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My wife and I are both currently a Hilton Diamond but we did not re-qualify for 2023. We still have our old status until the end of March due to COVID era extensions. I will miss Hilton top status but have not been overly impressed with Hilton’s program changes as of late so no huge loss.
But what I did jump on was the chance to status match my Hilton Diamond status to MSC Diamond Status before it was too late. It is so simple to do and the Link to match is here.
All you have to do is take a screen shot of your Hilton status page and then upload that to MSC to be given 10,000 points that equates to Diamond with the cruise line. The perks are many as you can see here on the MSC website.
Not a Hilton top elite? Here is a link to a PDF from MSC with all the programs (hotel, cruise line and others) that you can use to submit a match from.
Another one many have that will also yield top Diamond MSC status is Hyatt Globalist. You only have till the end of February to get that match done – again if your Hyatt status is about to expire this year.
Once matched all you have to do it sail at least once every 3 years with MSC to retain your status and that should not be a problem for Frequent Floaters! I think this is a brilliant move by MSC to quickly build a US fan base as they move to expand in the US market. – René
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Thanks! On this.
MSC has given status matches and even status for sailing a lot with them. Sadly they have an expiration to status which other lines don’t. My wife and I sailed a LOT with MSC about 6+ year ago and had top status because of many days, Yacht Club bookings but I wasn’t aware they would expire that status. We jumped over to Carnival, Celebrity for some cruises over a few years and when I went back to book MSC the status was gone and so was most of my loyalty. I LOVE cruising MSC but their status expiration policy is really dumb.
I did a status match a few years ago when it was matching other cruise ship companies. I am Elite with Princess and so signed on with MSC using my Elite card as proof. However, I came to find out that I still had to pay for internet and laundry. Both of these things were free at the time on Princess. For me, it wasn’t such a good deal.
I matched last year and Hilton Diamond was given MSC Gold. How did you get Diamond status?
@Bankerguy – Per the current charts (see link in post) Hilton Diamonds get MSC Diamond.
There are definitely issues that can make MSC a bad choice for a lot of reasons. However even if you find that MSC is not a good fit for long cruises, the benefits make their 3 day cruise to Ocean Cay one of the best cruises you can take.
After reading your article yesterday I submitted my Hilton Diamond credentials and received an email a few hours later with a MSC number and Diamond status. I’ve never taken an MSC cruise, but I’m tempted to try a short 3 or 5 day cruise out of MIA in Yacht Club to try them out. The perks that come with Diamond status make the trial trip a bit more appealing.
@DLPTATL – Well done and congrats!
Thank you for the reminder Rene.
Thanks to you, I took my first Norwegian cruise last Dec and loved it! Was on the Gem transatlantic.
Was also thinking about MSC for this year but have been on the fence based on what I’ve read on forums about their customer service and IT issues.
@MW – Thrilled you like NCL! Yeah I am cautiously optimistic about my upcoming MSC sailing.
Can’t wait to read all about it. Happy sailing and thanks again for everything you and Chris do for all of us.
@MW – Our pleasure and privilege!