Speedrun Your Way to Meaningful Elite Status for Each Major Hotel Chain with These Shortcuts

My favorite travel tips and hacks are the ones that help everyday folks get meaningful value with minimal effort. To that end, I wanted to publish a short piece identifying the fastest ways to get meaningful status with some major hotel loyalty programs. Having elite status with a hotel loyalty program can net you some pretty nifty benefits for your stays, including early check-in/late checkout options, room upgrades, complimentary breakfast, free parking and more. If you've ever coveted 'elite status' with a hotel chain to enhance your future stays, this article is for you. This assumes you're starting from zero across the board and don't already have existing status with another hotel or airline that will let you match your status. Let's jump into it. 

Marriott

Platinum elite status is the first tier providing complimentary breakfast and room upgrades. Here's what it offers:

Normally, you'd need to stay 50 nights with Marriott to reach this mark. You can alternatively:

Request a status challenge from Marriott to stay 16 nights in 90 days: If you have upcoming travel and can fit in 16 nights in 90 days (or technically more than 90 days as the counter starts at the end of the month in which you signed up), you'll be granted platinum status for the current year, and the entire following year. Thus, if you were to complete your 16 days in February, you'll get status from now until the end of February 2027.

Take out the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant American Express Card: You will receive complimentary Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Elite status with this credit card, and the benefits are solid. However, note that it does come with a $650 Annual Fee.

Hilton

Diamond Status is top-tier with Hilton, though Gold will afford you some solid benefits, including complimentary breakfast or a food and beverage credit. Here are the Hilton Benefits by tier. Gold and Diamond, to me, are the sole tiers where the benefits are valuable.

Usually you'd need to stay 40 nights at Hilton properties for Gold but you can skip all that by:

Having a Diamond member gift you Gold status: Hilton allows Diamond members to gift Gold status to another Hilton member. If you know a Hilton Diamond member who has yet to gift their status, that is a good place to start. 

Take out one of the many Hilton Card affording Gold or Diamond status as a card benefit: 

The following cards offer Hilton Gold Status just for being a cardholder:

• The Hilton Honors Business Card offers Gold Status and comes with a $195 annual fee.
• Hilton Honors American Express Surpass Card -  Gold - $150
• The Platinum Card from American Express - Gold - $695 
• The Business Platinum Card from American Express - Gold - $695 

The following card offers Diamond status just for being a cardholder:

• Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card - Diamond - $550

Hyatt 

Hyatt is a fan-favorite loyalty program for points and miles enthusiasts, though you will need top-tier Globalists for the best status perks. Upgrades, complimentary breakfast, and lounge access can be had with Globalist status - a milestone requiring 60 nights. Here's a look at Hyatt's elite benefits chart:

That said, between Hyatt's milestone program and the ability to gift Hyatt awards to other members, Globalist may not be worth it if you don't travel frequently (<1-2 trips a year). For those intent on chasing it, here are your best options:

Request a status challenge: Similar to the Marriott challenge discussed above, Hyatt, from time to time, will offer published status challenges for allowing members to attain Globalist status if they can stay as many as 20 nights in a 60 or 90-day period. At the time of this writing, only an exclusive challenge is available to employees of specific corporations. Still, it may not be the worst idea to email Hyatt's support and ask if you can get your own challenge. The worst they can say is 'no.' If unsuccessful, monitor for the next publicly available Hyatt status challenge.

Jam stays into a double elite night promotional period: Once annually, on average, Hyatt runs a promotion offering double elite night credits for stays completed during a given promotional period (60 days or 90 days). There isn't a current double elite night deal going on right now, but if you register for one becomes available and can pack your Hyatt nights into the promotional period, you'll only need 30 nights (assuming you're starting from zero) to get Globalist. If you're a nomad, remote worker, or otherwise able to stitch together enough nights, you can earn top-tier Hyatt status with half the effort. 

IHG

IHG is wild as Diamond Elite, the only status tier offering complimentary breakfast and room upgrades, requires 70 nights. 

There isn't a way to get Diamond Elite quickly at this time, but you have a multitude of options for achieving Platinum, the tier just below, which comes with these benefits. Here's a look at IHG's tiers and benefits:

Look out for a Status Challenge: Similar to Marriott and Hyatt, IHG occasionally offers status challenges to the general public. For example, in 2023, there was a 5-night 'Fast Track to Platinum' Challenge that, if successfully completed, granted Platinum status for a year. 

There's no public challenge now, so this is one to monitor for the future. 

Take out 1 of 2 IHG Credit Cards: Both the IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card and the IHG One Rewards Premier Business Credit Card offers complimentary Platinum status for a reasonable $99 fee. 

Purchase the Intercontinental Ambassador Program: IHG's Int. Specifically at Intercontinental properties, you receive: 

• Guaranteed one-category room upgrade
• Guaranteed extended 4 pm check-out
• Complimentary weekend night*
• Platinum Elite status in IHG® One Rewards and the corresponding benefits
• Restaurants & bars credit of up to USD20 for every stay*
• Complimentary mineral water
• Complimentary internet
• Dedicated check-in area
• Single room rate for double occupancy
• Mainland China Only: Complimentary breakfast for one each night you stay

I hope you zeroed in on the fourth bullet point above. You'll also receive Platinum Elite status across complimentary, which is recognized at all participating IHG hotels. 

Conclusion

There are several ways to speed up your way to meaningful hotel status, and it's really a matter of balancing cost, convenience, and effort. If you plan to move for elite status in 2025, I'd love to know in the comments. 

In part 2, we'll handle Airlines status!