experienced any different except for the designated parking stop at Hampton Inn (Wow, that certainly isn't worth much).    Actually, I was wondering what was so special about being "Diamond level" so I was glad to read about everyone else experiance/comments.


Designated parking by the back door does not do the diamond trick for me.


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## CalGalTraveler (Jul 8, 2017)

I agree that Chase Sapphire Card for 3x is greater value than AMEX Hilton for 12x honorpesos.  

Given both my husband and I have separate Surpass Cards, I am considering moving my card to the no fee version of the Amex Hilton card. Does the no fee version get similar and lucrative AMEX offers?


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## ccwu (Jul 12, 2017)

We are Hilton Diamond member too.  Not much different than the gold level.  When you go to certain metropolitan hotel, the executive lounge is only for Diamond members.  It is midtown NYC.  We were in Hong Kong Conrad, enjoyed the executive lounge hot breakfast and evening hot snacks and beers and wine.  We did not see many executive lounges in the domestic Hilton hotel.  The designated parking is not a big deal either.


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## ohdewer (Jul 13, 2017)

CalGalTraveler said:


> I agree that Chase Sapphire Card for 3x is greater value than AMEX Hilton for 12x honorpesos.
> 
> Given both my husband and I have separate Surpass Cards, I am considering moving my card to the no fee version of the Amex Hilton card. Does the no fee version get similar and lucrative AMEX offers?



I have the no fee AMEX Hilton Honors card and you do get a few offers, nothing major.  I use mine for business purchases and then we use the points for short vacations, my daughters weekend volleyball tournaments and stuff like that.

Like most have said in this thread, you see the biggest perks in the nicer Hilton Hotels and to be honest, most of them are overseas, in my opinion.


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## brp (Jul 13, 2017)

brp said:


> We were charged $25 for an early check-in, which I would not have expected for a Diamond member. To be fair, this was the *last* King room (and I confirmed that on the App) and they said that they usually hold it for issues, so need to charge the fee. To also be fair, when we found the room simply too small and asked for a different room, even with a different bed configuration, they moved us to another room on the spot even though they would now need to do some housekeeping on the first room.
> 
> We got continental breakfast vouchers that had the "Diamond" box checked from the "Diamond/Gold" choices and then had the same $4 up-charge to go from continental to full breakfast. I know it's policy, but why have the check box if there will be no difference in application of policy (when last we were in Santa Rosa, Diamond got full with no up-charge and Gold has to pay the up-charge).



Circling back on this - after the stay they sent the obligatory survey. In that I mentioned both of the above, figuring it would go into the Black Hole. Well, today we got an updated folio with the $25 (plus tax) credited. This was followed by an email stating that they were doing this and were going to review the upcharge for Diamond. A nice gesture, anyway.

Cheers.


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## Indeed (Jul 19, 2017)

I have been diamond for several years now, and I definitely see a difference between Diamond and Gold. The first - and most important to me - difference is the way points accumulate much faster as a diamond member. More points means more free travel. I just finished a cross-country (CA to GA and back again) trip, logging in nearly 60 nights in hotels. Free stays are important to me, so getting the extra points is great. 

The next thing I like is that nearly without fail everyone at the hotel knows who I am. I have never been turned down for late check out, and a couple of times when I've forgotten something, the help I've gotten on the phone has been above and beyond. 

It's true that at very large Hilton's sometimes things go awry, but this has happened very seldom, and Hilton has always been more than fair in making things right - from extra points, to free stays as recompense for things going wrong. 

Finally, I appreciate being able to get a room - for a price - when everything everywhere is sold out. I don't use it often, but when I need to, it's a great perk. 

I don't know how it is at other properties. I stay at a Hyatt resort in Lake Tahoe every year for an event, and every year it is a disaster... Last year the reservation was somehow cancelled. This year the desk help gave me a key to the wrong room... the baggage was sent to the wrong room, and the man IN the wrong room was pretty unhappy with us for waking him up. The next room key we got was ALSO the wrong room (first 128, then 328, when our actual room was 329). It took three tries to get the right key. I'm not sure how it would be different if I was a "Hyatt Bigshot," but this kind of thing has never happened to me at a Hilton.


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## brial05 (Jul 27, 2017)

I will bump this thread slightly as I am Diamond (that is Diamond the hard way, as in travel)
AND
I am about to secure Diamond in the easy way the OP mentioned, 40k on the AMEX, so I can completely related to the OP questions.

Regarding being Diamond, I feel it is totally worth it .... even in the smallest Hotels we are treated with extra care. We are almost always upgraded and sometimes it becomes a hassle / argument with the Desk because they give a Suite with a King, but with our son, we want two beds. As noted online booking is there when we have know family not to be able to stay.

Regarding the AMEX, for us that is easy, we simply put many recurring charges on the card, make sure to use the card for big purchases .... we will hit that 40k this year by October .... plus all the while you are earning HHonors points.


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