Beginning Jan. 1, Hilton HHonors will allow base points to count toward Gold MVP and Diamond MVP status. Members with 60,000 base points will get to Gold; those with 100,000 base points will achieve Platinum. Since 10 base points are awarded per dollar spent during qualifying stays, you’re looking at an outlay of $6,000 to reach elite status.

Of course, the old method of reaching the higher tiers through nights and stays alone is still in effect. Four stays or 10 nights earns Silver, 16 stays or 36 nights earns Gold and 28 stays or 60 nights earns Platinum.

In another welcome addition, HHonors will now allow reward stays, and dollars spent during those reward stays, to count toward elite status.

Of course, these developments come on the heels of some other program changes, including a restructuring of the hotel awards. Long-time readers know that “restructuring” is often industry-speak for “devaluation,” and, in fact, there is a little of that here.

In essence, the standard hotel categories of Opportunity, Executive, Select, Classic and Premium will give way to Levels 1-5, effective for awards redeemed after June 1. This is a bit more than a name change, though: As you might expect, there will be more hotels in the highest category and fewer in the lowest.

Also beginning Jan. 1, you’ll find that your HHonors points don’t translate into AAdvantage miles quite as well as they once did. Conversion of airline miles into HHonors points is, with the exception of Virgin flying club and LanChile, a 10,000 point to 1,500 mile conversion (500 miles less than usual for AAdvantage).