Cathay Pacific Asia Miles - Marco Polo Club Hotel Room Upgrades

Would be very interested to hear from anyone who has succeeded in getting hotel room upgrades with their Marco Polo Silver/Gold/Diamond cards?--or had difficulties doing so and succeeded in getting MP Club to help.

The MP Club program guide lists numerous hotels which are supposed to give free room upgrades to elite tier MP members--including the Mandarin Oriental chain.

But my attempts to persuade the Mandarin Oriental Jakarta to honor this have so far met with dismal failure, despite making the booking directly with the hotel at a rate they said was for MP Club members.

Haven't taken this up with MP Club yet, but I'm pretty sure they'll say this is a matter between me and the hotel (the MP manual says to contact the hotels directly with any queries).

Any tips?/relevant experiences?

I only had success once and it was at the Manila Peninsula. They were quite nice about it and upgraded me to a suite .. but that was only because it was on offer... for MPC members to be upgraded to a suite.

MPC has a lot of offers.. but when you try to implement them, no body seems to know about it. For example, the Hertz promos, MPC members are supposed to get 1 car group upgrade, sometimes 2. But Hertz doesn't know about this despite the promo code on every rental. It is especially so in ASIA when they are supposed to know and Hertz Asia tries their best to avoid using the MPC rate..

When you call MPC and asks about this... THEY themselves don't know what to do and will ask you to call the hotel/car agencies direct (surprise , surprise) so I don't bother anymore.

I haven't tried it with hotels (I have always assumed that the corporate discount rates I normally use don't qualify)

But I did once try with Hertz in Europe (back inthe days when CX flew to MAN). Unfortunately, Hertz said they didn't have a one-class up vehicle available, so what they did was drop my rate (from the one I had booked online) to one class below the car I got, which was fine by me.

I also has no problem getting a discount of over US$50 using my otherwise dormant LX card at Eurodollar recently.

Car rentals: I rent about 6 times a year, in the US and Europe, with Hertz or Avis. Both have my MPC number on file, I always get a reduced rate and/or car upgrade.

Hotels: never received a room upgrade because of MPC. Tried a couple of times in 2001 and 2002, then gave up. I remember being told that the room upgrade was available if you pay published room rates :rolleyes:

Is the hotel upgrade benefit stated somewhere on CX's web site? Or is it only in the guidebook?

Actually it is on the Homepage where the Membership guide is available

Thank you, newcx12345.

It had a SET code for booking SPG hotels. Tried it on the Westin Grande Sukhumvit, Bkk, Thailand.

It generated a 'Marco Polo Guide' rate of 150USD, compared with the lowest available 135USD.

The note for the MPG rate says:

Marco Polo Membership Card Required Upon Check-In
(....) Early Check In And Late Check Out Subject To Availability. Special Frequent Guest Program Benefits : Guest Get Regular Spg Benefits Based On Their Spg Status. Guest Don'T Get Any Special Spg Benefits That Are Based On Their Marco Polo Club Status.

The benefit, then, is early check in and late check out, which is subject to availability? :confused:

I think the respective hotel frequent guest programmes outshine what the MPC card can. So aim for hotels that you're a member with unless it's obscure hotels like Mandarin, and the Peninsula.

Are you calling the Oriental Mandarin group "obscure" ???? Everyone's a fan!(not to mention the Peninsula???) Are you plain mad? :D

I never had good luck with hotel benefits, so I don't bother either.

On the other hand, you can just join up as an entry level FSP for respective chains, and enjoy some benefits. For instance, I had been placed on "executive floors" or "club floors" just for being a SPG / or Priority club members at these chain.

Using the MPC corporate code into hotel booking site doesn't generate any cheaper rates.

I have SPG Platinum and Hyatt Diamond in addition to some elevated status with an obscure hotel chain. I am quite familiar with all those benefits with these hotels. :p

Just wanted to highlight this is a 'benefit' that does not seem to benefit me at all. :D

I think the respective hotel frequent guest programmes outshine what the MPC card can. So aim for hotels that you're a member with unless it's obscure hotels like Mandarin, and the Peninsula.

I prefer to think of the MO and the Pen as "rarefied", rather than "obscure".

Bit unfair to pick on Guy Betsy for a single word--the point he made is a good one. Chains like Starwood/Hyatt/even Shangri La have their own frequent guest programs, which are a better bet than trying to get any benefits using MPO. But Mandarin (and, I presume, Peninsula) doesn't, so there's not much alternative to relying on MPO in the hope it will get you something.

Bit unfair to pick on Guy Betsy for a single word--the point he made is a good one. Chains like Starwood/Hyatt/even Shangri La have their own frequent guest programs, which are a better bet than trying to get any benefits using MPO. But Mandarin (and, I presume, Peninsula) doesn't, so there's not much alternative to relying on MPO in the hope it will get you something.

There is an alternative: stay there often. Both the Pen and the MO chains have a very well developed CRM system that tells them of your stay history throughout the network. Stay a few times and you'll notice the difference, with mystery upgrades and amenities coming out of nowhere.