What is Hotel Status?

Hotel status is the elite status gained from hotel reward programs. High status in a hotel chain can grant you standard upgraded rooms, late check-out, complimentary breakfast, and more. This status may seem complicated to obtain but in reality, is quite simple to attain with a multitude of simple methods.

Obtaining Hotel Status

There are multiple ways to obtain hotel status and both have their pros and cons. The first way is the most straightforward and is done by staying at the hotel a certain number of times in a calendar year. Below we will list some of the biggest hotel brands and the number of nights required to reach different levels of status in them. The second way and my preferred method are to get the corresponding hotel brand’s credit card. Often times this method can upgrade you to the hotel’s second or even the highest level of status right away, just for holding the card. This of course requires creating a new credit card which may not always be ideal, but in many situations can grant you thousands of dollars of value just from the status alone.

Hilton Honors

The Hilton umbrella includes many different brands including Hilton, Double Tree, Embassy suites, Waldorf Astoria, and more.

  • Silver: 5 nights.
  • Gold: 20 nights.
  • Diamond: 30 nights.

Every Hilton partnered credit card also grants the status listed below.

  • Hilton Honors American Express Card: Silver
  • Hilton Honors American Express Surpass Card: Gold
  • Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card: Diamond

World of Hyatt

The Hyatt chain includes Hyatt Regency, Miraval, Andaz, and many others. Hyatt uses a system of “base points” to determine status, these points can be accumulated through hotel stays.

  • Discoverist: 10 nights or 25,000 base points.
  • Explorist: 30 nights or 50,000 base points.
  • Globalist: 60 nights or 100,000 base points.
  • Lifetime Globalist: 1 million base points in total.

World of Hyatt only has one credit card named the “Visa World of Hyatt.” Holding the card gets you halfway to Discoverist due to its included five-night credits. You can also earn additional two-night credits for every $5,000 of spending put on the card.

Marriott Bonvoy

The Marriot chain has over 30 Different brands including Sheraton, Westin, and more.

  • Silver: 10 qualifying nights.
  • Gold: 25 qualifying nights.
  • Platinum: 50 qualifying nights.
  • Titanium: 75 qualifying nights.
  • Ambassador: 100 qualifying nights, plus spend $20,000 in qualifying Marriott purchases.

Marriot co-branded credit cards can give the Silver elite status by giving 15 free night credits as a built-in benefit. These cards include the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless and the Marriott Bonvoy Gold Credit Card.

IHG Rewards

IHG has over 15 different brands of hotels including Holiday Inn, InterContintel, Kimpton, and more. There are two ways to qualify for Elite Status in IHG first through nights stayed and second through qualifying points earned through hotel stays and credit card spending.

  • Silver: 10 nights.
  • Gold: 20 nights or 40,000 elite qualifying points.
  • Platinum: 40 nights or 60,000 elite qualifying points.
  • Diamond: 40 nights or 120,000 elite qualifying points.

The IHG Credit Cards also give a matching status listed below.

  • IHG Rewards Premier Credit Card: Platinum
  • IHG Rewards Premier Business Credit Card: Platinum
  • IHG Rewards Traveler Credit Card: Silver

Final Ways to Obtain Status

There are two other ways to obtain status other than the ones I have previously mentioned. The first is by holding regular luxury Travel cards which will often give you status in hotels and rental cars, examples of these cards include the Chase Saphire Reserve and Amex Platinum. The last method is status matches, which are the act of transferring a status in one chain into a comparable status in another chain. More about Status Matches in a future article.