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 [email protected] 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 [email protected] 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.
I have a trip to Bangkok soon. Not sure any Hilton hotel out there I can use for this?
yes, you may
I’m looking at BANGKOK too!
I cam across Hilton on Sukhumvit 24, and DoubleTree on Sukhumvit 26.
They are located back to back.
As I have a few days stay, i’m wondering if it is possible to
1. Stay at Hilton 24 1st night,
2. Stay at DoubleTree 26 on 2nd.
Get upgraded to gold,
3. Back to Hilton 24 on 3rd night with Gold status?
Is it considered a 3rd stay?
I came across some reports you only get upgraded to Gold AFTER completing 2 stays. And not for the duration.
Yes for 1st, 2nd, 3rd nights counting as separate stays.
However, the Gold status might take a bit longer to activate – unlikely it’ll be active by third night. Might be able to contact Hilton helpdesk to ask to expedite, but I won’t bank on it.
Looking at the terms and conditions the only condition I can see that relates to my question is Once a member reaches Gold status, the member may keep such status only for the calendar year in which the Gold status was earned and the subsequent calendar year. My question is that i’m already gold until the end of this year 2018, unlikely to retain it though. Am I able to register for this promotion (lets say on the 31/12/18 where I would lose my status in 2019 [the next day 1/1/19] but technically when I registered I am still gold).… Read more »
Yes, I’ve extended my status a few times while still valid. Activating in end Dec would allow you to clock the two stays in Q1 2019 – technically that should extend your status for 2019 and 2020 as per T&C (thus expiring after Mar 2021).
I think.
I’ve only used it for primary card holder, but it’s all via web signup anyway, so as long as the request gets through the system…
If I activate this promotion in Nov18, then book one stay in Nov18 and one stay in Jan19.
I will earn my gold status in Jan19 after I complete my stay?
And since my gold status is earned in Jan19, my gold status will expire in Jan21?
Yes to the earning date. I believe so, for the hypothetical stated dates. (Hilton expires end Mar so more like Mar 21)
Depends how Hilton defines membership year. I remember that membership year ends in March, not calendar year.
Correction:
Members can earn and maintain Elite tier status based on stays, nights, or Base Points earned in any calendar year. A “calendar year” is understood to mean January 1st through – December 31st of each year. Members must re-qualify for Elite status each calendar year. Bonus Points earned on Base Points do not count toward Elite tier qualification. Elite Rollover Nights will be applied toward earning and maintain Elite tier status to meet the night qualification for each elite tier.
You’re quoting the general Honors programme T&C, right? That’s applicable to the standard path for earning status, not the 90-day fast track options.
Yes, I quote the standard terms and conditions about the honor membership. What I meant to correct my previous post about calendar year.
Hmm interesting… i rarely stay in Hilton… most of my 120days stay/year are with Accor and Radisson Group.
Lucky you. Mine are with Hotel 81 and Fragrance Group.
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Tried to register. But registration form at the end the steps is not working. Filled up everything but it reflects “internal server error” after you click submit.
Try again, updated the link with a different landing url
Can you put the link here. The link in the blogspot appears the same as the original one. Thks.
I had the same issue too. The system continues to prompt to re-input the captcha code.
Indeed!
can’t seem to get past the captcha code. it’s weird.
Since you don’t to use a Visa card once you have registered, would it be possible to use the Amex Krisflyer Ascend Complimentary Hilton Stay Voucher to clock 1 stay towards Hilton Gold Status?
my exact thoughts too……
Done enrolled. Hopefully can achieve faster as a lot of Hilton chain Hotel in Malaysia are damn cheap.
do you need to use the credit card you registered to pay for the stay?
I think no need. I registered with my personal card and my stay was corporate stay with company card. I got my gold status.
Im was tempted to sign up, but foresee issues retaining Hilton Gold. Any hacks around that?
As long as the Visa promo keeps running, it should be pretty easy to renew – I’ve been doing it since 2012 or so.
U mean u can keep renewing using the fast track promo?
I had the impression it was only for one time on initial sign up
Could anyone tell me what does it exactly mean by 2 Qualifying Stays?
i would like to know too. can i book 1oct to 2oct (1 stay) and 2oct to 3rd oct (1 stay), same room.
There’s a condition that any consecutive nights in same hotel is considered as 1 stay, even with multiple bookings
For the last fast track offer, I stayed at Minsk and KL Hilton Garden Inn(RM 130). It’s cheap for those at KL or visiting KL.
Would I meet the 2 stays/ 4 nights requirements by booking two rooms for two nights for the family?
[…] status, and it’s Hilton Gold that I’m particularly after. Yes, I could get it with the ongoing Visa Signature/Infinite fast track offer, but (1) the offer is valid till 31 December 2018, (2) I’m unlikely to hit the 2 stay/4 night […]
Hi Aaron,
Were you able to get past the CAPTCHA verification issue at the end? I’m still stuck at that bloody field, and I’ve contacted basically every party involved (Hilton, Visa, my card issuing bank), and they’ve given me the round around – calling this a colossal exercise in frustration would be an understatement.
i remember some people were reporting this problem too. unfortunately i don’t know of any resolution. i suppose you must have tried different browsers etc already?
Yep, I’ve tried a combination of:
– Mac with Safari, Chrome
– Windows with IE11, Chrome
Will try Mac and Firefox just to be sure I’ve covered all avenues. I’d be really surprised if the thing works in Linux, and if it does, it then does speak to the kind of customers they’re after!
Ok, I’ve finally solved the problem! What I did was to ask Visa Singapore (https://www.facebook.com/VisaSingapore) on Facebook Messenger for help – they managed to manually enroll me – phew. I hope this solution works for anyone else who’s got the same problem..
thank you for sharing this “solution”, although they really should get the page fixed.
Can I do like 2 stay in 1 hotel ?
For example, I will stay in Hilton Garden Inn Singapore Serangoon at 24th of December 2018 for 1 night.
Then I will stay again in the same hotel at 3rd of January 2019 for 1 night.
Is this eligible to get the Hilton Honors Gold fast track ?
Thanks.
Yes
Thanks for the reply Ken. Great to hear this way will work.
Hi Aaron, now that it’s JAN 2019. I missed the fast track that expired 31 Dec 2018. What’s the latest fast track that I can do?
Anyone know if there are any other fast track options since its already past 31 Dec 2018? Tried to check the Terms and Conditions and some of the provided links, but the sites are all down.
https://www.visa-promotions.com/mepa/HiltonHHonors/privacy_en.html
2019 fast track