In November 2025, Hilton announced major changes to its Hilton Honors loyalty programme which would be rolled out from January 2026 onwards. This includes a brand new Diamond Reserve top tier as well as faster access to the preceding Gold and Diamond Tiers.
WHAT DOES THE CURRENT HILTON HONORS LOYALTY PROGRAMME ENTAIL?
Currently, the status requirements and benefits are as follows:
Member
10 base points per eligible USD$1 spend
Silver (10 nights, 4 stays or 25,000 base points)
All Member benefits
20% bonus on base points earned
Free bottled water
Elite rollover nights
Fifth night free for every stay booked fully using points
Gold (40 nights, 20 stays or 75,000 base points)
All Silver benefits
80% bonus on base points earned
Daily F&B credit or free continental breakfast
Upgrade to higher category room (up to executive level)
Diamond (60 nights, 30 stays or 120,000 base points)
All Gold benefits
100% bonus on base points earned
Executive lounge access
Upgrade to higher category room (up to 1-bedroom suite)
48-hour room guarantee
Premium Wi-Fi
Elite status gifting
WHAT ARE THE UPDATES TO THE HILTON HONORS PROGRAMME?
From January 2026 onwards, the new Diamond Reserve status would be awarded to guests who (i) complete 40 stays or 80 nights AND (ii) spend US$18,000 at Hilton hotels each year. Yes, both limbs are required.
Further, the new Confirmable Upgrade Reward – awarded as soon as you reach Diamond Reserve status with the option to earn a second upgrade reward at the 120-night mark, useable for both paid and point redemption stays and capped at one-bedroom suites – will allow you to lock in an upgrade to a premium room or suite at the time of booking for stays of up to seven nights.
Another long-awaited benefit for Diamond Reserve members is a 4pm guaranteed late checkout on every stay, which is on par with Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Elite and World of Hyatt Globalist privileges.
In addition, Diamond Reserve members enjoy complimentary access to premium clubs, a new classification of, according to the Hilton Honors website, “exclusive, on-property clubs, most commonly found at Hilton’s luxury, lifestyle or full-service hotels”; top priority for space-available upgrades, confirmed three days before check-in; a dedicated customer service phone line; and a 120% points bonus on paid stays.
With the introduction of the new Diamond Reserve tier, the Gold and Diamond tiers have been made easier to attain. Gold status will now require only (i) 25 nights, (ii) 15 stays or (iii) US$6,000 eligible spend per year, while Diamond status will require (i) 50 nights, (ii) 25 stays or (iii) US$11,500 eligible spend. On the flip-side, rollover nights which help with the following year’s status have been removed.
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR HILTON HONORS MEMBERS?
I am feeling rather ambivalent about the changes. On one hand, the guaranteed 4pm late-checkout and confirmable room upgrade perks feel long in the coming, already being a staple in many other hotel loyalty programmes (e.g. Marriott Bonvoy, Hyatt) for years, and are much appreciated. However, Diamond Reserve’s requirement of 40 stays/80 nights AND US$18,000 eligible spend makes it much more difficult to attain compared to the aforementioned programmes. Gone will be the days of booking multiple weeks’ stays at hotels such as the Hilton Garden Inn Kuala Lumpur Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman South for a wallet-efficient way to the top tier (which I suppose is exactly what Hilton wants to prevent),
Essentially, based on 1 February 2026 rates for a entry category room, US$18,000 eligible spend looks like this:
5 nights at the Waldorf Astoria Maldives Ithaafushi (US$3,744.72 per night)
15 nights at the Waldorf Astoria Amsterdam (US$1,208.53 per night)
21 nights at the Umana Bali, LXR Hotels & Resorts (US$868.99 per night)
26 nights at the Waldorf Astoria Osaka (US$694.62 per night)
53 nights at the Conrad Singapore Orchard (US$346.05 per night)
Chew on that for a second.
Further, it remains to be seen how the “premium club” concept looks like. A special menu for Diamond Reserve guest (e.g. a la carte dishes, champagne, special cocktails) seems easy to roll out and would distinguish top-tier guests from standard club guests. If this is the case, then there would not be much impact (save for some grapes being soured) to existing Diamond guests. What would be terrible is if hotels simply reclassified entire club lounges as “premium clubs”, which would effectively strip Diamond members from executive lounge access.
Of course, if all you want is free breakfast, (highly likely) executive lounge access and a (deprioritised) potential upgrade and late check-out, the easing of requirements for Diamond status is a welcome change.
Let’s see how 2026 plays out.
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