How long for complimentary hotel status to come through

[Princess Fiona]

Will probably hit the "apply" button within the next week:idea:

I think they both applied in 2012 whereas you applied in 2011, albeit late 2011 ?


Thanks, that will save me some effort....

Yes that's what I did. Applied early January.
Hilton status is generally given for the remainder of the calendar year it is obtained as well as the subsequent calendar year until end of March the third year.
Thus any status upgrade/ attainment in 2012 will expire end March 2014.
The Hilton Honors rep I spoke with made no mention of 4 stays to keep the diamond status ( although I will easily exceed that so its a moot point for me )

 

[serfty]

Yes that's what I did. Applied early January.
...
The Hilton Honors rep I spoke with made no mention of 4 stays to keep the diamond status ( although I will easily exceed that so its a moot point for me )

My BIB Diamond expires in 7 weeks - my intention is only then invoke this benny.

To do so earlier might complicate things, so KISS is the go!

 

[arraitch]

Nooooooo (for me). I hit the button too soon.

Princess Fiona and Ozvirginuk, I may have missed it but what did you both do to get a March 2014 expiry.

I think they both applied in 2012 whereas you applied in 2011, albeit late 2011?

Perhaps it's time to start a "traps for young players" thread. My name is arraitch and I'm a premature button presser too. I activated my Diamond status in October (?) last and now have a March 2013 expiry. Ah well, it may be a bugger but at least it was FOC!

 

[Danger]

Will probably hit the "apply" button within the next week:idea:

I think they both applied in 2012 whereas you applied in 2011, albeit late 2011 ?

Correct. Grrrrrr.

That said, I going to schedule my required four stays such that the fourth stay falls after 31 March, thereby prompting the 12 month eexpiry from then under the promo's terms and conditions. That will, of course, require some missing around nd arguing of the finer details.

The thinking was I was going to lose my existing Diamnd on 1 Aprll so I would use the promo to get them back-to-back. The logic is within the promo's guidelines but it is obviously hasn't panned out this way. All the better for the others, thou, who waited until this year.

 

[tuapekastar]

Mine was activated in November 2011, but specifically to include a 5 night stay at Conrad Singapore in Jan 2012. In hindsight maybe I could have done it on Jan 1 2012, but given the wild variations in processing time, this would have been a very risky thing had I wanted the Jan stay to be as a Diamond. So March 2013 for me. C'est la vie.

 

[Princess Fiona]

Mine was activated in November 2011, but specifically to include a 5 night stay at Conrad Singapore in Jan 2012. In hindsight maybe I could have done it on Jan 1 2012, but given the wild variations in processing time, this would have been a very risky thing had I wanted the Jan stay to be as a Diamond. So March 2013 for me. C'est la vie.

C'est la vie indeed.
I activated mine a week before a 3 night stay in HSP.
Noticed no difference on check in, MunitalP bucket of beer and letter from GM. We were already booked in best available room ( 3 bed ocean view apartment) for a party of 6.
I have been credited the Diamond bonus points for this stay. I think Velocity have seriously upped their game with the activation.

 

[serfty]

... I think Velocity have seriously upped their game with the activation.

... or maybe they are no longer inundated with requests after the initial 'stampede'.:idea:

 

[Ozvirginuk]

Yes that's what I did. Applied early January.
Hilton status is generally given for the remainder of the calendar year it is obtained as well as the subsequent calendar year until end of March the third year.
Thus any status upgrade/ attainment in 2012 will expire end March 2014.
The Hilton Honors rep I spoke with made no mention of 4 stays to keep the diamond status ( although I will easily exceed that so its a moot point for me )

I was also unaware of any conditions about needing 4 stays in 6 months. Given my travel plans for this year, that is VERY unlikely. I will only get 1 x Hilton stay inside the 6 months. Does that mean I"ll be status downgraded after the end of June? Why send a card saying I have status until 2014 if that's the case?

Oz

 

[serfty]

I was also unaware of any conditions about needing 4 stays in 6 months. Given my travel plans for this year, that is VERY unlikely. I will only get 1 x Hilton stay inside the 6 months. Does that mean I"ll be status downgraded after the end of June? Why send a card saying I have status until 2014 if that's the case?

Oz

It's in the T&C's available to you when you apply for the status.

Hilton HHonors™ Diamond Elite Click here to find out more about Hilton HHonors™ and the benefits of being a Diamond Elite member. ...

Click on "Click Here" and this appears:

As a HHonors member, you'll enjoy a host of privileges during your stay plus you can earn both HHonors Points & Velocity Points for the same stay at any of the 3600 hotels in 82 countries worldwide. The Hilton family or properties include Waldorf Astoria®, Conrad®, Hilton®, Doubletree®, Embassy Suites®, Hilton Garden Inn®, Hampton Inn®, Hampton Inn & Suites®, Homewood Suites®, Home2 Suites by Hilton® and Hilton Grand Vacations®. As a Platinum Velocity Member you can enjoy complimentary Diamond Elite Membership in the Hilton Honors Program for a 6 month period. And if you stay 4 times at any Hilton Worldwide property within the 6 months your complimentary membership will be extended out to 12 months. The exclusive benefits of Diamond Elite Membership include: Early check in and late check out ( subject to availability) Space available room upgrades Diamond reservations guarantee (48hrs in advance subject to certain restrictions) 50% bonus on Hilton Honors base points Complimentary High speed internet access Complimentary newspaper and bottled water Selection of certain restaurant bonus point offers & complimentary dining packages across the Hilton network Access to executive floor lounge with daily complimentary Continental breakfast Worldwide recognition at Hilton worldwide portfolio of hotels.

 

[Ozvirginuk]

It's in the T&C's available to you when you apply for the status.

Hilton HHonors™ Diamond Elite Click here to find out more about Hilton HHonors™ and the benefits of being a Diamond Elite member. ...

Click on "Click Here" and this appears:

As a HHonors member, you'll enjoy a host of privileges during your stay plus you can earn both HHonors Points & Velocity Points for the same stay at any of the 3600 hotels in 82 countries worldwide. The Hilton family or properties include Waldorf Astoria®, Conrad®, Hilton®, Doubletree®, Embassy Suites®, Hilton Garden Inn®, Hampton Inn®, Hampton Inn & Suites®, Homewood Suites®, Home2 Suites by Hilton® and Hilton Grand Vacations®. As a Platinum Velocity Member you can enjoy complimentary Diamond Elite Membership in the Hilton Honors Program for a 6 month period. And if you stay 4 times at any Hilton Worldwide property within the 6 months your complimentary membership will be extended out to 12 months. The exclusive benefits of Diamond Elite Membership include: Early check in and late check out ( subject to availability) Space available room upgrades Diamond reservations guarantee (48hrs in advance subject to certain restrictions) 50% bonus on Hilton Honors base points Complimentary High speed internet access Complimentary newspaper and bottled water Selection of certain restaurant bonus point offers & complimentary dining packages across the Hilton network Access to executive floor lounge with daily complimentary Continental breakfast Worldwide recognition at Hilton worldwide portfolio of hotels.

Thanks Serfty, I have to say this is a BIG oversight on my part. However, the question remains, if the status is only supposed to be for 6 months (unless I have 4 stays) then why oh why did they send me a card that says I have Diamond status until 2014? That seems contradictory. Sure, if it came with only 6 months validity, then my status downgraded I would understand, but to effectively tell me I'm Diamond until then, only to take it away seems really odd. It will be interesting to see what the reality is come June/July.

Cheers
Oz

 

[Deleted member 29185]

Sure, if it came with only 6 months validity, then my status downgraded I would understand, but to effectively tell me I'm Diamond until then, only to take it away seems really odd. It will be interesting to see what the reality is come June/July.

Cheers
Oz

It may not be June or July either Oz. I must admit, this is a bit confusing, but HH has certainly told me about the 4 stays in 6 months....even to the point of giving me the exact date my 6 months expire. They did then say that all HH members have their status checked and adjusted between the end of the calendar year and March 31. There is no "soft" landing, if you have achieved just one stay, theoretically, you'd be bumped to blue.

I've now made my 4 stays, so expect to keep status until at least Mar 2013. If your 6 months falls later than 31 March, just maybe your status won't be checked again until Q1, 2013........and maybe not. That still depends on how good HH are with monitoring these "special" status promo conditions. If it flags up, it won't matter what the card says, the computer will list you as blue or whatever. But, so far no one has had the six moths fall due. The very earliest ones will be later this month. Then I guess it will be a wait and see what happens!!

 

[DC3]

Posts on this great offer and the T&C were almost done to death. It's it's a shame that some have overlooked it, unfortunately. However, the best part is diamond status for more than 2 years for those who were canny enough to wait until after 31st December to apply.

My case is somewhat different in that I didn't manage enough stays in 2011 to maintain diamond til March 2013, but will get gold based on stays when my new card comes through in April.

I don't want to complicate things by applying through the VA offer for Hilton diamond, just yet (i.e., while still being diamond), and intend waiting until 1st April, hoping that it's not pulled priot to that.

Edit: I'm assuming that expity dates of 03/2014 will be honoured, if that's what's printed on the membership card

 

[serfty]

...
My case is somewhat different in that I didn't manage enough stays in 2011 to maintain diamond til March 2013, but will get gold based on stays when my new card comes through in April.

I don't want to complicate things by applying through the VA offer for Hilton diamond, just yet (i.e., while still being diamond), and intend waiting until 1st April, hoping that it's not pulled priot to that. ...

Same boat - see post 242

 

[xtoss]

I hit gold in September, applied for the hilton gold upgrade in November.

Stayed one night in Brisbane and got Exec upgrades.

I have 2 more separate bookings for Miami and Toronto end of March.

I just hit Platinum last week, do you guys recommend I pull the trigger on Diamond before these trips, or do these in gold and do diamond later on as I only just qualified?

 

[Deleted member 29185]

Does any of you HH Diamond status matched people still have the email from HH?

I've deleted mine (if indeed I actually received one at all) and since I've now completed my 4 stays within 6 months, I telephoned HH to check all was right for continued status as discussed here. I've now been advised that the SM was a taste tester and will expire on the 6 month anniversary regardless and that the 4 stays in 6 months was for a different promotion

They have requested I send the email that explains the T&Cs so they can verify so if anyone still has it, please PM me. I'd be appreciative of that.

Why does all these benefits have so many issues attached. I've got a list of Hilton bookings made (many prepaid/non-refundable) and now it seems I may be booted from status back to blue on 31 March 2012, unless I can convince them otherwise.

 

[dfcatch]

I received no email. The terms were on the Velocity website and quite clear.

I suspect you spoke with a poor agent.

However following up with the Velocity T&Cs will work for you.

 

[Deleted member 29185]

Thanks dfcatch,

Can I ask others, how many received a HH confirmation email and how many just got the upgrade in their account?

I can't remember ever actually getting an email, just had my membership (pre-existing) upgraded on line. I've never received a card either, despite ordering it twice on line without success.

 

[The Rok]

No email here. No confirmation, just the upgrade within 2 weeks. Still nothing from them.

 

[Deleted member 29185]

I suspect you spoke with a poor agent.

However following up with the Velocity T&Cs will work for you.

I suspected that too......except she quickly passed me through to her shift supervisor who gave me the bad news. She stated she tried to add the correct promo code, but the incorrect one couldn't be changed, so I'm tending to believe it was just a stuff up at the start (I was one of the first to apply) and I am going to email HH and ask for it to be corrected, but I just want all my ducks in a row first. The trouble with relying on the DJ T&Cs is that it's not a DJ promo, it's a HH promo that was negotiated by DJ.

 

[The Rok]

I suspected that too......except she quickly passed me through to her shift supervisor who gave me the bad news. She stated she tried to add the correct promo code, but the incorrect one couldn't be changed, so I'm tending to believe it was just a stuff up at the start (I was one of the first to apply) and I am going to email HH and ask for it to be corrected, but I just want all my ducks in a row first. The trouble with relying on the DJ T&Cs is that it's not a DJ promo, it's a HH promo that was negotiated by DJ.

I would PM Velocity Rewards and ask them to look into it. My account was upgraded to Gold initially instead of Diamond. I PM'd Velocity Rewards and it was sorted within a few days.