Leading Hotels of the World (LHW) has a loyalty program named Leaders Club, which I wanted to take a look at in this post, as it’s potentially pretty rewarding. I especially wanted to take a closer look at this now that Citi ThankYou has added Leaders Club as a transfer partner.
Continue reading: Leading Hotels Of The World (LHW) Leaders Club Loyalty Program
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
I have only had positive experiences with the LHW program but noticed a change after the membership fee was waived after covid. I was a member before and got some very good upgrades into (junior) suites, but not anymore. Recently I redeemed points for the brand new Azur Legacy Colllection Hotel in Vancouver (brilliant hotel with an amazing staff). Sonce points never expire as long as you have at least one activity per year, it is worth collecting points from my point of view.
On another note, Lucky, I don't know if you have heard but Air Greenland is starting (technically resuming) flights to Iqaluit in Canada for the 2024 summer season.
@Ben Schlappig, Nice write up of this program. I'm curious why you have never written about the GHA Discovery Loyalty program? It is very similar to the Leaders Club but IMO it's more lucrative and hs a better elite program. There are some very nice hotels in the Discovery Loyalty program, Kempinski, Anantara, Pan Pacifc, and more. Would love to hear your thoughts on the program.
FWIW, my wife used her FHR benefit in her name in Capri and I applied for the points when we got home and they credited my account. Two of the finest hotels I’ve stayed at - Quisisana in Capri and Grand Hotel Miramare in Santa Margherita.
The Australian LHW reservation assistants are an incredibly useful resource and go above and beyond to offer generous rates and benefits - they are an absolute pleasure to deal with.
I'm torn. Normally I wouldn't get ooverly excited about 1.6 cents if the points pricing is variable, but the transferrable currencies dont have many efficient way to redeem for great hotel value outside of Hyatt. But there's lots of methods to book a given flight if you have a decent balance of Amex/Chase/Citi/Cap1/Bilt points, so another hotel option is much more valuable at the margin.
When I was a member several years pre-Covid I found this loyalty program very frustrating. It always seemed a hassle to get all my stays recognized when I didn't book directly as most of my bookings went through the company travel agent. The only way I could get around it was to book myself and then get compensated by my company - which also wasn't a welcome process for whatever reason.
Anyway, it became all too hard and I dropped the program completely.
Maybe this version is better
I checked a hotel that I am considering and for the same room it is significantly more expensive than other providers.
Is there a way to get the points via cost effective points purchases or credit card spend? If not, that's likely why he hasn't written about it. The ability to get these points via Citi Thank You Rewards is the main reason why I am going through this article.
@Ben Any insight as to what constitutes an upgrade, either with Leader's Club or with Virtuoso? One example is that a property with 27 rooms has 16 room cats... Many are just different beds in the same room, or a different floor for the same room, or a different view for the same room. Would moves on this spectrum be treated as an upgrade?
Why don’t you include LHW, iPrefer or GHA Discovery in you point valuations of loyalty programs? I would love to see how they stack up against the mainstream loyalty programs.