Hotel Elite Status Explained – Marriott, Hilton, IHG, & Hyatt

All information about American Express Hilton Honors Aspire Card has been collected independently by MilitaryMoneymanual.com

This is a guest post from Camouflage Perks. Follow Chelsey on Instagram @Camouflage.Perks to learn more about military travel benefits, especially for military spouses!

Hotel status is a reward program designed to benefit and increase loyalty with guests who frequent a hotel brand. These benefits increase as your business with the hotel increases.

Hotels want your loyalty and will reward you with great perks ranging from upgraded rooms to dinning credits.

Hotel status can be very helpful for military families especially during PCS’s, TDY’s, vacations or visiting family back home.

You can skip a lot of the hassle of earning hotel elite status by holding the right credit cards. Check out the best hotel credit cards to learn how to maximize your military benefits on these cards.

Why You Want Hotel Status in the Military

When you earn elite hotel status you will have a more enjoyable hotel experience, accumulate rewards points quicker and save money. Each hotel rewards program has small differences but are structured very similarly. We’ll cover Hilton, Hyatt, IHG & Marriott, the most prominent four programs in the U.S.

All four programs are free to join as a basic member. As your business with the hotel group increases so does your status, the perks you enjoy & how many points you earn per dollar.

As a basic member you will enjoy a discounted members rate when booking directly with the hotel and free Wi-Fi. Joining the programs is very quick and easy. You simply create an account on the hotels home page and they’ll also notify you of additional ways to earn more points or even free nights. 

Save Money on Hotel Stays

There are many ways that hotel status can save you money during your stay, depending on the program and the status tier that you hold. Upon your arrival to the hotel you may be greeted with a welcome gift and free bottles of water.

You may also receive free breakfast, a dinning credit, and a discount to the spa or other amenities that aren’t included in the stay. If you are staying at the hotel on points, your status can earn you the fifth night for free or waive the parking and resort fees. These savings can easily add up when traveling with family or at a nice hotel. 

Better Hotel Stays

You’ll start to feel like royalty when you stay at a hotel with status. You can check in early, receive access to their exclusive club lounges with free food and drinks or even receive a complementary upgrade to a suite.

Knowing you’ll never want to leave, they also grant late check out, some even 24 hours after check in time. You’ll also enjoy a dedicated travel ambassador and a guaranteed room if you book within your status tiers range (typically between 24-72 hours.)

How to Earn Hotel Elite Status

There is a handful of ways to earn hotel status. For military families earning hotel status can be very easy. Joining hotel reward programs are free and easy. I would recommend being a basic member to all the major hotel brands, so you can at least enjoy the discounted room rates and earn points if you happen to stay there. Just remember to focus on earning higher status with the brands you enjoy staying at the most, since the benefits only occur during hotel stays. 

Meeting the Minimum Stay Requirements

The traditional way to earn status with hotels is just to stay there. For every night or stay completed, you get credit towards earning or increasing your status. The requirement varies by hotel brand and status tier. The range is usually between 5 and 100 nights. Many programs will count stays on points or even nights paid for by the military towards status. 

Credit Card with Hotel Elite Status

The fastest way to earn hotel status is to open a credit card that automatically earns you status. Each hotel brand offers a suite of cards with status as well as the popular American Express Platinum card.

Just by opening a card, you can unlock all the perks of status instantly and enjoy a free night certificate every year. To learn about all of the perks available from cards, you can get a four-page guide right to your email here from me!

Best card for Hilton Elite status:

American Express Hilton Honors Aspire Card
Learn how to apply on our partner's secure site

• $550 annual fee *See more details about American Express protections for you and your spouse 
• Complimentary Diamond Status at all Hilton brands (suite upgrades, breakfast, check in gifts, etc)
• 175,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points welcome offer after $6,000 of eligible purchases in the first 6 months offers
• 1 weekend night reward after opening your account and every year on renewal
• $400 Hilton Resort Credit – $200 each semi-annual period
• $200 airline fee credit – Earn up to $50 statement credit each quarter
• $189 Clear Credit
• 14x Hilton Honors Bonus Points at Hilton properties
• No foreign transaction fees
• The information and associated card details on this page for the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card has been collected independently by Military Money Manual and has not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
• Full review of Amex Aspire card, terms apply
• All information about American Express Hilton Honors Aspire Card has been collected independently by MilitaryMoneymanual.com

Best Card for Hyatt status:

The World of Hyatt Credit Card
Learn how to apply on our partner's secure site

• Earn 30,000 Bonus Points after you spend $3,000 on purchases in your first 3 months from account opening.
• Plus, up to 30,000 More Bonus Points by earning 2 Bonus Points total per $1 spent in the first 6 months from account opening on purchases that normally earn 1 Bonus Point, on up to $15,000 spent
• Hyatt rooms start at just 5000 points, so you could earn 6 nights with just the welcome bonus
• 1 free night at any category 1-4 Hyatt hotel every year you keep the card open
• Earn ANOTHER free night at category 1-4 hotel when you spend $15,000 on the card in a year
• Cardholders get World of Hyatt Discoverist status (Level 2/4) just for having the card, as long as the account is open
• $95 Annual fee waived for US military personnel and spouses with Chase MLA policy
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Best Card for IHG Status

IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card
Learn how to apply on our partner's secure site

• $99 annual fee waived for US military according to Chase MLA policy
• Earn 140,000 Bonus Points after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening
• Enjoy a Reward Night after each account anniversary year at eligible IHG hotels worldwide. Plus, enjoy a fourth reward night free when you redeem points for a consecutive four-night IHG^® hotel stay.
• Earn up to 26 total points per $1 spent when you stay at an IHG hotel
• Earn 5 points per $1 spent on purchases on travel, gas stations, and restaurants. Earn 3 points per $1 spent on all other purchases
• Automatic Platinum Elite status as long as you remain a Premier cardmember
• Global Entry, TSA PreCheck® or NEXUS Statement Credit of up to $100 ($120 starting 10/1/24) every 4 years as reimbursement for the application fee charged to your card
• IHG Rewards bonus points are redeemable at hotels such as InterContinental®, Crowne Plaza®, Kimpton®, EVEN® Hotels, Indigo® Hotels & Holiday Inn®
• No foreign transaction fees – essential for international travel

Best Card for Marriott Status

Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant^® American Express^® Card
Learn how to apply on our partner's secure site

• $650 Annual Fee* See details about American Express protections for you and your spouse 
• Earn 95,000 Marriott Bonvoy® bonus points after you use your new Card to make $6,000 in purchases within the first 6 months of Card Membership.
• Each calendar year, get up to $300 (up to $25 per month) in statement credits for eligible purchases made on the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card at restaurants worldwide.
• Upgrade and enhance your views when available at select properties with Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Elite status, when booked with a Qualifying Rate.
• Earn 6X Marriott Bonvoy® points for each dollar of eligible purchases at hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy® program.
• 3X Marriott Bonvoy® points at restaurants worldwide and on flights booked directly with airlines.
• 2X Marriott Bonvoy® points on all other eligible purchases made on the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card.
• Enjoy a night away when you receive 1 Free Night Award every year after your Card renewal month. Free night can be used for one night (redemption level at or under 85,000 Marriott Bonvoy points) at hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy®. (Certain hotels have resort fees)
• Get rewarded each calendar year after spending $60,000 on eligible purchases on your Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card. Select one Brilliant Earned Choice Award benefit per calendar year. See https://www.choice-benefit.marriott.com/brilliant for Award options.
• Elevate your stay when you receive up to a $100 property credit for qualifying charges at The Ritz-Carlton® or St. Regis® when you book direct using a special rate for a two-night minimum stay using your Card.
• Save time traveling with either a statement credit every 4 years after you apply for Global Entry ($120) or a statement credit every 4.5 years after you apply for a five-year membership for TSA PreCheck® (up to $85 through a TSA PreCheck official enrollment provider) and pay the application fee with your Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card. If approved for Global Entry, at no additional charge, you will receive access to TSA PreCheck.
• Receive 25 Elite Night Credits toward the next level of Marriott Bonvoy® Elite status each calendar year with your Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card. (Limitations apply per Marriott Bonvoy member account. Benefit is not exclusive to Cards offered by American Express.)
• Lounge Access! Enroll in Priority Pass™ Select, which offers unlimited airport lounge visits to over 1,200 lounges in over 130 countries, regardless of which carrier or class you are flying. Escape the busy airport and enjoy snacks, drinks, and internet access in a quiet, comfortable location.
• No Foreign Transaction Fees on international purchases.
• Terms Apply.

The Platinum Card^® from American Express will get you Gold status with Marriott & Hilton! Once you receive the card, you can enroll for the benefit in the app and link your hotel membership numbers to get started. It’s easy to forget some of the benefits from the Amex Platinum since there are so many, here’s a checklist I made to guide you through them.

Hotel Matching Status

Once you have hotel status with one hotel brand, you can often get your status matched with other brands to win over your business. These matches typically require you to submit proof of status and then stay a number of nights to earn the similar status with the new brand.

Each hotel program varies in requirements and how frequently you can match within their program. Be sure to read the instructions carefully. You will want to status match when it will have the most impact, typically when you’re going to be in hotels a lot.

This could be a long PCS or TDY or a year you will be traveling frequently. Many programs will grant you your new status for the rest of the current year and the year following. After that, you will need to maintain your status based on a credit card or number of nights stayed. 

Hilton Status Match Hilton will match from any other program but only matches once per account for a lifetime. It’s also important to note that if you already have Gold status they won’t allow you to participate in the match. 

Marriott Status Match – Marriott currently does a targeted status match. To see if you qualify, you can reach out via email or chat. You will not be able to enjoy the perks of the status you are trying to achieve until you finish the status match requirements. They also partner with United Airlines and will status match if you hold status with United. Airline status is typically much more challenging to receive. 

Best Western Status Match They’ll match everyone with no catch. Best Western isn’t my favorite, but in the military, you don’t always get to pick where you stay, so you might as well make the most of it. 

Hyatt Status Match The Hyatt match is also a targeted offer, but lucky for us anyone with a military email is eligible to participate. Hyatt is notoriously challenging to earn their highest tiers even from a credit card! The best part is they let you enjoy your targeted status during the timeframe you’re trying to complete the fast track. You will want to time your fast track similarly to a status match to get the most benefits. You can participate in the match once every three years.

Hotel Lifetime Status

Three major hotel groups offer lifetime status to honor their most loyal guests. The requirements range from a set number of stays, money spent or holding status for a certain amount of time.

Once you achieve lifetime status you won’t have to worry about qualifying every year thru stays or a credit card. Lifetime status offers the same perks as their regular status tier but usually comes with a fancy card or gift. During your military service you can likely qualify for lifetime status by opening the right card or focusing most of your stays at one hotel brand. 

Hilton Lifetime Elite Status

You can achieve Lifetime Diamond Status by holding Diamond status for 10 years and either stay 1,000 nights or earn 2 million base points.

To earn 2 million base points, you would need to spend $200,000 at Hilton hotels. Staying 1,000 nights is usually the way to go but it’ll take a while since that’s almost 3 years of hotel living. The good news is that award stays count towards the requirement. 

Hyatt Lifetime Globalist Status

Earning Lifetime Globalist status is the most challenging. You need to earn 1 million base points by spending $200,000 at Hyatt. There are not work arounds and not even award nights will help you get there.

Hyatt’s smaller quantity of hotels can make it harder to accumulate nights on the governments dime. If you are lucky enough to stay at Hyatt though, you’ll need to stay around 100 nights a year for the full 20 years to earn lifetime status. 

Marriott Lifetime Elite Status

If lifetime status is your goal, Marriott is the easiest brand for attaining that status. They offer lifetime status at varying tiers instead of just the highest tier. You can attain their lowest lifetime status Silver by staying 250 nights or by holding Silver (or higher) status for 5 years. As you achieve a higher status and stay more nights, you can earn lifetime status in a higher tier. 

Earning hotel status can be very lucrative for military families to save money and have a more enjoyable experience during every stay. You can earn and enjoy the perks on the governments dime or during your leave. There are so many ways to get started earning status, so get to it!

Chelsey is a military spouse who shares military travel benefits and perks. She has a degree in hotel management and loves hotel hopping on vacation. You can catch her adventures and tips on Instagram @Camouflage.Perks