Hotel Rewards and Loyalty Programs

[dboy84]

There are many hotel groups such as IHG, Accor, Ascott, Marriot and etc that offer attractive rewards and loyalty programs.

 

Which hotel loyalty program(s) do you subscribe to? Mind sharing?

 

 

 

[AskMeNot]

Accor and Hilton for me. 

[singalion]

If I look back, the offers on travel sites were mostly more advantageous than what Hotel chain rewards offered. 

 

Further, different cities have "famous"/most sought after hotels from  different hotel chains. In KL it might be JW but in Jakarta Pullman... 

 

Those chains offering free late checkout until 5pm might be worth the money (if you booked an evening flight) but there aren't many who accord such treatment. 

 

Nowadays, there are also 5* niche players that do not belong to any chain. 

 

=> I no longer bother on such loyalty programs. 

 

 

Edited August 27, 2023 by singalion

[AskMeNot]

It really depends what you are after. If you are looking to pay less in terms of dollars, travel sites could be a good steal when they hold promotions. However, if you are looking for value, you will definitely need to be an elite member of a hotel loyalty program. Think of suite upgrades, room upgrades to a better view on higher floors, late checkout, lounge access, free breakfast, etc.

 

In the same manner, that's why people accrue miles to redeem for business class tickets to their favourite destinations.

[Guest Hyatt!]

I really enjoy Hyatt... pricey but I think they've been the best in terms of customer service and room quality for me.

[Guest bougie 27 local chi gay]

i have been bonvoy ambs, hyatt globalist and ihg ambs diamond for many years. 

 

- bonvoy:

• pros: most consistent elite benefits and treatment, good value redemption rates (dynamic pricing but still manageable), big portfolio
• cons: stingy upgrades, SNAs are crap, you24 is crap, can be more exp than other chains

- hyatt

• pros: very lux properties in some areas, generous with upgrades, good use of tech for check-in and out
• cons: very limited footprint, point value for some hotels are insane, some lounges are crap, policies are sometimes inconsistent, generally more exp

- ihg

• pros: cheap, huge footprint, redemption rates are decent (although dynamic pricing)
• con: many budget hotels already come with free breakfast which dilutes elite value, benefits are nonsense, suite upgrades are non-existent, ambs membership is a scam

honestly accor and hilton are crap - the former is too limited in footprint and hilton has too many elites (so the value of benefits has dropped significantly)

[Steve5380]

The hotels I stayed the most in the last decades are:

 

- Babylon in Bangkok:  not part of a chain and no "loyalty" program.  But... great value!  

- Impiana Hotel in Kuala Lumpur:  no "loyalty" program that I knew,  but also  great value.

- Queen Resort in Singapore:  no "loyalty" program, not part of a chain,  but nonetheless...  great value!

 

I care more for value than for luxury.   LUXURY?  What is that?  it is synonymous with NONSENSE?   True luxury is what we feel about ourselves.

[AskMeNot]

Lol. The last one is a sauna. Not a hotel.

[Steve5380]

 

Lol. The last one is a sauna. Not a hotel.

 

Queen Resort was a mixture of barracks and sauna,  owned by the late Max Lim.  I stayed there four or five times in its "suite",  a decent room with private bath.  The sauna part was not great,  but the place at Outram Park was close to Chinatown with it's Absolute sauna,  and later even closer to Cruise sauna.   

[doncoin]

As I use my Amex pretty often, I tend to stick to the hotel chains that they are in partnership with, which are mainly Marriott and Hilton. Come to think of it, they are not really my favourite hotels to stay at but the perks provided by being an Amex member helps a lot. They are similar to the hotel's loyalty program, late checkout, upgrades, access to lounge, etc. 

 

[singalion]

 

It really depends what you are after. If you are looking to pay less in terms of dollars, travel sites could be a good steal when they hold promotions. However, if you are looking for value, you will definitely need to be an elite member of a hotel loyalty program. Think of suite upgrades, room upgrades to a better view on higher floors, late checkout, lounge access, free breakfast, etc.

 

In the same manner, that's why people accrue miles to redeem for business class tickets to their favourite destinations.

 

I don't know why but I often get upgrades on check in without any much effort. Either the check in staff is into guys or I am just friendly.

My last two trips I got upgrades to a junior suite and on the 2nd trip one family suite on check in. Maybe I was lucky because my room category was not ready or full. However, what I mostly do nowadays is to book one or two grades above the cheapest room category. (Chances of this category being full on arrival are higher).

Maybe I am just lucky or it was dependent on the check in time at the hotel.

 

Lounge access at hotels does not really appeal to me. At many places these lounges tend to be full of those people who booked the lounge floor (first time) and then intend to take benefit by drinking excessively or "clearing" the few finger food items. Also, these food displays are at certain timings, that might not suit you if do a tour, shopping or have business meetings. Would never rush back to a hotel just for the lounge... The only lounge access suitable to me is if they offer late breakfast and you can hold a business talk at the lounge in the morning instead of requiring to move around cities with common traffic jams.

 

I actually hold a membership but the points accrued will expire, because booking over their website just doesn't bring any advantage cost wise. Same goes for such 1 night free deals because in the end you pay more for the other nights at same hotel.

 

It is a give and take. as explained for me there is no real benefit nowadays.

 

 

 

 

Edited August 30, 2023 by singalion

[singalion]

 

The hotels I stayed the most in the last decades are:

 

- Babylon in Bangkok:  not part of a chain and no "loyalty" program.  But... great value!  

- Impiana Hotel in Kuala Lumpur:  no "loyalty" program that I knew,  but also  great value.

- Queen Resort in Singapore:  no "loyalty" program, not part of a chain,  but nonetheless...  great value!

 

I care more for value than for luxury.   LUXURY?  What is that?  it is synonymous with NONSENSE?   True luxury is what we feel about ourselves.

 

Impiana had good pricings, plenty years back and the proximity to KLCC was just great.

It had an own loyality program in fact with upgrades to higher rooms or lounge access.

Impiana was independent (not sure now).

However, once the Trade Fair exhibition center was built just opposite, and first trade shows started being held there instead of that other location at Putra "MRT" there was an extreme price surge that did no longer justify the place as you got better deals at other places.

 

KL hotels is a story of itself, as many hotels have clear ups and downs...

What was great this year, must not be great the year after.

Just take the Mandarin Oriental. Not sure if they did a renovation recently, but for a 5 star hotel it is/was very run down.

 

I missed Babylon, because never visited it. Had no requirement to visit any such place in Bangcock...😆

 

I don't agree on your points on luxury. A bit of splurge can give you some refresher after periods of work stress or when you need some distraction.

Maybe you never visited any luxury hotel at a beach enjoying the sea view from your suite on the highest floor of the hotel...

Same goes if your luxury hotel is just at a fine beach and you don't need to travel to get to any beach.

It might not be nonsense.

 

 

[imbitchy]

Due to work needs, I will travel frequently, so my current members are Cathay Pacific and Marriott (because they are all preferred hotels of the company). The advantage is that you may be upgraded from Economy to business class OR upgraded from normal to suite etc.