Hilton Honors Gold Elite status is the mid-tier in the Hilton Honors loyalty program.
Gold elite members enjoy excellent benefits, including 80% points earning bonus on hotel stays and space-available room upgrades up to executive floor room types.
Plus, you’ll get daily food and beverage credit in U.S. hotels and milestone bonuses after hitting 30 nights within a calendar year.
Let’s talk about the major benefits of the Hilton Honors Gold elite status and how you can earn Gold status.
How to Earn Gold Elite Status
Hilton Honors members can level up to Gold elite status with any of the following:
- 28 nights
- 14 stays
- 52,500 base points ($5,250 in spending)
It’s also easy to upgrade to Hilton Gold status when you get a credit card that comes with a complimentary Gold elite status membership.
Getting approved for any of these credit cards immediately earns you Hilton Gold status:
- American Express Hilton Honors Surpass Card
- American Express Hilton Honors Business Card
- American Express Platinum
- American Express Business Platinum
- American Express Morgan Stanley Platinum
- American Express Schwab Platinum
Alternatively, you can obtain Hilton Gold elite status with a FoundersCard membership.
However, if you’re aiming for top-tier status, the American Express Hilton Aspire Card is the easiest way to get Hilton Diamond elite status and various other premium benefits, including a 100% bonus points and room upgrades – that significantly save you money and make your travel experience extra enjoyable.
Hilton Honors Gold Elite Status Benefits
As a Hilton Honors Gold elite member, you’ll enjoy these valuable benefits:
1. 80% Bonus Points on Hotel Stays
Gold elite members earn 18 points (10 base points plus 8 bonus points) per dollar spent on Hilton stays. Tru and Home2 purchases earn 9 points (5 base points plus 4 bonus points) per dollar spent.
A higher points earning bonus makes it easier to accumulate more bonus points so you can redeem free nights faster.
Related: Best Ways to Redeem Hilton Honors Points.
2. Room Upgrades
With Hilton Gold status, you can request space-available room upgrades up to executive floor room types or rooms with desirable views and amenities. Suites are not included though.
Gold elite members can request an upgrade for only one room, regardless if you’re booking multiple rooms under a single reservation.
Upgradable Hotels: Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts, Conrad Hotels & Resorts, Canopy, Hilton Hotels & Resorts, Curio, DoubleTree, and Tapestry Collection
Non-Upgradable Hotels: Embassy Suites, Hilton Garden Inn, Hampton, Tru, Homewood Suites, Home2 Suites, and Hilton Grand Vacations
3. Daily Food and Beverage Credit
In place of complimentary breakfasts, Hilton now offers a daily food and beverage credit for Gold elite members in 2022. This benefit applies to hotel stays in the United States.
Gold and Diamond members staying outside the U.S. still receive a free continental breakfast.
The food and beverage credit varies by hotel brand with higher credits at luxury hotels. You and one guest staying in the same room will receive either the credit or continental breakfast each night of your stay.
The amount is typically at least $3 per person for Hilton, Signia, DoubleTree, Curio, Tapestry, Canopy, and Motto hotels in Boston, Chicago, the District of Columbia, Key Largo, Key West, New York City and San Francisco, Los Angeles County, and the state of Hawaii.
4. Milestone Bonuses
In 2022, Hilton Gold elite members earn the following milestone bonuses for reaching a certain number of nights per year:
- 10,000 bonus points at 30 eligible nights
- 10,000 bonus points for every 10 additional nights
After December 31, 2022, Gold elite members will earn these milestone bonuses:
- 10,000 bonus points at 40 eligible nights
- 10,000 bonus points for every 10 additional nights from January 1 to December 31
Hilton Gold Elite members will also get 30,000 extra bonus points upon hitting 60 eligible nights in a calendar year.
You’ll only receive credit for nights stayed for one room even if you’ve booked multiple rooms for the same duration. Milestone bonuses don’t count toward earning status.
5. Fifth Night Free on Award Stays
You can enjoy your fifth night free when you redeem your Hilton Honors points for five hotel nights.
For example below, a 30,000 per night stay for five nights typically costs 150,000 points, but with the fifth night free, it only costs 120,000 points.
This benefit works up to 20 nights for long-term stays, so you would receive free nights for the 10th, 15th, and 20th free nights.
6. Elite Rollover Nights
You can roll over any extra qualifying nights to the next year once you’ve reached the minimum threshold for an elite level. This will help elevate your status more quickly.
For example, you only need 10 nights to reach Silver elite status. If you stay 18 nights this year, 8 nights would roll over to the following year and count toward your Hilton Gold elite status requirement (which requires 28 nights).
7. Late Check Out
Hilton Honors elite members can usually request a 1 to 2 p.m. check-out depending on the hotel’s availability to give you additional time in your room.
8. Complimentary Wi-Fi at Hilton Hotels and Resorts
You can access Wi-Fi during your stay at Hilton properties free of charge.
9. No Resort Fees on Rewards Stays
You don’t have to pay any resort fees when you redeem your Hilton Honors points for a free hotel stay.
This benefit does not cover Cash + Points bookings, only when you redeem your points to pay for the entire stay.
10. Digital Check-In and Key
It’s easy and convenient to check in online via the Hilton mobile app. Simply visit the app and choose your desired room. You can even unlock your room at most hotels using your phone.
11. Hilton Honors Discount Rate on Eligible Bookings
As a Hilton Honors member, you’ll get a discounted rate of 2% on all qualifying bookings. Hilton typically offers promotional rates, allowing members to save up to 30% on stays.
12. Two Free Bottles of Water
Hilton Honors elite members also get a couple of free water bottles per stay at most properties.
Some of the brands that offer this benefit include Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts, Conrad Hotels & Resorts, Hilton Hotels & Resorts, Curio, DoubleTree, Tapestry Collection, Embassy Suites, and Hilton Garden Inn.
Is Hilton Honors Gold Worth It?
Compared to Silver elite status, Hilton Gold status boasts solid perks that can make your hotel stays much more comfortable.
You can request an upgrade to a preferred room and receive a food and beverage credit for hotel stays. Your points earnings also gets a boost with Gold elite members earning 18 points per dollar spent at Hilton properties.
Plus, Hilton rewards you with generous milestone bonuses as you reach 20 nights and higher.
It’s easy to level up your elite status when you get approved for credit cards like American Express Platinum or American Express Business Platinum.
However, you can unlock Hilton Diamond status by holding the American Express Hilton Honors Aspire credit card, which gets you even better benefits, including a 100% points bonus, complimentary upgrades to executive suites, executive lounge access, and a lot more.
