Why you SHOULDN’T claim the Marriott Annual Choice Benefit straightaway
Once you’ve stayed 50 or 75 nights with Marriott in a calendar year, you can claim an Annual Choice Benefit which gives you a few different options varying from night credits, suite night awards and a free night voucher. You have until January 7th to make your selection, otherwise the suite night awards will be deposited into your account by default.
If you have stayed 75 nights and are interested in choosing the free night voucher though, there is an oddity that you should be aware of. Looking at Marriott’s terms and conditions, regarding its expiry it says:
The Free Night Award (up to 40,000 Points) must be redeemed for a stay that occurs no later than December 31 of the year following the year in which the additional benefit is selected
Whereas for the suite night award:
Suite Night Awards expire on December 31 of the year following the year in which they were earned
If it’s not clear enough: for suite night award the time you make your selection is irrelevant, as the award earned in 2021 will expire on December 31st, 2022 regardless. However it makes a difference for the free night voucher – if you select in 2022, then the voucher will have one more year’s life and expires on December 31st, 2023.
It may not be super useful, but a good catch to keep in mind for the future.
Have you fallen victim to Hyatt’s “complimentary night” trap?
If you are a Hyatt customer and don’t stay with them very often, there’s a catch that you should know about which may otherwise come up as surprise in the future.
It’s not uncommon that hotel groups have the so-called “Complimentary Night” offers, for example Complimentary Third Night, or Stay 4 Pay 3. It’s no secret that they are actually just a form of discounted rates (in this case 33% off and 25% off respectively), but their marketing department knows how to make those nights sounds free and thus more eye-catching to customers.
Hyatt is no stranger to such practice, which is most usually seen in their Hyatt Prive program but also in standard rates offered on their website too. However they really are a nasty player in the game – after my first Complimentary Third Night stay, I found that my account was only credited two qualifying nights instead of three:
I thought it was a system error at the beginning, but after multiple communications with different CS agents from online chat and Twitter, they all came to the same conclusion that the third night was free and therefore ineligible for credit accrual. They are not lying – if you look at the rate details, the third night is indeed not charged:
And there are numerous online reports from people who’ve had the same misfortune, and you can only count your luck on an untrained CS agent or admit defeat. I know it’s in Hyatt’s terms, but they are letting their customers pay for their marketing tricks, which is kind of disgusting.
Missing one night credit may cause a lot of hassle to the plan of a Hyatt member, but how on earth does it actually benefit Hyatt? I wish they can just come to their senses and stop this malpractice – I’ve stayed on the same rate with Hilton and IHG many times and never once encountered any issue with my night credits.
My review of London Marriott Grosvenor Square
My last Marriott stay in 2021 is at London Marriott Hotel Grosvenor Square. The hotel is conveniently located 3 minutes’ away from Bond Street station. Don’t get it confused with JW Marriott Grosvenor House which is also in the area.
The lobby is a bit basic.
I’m upgraded to a Superior Room with Grosvenor Square View.
The room’s setup is very similar to Marriott Hotel Park Lane, except that it feels a lot cheaper and definitely not as classy as the latter.
It’s on the first floor and there isn’t really much of the view. The Christmas lights in the garden are pretty though in the night.
As a Titanium member I have access to the M Club at the -1 floor.
The lounge is big.
Breakfast is only free in the lounge which has poor quality. You must pay to have breakfast in the restaurant.
Happy hour starts at 5:30pm. Food options include three types of hot items:
- Samosa
- Onion bhaji
- Chicken and potato mash
Gym is located at the same floor.
The hotel and the stay are mediocre at best, and at its price point there are many better choices in central London.
Hilton Q1 promotion: 2,500 bonus points per stay
Hilton’s 2022 Q1 promotion is open to registration.
- You need to check out between Jan 1st and May 1st
- Bookings can be made prior to offer registration
- You earn 2,500 bonus points per stay, and there’s no cap
- Reward stays count
Hilton is finally taking a break from the double / triple points offers. If I remember correctly the last similar promotion was to offer 2,000 bonus points per stay, so the current offer is not bad.
The most ideal scenario is for one-night reward stays, as it could just represent a nice discount on the points you pay, on top of the 1,000 welcome points Gold / Diamond members receive at most brands. Unfortunately dynamic reward pricing has already ruined most of the oversized redemption opportunities with Hilton.
While you are here, there are a few other Hilton offers that may be of interest:
GHA Platinum / Titanium match for Mastercard holders
GHA has recently launched its new program, and their status match promotion with Mastercard has also been extended accordingly. In theory it’s only intended for Mastercard holders in Asia Pacific, however it may work out more easily than you think in practice.
[GHA Titanium]
World Elite cardholders enjoy instant upgrade to GHA Titanium:
- Register for Mastercard Travel and Lifestyle Services
- Link your World Elite card to your profile
- Send a request using the same email address with your GHA membership number
Your card membership is verified by MTLS, so you must hold a World Elite Mastercard issued in Asia Pacific to qualify.
[GHA Platinum]
World, Platinum and Titanium cardholders enjoy instant upgrade to GHA Platinum:
- Send a request to [email protected] with your GHA membership number and Mastercard BIN (first six digits)
The match doesn’t go through Mastercard, and you only need the first six digits of a qualifying Mastercard to apply. It won’t be difficult to figure the BIN out, however GHA has always been very generous to match / give away its Platinum status so it’s not a surprising move to be honest.
My review of Zurich Marriott Hotel
As one of my last international trips of year 2021 I decided to return to Switzerland for a few days to visit some friends. Well in the end I had to cut the trip short and cancel Paris so that I could get back to London before the new entry restrictions struck, but let me not bore you with those details.
As one of the financial centres of Europe it surprises me how little presence the international hotel chains have in Zurich. The only luxury hotel from a major hotel group is Park Hyatt Zurich, if you don’t count the ones from LHW. There are a few Hilton, Crowne Plaza, Sheraton and Mercure hotels but most of them are not located centrally.
The only exception is probably Zurich Marriott Hotel, which is why I chose to stay here. The hotel is less than 10 minutes’ walk from the train station, and 15 minutes from the shopping street and old city.
The hotel is one of the tallest buildings in the neighbourhood. I find the numbering in their lifts quite confusing though – it jumps from 4 to 24 and goes up to like 40, which makes you think you are staying on the 30th floor or something. However the building has only 20 floors so don’t be fooled.
I’m upgraded to a Junior Suite, which is a pretty good result as I’m staying four nights and this weekend seems very busy.
Unlike most Junior Suites it’s got a separate living room:
Bedroom:
Bathroom and toilet are in separate rooms:
The room is a bit old and there’s nothing to write home about. The best part is the 180-degree city view, although Zurich is probably the least beautiful city of Switzerland and there’s not much to see from here.
My welcome gift is two chocolate bars:
You can enjoy 500 Marriott points or 10% dining discount if you skip housekeeping. Such gesture was quite common pre-covid but became very rare nowadays since most hotels are operating reduced housekeeping service anyway.
Breakfast is served in the restaurant. It’s very busy every morning (or maybe it’s just me getting up too late) so I didn’t manage to take a lot of photos.
M Club is located on the ground floor. it’s open from around midday till late.
The lounge is not huge, but I like that they have different table setups so you can choose depending if you are just casually drinking or want to do some work.
Snacks and beverages are available throughout the day.
Alcohols and canapes are served in the evening. There were two hot dishes as well but I don’t remember what they were.
The lounge is staffed all the time and they are very helpful.
I tried out the gym once, which features river view.
There is a relaxation room with loungers. It’s weird since usually when you are on a lounger, you’d expect to be facing a swimming pool or at least something interesting, instead of a wall…
Even weirder, they don’t have a swimming pool but do have a sun bed and it’s the first time I see it in a hotel.
Although nothing stands out, I think overall the Marriott does its job and it’s a pleasant stay for me. From what I’ve read the Sheraton and Renaissance are better hotels and also cheaper, but you will rely on tram and bus to move around if staying there.
Hotel Loyalty Programme Series – GHA Discovery
Besides the likes of Hilton, Marriott and Hyatt, there is another form how hotel properties can get together and create a different – looser, but also “freer” – alliance. GHA, or Global Hotel Alliance, is one of them.
Rather than an alliance of hotels, GHA is an alliance of hotel groups. These groups are relatively small, so they need a platform like GHA to increase their visibility and drive sales, meanwhile without being too tightly tied or paying a high commission.
[GHA Brands]
The main brands in GHA are:
- Anantara Hotels and Resorts
- Araiya Hotels
- Avani Hotels and Resorts
- Camprell Gray Hotels
- Capella Hotles
- Corinthia Hotels
- Discovery Destinations
- Divani Collection Hotels
- The Doyle Collection
- Elewana Collection
- Fauchon Hospitality
- GLO Hotels
- JA Resorts and Hotels
- Kempinski Hotels
- The Leela Places, Hotels, Resorts
- Lungarno Collection
- Marco Polo Hotels
- Mysk Hotels
- Niccolo Hotels
- Nikki Beach Hotels & Resorts
- NUO Hotels
- Oaks Hotels, Resorts and Suites
- Outrigger Resorts
- Pan Pacific Hotels and Resorts
- Parkroyal Hotels and Resorts
- Patina Hotels and Resorts
- The Residence by Cenizaro
- Shaza Hotels
- Sun International
- The Sukhothai Hotels & Resorts
- Tivoli Hotels and Resorts
- Ultratravel Collection
- Viceroy Hotels and Resorts
Some of the brands here, e.g. Kempinski and Anantara are very reputable and I’m sure you’ve already heard of them.
Given its nature it’s not unusual to see frequent churns of members. However 2021 has been a particularly bad year for GHA – it lost Omni, Thon and Rydges, which had great footprint in the US, Scandinavia and Australia respectively.
[Membership Tiers and Benefits]
All the hotel groups under GHA share the same membership tiers:
- Silver: entry level; free wi-fi during your stay.
- Gold: stay twice or spend $1,000; no real advantages over Silver.
- Platinum: stay 10 nights or two different brands or spend $5,000; welcome amenity, one-category room upgrade and 3pm late checkout.
- Titanium: stay 30 nights or three different brands or spend $15,000; welcome amenity, two-category room upgrade, 11am early check-in and 4pm late checkout.
- Red: invitation only and you need to be recommended by the general manager of one GHA brand, or at least three (vice-)directors; benefits unknown
Note that room upgrade, early check-in and late check-out are all subject to availability.
Take the Titanium status as an example, it’s much more achievable than in the old scheme as you only need a minimum of three one-night stays to obtain the status. On the other hand the benefits are also diluted in a way – 9am check-in and 6pm check-out were much superior to what other hotels had been offering to their elite members.
A new addition to the Titanium status is brand-specific benefits. Here is how they are described in some of the brands’ website:
- Niccolo / Marco Polo: free breakfast + welcome fruit platter + 30% off mini bar
- Kempinski: increased cancellation flexibility when booking through official channels
- Pan Pacific: 25% dining discount
Note that the benefits are totally at the discretion of individual brands which is why you can’t find a detailed list on GHA’s website. The brands can change or terminate such benefits at any time.
There are a few ways for you to get GHA’s elite status faster:
- Status Gifting: Titanium members can gift Titanium status to a friend once a year, which is valid for the current and next calendar year
- Credit Card Match: there are occasional promotions with credit card issuers (e.g. Mastercard recently) that offer instant status
- Status Match: if you hold elite status with another hotel group you can apply for a status match by emailing [email protected]; however from recent data points they only match you to Platinum at best
- Fast Track: there have been double night credit offers in the past which accelerates your progress too
[Earn and Spend]
GHA has now transitioned into a revenue-based reward program, and you earn cashback from your stay spend in their reward currency called D$ (which is equivalent to USD). The rebate and expiry depend on your tier:
- Silver: 4% 6 months
- Gold: 5% / 18 months
- Platinum: 6% / 24 months
- Titanium: 7% / 24 months
6-month expiry for Silver members is harsh, and note that once D$ is earned it has a fixed expiry date – account activity or tier upgrade doesn’t extend its expiry.
A couple of things to note:
- Only your first third-party booking earn points
- The minimum points you earn per stay is 5D$
D$ can be used like cash for your check-out spend when you stay at a hotel. You must book via official channels though, and the minimum redemption threshold is 10D$.
Currently you can only earn / spend D$ on services like dining and spa during your hotel stay.
[Local Experiences]
The earning rate of the new D$ system is underwhelming, and I don’t think people will get excited about it unless they run bonus promotions. The Local Experience reward from the old program was a lot more ludicrous and did drive a lot of people to book GHA hotels.
There is a similar offer with the new program, breaking down into three sections:
- Local Offers – Dining / Spa discount at individual hotels
- Experiences – Similar to the old Local Experience, however you must pay for them now
- Stay Offers – Room rate discount at individual hotels
They are not rolled out to many hotels yet, for example there’s nil in London at the moment. Sometimes with local offers you can even access the gym and swimming pool for free, when not staying at the hotel.
[Summary]
I status matched to GHA Black when I needed to stay at Thon hotels in Oslo. However I find it hard to stay with them again given that I already have elite status with Marriott, Hilton and IHG, which have great coverage almost wherever I want to go.
Now that Local Experiences is gone, I’m not sure how much traction GHA can still get. If you have their Titanium status, will you be moving your stays towards them?
My review of Marriott London Park Lane
Although Marriott has extended everyone’s status into 2022, I’m only a few nights short of renewing my Titanium status and I think it’s worth to reach for the 75-night annual choice benefit. And my next staycation is at Marriott London Park Lane.
I’ve stayed at the Hilton, InterContinental and JW Marriott in the area and I’m not a fan of the “Park Lane” location. Although it’s very central and near Hyde Park, there isn’t anything else around. The Marriott however, is at the north end of the lane and right next to the Marble Arch station, which makes it a much better location.
You can find minimal branding on the hotel building – I have walked past it so many times but never realised that it’s a hotel. The lobby is small but nicely decorated:
I’m upgraded to an Executive Room with Hyde Park View. As it’s not a suite I didn’t expect much space anyway, however the furniture is tasteful and you can tell the money spent on them.
The marble bathroom has a Japanese toilet seat – very smart!
The “Hyde Park View” room actually has a view of the Marble Arch Mould, which was so notorious and criticised that it ended up becoming a free tourist site. It doesn’t look as bad as in those photos to be honest – I guess more work was done to it after the initial reports.
My welcome fruit platter:
The executive lounge is on the ground floor.
The lounge is retro-themed and a bit lacking in light.
From what I understood Titanium members can only have breakfast in the lounge. There isn’t much variety or frequent top-up when I come at 10am. But to give them some credit the food quality is very good.
Happy hour starts at 5pm with three hot dishes:
- Fried noodle
- Samosa
- Fish and chips
Also standard cheese, fruits and desserts. The offering is about average by Europe’s standard, however given how many lounges remain closed or reduced service “due to Covid”, I think the hotel’s effort deserves some appreciation.
The swimming pool is good-looking:
And there’s a steam room too. Unfortunately there’s no jacuzzi or sauna.
So in summary: great location, luxurious room and good breakfast. If you can fare a suite upgrade I think it might be one of the best Marriott options is central London, at least out of the ones that I’ve stayed at!