Reminder: Adjustments to Hilton Honors programme start 2 Apr 2018

This was actually mentioned back in January, but in case you’d missed it (buried among details of existing fast track options), here’s a quick recap of the changes that are coming to the Hilton Honors programme starting on 2 April.

The advertised changes:

• Easier Way to Earn Points: It’s now even easier to earn Points on hotel stays when booking direct! Elite tier bonuses will increase for Silver (20%), Gold (80%) and Diamond (100%) members.  
• Milestone Bonuses: Members will earn 10,000 Bonus Points on every 10^th night, once reaching at least 40 nights in a calendar year. It’s not a limited time offer, no registration is required and there is no cap— the more members stay at Hilton, the more Points they earn.  
• Elite Rollover Nights: Every night counts now that Silver, Gold and Diamond members can roll over nights. For example, if you reach Silver after staying 10 nights, but end the calendar year with 30 nights, 20 will roll over – giving you a jump-start on Gold status in the next year.  
• Elite Status Gifting: Members can now gift Gold status to their favorite travel partner when they stay 60 or more nights in a calendar year (and that gift turns to Diamond if a member stays more than 100 nights in a year).  

I think it’s great news if you’re an actual road warrior who’s earned his gold/diamond status, due to the addition of milestone bonuses, rollover nights and status gifting. No major changes if you’re a matched (undeserving) Gold/Diamond member (like me). If you’re a basic/silver member, though, you actually lose out due to the removal of double dipping option, which is being replaced by the new simplified points structure.

The updated list of benefits for Hilton Honors elite members can be seen in the factsheet below:

If you’re interested in getting Gold status faster, you can check out the Visa fast track option to qualify with 2 stays (or 4 nights). Alternatively, the KrisFlyer Ascend card offers instant Silver status (though frankly, that’s not really good for much beyond the 15% points bonus).