Global Hotel Alliance DISCOVERY Loyalty Program Q+A Thread (ARCHIVE)
 

Just wanted to add my experience with GHA Discovery!

Had a stay coming up at the Anantara Al Jabal resort in Oman (which was AMAZING by the way) so I did a bit of digging.

Found out that I could get GHA Platinum level membership by signing up for a Business Traveller magazine subscription (£20 for a year). Did that in Feb 2018, and got GHA Platinum membership within 3 weeks, valid till Feb 2020.

My stay was great - got a free room upgrade (one level up), as well as a free soft drinks and snacks basket as a welcome amenity. I also got a late checkout at 2pm instead of 12pm, which came in very handy. Unfortunately, as I'd gotten Platinum not through the usual route, I didn't get any free Local Experiences to use during my stay.

I totally recommend getting GHA Platinum membership, as if you're going to be staying at some of the high end luxury resorts, as the free room upgrade pays for itself several times over by itself.

Sounds good, though it's supposedly possible to match directly and even up to Black.

Can anyone confirm if they honor status benefits on third-party bookings? Thought to book a night in Avani Pattaya via Kaligo, and now suddenly discovered they are part of GHA.

Barracuda93-- I am the new head of marketing for GHA --- wanted to set the record straight on 3rd party bookings...unfortunately, DISCOVERY hotels do not honor benefits on 3rd party bookings... We prefer our members experience our website, discoveryloyalty.com or use one of our 35 brands' websites to make a booking ... that way, we have complete information on you (many 3rd parties do not send us complete details such as address, phone and email address) so we cannot always recognize your status when you arrive... we think you will find booking direct a good experience and the in-hotel recognition we offer worth booking direct. We will also apply the nights you stay through direct bookings toward elite status and you can earn Local Experience awards. Please let us know if you have additional questions.. we look forward to welcoming you to one of our 500 hotels soon!

Thanks for reply. Well, that's understandable, most of chains do not offer status benefits on 3rd party bookings, at least officially.
I could still try few properties in Thailand, directly booking via GHA.

Do you match though from Marriott Platinum? I have sent an inquiry over e-mail and it went unanswered.

Barracuda98 -- Please submit your request to [email protected] -- I have spoken to our Membership Services team about your request -- they will look out for your email...please put From "Barracuda98" in the subject line as well as "Status match Follow-up". please submit your proof of Marriott elite membership. We will status match you one level up from your current status and give you a fast-track to Black level if you are moving from Gold to Platinum with the status match. Please let me know if you have additional questions and enjoy our fabulous 500 hotels!

Thank you!

It seems that there is a direct match offer to Black for MC World Elite cardholders; I have sent an inquiry to GHA about that and they suggested me to contact MasterCard first. Will try that first.
If MasterCard ignores me, gonna return to match from Marriott then, following your advice.

Please could you clarify regarding the third-party reservations?

I always make travel arrangements through AMEX FHR Centurion or Virtuoso, and I have always received by Discovery Black benefits while staying in the past. Please could you re-confirm that this is not the case going forward, and that AMEX and Virtuoso will be treated as third-party reservations, therefore ineligible?

Thank you.

Aguitania --Bookings through AMEX FHR and Virtuoso are rate eligible for DISCOVERY benefits. Ineligible rates would include bookings through sites such as Expedia, Booking.com, etc but bookings through travel agents such as AMEX FHR and Virtuoso are eligible so you can book and get any benefits they offer as well as take advantage of your DISCOVERY Black level perks. Best wishes!

Barracuda-- were you able to get a Black level status match through Mastercard World Elite?

Will make a call to them when I am in Hong Kong soon, since my card is HK-issued.

I have an existing Discovery account and I'm a member of "A small world". Can I get upgraded to Platinum? The only option I see on ASW website is to open a new account at Platinum level.

Hi there --

sorry if this was answered already -- am bad at searching this forum! Was trying to find out about the red membership level -- I've been GHA Black for five years running now, and half-way through this year have about 60 nights in my account. Does the red level still exist, and if so, anything I can do to prompt an invitation? :)