Introduction to hotel chains status – How to get hotel status easily

What are the benefits of using loyalty programs for hotels?

Loyalty programs for hotel chains will give you the opportunity to earn points, similar to air miles. You can also earn a status with most hotel chains. So why get involved in these hotel programs?

The main reason to register to hotel loyalty programs is to earn points and use them to redeem free nights at hotels. If you manage to get a status, some hotel chains will offer you complimentary upgrades, free breakfast, lounge access and increased points earnings. Things will get interesting if you travel a lot for work and accumulate points you can use for leisure travel.

How to fast-track hotel status?

American Express Platinum

Some cards offer complimentary hotel statuses, such as the American Express Platinum card, which offers status with Hilton, Radisson, Melia Hotels and Marriott Bonvoy Gold status.

Paid status: IHG

IHG Rewards Club is an example of a loyalty program for a hotel chain. The hotel chain contains several hotel brands such as Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Crowne Plaza (Business oriented hotels), Intercontinental (Luxury hotel brand) and a few more brands.

IHG Rewards Club has 4 different Tiers. Club is the tier that is granted to you upon registration. Gold Elite will be earned after 10 nights or 10.000 Elite Qualifying Points (EQP), while 40 nights or 40.000 EQP is necessary to earn Platinum status. The highest tier, Spire Elite, can be earned after a whopping 75 nights or 75.000 EQP.

But why chase an IHG status? Depending on your status, you’ll be entitled several benefits, for example Platinum:

Extra bonus points, room upgrades and early check-ins/late checkouts are the real main benefits for Platinum. However, you will understand why I first focus on IHG as first hotel status if you continue reading.

You may think that Platinum is out of reach, because you don’t sleep 40 nights at a hotel in one year. Good news for you, because IHG offers something that is called an Intercontinental Ambassador Status which includes Platinum status.

This status costs you 45.000 IHG points or 225 USD each year and gives you exclusive benefits when staying at the Intercontinental brand.

Ambassador status is a status that is earned by paying a fixed amount each year. The status costs 45.000 IHG points or 225 USD and will give you some very interesting benefits during stays at the Intercontinental brand:

The room upgrade is a very nice benefit as it will grant you a bigger room or even a suite. The guaranteed late check out of 4 PM is one that is very important to me. If you’re on vacation you just don’t want to be kicked out of your room if you have a flight in the evening. Those little things all add up to a more relaxed way of travel. 20 USD credit for restaurant, (mini)bar is another nice extra.

The biggest benefit where you can manage to earn back your ‘invested’  points or money is the weekend certificate. This certificate allows you to book two nights for the price of one during the weekends (Friday to Sunday or Saturday to Monday). The complimentary weekend night is only eligible on the flexible rate and is booked through their Ambassador – Weekend Certificate Booking website. Therefore, if you usually book a flexible rate, you will save 50% which is basically one night free. If you usually book non-refundable rates, your savings will be more like 30%, as the non-refundable rate is always cheaper than the flexible rate. Booking a rate with breakfast and lounge access is the perfect way to get the best return of investment for your paid Ambassador status.

My complimentary afternoon tea in the lounge at the Intercontinental Hong Kong

Subscriptions that boost your way to a status: Accor

Accor is a French hotel chain owning over 5000 hotels around the world. Currently, their loyalty program is very straight-forward. For each 2000 reward points, you can get a discount of €40 on your hotel booking. Below are all the listed status levels available at Accor.

For people who do not stay so many nights a year in hotels, could get closer to a certain status using Accor’s subscription.

1. All Plus Ibis Card: costs €99 per year and gives you +10 nights or instant silver and 15% discount on Ibis hotels.
2. All Plus Voyageur Card: costs €199 per year and gives you +20 nights and up to 20% discount on certain hotel brands.

One other possibility which is mainly for Brazilian customers is the All Signature Reward Program. A subscription costs 6720 BRL (around €1000 in 2024) and gets you a handful of benefits. The most important ones being:

• Monthly reward points of 5000, and 5000 extra every quarter
• Monthly status points of 1000

The All subscription will earn you a total of reward points worth of €1500 and if bought in January it will get you Gold after 7 months or only 2000 status points short of Platinum status.

Become stakeholder of a hotel chain

Some hotel chains give hotel status to their shareholders. Depending on the amount of shares, you’re entitled to a certain status. Melia Hotels, Accor and NH Hotels are known for offering status to shareholders. I have dedicated a whole post about stakeholder benefits in the travel industry.

Hotel statuses through status matching

One major benefit of holding a hotel chain status that hasn’t been discussed yet is the possibility to try and enjoy benefits from another hotel chain status. The secret: Status matches. A status match is a way to tell a hotel chain that you are a loyal customer for a certain hotel chain and that you are a potential client that might move his business to their hotel chain. This means that by showing proof of my elite status to another hotel chain, I might be granted a matching status. It starts to get fun when you can status match with a status achieved through a status match! A website named Statusmatcher.com is a great source to give you an idea which chain or airline matches your status.

Most large hotel chains own a loyalty program. Some tend to be more generous as others. I will only discuss 2 hotel chains that are worth to mention and that offer a status match frequently.

Hilton Honors: has regular status match promo’s to Gold and Diamond status.
Diamond status gives you guaranteed lounge access (if available) and free breakfast for 2 (in EU and Asia) which are huge benefits compared to other chains.

Hilton Bali Resort upgraded to private villa with pool after a status match to Hilton Diamond status

Marriot Bonvoy: has regular status match promo’s up to Platinum status.
This chain has a lot to offer but the benefits you get as a status owner contain a lot exceptions. The chain has a lot of brands and each brand has their own rules. As a platinum member you sometimes get lounge access (if available) and breakfast. Sometimes you get bar credit instead of breakfast. The full list of benefits and its rules can be checked on the Marriott Bonvoy website.

Lounge access with complimentary food & drinks at the Marriott Hong Kong after status matching to Platinum

Whether it is worth to invest the time and money is something you have to decide yourself. If you travel frequently I strongly recommend to invest some time and investigate which loyalty program suits the most with your travel pattern.