Marketers never miss a chance, do they? The moment your birthday rolls around, they’re suddenly your best friend – ready to celebrate you… and gently nudge you to buy something while they’re at it.
These days, many loyalty programs send out some kind of birthday freebie or perk. Sometimes it’s a voucher, sometimes bonus points, sometimes a “special offer just for you.” Whatever form it takes, the goal is pretty clear: tempt you to open your wallet.
Anyway, my birthday’s in May, and this year I figured I’d keep track of all the birthday offers that landed in my inbox.
So, without dragging this out, here are the travel loyalty deals I received this year.
Year:2026
Hotels
Ascott Star Rewards
Ascott Star Rewards was first out of the blocks, depositing a 25% discount voucher into my account 30 days before my birthday.
The voucher is valid for a single booking and may be applied to one selected room or apartment for a stay of up to seven nights. The e‑voucher is redeemable on Best Flexible Daily Rates and remains valid for six months from the date of issue.
GHA Discovery
GHA DISCOVERY rewarded me with D$50 (equivalent to USD 50) completely free, with no strings attached. The credit was originally set to expire three months after my birthday, but the program has extended all D$ expirations until 30 September due to their pause of D$ expiry. This makes the D$50 bonus especially valuable, even with its relatively short redemption window.
IHG One Rewards
IHG One Rewards offered a bonus of 3,000 points for completing a qualifying weekend stay. To earn the reward, the stay must meet specific criteria: a “Qualifying Weekend Stay” requires two consecutive nights at the same IHG property, with at least one night falling on a Thursday, Friday, or Saturday. The booking must be made under a Qualifying Rate, and the total spend must exceed USD 30.
Still, it should stack with a couple of other IHG offers I have at the moment.
Airlines
Singapore Airlines Krisflyer
KrisFlyer introduced a what it called a medley of offers. Among the birthday offers:
- Bonus KrisFlyer miles — Complete any Singapore Airlines or Scoot flight between 1 May and 31 July 2026 to earn an additional 1,000 KrisFlyer miles on top of your regular accrual.
- Pelago discount — Enjoy 15% off your first Pelago booking made in May, perfect for travellers planning activities or experiences.
- KrisShop savings — Receive SGD 20 off with a minimum spend of SGD 240 on KrisShop.com, with a wide range of gifts and travel essentials to choose from.
Virgin Australia
While it wasn’t from Velocity, I did get a VMail offer of 5% off Choice or Business fares, or 1% off a Lite fare.
Car Rental
Europcar
In the case of Europcar, they gave me 50 points in the Privilege For You program. While these don’t hold value in of of themselves, they have made me 50 points closer to my next milestone.
Year: 2018
It does look as though the last time I did this was 8 years ago. Certainly a different set of offers this time around! Here is what the offers were 8 years ago.
Qantas
Of all the programs, Qantas gave the widest variety of offers. Offers were:
- Triple Points on Qantas Flights.
- $30 off Qantas Hotel Booking voucher
- Double Points at Qantas Restaurants
- $25 off Epiqure Wines
Malaysia Airlines
Malaysia Airlines has 1,000 Enrich Points up for grabs. I just needed to book and fly on a Malaysia Airlines service sometime during May. Unfortunately, due to timing, I was unable to take advantage of this offer.
IHG Rewards
Some people have reported getting bonus points just because it was their birthday. Not for me – my birthday gift came as part of the Accelerate promotion, and I had to actually stay to get the bonus. No biggie, I’ve completed the task, and the points are safely in my account.
Marriott Rewards
Marriott Rewards gave an offer of a Free Elite Night Credit. This is not a free night, it is simply a credit that can reduce the number of nights you need to stay by one. A straightforward process. Click on the link, follow the instructions, and a day later my Elite Night tally had gone up by one.
Final Words
Interestingly, they all do their own thing. Each offer was unique to the program. Which, of course, makes things interesting – and difficult to compare.
