A Guide to the Best Hotel Rewards Programs

If you are a frequent traveller, then you would be absolutely mad not to be keeping your finger on the pulse when it comes to the best hotel rewards in every city you visit. However, if you are a frequent London-visitor, then you don’t actually need to do anything of the sort, because all you have to do is to become a member of the Premier Club Rewards and you open the door to a whole new world of luxury accommodation possibilities. Here is a comprehensive guide on how to make the most of any reward program you come across.

Earn by staying loyal

In order to reap the benefits of any hotel reward program such the kind offered by Premier Club Rewards, you need to remain loyal and continuously choose accommodation which will earn you points. Thankfully, the hotels that fall under the program are top-class, and staying there is as much a treat for you as it is a way of generating points. Points are essential, as they can lead to all sorts of wonderful rewards such as a free night in a Kensington London hotel. With the Premier Club Rewards, you receive ten points for every pound you spend, meaning that both business and leisure trips can add together to get you a step or two closer to your goal – and the more you spend and enjoy, the more you earn. Not to mention, members get discounted rates on booking anyway, so you are saving while you are earning points.

Joining fees

The most important piece of advice to heed when comparing different reward programs is this: you should not have to pay to be a member. Granted, exclusive membership programs are a different story, but when it comes to your normal hotel reward programs, like the Grand Royale London Hyde Park loyalty program, for instance – it should be free to join. Reward programs should ultimately be rewarding you for loyalty, not charging you for it! They would simply be discount programs otherwise. So don’t be fooled by high prices with supposedly good rewards: remember that as much as you want the rewards on offer, you are the most important factor to this hospitality equation.

What’s included

The Premier Club Rewards are not the kind of program where you ask what is included, but rather gasp in thrilling shock and think, what isn’t included? Basically, just about everything you could want from a hotel reward system is included in the Premier Club Rewards. A free night’s stay requires the following points:

One night’s stay at the majority of The Shaftesbury Hotels Collection, except Marble Arch Suites, Park Grand Lancaster Gate and Park Grand London Hotels

• For this, you will need 15,000 points (which means a £1500 spend)

One night’s stay at Marble Arch Suites and Park Grand London Hotels, except Park Grand Lancaster Gate

• For this, you will need 20,000 points (which means a £2000 spend)

One night’s stay at Park Grand Lancaster Gate

• For this, you will need 40,000 points (which means a £4000 spend)

Other bonuses that are included in a member’s stay, depending on their level, include:

• English Breakfast in most hotels is included
• Presentation of Mineral Water in room on the day of arrival
• A fruit basket in the room on the day of arrival.
• A free bottle of wine in room on arrival per stay
• A free box of chocolates in room on arrival per stay
• The opportunity to upgrade your room, provided there is one available
• A free newspaper in the room, to keep you up to date on local news
• A range of free snacks per stay in the bar room from 5.00 – 7.00 pm at the Park Grand Paddington Court London, Paddington Court Suites
• Free Local calls and faxes, to make sure you are constantly connected.

The different membership levels

There are three types of membership programs achievable through the Premier Club Rewards: Silver, Gold and Platinum. Obviously, there are benefits to each level but they increase in value as they ascend. Before outlining the various benefits of each type of membership, though, it is important to unpack how they are attained.

Silver memberships are the default – the moment you join the program, you are awarded silver membership. The algorithm is very simple – the more you stay and spend, the better your membership. After 30 qualifying nights in the hotels, you are upgrade to Gold. Thereafter, after 60 qualifying nights, you hit the jackpot. There are far too many benefits of each tier to list them all, and you can find them here, so we have cherry picked the game-changers of the lot:

Silver membership points never expire, and room upgrades are encouraged (provided there is a suitable room available and you give the allocated notice). Gold membership holders have the added bonus of Free broadband in the Club Lounge (in most hotels) and in the guestrooms and free Local calls and faxes. Platinum members get everything on the previously outlined list under “what’s included”, from complimentary breakfast to a bottle of wine in your room on arrival.

So there you have it – a simple but detailed guide for how to really make the most of the hotel rewards programs in London. Or rather, an indication as to how easy it is to join, earn and redeem points in this program which is ultimately designed to make every party happy. Happy customers mean a happy hotel – and you will be nothing short of happy once you start maximising on all the benefits involved in a well-structured reward system. The idea is pretty straight forward: you scratch our back, we will scratch yours. The more you spend in Premier Club Reward hotels, the more you get to stay at them at a fraction of the cost (and sometimes even for free). So, pack your bags, start earning and then most importantly (for this is what it is all about, really): have a smashing time on your trip to London with all the class, fun and excitement that the city is famous for.