Some folks kept the status after signing up. Others had Hilton take it away. Some had Hilton say they were taking it away, but the status remained…

The Fatwallet discussion of this deal suggests that it still works (by phone only, no longer online). Naturally, your mileage may vary.

New accounts instantly receive Gold status, hearsay suggests the promo will only last through January 31 and that status will last until April 2009 (I would have expected April 2008, but Hilton status sometimes just lasts awhile).

Some promos have worked out well in the past. Others, like the Citibank Chairman’s offer for Gold status, have prompted Hilton to revoke the status when used by folks not actually eligible for the offer. (I know of some folks that got the letter revoking their gold status, and yet the status mysteriously remained.)

So, as with so many of these things, your mileage may vary…

It’s a code meant for Citibank Chairman’s Card credit card holders, but Hilton apparently made no effort to restrict up front who could use it.

It isn’t even just a situation of a secret promo code that got out. I called Hilton one day and the promo code was mentioned in the voice tree without even reference to the Citibank Chairman’s Card.

Now, however, Hilton is haphazardly going through their records and demoting the status of people who signed up using the code. I say haphazardly because some people who were eligible for the promotion (they had the Citibank Chairmans Card) were downgraded, and others who were not eligible still retained their status. What’s more, people are finding themselves checking into hotels only to learn of their new status — Hilton hasn’t apparently made efforts to notify members of the change.

Especially bizarre is that it still seems relatively easy to take advantage of the glitch, Hilton’s efforts to downgrade accounts notwithstanding. You can apparently still enroll online with this promotion, I imagine your account would be started at the Gold level.

What should Hilton have done? (Besides not put a promo code they don’t want public on their main voice tree, I mean!)

• They should have a list from Citibank of those that are eligible.
  

• They should run their database of Gold ugprades/new accounts against that list.
  

• Where there’s no match they should contact the member and let them know they’re having trouble verifying eligibility, and give the member 60 or 90 days to provide verification.

I don’t have a problem with downgrading status for people who signed up for a promo they weren’t eligible for (though it seems like members who learned about the promo from Hilton’s 800 number should be considered eligible).

But they really should handle this differently.

By the way, for those downgraded who don’t want to open a new account with the link above and merge it with an existing account, here’s a fast track to Gold offer which requires just 6 stays in 90 days.

And for anyone who thinks I’m giving away state secrets here … both the instant gold and fastrack offers come up in the top half of the first page when Googling “Hilton HHonors Gold VIP”.

Our new eCheck-In service allows you to have the convenience and control to complete your registration the day before or up to two hours before you plan to arrive.

The idea is similar to picking a seat assignment on a plane, you should be able to see what room you’re blocked into and choose a different room if you prefer. It should even process upgrades.

This is going to be interesting to watch.

Hat tip to Free Frequent Flyer Miles.

You need to be a National Car Rental Emerald Club member, you can join with the $50 fee waived here.

It turns out that there’s a website where you can enroll with HHonors Gold status online. No phone call required!

If you’re an existing HHonors member you still have to call with the promotion code to get the status… or you could open a new account with Gold and then merge the two. Once you’ve created the new account, log in online, choose ‘member services,’ and select ‘combine multiple accounts.’ Add your existing account into your new Gold one.

This seems to work for most folks, and provides or extends Gold status instantly.

The promotion is apparently with Citibank, with elite HHonors membership offered to Citibank members with special Chairmans status of some kind. However, the promotion code is currently mentioned in the main recording on the Hilton 800 number so it really isn’t a secret. This is likely just a mistake on Hilton’s part to publicize it this way.

Some folks report problems signing up for the promotion, with representatives saying you need a letter from Citibank or asking whether you have a Citibank credit card, so your mileage may vary on the offer. If asked how you heard about the promotion you can honestly say “from the recording when I just dialed your 800 number.”

Update: CTCH worked perfectly well for me, and for folks who’ve left comments. Some people report on the Flyertalk.com thread that CTCH is technically for new Hilton HHonors members, and that CTCG is for current members. So if CTCH gives you difficulty with your existing account, you can ask for CTCG instead. Or if all else fails, open a new account with CTCH and merge it with your existing one.