Last chance: Gift free Hilton elite status to your family or friends for a limited time
Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.
Hilton Honors allows anyone who spends 60 or more nights with the chain in a calendar year to gift elite status to another Honors member. However, Hilton has expanded this benefit to all of its highest elites for a limited time, regardless of how you earned your status. But you'll have to act fast.
Through Jan. 31, 2021, Hilton Diamond and Lifetime Diamond members can gift elite status for one year to a family member or friend. Diamond members can gift mid-tier Gold status, while Lifetime Diamond members can gift top-tier Diamond status.
Gifting Hilton Honors elite status
In December, Hilton Honors is surprised its Diamond members with a special gift. Through Jan. 31, 2021, Hilton allows Diamond members to gift Hilton Honors Gold to a person of their choosing and Lifetime Diamond members to gift Diamond status.
This limited-time perk is available to all Diamond members, regardless of how many nights you completed this year. So, you'll still be able to take advantage of this even if you got your status for free as a Hilton credit cardholder, which is quite generous. Also, this promotion is in addition to Hilton's usual elite status gifting program. Members who completed 60 or 100 qualifying nights this year can still gift Gold or Diamond status to another individual, respectively.
Instructions on how to redeem this gift have been sent via email. Recipients will need to head to this link to redeem their gifted Gold status or this link for Diamond status and then enter their custom claim code.
If you have not received the status gift email, it could be because you have opted out of Hilton marketing emails. In that case, you can request your personalized gift code by calling Hilton or emailing priorityletter@hilton.com.
Gifted status is good for 365 days from the gift date — it doesn't follow the program year. Once the status has been gifted, you can't make any changes to the recipient, so choose wisely.
Related: Your guide to Hilton Honors lifetime elite status
What is Hilton elite status worth?
Assuming you travel enough to get full use from them, Gold and Diamond status are worth $1,255 and $3,025, respectively. However, even if you're not traveling too much these days, you can still get decent value from them.
Mid-tier Gold status is typically earned after 20 stays or 40 nights or by earning 75,000 base points in a calendar year (which equates to $7,500 in spending), but for the 2021 qualification year, Hilton has cut those requirements in half. It's one of the best mid-tier hotel statuses out there, getting you perks like an 80% points bonus, a fifth night free on award stays, space-available upgrades, late check-out and even free breakfast.
Top-tier Diamond status requires 30 stays or 60 nights or 120,000 base points ($12,000 in spending) — or half of that in 2021. It takes things up a notch by offering suite-upgrades, guaranteed lounge access and a 100% points bonus.
Related: All of the elite qualification changes you need to know about for 2021
That being said, it's important to remember that there are other ways to fast-track Hilton elite status as well. The Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card and The Hilton Honors American Express Business Card come with Gold status and the ability to upgrade to Diamond status by spending $40,000 in eligible purchases in a calendar year. Meanwhile, the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card offers automatic Diamond status. You can also unlock complimentary Hilton Gold status with The Platinum Card® from American Express.
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.
Related: Why Hilton should add a new elite tier above Diamond
Bottom line
Hilton Honors has done a great job keeping its members engaged throughout the pandemic, and this new benefit for Diamond members is just the cherry on top. Moves like being the first hotel chain to extend elite status and then significantly reducing qualification criteria for 2021 helped Hilton win the Best Hotel Loyalty Program title in this year's TPG Awards. However, time will tell whether making status so attainable will ultimately devalue the program.