Hilton’s corporate status challenge program, which we introduced back in February, seems to be having a glitch, and this time it allows virtually anyone to upgrade straight to Gold status!
As a reminder, Hilton offers fast-track status challenges to employees of selected large corporations, with both Gold and Diamond versions available. In theory, you’re supposed to verify your eligibility using a corporate email address, but in practice the Gold version even accepts a regular QQ email address.
As we mentioned last time, QQ Mail is a popular public mail service provider in China, backed by Tencent which is the same company behind Wechat. You may try creating an account here and log-in via Wechat seems possible.
Once verified, you’ll immediately receive a 90-day Hilton Gold trial. During that period:
- Stay 5 nights to retain Gold status
- Stay 10 nights to upgrade to Diamond
Successfully completing the challenge extends your status through March 2028.
Hilton Gold is still one of the most valuable mid-tier hotel statuses around, thanks to benefits such as complimentary breakfast for two, room upgrades. Many generous properties also extend executive lounge access for free.
That said, this is almost certainly a bug. Based on Hilton’s track record (Gmail was accepted in February), there’s a chance they could later revoke the status. My advice would be to simply enjoy the complimentary 90 days of Gold while it lasts, rather than worrying too much about completing the challenge.
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