Leading Hotels of the World is a small group of high-end hotels with its own loyalty program that normally charges a fee to join. However, it’s running a short-term promotion that waives the membership fee when you make a new booking and pay with a World MasterCard. (HT to Loyalty Lobby)
Participating in the offer is relatively simple. You just need to verify your eligibility on the offer page and then make and complete a new reservation. This does require you to have some travel plans coming up; it’s not possible to get status just for kicks without traveling.
I wasn’t even sure if I was eligible, but I have a lot of credit cards and decided to check with my email address. Sure enough, I was in the clear.
Membership with Leading Hotels of the World normally costs $150 and includes the following benefits:
- Complimentary continental breakfast for two
- One-category room upgrade (if available)
- Complimentary Internet access
- Early check-in and late check-out (if available)
- Unique welcome gift
- Special rate offers
Although the free breakfast and Internet access might be enough to justify the $150 fee, especially on a longer stay, the best argument for joining is to get one free night for every five stays. I know some friends who have used this to their advantage by booking several inexpensive stays in order to book a much more expensive hotel elsewhere.
