Hilton made a surprise announcement back in May that the Honors Gold and Diamond member continental breakfast benefit for two is removed from July until the end of 2021 at the US hotels.
Gold and Diamond members are instead eligible for a Daily Food & Beverage Credit, and the amount is brand and location-specific per the table below.
You can access Hilton here.
READ MORE: Hilton Honors Rate & Bonus Points And Miles Promotions
The Credit Amounts:
The high-cost markets are New York, Los Angeles County, San Francisco, Chicago, Boston, DC, and Hawaii.
Statement from the Hilton spokesperson in May:
As restrictions loosen and vaccination rates increase, once-grounded travelers are jumping at the chance to reconnect with loved ones and hit the road (or air) again. As Hilton welcomes guests back this summer, Hilton Honors is excited to launch a new Daily Food & Beverage Credit for Elite members. Please see information below.
- Showcasing its commitment to providing more flexibility, value and choice for its more than 115 million members, Hilton Honors is launching a Daily Food & Beverage Credit for Gold and Diamond members beginning in early July through the end of 2021, at all luxury, full-service, lifestyle, and Hilton Garden Inn properties in the U.S.
- These brand categories include Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts, LXR Hotels & Resorts, Conrad Hotels & Resorts, Canopy by Hilton, Signia by Hilton, Hilton Hotels & Resorts, Curio Collection by Hilton, Tapestry Collection by Hilton, DoubleTree by Hilton and Motto by Hilton.
- Hilton Honors Gold and Diamond members can utilize the daily credit towards food or beverage purchases any time of day, replacing the existing Elite Status benefit of complimentary Continental Breakfast.
- The Daily F&B Credit will range in value, depending on the brand and location.
Clarifications from the spokesperson in May:
You won’t have a choice between breakfast or this daily credit
Beginning in July, the Daily F&B Credit will replace the continental breakfast MyWay benefit option for the relevant hotel brands in the U.S. For instance, a Gold member will have the choice of the credit or Hilton Honors Points.
The credit is for up to two registered guests:
The Daily F&B Credit is provided to the Hilton Honors member and one additional registered guest each day.
Breakfasts are still good at Hilton Hotels outside of the US!
Fabulous Friday: Hilton Hotels In The Nordics
Conclusion
The change benefits those that don’t eat breakfast or can expense it and then use the credit for other items.
Breakfast is one of the most profitable F&B products for hotels, as it is cheap to provide, and most business travelers can expense it.
You can only hope that this is a temporary change and not a permanent one. It wouldn’t surprise me if Hilton later announces that this has been a great success and made permanent for the US hotels that are full of elite members due to cobranded credit cards. I would hate to see this rolled out globally.
Breakfast is the most significant elite member benefit for many, and it would be sad to see it watered down.
$25 can perhaps get you a cup of coffee and a toast at luxury properties. You need to remember always make the reservation for two to get the maximum benefit out of this,
Hilton Gold members should not get free breakfast. The lounges are overcapacity filled with med tier members.
Agreed.
The statuses shouldn’t be shared with credit cards at least without a good amount of minimum spend. That should solve the over capacity issues.
There seems to be a typo here. I think “toast” not roast is intended.
$25 can perhaps get you a cup of coffee and a roast at luxury properties.
Yeah. I had to quickly write this up on an Uber to the airport. $25 definitely won’t get you a roast at a luxury hotel!
I forgot to type the larger point- this is awful. I just stayed at a Garden inn in South Carolina and the breakfast was $13 plus tax and tip. $10 is a slap in the face.
Question is which brand counts as full service and which is lifestyle one?
Question is which brand counts as full service and which is lifestyle one?
I guess my biggest disappointment with Hilton’s “commitment to providing more flexibility”
is that they are doing it at the expense of loyal customers. I earned my Lifetime Diamond status
the hard way (booked and stayed in Hilton properties for many years) and enjoyed my mornings,
which always started off with planning my day over a nice breakfast. I am disappointed that
my loyalty to Hilton is being reduced to a $15/day use-it-or-lose-it voucher that won’t likely
cover the cost of my breakfast at the hotel. I do agree with the previous commenter that Hilton
should consider differentiating benefits not just by tier but also by how they were obtained.
Somehow loyalty seems to have gotten lost in Hilton’s quest for “elite$.”
While I agree with your sentiment, differentiating based on how obtained is not realistic/practical. I doubt front desks even have that info and I don’t think AMEX would support a second/lower tier within each elite status.
Is very strange. I received $15 that was not enough to buy 1 brioche and one cup of American coffee. This things are so less that used to consume at Hilton breakfast. I couldn’t understand why the restaurant were completly open for everyone who could pay…
Travel to the Bonnet Creek Orlando Florida Waldorf & Hilton properties (attached properties) as a lifetime Diamond was perfect. The Waldorf side has always provided free Continental breakfast for me and a guest. The Hilton side which is now the new Signia Hilton, has always provided a cumulative F&B credit. The great thing was that you could use the Hilton credit at the fantastic Bull & Bear restaurant at the Waldorf property, or even use the F&B credit for lunch/drinks by the lazy river. The reason was always that the Hilton (Signia) was more of a conference hotel and always provided continental breakfast for the conferences. As these properties Do Not have an executive lounge this was a perfect solution. Will never be able to cover breakfast now with the F&B credit and if no longer cumulative goodbye dining at the Bull & Bear. Don’t like the change.