Tips for earning elite hotel status in the last minute
Hotel elite status can enhance your vacation experience. From room upgrades to bonus points and even complimentary breakfast, having the right status can save you money and add more luxury to your trips.
If you haven’t accumulated enough points to earn (or retain) your elite status this year, here are some last-minute tips to help you secure your benefits for another year.
Related: So, what exactly is elite status in travel — and how can I get it?
How to earn hotel elite status
Grand Hyatt Nashville. HYATT
To earn hotel elite status, you can follow these common methods:
Elite night credits
- : You generally receive one credit for each eligible paid night at a participating property in a major hotel loyalty program. Award nights, “points and cash” stays, and certain credit cards may also earn you elite night credits.Stays: Some programs allow you to qualify based on stays — which can be any number of nights.
- Points earned
- : You earn points based on your spending at participating hotels. Some programs may also consider spending with partner companies. Some programs may also consider spending with partner companies.Credit card elite status
- : Many hotel and travel credit cards provide automatic elite status as a benefit.Spending on credit card
- : Certain hotel credit cards allow you to earn elite status or progress toward it based on your annual spending.Of course, whether it’s worth going out of your way to earn status is a question only you can answer.
Related: Is hotel elite status worth it anymore?
Here’s a quick overview of how to close the gap and lock in status with the major hotel programs before the end of the year.
Hilton Honors
The Lloyd Stamford, Tapestry Collection by Hilton. CHRIS RANDALL/HILTON
Qualification method
| Silver | Gold | Diamond | Nights |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | 40 | 60 | Stays |
| 4 | 20 | 30 | Base points |
| 25,000 | 75,000 | 120,000 | End of the elite year: |
Dec. 31.Daily Newsletter
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Hilton is one hotel loyalty program that counts award stays toward elite status qualifications. You can get closer to elite status by redeeming Hilton Honors points and free night certificates for free nights. Even the
Hilton American Express Card
with no annual fee (see rates and charges) comes with complimentary Silver elite membership. You can earn Gold status when you spend at least $20,000 per year. Spend $40,000 within a year and you’ll receive Diamond elite status. Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card members can get Diamond status without having to spend a lot. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.Alternatively, you could open The Platinum Card(r) from American Express
or The Business Platinum Card(r) from American Express to enjoy automatic Hilton Gold status as long as your card remains open (enrollment required).
Read more: Guide to hotel elite status with the Amex Platinum and Business Platinum
IHG One Rewards
Holiday Inn Resort Kandooma Maldives. KATIE GENTER/THE POINTS GUYQualification methodSilver EliteGold ElitePlatinum Elite
Diamond Elite
Qualified nights
10
| 20 | 40 | 70 | Qualified points | N/A |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 40,000 | 60,000 | 120,000 | End of the elite year: | Dec. IHG offers multiple ways to achieve elite status. These include booking award stays with points or certificates for free nights. However, IHG One Rewards points you earn from credit card spending no longer count toward elite status points qualification. |
| IHG offers three credit cards featuring complimentary elite status, including one with no annual fee. IHG One Reward Premier Credit Card, IHG One Reward Premier Business Credit Card, and IHG One rewards Traveler Credit Card all come with automatic Platinum Elite Status. Spending $40,000 in a year on these cards will earn you Diamond Elite status, even though IHG credit card spend no longer qualifies for points. You can get Ambassador benefits from the purchase of an InterContinental Ambassador membership for $200 or 40,000 points. This membership features numerous benefits, including automatic Platinum Elite status. | Related: I stayed at the InterContinental New York Times Square as a Platinum Ambassador: Here’s what it was like | Marriott Bonvoy | A Marriott sign in Hamburg, Germany. JEREMY MOELLER/GETTY IMAGES | Qualification method |
Silver EliteGold Elite
Platinum Elite
Titanium Elite
Ambassador Elite
Nights
10
25
50
| 75 | 100, and $23,000 in spending | End of the elite year: | Dec. Marriott makes it easy to earn elite status. The nights redeemed from Marriott Bonvoy points or free night certificates count towards elite status. The highest level of elite status is Ambassador Elite. To qualify, you must spend $23,000 and stay 100 nights at Marriott properties in a year. You can, for example, enjoy automatic Gold Elite Status with the Marriott Bonvoy Bevy ™ American Express Card | and the Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card(r). The | Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant (r) American Express Card |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| now includes automatic Platinum Status after the overhaul last year. The Bonvoy Brilliant Amex card now comes with 25 elite night credits. You can earn one elite night credit for every $5,000 you spend on the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Credit Card each year. However, you’ll earn one elite night credit for every $5,000 you spend on the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Credit Card each year. | And finally, like Hilton, the Amex Platinum and Amex Business Platinum both include Marriott Gold status (enrollment required). | Related: 6 reasons to strive for Marriott Bonvoy Titanium Elite status | World of Hyatt | The Park Hyatt in Washington, D.C. HYATT | Qualification method |
DiscoveristExplorist
Globalist
Nights
103060Base Points25,000
50,000
100,000
Meetings and events
3
10
20
| End of the elite year: | Dec. With Hyatt you can earn elite status by staying at their properties or earning base points. Calculating elite night credits also includes nights booked with World of Hyatt points or free night certificates. | Two Hyatt credit cards are available — one for consumers and one for business owners. The two cards offer unique features to help you quickly earn Hyatt Elite status. This status offers few benefits but you can earn a higher level by spending. You start with five qualifying night credits every year, and you’ll earn an additional two credits for every $5,000 you spend on the card. | Business owners also receive Discoverist status with the World of Hyatt Business Credit Card. This business card, however, is unique in that it allows you to gift Discoverist status up to five employees. You’ll also receive five credits towards tier qualification for every $10,000 spent in a year. This rate is 25% higher than what’s offered by the personal version of the Hyatt card. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Related: Here’s how to quickly stock up on Hyatt points for your next vacation | Other ways to earn hotel elite status | The Chicago Athletic Association. You can achieve hotel elite status, or receive similar benefits without having a co-branded hotel credit card. If you do not want to be tied down to a single hotel’s card, use these strategies. You must activate these benefits by contacting American Express Customer Service. These statuses are also available with the | The American Express Business Platinum Card (r). Enrollment required. |
| Fine Hotels + Resorts: This is an exclusive hotel booking program for Amex Platinum cardholders, offering elite-level benefits and promotions at premium properties worldwide. The program offers a credit for on-property purchases, a room upgrade and allowing late checkout. Enrollment is required. Enrollment is required. | The Hotel Collection: This program offers benefits at participating properties on stays of at least two nights, and it’s available to those with an Amex Platinum or | American Express(r) Gold Card | . |
| Capital One’s Premier Collection and Lifestyle Collection | : These two boutique hotel programs are available to select cardholders and offer benefits like free Wi-Fi, complimentary breakfast and bonus miles. | Chase’s Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection | : This program offers elite benefits to select Chase cardholders at over 1,000 highly rated properties worldwide, including daily breakfast for two, a unique benefit worth up to $100, complimentary Wi-Fi, room upgrades and early check-in/late checkout at select properties. It even added Four Seasons properties earlier this year. |
Visa Signature Luxury Hotel Collection:
When you have a Visa Signature card and book through this website, you’ll receive exclusive perks at participating properties.
Mastercard Travel & Lifestyle Services
:
You can book a room at more than 4,000 participating properties with your eligible Mastercard to receive elite-level perks.
Related: Complete guide to current hotel elite status match and challenge offers
Bottom line
Options are available if you haven’t locked in your hotel status this year.
Many popular hotel loyalty programs offer alternative ways to achieve elite status without going on an expensive hotel stay. You can achieve elite status by holding the hotel’s credit cards. If these options are not for you, look into the hotel booking programs that are affiliated with Visa Mastercard or American Express. These programs provide on-property rewards without requiring loyalty.
