Hilton Honors 2026: What’s Changing, What Diamond Reserve Really Means, And Why It Leaves Some Loyal Fans Disappointed
What Is Hilton Changing?
After years of rumors, Hilton has finally released information about the upcoming changes to their loyalty program Hilton Honors. The changes will be in effect January 2026. With the introduction of Diamond Reserve, Hilton is adding a new layer at the very top of its loyalty program - without officially removing any existing tiers.
At first glance, Hilton positions these changes as a way to better recognize its most valuable guests. In practice, the update introduces a strong new focus on annual spending, not just nights stayed.
The Status Levels Going Forward
As of 2026, Hilton Honors will consist of the following elite five tiers:
Silver
Gold
Diamond
Lifetime Diamond
NEW: Diamond Reserve
Changes to the current program
New top tier – Diamond Reserve:
To qualify you must complete 80 nights or 40 stays and spend US$18,000 in eligible charges each calendar year. This tier comes with exclusive benefits like confirmable suite upgrades, guaranteed late checkout, Premium Club access and a 120 % points bonus.
Lower thresholds for Gold and Diamond:
Starting 1 January 2026, Gold will require 25 nights, 15 stays or $6,000 in spend, down from 40 nights, 20 stays or 75,000 Base Points (equal to $7,500 spend).
Diamond drops to 50 nights, 25 stays or $11,500 in spend, down from 60 nights, 30stays or 120,000 base points (equal to $12,000 spend) in the years before.
The qualifications for Lifetime Diamond remain the same. The only change is the switch from Base Points to Spend, which doesn't change anything: 10 years of Diamond status plus one of the following: 1,000 nights or $200,000 in eligible spending.
Base point earn rate changes at Homewood Suites and Spark:
From 8 January 2026, stays at Homewood Suites by Hilton and Spark by Hilton will earn 5 points per US$1 instead of the usual 10.
Elite Tier & Milestone bonuses:
Elite tier bonuses (20 % for Silver, 80 % for Gold, 100 % for Diamond and 120 % for Diamond Reserve) remain unchanged. You’ll still earn bonus points after every 10 nights starting at night 40, up to 180 nights per year for a total of up to 210,000 points.
Rollover nights:
Unfortunately, a current bonus, elite rollover nights, will disappear after the 2026 benefit year.
Diamond Reserve: What We Know So Far
Diamond Reserve is designed for Hilton’s top-spending guests and comes with additional benefits, including:
Dedicated 24/7 Diamond Reserve support
Priority for confirmable upgrades
Access to Hilton Premium Clubs (where available)
Enhanced recognition at participating properties
Importantly, Diamond Reserve is not achievable by nights alone, a minimum yearly spend of US$18,000 is necessary to achieve this status. Even guests staying 80, 100, or more nights may not qualify if their average nightly rate is lower than $225 per night on average.
This marks a philosophical shift: Hilton is clearly signaling that how much you spend now matters at least as much as how often you stay.
Hilton Premium Clubs: A New Lounge Concept
Alongside Diamond Reserve, Hilton is rolling out Hilton Premium Clubs — a new, more exclusive lounge concept that will coexist with traditional Executive Lounges.
Hilton has now released a list of all Premium Clubs so far, which you can find here: https://www.hilton.com/en/p/hilton-honors/premium-clubs/ (external link)
Examples include the Imperial Club at Rome Cavalieri, a Waldorf Astoria Hotel and the Club Signia at Signia by Hilton Atlanta Georgia World Congress Center, which you can see below:
Clarifications from Hilton: Our Questions, Their Answers
As many of you had a lot of questions, we have reached out to Hilton and asked a few questions that we thought we’re not clearly communicated with the release of the details.
Will the Diamond Desk still exist?
30views: “The published materials highlight dedicated 24/7 support for Diamond Reserve, but it is not clear whether regular Diamond members will continue to have access to a dedicated service line, or if this benefit will transition exclusively to the new Reserve tier.”
Hilton Spokesperson: “Yes, the traditional Diamond Desk will continue to operate.”
This is good news for long-time Diamond members: dedicated Diamond support is not being removed and will continue alongside the new Diamond Reserve service line.
Confirmable Upgrade Rewards: Diamond vs. Diamond Reserve
30views: Could you confirm whether a regular Diamond member who reaches 120 nights in a year—but does not meet the required spend for Diamond Reserve—will still be eligible to earn a Confirmable Upgrade Reward?
Hilton Spokesperson: “Any member who reaches 120 nights in a year will be eligible to earn a Confirmable Upgrade Reward, not just Diamond Reserve.”
This is a crucial clarification: high-night Diamond members are not excluded from confirmable upgrades, even if they don’t meet the Diamond Reserve spend threshold.
Will Premium Clubs Replace Executive Lounges?
30views: Since there is a great deal of interest among our readers regarding the newly introduced Hilton Premium Clubs, we have also asked Hilton to provide a list of properties that currently already offer a Premium Club and Whether Premium Clubs are intended to coexist with Executive Lounges, or if Hilton envisions Premium Clubs replacing Executive Lounges at some hotels over time.
Hilton Spokesperson: “Premium Clubs will coexist with Executive Lounges.”
Hilton confirmed that Premium Clubs are an additional concept, not a replacement. Executive Lounges will continue to exist where currently offered.
Our Take: Where Hilton Misses the Mark
From our perspective, this update raises some important questions.
Nights Stayed vs. Money Spent
Hilton has long been attractive to frequent travelers who stay many nights in mid-range properties - business travelers, long-stay guests, and international travelers in lower-priced markets.
With Diamond Reserve, Hilton is now clearly prioritizing high nightly spend over pure loyalty.
Staying 80-100 nights in standard rooms, especially outside the U.S., may no longer put you anywhere near the top tier.
A Global Program With U.S.-Centric Economics
This is where the model becomes problematic.
A Diamond Reserve qualification that may be realistic for a U.S. traveler paying high average rates is far harder to reach in markets like Asia, many parts of Europe - even with extensive travel.
In practice, this introduces a form of economic discrimination within a global loyalty program.
No “In-Between” Recognition
For many years it has been criticized, that Hiltons top tear is accessible to anyone with a simple credit card. Loyal fans have asked for a higher status level with a higher amount of head in pillow nights to distinguish themselves from the credit card status guests. With the introduction of the Diamond Reserve, Hilton has not achieved that, as the required spend is out of range for most of the loyal fans.
Compared to competitors like Marriott Bonvoy Titanium, Hilton now has a noticeable gap:
Diamond is even more accessible
Diamond Reserve is extremely exclusive
There is no meaningful tier in between for truly frequent travelers that spend less than 225 USD on average per night.
For guests who give Hilton more than 80 nights a year, this feels like a missed opportunity.
Our Conclusion
Hilton Honors is not removing benefits - but it is redefining who its top guests are. For high-spend travelers, Diamond Reserve will likely feel rewarding, but previous top-tier customers feel disadvantaged.
For many of Hilton’s most loyal night-heavy guests, this almost feels like a downgrade. I can speak from personal experience, because as you can probably tell, my wife and I are great fans of the Hilton brand and have spent more than 100 nights a year at Hilton for several years now. Although we travel all over the world and visit various high-end properties, we would never have been able to qualify for Diamond Reserve in any given year. Flexible frequent travelers are not only able to find favorable rates, but also benefit from reward stays by using points. These count as nights, but do not contribute to the minimum spend.
Even though I understand that ultimately it's all about which customer brings in the most money, Hilton has forgotten an important customer group with the current changes, a group that other brands continue to take into account (for example, Marriot Bonvoy with its Titanium Elite status). We hope that Hilton will rectify this in the near future.
We will keep you updated on what traveling with Diamond status in the Hilton Group will be like from 2026 onwards. If you want to be part of it, check back here regularly and follow us for live updates on YouTube and Instagram!
