Trip.com Diamond status quick earning strategy

If you haven't already, you can read my Trip.com loyalty program review.

I will summarize the criteria in the table below for the purposes of this post.

Platinum is basically activity-based loyalty, Diamond is both activity-based and spend-based, and Diamond+ a pure spend-based tier.

Why pursue higher tiers?

The short explanation is higher tiers get you more Trip Coins which are a form of cashback. If you're reading this post, I will explain how most of you can hit Platinum with one trip, if not Diamond in <4 trips.

The goal of hitting Diamond is for the tangible benefits listed in the table below that you can use.

• There is a Gold tier which any first-time purchase customer will reach, so I will not list that here.
• Platinum tier is really what you'll easily get to on the way to Diamond.
• There is also an invite-only Black Diamond tier that you cannot reach by following this post.

You can plug in your own valuation of each benefit which will vary based on region and how you like your time spent and on what. You may find the eSIM price low because you have not read my post on why you shouldn't bother to select eSIM providers.

All eSIM providers that sell you an eSIM after downloading a dedicated app are not going to be the best deal. App store fees take a cut of services purchased through an app, so it is not possible for them to lower margins beyond what Trip.com offers. If you haven't got an eSIM phone yet, learn how eSIM phones can save you money during travels.

Steps to reach Diamond quickly

This could easily be 1 trip booked end to end as a couple on Trip.com or 2 trips as a solo traveler.

1, Use Trip.Planner to manually plan or use AI to create an itinerary.

2, Purchase from the eligible booking types separately.

Flights can be 1-way or round-trip.

I will not list all the combinations of how you can get to 8 eligible bookings, but you can see from the sample below for a traveling couple how you can reach 8 eligible bookings with a likely USD 1000 minimum, getting you to Diamond tier. One way is to split eligible bookings up. This can be done for flights (easy booking separately) and hotels (more effort to pack and unpack).

Check the price of split tickets though as some airlines will actually charge you less when you fly as a couple.

As long as the booking is made through your account, it will count toward your eligible booking progress. This means you can book for family members or friends and still receive the "eligible booking" credit towards Platinum or Diamond tiers and the Trip Coins. You cannot book a child flight separately as a child must be accompanied by an adult.

Why everyone reaches Platinum

If for some reason you are solo and have no family or friends (with you), the 3 eligible bookings for Platinum is super easy.

• airport transfer, flight, airport transfer
• flight, insurance, airport transfer
• hotel, insurance, tour or car rental
• 1-way flight, hotel, 1-way flight
• hotel, car rental, hotel

As mentioned earlier, you can book 2 1-night hotel stays for it to count as 2 eligible bookings instead of 1 2-night hotel stay counting as 1 eligible booking. Traveling solo you might do this, versus hearing complaints from your fellow travelers on why not stay at 1 hotel for 2 nights.

FAQ

Is the Diamond process above the cheapest?

No, it's not the cheapest, but it is the fastest way to get to Diamond. As I mentioned in my Trip.com loyalty program review, airport transfers are not necessarily the cheapest. Hotels are typically among the best prices among other OTAs. Flights are sometimes cheaper than booking directly with the airline, and always a better booking experience on Trip.com than on low-cost airlines' websites.

After you reach Platinum or Diamond, hopefully some of the freebies such as lounge access will hopefully offset what higher price you paid in order to get to that tier.

Do eligible booking counts reset after reaching the next tier?

This is where I think the upgrade rules are confusing to most people.

Using Platinum's upgrade rule as an example: "3 eligible bookings within the tier validity period after reaching Gold", does not mean you need 3 eligible bookings AFTER the 1 eligible booking to reach Gold, which is a total of 4 eligible bookings. You will reach Platinum once you reach 3 eligible bookings. Not only have I confirmed this, but I can explain it via the eligible booking count coming in at separate times, which makes the count cumulative.

How long is Platinum, Diamond or Diamond+ tier valid for?

1 year after reaching it. There is no soft-landing policy, which means as a Diamond+ member, you will be downgraded to Gold and not Diamond.

If you are a Black Diamond member, the answer is "it depends" on which tier you will be downgraded to, or not at all. i.e. likely manual decisioning as to not burn bridges with a VIP customer.

Can you optimize Eligible Bookings for Trip Coin earning?

Yes, but the Trip Coin earning is minimal, and the goal of this post is to meet the eligible booking criteria quickly. Something to keep in mind:

3 eligible bookings does not grant you Platinum instantly

The tier upgrade rules are:

1. completing the activity - such as taken your flight or completing hotel check-out
2. getting the credit for the eligible booking - the time it takes varies between booking types and can be as quick as 1 day or as a long as 90 days.

Note that you do not earn Trip Coins for car rentals and airport transfers, however, they do count towards the eligible booking type for status. You can also pay for car rentals and airport transfers using Trip Coins.

As status is not granted instantly, there isn't a strong reason to try and maximize Trip Coin earn rates for Diamond tier for what is likely $1000 spend. Assume you are already

Gold with 1 eligible booking which means you get 20% more Trip Coins. You then buy a

• $500 cruise, resulting in 480 coins. (5 x 80) coins + 20% bonus.
• $500 cruise for another family member, resulting in meeting the criteria for Diamond, but it's still another 480 coins.
• Total is 960 coins or $9.60

Platinum with 6 eligible bookings which means you get 50% more Trip Coins. You then make the same separate $500 cruises, which qualifies you for Diamond (8 eligible purchases and over $1000)

• $1000 ($500 x 2) in cruises, results in (10 x 80) coins + 50% bonus.
• Total is 1200 coins or $12

Diamond already. You no longer need to make eligible bookings, so you just buy 2 x $500 cruises in one purchase.

• $1000 ($500 x 2) in cruises, results in (10 x 80) coins + 100% bonus.
• Total is 1600 coins or $16

By trying to maximize the number of Trip Coins, you get somewhere between $4 more ($16 - $12) or $6.4 more ($16 - $9.60), but you would also have to wait for the time required for the previous eligible bookings for your tier to take effect.

What else should you not do?

Do not do things out of sequence are you will experience a degraded purchase experience. Unlike some other OTAs, Trip.com offers the ability to purchase travel insurance.

• if you buy travel insurance after you purchase your flight, those details are automatically provided to the insurer so all you need to click is Add.

• if you buy travel insurance before you purchase your flight, you will have to manually fill in more insurance application details such as traveler information, when the flight is, the cost, etc. making the purchase painful.