Hilton Honors Gold fast track with Visa Signature/Infinite extended to 31 Dec 2018

A few months ago, Louis dropped a reminder that the Hilton Honors Gold fast track offer for Visa Signature/Infinite cardholders was going to expire on 30 June. Historically, Hilton had extended the offer numerous times so we were hopeful that would happen again.

It turns out that Hilton has indeed extended the offer to 31 December 2018, which means that any holder of a Singapore-issued Visa Signature/Infinite card can continue to register and get Hilton Honors Gold with just 2 stays/ 4 nights made within 90 days. The T&C of the promotion can be found here.

Hilton Gold usually requires 20 stays/40 nights/ US$7,500 spend within a year to achieve, so this is one of the quickest ways of getting it (short of applying for an AMEX Platinum Card, which comes with free Hilton Gold status as a card perk).

A long time ago, Visa Signature cards were reserved for the mass affluent segment, i.e. annual incomes of $80,000 and above. As the years went by, that positioning disappeared and today, many $30,000 income requirement cards are Visa Signature branded. Here are some entry-level Visa Signature cards you can get

• Citibank Rewards Visa Signature
• Maybank Horizon Visa Signature
• DBS Altitude Visa Signature
• UOB PRVI Miles Visa Signature
• Citibank PremierMiles Visa Signature

Here’s a reminder of how to register for the fast track offer.

Registering

You can enroll your Hilton Honors number here to kickstart the fast track process. There are mixed reports as to whether you get email confirmation, but if you want to be extra-certain that your fast track has been successfully registered, you can always drop Hilton Honors an email at AsiaHHonors@hilton.com to seek confirmation.

What kind of stays qualify?

The terms & conditions for the promotion can be viewed here, but some quick points:

• After registering, there’s no need to use a Visa card to book/pay
• Bookings need to be made via official channels (e.g. Hilton website)
• Reward stays are eligible
• Consecutive nights booked separately will still be counted as a single stay
• Once you’ve qualified, your status should be good until Mar 2020

The easiest path towards qualifying would involve either doing a single 4-night stay, or doing two 1-night stays.

Suggested properties to status run

Here are some properties Louis suggested were useful for clocking your 2 stays/4 nights, assuming you’re not already going on a trip to a place with Hilton brands:

DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Johor Bahru

Located about 10min past the causeway (by car), this staycation vacation option offers great value at MYR368 (sale rate inc. taxes; about S$124) or 10,000 Hilton points (US$50 when Hilton points go on sale at 0.5 US cents each)

Hilton Garden Inn Singapore Serangoon

Not quite my first choice of a staycation option, this is still the cheapest Singaporean Hilton property available and will do in a pinch, especially if you don’t have the time to deal with making the trip across the causeway. At S$152 (sale rate inc. taxes) or 20,000 Hilton points (US$100 when Hilton points go on sale at 0.5 cents each), a 1-night stay here is relatively affordable.

Conrad Centennial Singapore

This is hardly a budget option, but if you’re going for something luxe (especially if you don’t have status in the initial 90 days) you can check out Conrad Centennial Singapore – Mention ‘SG75’ when making reservations by email at sinci_res@conradhotels.com or by phone at +65 64327192 to access this special rate of $380++ for Friday, Saturday and Sunday bookings. This rate guarantees access to the Level 31 Club as well as $75 F&B credit that can be used at the property’s outlets during the stay. Rooms are subject to availability; offer valid till 2 Sep.

Alternatively, S$250 (sale rate inc. taxes) is pretty attractive too; I wouldn’t bother with the 60,000 point redemption rate (US$300 when Hilton points go on sale at 0.5 cents each)

Status matching also possible

If you’ve got top tier status at another chain you might want to check out Hilton’s official status match option – if you qualify, you can instantly get Gold/Diamond for 90 days and confirm the status until Mar 2020 if you clock 4/8 stays within that period.

Conclusion

Don’t underestimate the usefulness of Hilton Gold. Many have called it the most useful mid-tier hotel status out there, because of the free breakfast and upgrade perks.

If you’re thinking about taking up this status challenge, you can also consider getting instant Hilton Silver via KrisFlyer Ascend (plus $150 of free money!) for 15% bonus points earned while qualifying, or taking advantage of the Citi Prestige’s 4th night free benefit. Rates booked by the Citi Prestige concierge will qualify for Hilton status credit.