Earning airline and hotel elite status solely through miles flown or overnight stays can be difficult unless you are the most ruthless of road (or sky) warriors. Luckily, there are several ways to accelerate your path to elite status ... and one might be sitting in your inbox right now.
Delta Air Lines is teaming up with Hilton to offer complimentary Hilton Honors status to select Delta SkyMiles members and vice versa. Check the email associated with your Delta SkyMiles or Hilton Honors account to see if you’ve been targeted for this invitation-only offer.
If you have been targeted, below are the details you need to know. If you haven’t been targeted this time, we’ve listed several credit cards that come with Hilton Honors elite status as a membership perk.
Offer details
Targeted Delta SkyMiles members can click on the “Enroll Now” button in their email to sign up for six months of elevated Hilton Honors status. You’ll need to log in to your Delta SkyMiles account and follow the prompts to complete enrollment. After entering your Hilton Honors login details, you should receive a message letting you know that you have successfully started the trial period for your Hilton Honors status.
You should see your new Hilton Honors status level reflected in your account within 72 hours after enrollment. Then, on your next stay with Hilton, you’ll receive the benefits of elite status. Perks include bonus points earnings, room upgrades, daily food and beverage credits, and free premium Wi-Fi.
I am a Silver Medallion member with Delta, and I was targeted for Hilton Honors Gold status. But TPG Senior Director of Product Management Gabe Travers was targeted for Hilton Honors Diamond status as a Diamond Medallion member.
Similarly, some Hilton Honors members recently received emails from Hilton offering complimentary Silver or Gold Medallion status with Delta. One TPG reader who holds Hilton Honors Silver status received a targeted offer for six months of Delta Silver Medallion status.
You must enroll for this offer by Dec. 31 at 11:59 p.m. EST to earn temporary elevated status.
How long can you keep the elevated status?
Hilton Honors offer
When you enroll, you’ll receive six months of Hilton Honors status. You can extend that status through March 30, 2026, by staying a certain number of nights with Hilton:
- If you are targeted for Hilton Honors Gold status, you must stay for 15 nights during the trial period.
- If you are targeted for Hilton Honors Diamond status, you must stay for 25 nights during the trial period.
Delta Medallion offer
When you enroll, you'll receive six months of Delta Medallion status. You can extend that status through Jan. 31, 2026, by earning a certain number of Medallion Qualification Dollars:
- If you are targeted for Silver Medallion status, you must earn 2,000 MQDs during the trial period.
- If you are targeted for Gold Medallion status, you must earn 4,000 MQDs during the trial period.
Cards that get you automatic elite status
If you weren’t targeted for this offer or if you are hoping to snag Hilton Honors status via another shortcut, there are a handful of credit cards that come with automatic elite status as a perk (enrollment is required):
Hilton Honors status
- Silver status: Hilton Honors American Express Card.
- Gold status: Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card, the Hilton Honors American Express Business Card, The Platinum Card® from American Express, and The Business Platinum Card® from American Express. (Enrollment is required for the Amex Platinum and Amex Business Platinum cards.)
- Diamond status: Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card. You can also be upgraded to Diamond status with the Hilton Amex Surpass or Hilton Amex Business cards by spending $40,000 in a calendar year.
The information for the Hilton Aspire Card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Delta Medallion status
There are no credit cards that come with automatic Delta Medallion status. However, certain cobranded Delta SkyMiles cards can give you a jump start on earning the MQDs needed to earn Medallion status:
- Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card
- Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card
- Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card
- Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card
For each of these cards, you'll receive a one-time deposit of 2,500 MQDs at the beginning of each qualification year. This puts you halfway to Silver Medallion status if you have one of these cards, or you can cross the threshold to Silver if you carry two or more.
You can learn more about the MQD head start and annual status boots in our full guide to earning Delta Medallion status.
Bottom line
An offer to take Hilton Honors or Delta Medallion elite status for a test drive doesn’t come around often, so be sure to take advantage if you were among the members who received an invitation.
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