Langham Hotels has just launched its brand new loyalty program – Brilliant by Langham. The new program replaces the 1865 Privilege program, which is shutting down on 28 February.
The new program kicks off properly on 29 February, with signups to the new program beginning now. Members of the now legacy 1865 Privilege program have been sent emails to join the new program.
Brilliant By Langham
Points – Awards Points and Status Points
Much of the mechanics of the new program revolves around collecting (and using) points. There are two types of points in the programs – Award points and Status points.
Award Points
Award points are the basic ‘currency’ of the program. These are the points you collect while staying (or otherwise spending). The Award Points earn rate is set at 150 points per US$5 spent on stays. That averages out to 30 Award Points per US$1 spend. It seems like an awkward amount to me, but that’s what they have landed on.
On top of that, you can also earn 15 points per US$5 on events.
The points will expire if there is no activity in 24 months.
Status Points
Brilliant By Langham determines your status level based on the number of Status Points you earn in a membership year. It is also the only way to earn status – there is no option to earn based on nights or stays.
Members will earn 150 status points for every $5 spent on qualified stays and charges. This matches the earn rate for Award points, so it is not even more confusing!
Status Tiers
There are 5 status tiers in the program, running from Onyx at the bottom, through to Ruby at the top. As noted previously, you can only earn status through Status Points. The levels, and the required status points, are:
- Onyx: Base
- Topaz: 12,000 status points
- Diamond: 108,000 status points
- Sapphire: 360,000 status points
- Ruby: 720,000 status points
Having said that, the way that you go through the tiers is based on your earnings through your membership period. So going up levels is a bit more challenging than it first appears.
Firstly, you need to accumulate these points during a Membership Period. These are 12-month periods that are based on when you joined the program or last went up a tier.
At the end of a membership period, your count will reset to zero, and you start again. However, if you go up a tier, your membership period ends, and a new one begins. Your Status Points will be reset to zero, but any excess over the tier requirement will roll over into the new period.
Status Benefits
The benefits offered by each tier are as follows:
As shown, perks include member rates (available to all members, dining discounts, early check-in, late check-out, room upgrade vouchers, or preferred room types. At the two top levels, there are Amenity Points and a Welcome Drink.
Thoughts
The Langham group represents a relatively small chain of hotels, boasting 18 Langham Hotels, 6 Cordis hotels, and the Chelsea Hotel in Canada. Going to this much trouble to build a new program for such a small number of hotels is interesting. Perhaps they have bigger things in mind.
