It's pretty common in the travel world to see alliances between airlines and hotels when it comes to earning miles and points; a few points exchanged here and there among giants is an easy way to keep brand loyalty and momentum among the masses.

Normal earnings, however, are almost always limited to redeemable miles -- that is, mileage earned won't count towards elite status or any tiered thresholds that the airline or hotel measures you against over the course of the year.

With this new promotion between Delta and Hilton, however, that's different. Now, any stay at a Hilton property will earn the traveler upwards of 1000 Elite Qualifying Miles (EQM), which means that you can earn part of your elite status on Delta without even flying. While these miles are only limited to 10k over the promotion period, this could be a good way to top up a few extra miles to reach 25k or 50k miles before year's end -- and you can do it without suffering the loss of leg room.

Sign up for the promo over at Hilton and don't forget to make Delta your earnings partner.

[via Gary at View from the Wing]
[flickr photo via ..colb..]

Filed under: Hotels and Accommodations, Airlines, Airports