Hilton Honors: New high end status, Qualification Requirements reduced for Gold & Diamond
Hilton has officially announced modifications to the Hilton Honors program that will take effect in 2026.
Diamond Reserve, the new top tier status
Starting in 2026, Hilton Honors will introduce a new top-tier status called Diamond Reserve, which will be even more valuable than Lifetime Diamond status.
Qualification requirements
The qualification requirements for the new Diamond Reserve status are well above the 60 nights / 30 stays a year you needed for the diamond status.
In order to qualify for the new Diamond reserve status, you have to spend the following within one year:
- 80 nights or 40 stays
- AND additionally have at least spent 18’000 USD at Hilton hotels
New perks in addition to the Diamond perks
With the new Diamond Reserve Status, some handy new perks are available for those lucky enough to obtain the status:
- Confirmable Upgrade Reward – Confirm your premium room or suite upgrade at the time of booking for stays of up to 7 nights.
- Priority upgrades – Enjoy the highest priority for space-available room upgrades, confirmed 3 days before check-in with higher priority than anybody else
- Guaranteed 4 pm Late Checkout – Diamond Reserve Members stay longer, at every Hilton brand, without having to ask
- 120% Bonus Points – Earn a 120% Bonus on base points instead of the 100% Diamond members receive
- Premium Club Access – Not yet exactly known what this should mean, but you can probably expect access to lounges usually only available to certain room types, like for example at some Waldorf Astoria hotels.
- Exclusive Customer Service – 24/7 dedicated access to our best customer support team members
Qualification requirements reduced for Silver, Gold & Diamond status
With the upcoming changes, Qualification requirements for the usual statuses will be reduced, without any cuts to the perks you receive.
Silver status
Can now be obtained by either of the following:
- 10 nights
- OR 4 stays
- OR $2,500 USD spend
Gold status
Can now be obtained by either of the following:
- 25 nights
- OR 15 stays
- OR $6,000 USD spend
Diamond status
Can now be obtained by either of the following:
- 60 nights
- OR 30 stays
- OR 120,000 Base Points
This represents up to a 37% reduction in the requirements needed to achieve status, a change we haven’t seen from any other major hotel loyalty program in recent years.
Other changes taking effect in 2026
However, some additional changes will take effect on January 1, 2026, not all of which are beneficial:
Rollover nights
2025 will be the last year to earn Elite Rollover Nights. Rollover nights accumulated in 2025 will count towards status in 2026.
Starting in 2026, there will be no more Rollover Nights.
Base Points
As of January 1, 2026, tier earning is calculated based on Eligible Spend as opposed to Base Points. This is officially introduced to make it easier to keep track, however basically nothing really changes in this regard.
Basepoint earn rate at Homewood Suites & Spark will drop
The new Base Point earn rate for Homewood Suites and Spark is 5 Pts/$1 USD of Eligible Spend (previously 10 Points per $1 USD)
Milestone Bonus program
The following adjustment is made to the Milestone Bonus program:
You still earn the milestone bonus every 10 nights starting at 40 nights (up to 180), however now including another Confirmable Upgrade Reward (at 120 nights) and up to 210,000 Points annually in total.
At 120 nights, you can choose between earning a Confirmable Upgrade Reward or 30,000 Bonus Points.
What is a Confirmable Upgrade Reward
- A Confirmable Upgrade Reward allows a Member to lock in an upgrade for a premium room or a suite at the time booking
- A single Confirmable Upgrade Reward is valid for a stay up to 7-nights
- Applicable to any upgradeable room up to a 1-bedroom Suite
- Up to two Confirmable Upgrade Rewards can be earned in a calendar year; one upon achieving Diamond Reserve status with the option to earn a second at 120-nights
- Certificates expire after 12 months from issuance
What will not change:
Hilton Lifetime Diamond
Hilton Lifetime Diamond basically remains unchanged with the exception that you can earn it with 10 years of Diamond & 1000 nights or 200’000 Eligible spend (instead of the 2’000’000 base points earned in the past)
Onetime Diamond extension
You can still apply for a one-time, one-year Diamond Extension if you earned at least 3 year of diamond status in the past + a total of 250 nights.
Silver, Gold & Diamond Perks
The old perks valid for the different status levels will completely remain the same, meaning that with Gold status (at least for now), you will still receive the F&B credit or full breakfast (outside the US) for up to 2 people. Diamond members still have lounge access on top of the Gold benefits.
Bottom Line
Hilton is introducing a brand-new top-tier status called Diamond Reserve, which comes with exclusive additional perks.
On top of that, the qualification requirements for all existing status levels have been significantly reduced, by as much as 37%.
Overall, this is the first truly customer-friendly overhaul we’ve seen from any major hotel loyalty program in years, and it’s likely to encourage travelers to shift more of their spending to Hilton Honors.
Access the all new Hilton Honors website here.
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