I’ve written about how you can get Starwood Gold elite status with the AMEX Platinum Cards.
And now via Flyertalk, The Platinum Card from American Express, The Platinum Card® from American Express Exclusively for Mercedes-Benz, and The Business Platinum® Card from American Express OPEN have added Hilton Gold elite status to their already terrific list of benefits.
With Hilton Gold elite status you get free breakfast at some hotels, room upgrades, and late check-out. You’ll also earn a 25% bonus on base points earned for paid stays.
I’ll explain how to get Hilton Gold elite status and what you’ll get with this status upgrade.
How to Get Hilton Gold Status With Your AMEX Platinum Card
Link: The Platinum Card® from American Express
Link: The Business Platinum® Card from American Express OPEN
Link: American Express® Mercedes-Benz Platinum
Link: Register for Hilton Gold Status
With the AMEX Platinum personal and small business cards you can earn 40,000 AMEX Membership Rewards points (50,000 AMEX Membership Rewards points with the American Express Mercedes-Benz Platinum) when you complete the minimum spending.
And you get lots of great perks like:
- Up to a $200 airline incidental fee credit each year with an airline you choose (to receive the statement credit, you must select a qualifying airline)
- Airport lounge access (Delta, Priority Pass, and American Express Centurion Lounges)
- $100 statement credit for Global Entry or $85 statement credit for TSA PreCheck
- Terms & limitations apply
Now, you can add Hilton Gold elite status to the list of perks.
This card comes with a $450 annual fee ($475 for the Mercedes-Benz version), but the airline credit makes this an effective $250 annual fee.
To get Hilton Gold elite status with your AMEX Platinum card, you’ll need to register online.
It’s easy to sign-up. Just enter your American Express log-in information.
Then enter your Hilton account number.
It could take up to 72 hours for your membership to be processed. You should receive an email from Hilton confirming your new Gold elite status.
Authorized users are also eligible to receive Hilton Gold elite status, but they’ll need to call the number on the back of their card to sign-up.
What Do You Get With Hilton Gold Elite Status?
Link: Hilton Gold Elite Status Benefits
With Hilton Gold status you’ll get perks such as:
- Free breakfast (at certain hotels)
- The 5th night free on award stays of 5 consecutive nights or more
- Upgraded rooms (at some hotels) when available
- 25% bonus on base Hilton points earned for paid stays
- Late check-out
- Gym access
You can also choose between a welcome gift or bonus points which varies based on your hotel. For example, at Waldorf Astoria hotels, you get room upgrades when space is available. And you get a free in-room movie OR 1,000 Hilton bonus points.
Hilton points are worth ~0.5 cents each. So 1,000 Hilton bonus points are worth ~$5 towards your next stay.
This most valuable perk you get with Hilton Gold status is free breakfast. This is a great deal for anyone who has plans to stay at certain Hilton hotels because breakfast alone could save you ~$20 or more per day.
While this certainly adds value to the AMEX Platinum cards, these cards come with a hefty annual fee, so I wouldn’t sign-up just to earn Hilton Gold elite status.
That’s because you also get Hilton Gold status for a much lower annual fee with the AMEX Hilton Honors Surpass and Citi Hilton HHonors Reserve cards.
With Hilton Gold status, you could save Hilton points with the 5th night free on award stays of 5 consecutive nights or more. But keep in mind, you’ll also get this perk with Hilton Silver status.
And you can get Hilton Silver status (without an annual fee) with cards like the Hilton Honors Card from American Express and Citi Hilton HHonors Visa Signature Card!
Bottom Line
The AMEX Platinum personal, Mercedes-Benz, and small business cards have added Hilton Gold elite status as a new benefit.
With Hilton Gold elite status you’ll get free breakfast at certain Hilton hotels (worth ~$20 per person per day), bonus points, the 5th night free on award stays of 5+ nights, and more!
I wouldn’t sign-up for the AMEX Platinum cards just to get free breakfast because these cards come with a hefty annual fee of $450 to $475. But it’s a nice bonus if you already have the card.
And you can get Hilton Gold elite status with the AMEX Hilton Surpass and Citi Hilton HHonors Reserve which also have smaller annual fees.
However, the AMEX Platinum cards come with lots of other excellent perks and this is a great way to save money at Hilton hotels.