It is a trend nowadays for hotels to sell loyalty card programmes to the public. Often, it is a discount card which offers all kinds of attractive benefits such as free room stays, free meals, discounts on meals and accommodation packages to their members. There are quite a number available in Malaysia which range from the expensive Shangri-La membership card to the Rennaisance card. However, one of the best hotel discount cards I have found in the market is the Starwood Privilege Card.

It is the best simply because of the wide range of hotels it offers under the Starwood Group. Internationally, the Starwood Group umbrella comprises the Westin Hotel, Sheraton Hotel and Le Meridien Hotel chains which allows great flexibility and choice in dining or accommodation packages. Essentially, you can choose to dine or stay at a wide range of hotels in Kuala Lumpur and around Malaysia.

Read more about their benefits below.

Interested members can opt to sign up for the card for a year and they will receive a booklet of vouchers which includes free accommodation at a 5-star hotel of your choice, food discount vouchers and a free dining vouchers. Membership is renewable on an annual basis and as with all things, the price of membership usually increases. It is now currently slightly under RM600 for a year’s worth of these vouchers which may sound expensive but when you realise that a free night’s stay in any one of their hotels could easily set you back RM400 and up, it does work out in the end! :)

The best part of the Starwood Privilege card is its dining discounts. The card essentially gives you discounts based on 100% divided by the number of dining guests, e.g. 50% off for two guests, 33% for 3 guests, etc. However, if you dine alone you don’t get 100% off but only a 50% discount! Hence, it is always most beneficial to dine in a pair as it allows you to sample gourmet food in a beautiful ambiance at very decent prices.

I have used the Starwood card before and am indeed pleased with the benefits they offer. It is a great way to treat the family to a lovely meal in a beautiful restaurant. However, I would recommend it only if you have the time and opportunity to frequent the hotels which are mostly located in Kuala Lumpur city. People who stay further may not find it so useful as they will have to battle the traffic jams just to take advantage of their cards. Starwood has also revised some of their benefits and removed the free night accommodation stay in Westin Hotel, Kuala Lumpur. Members can now only choose from Sheraton Imperial, Sheraton Subang or Le Meridien Hotel which are slightly cheaper than the Westin.

Nevertheless, it is a good membership card especially if you love fine dining and 5-star hotel stays! You can check them out here or call +603-2711 7259 for more information. 

Note: For 2009, the free night at Westin is back! Annual membership for 2009 is now RM620. Please contact me if you require a referral for your application.