Langham Hotels has announced an update to their 1865 program, renaming it 1865 Privilege. Along with the new name comes a series of changes to the way in which the program runs.
Langham Hotels
Langham Hotels is a small hotel chain in the scheme of things. They run just over 20 hotels under the Langham, Eaton and Cordis brands. Locally, it has hotels in Sydney, Melbourne and Auckland. It also has a number of hotels across Asia, and other parts of the world.
Langham Hotels tend to fit more into the upmarket segment of hotels. The nightly rates of the hotels do tend to reflect the upmarket segment – but from time to time you can score a deal.
The 1865 Privilege program takes its name from the opening date of its first hotel. The Langham London (originally named the Grand Hotel) opened in 1865.
The New Program
Langham have made a number of small tweaks to the program.
As mentioned the first of these is the name – it is now known as 1865 Privilege. Along with the name change, they have also moved to determining status based on stays in a calendar year. Previously, your year would work based on your join date of the program.
As part of the transition to the new program, 1865 have extended your status tier out until the end of 2017. From now on renewal of status tiers will require you to earn the required nights or stays during the calandar year.
The requirements for status tier renewals have also changed. While the number of stays has remained the same, they have added a criteria that allows you to earn (or retain) status based on the number of nights. The changed criteria are shown below:
| Tier Requirements | Old 1865 Criteria | New 1865 Privilege Criteria |
|---|---|---|
| Upgrade to Gateway | 3 stays in last 12 months | 3 stays or 9 room nights in a calendar year |
| Upgrade to Voyager | 5 stays in last 12 months | 5 stays or 15 room nights in a calendar year |
| Renewal for Gateway | 1 stay in Gateway membership year | 1 stay or 3 room nights in a calendar year |
| Renewal for Voyage | 2 stays in Voyager membership year | 2 stays or 6 room nights in a calendar year |
The Destiny Level remains, however, as this is an invitation only level, the criteria of the level have not been published.
The program offers one suite upgrade certificate per year after you have made 5 stays. This criteria has also been modified, and you will now receive the certificate after 5 stay or 15 room nights.
Airline Miles
The 1865 program does not offer the ability to earn points in the program. You can, however, earn points in a range of airline frequent flyer programs. The full list of airline partners, and their respective earn rates may be found on the 1865 Airline Partners page.
Locally, both the Qantas Frequent Flyer program, and the Velocity Rewards program, are eligibe partners. The earn rates for some of the relevant partners are shown below.
| Partners | Credit per stay for Langham Hotels and Resorts | Credit per stay for Eaton Hotels |
|---|---|---|
| Air New Zealand Airpoints | 20 Airpoints Dollars | 10 Airpoints Dollars |
| American Airlines AAdvantage | 500 AAdvantage® miles for each night (maximum of 1,500 AAdvantage miles for each stay) | 250 AAdvantage® miles for each night (maximum of 750 AAdvantage miles for each stay) |
| Asia Miles | 500 Asia Miles | 250 Asia Miles |
| Malaysia Airlines Enrich | 600 miles | 300 miles |
| Qantas Frequent Flyer | Hotels outside Australia – 1000 points for each stay
Hotels within Australia – 3 points for each AUD$ 1.00 of qualifying spend |
Hotels outside Australia – 1000 points for each stay
Hotels within Australia – 3 points for each AUD$ 1.00 of qualifying spend Not applicable to Eaton Smart, New Delhi Airport |
| Singapore Airlines Krisflyer | 500 miles | 250 miles |
| Velocity Frequent Flyer | Hotels outside Australia – 1000 points for each stay
Hotels within Australia – 3 points for each AUD$ 1.00 of qualifying spend |
Hotels outside Australia – 1000 points for each stay
Hotels within Australia – 3 points for each AUD$ 1.00 of qualifying spend Not applicable to Eaton Smart, New Delhi Airport |
In Summary
Langham have made some minor tweaks to the way the program operates. The most significant being the move to a calendar year for all status upgrades and renewals.
They are not a large chain, but they do have a program and range of hotels that may be useful for some people. The requirements to attain various status levels are not particularly onerous, and some of the benefits worthwhile.
