SINGAPORE (THE BUSINESS TIMES) CapitaLand's wholly-owned lodging business unit, The Ascott, is offering more perks to members of its Ascott Star Rewards (ASR) loyalty programme, it said in a press statement on Monday (Sept 7).
Under a partnership with CapitaLand's lifestyle and shopping rewards programme CapitaStar, those who are both ASR and CapitaStar members in Singapore can now exchange their points between programmes.
Meanwhile, existing and new ASR members who can show proof of a silver, gold or platinum status in a loyalty programme with other hospitality groups - and a stay with these other groups in the last 18 months - can get their ASR status changed to match, Ascott said.
Relevant loyalty programmes by other airlines or online travel booking sites may also be considered for status matching.
The elevated membership status and its privileges will be valid for a year, with members required to meet the minimum spend to retain their membership status in the following year.
CapitaStar members under the Raffles Prestige tier can also receive an ASR status upgrade to platinum, and a 25 per cent discount voucher for use at ASR participating serviced residences and hotels.
Ascott's managing director of brand and marketing Tan Bee Leng said Ascott's points partnership with CapitaStar follows the successful launch of its ASR points-purchase feature in June.
The ASR-CapitaStar partnership could potentially be extended to more than 11 million CapitaStar members in China, she added. ASR has a global reach, while CapitaStar has around 1.1 million members in Singapore.
In its statement, Ascott said OCBC card members and Singapore Medical Association (SMA) members can also get complimentary ASR status upgrades and discount vouchers for use at ASR participating serviced residences and hotels till Dec 31, 2021.
SMA members can also receive up to 40 per cent off best flexible rates at ASR participating properties from Sept 7, 2020 to Dec 31, 2020 as part of Ascott's campaign to thank healthcare heroes amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
Separately, ASR members will receive 2,000 additional points per night for domestic stays at its properties for bookings up to Oct 31 and stays until Nov 30. Ascott said ASR's participating properties in Singapore, such as Ascott Raffles Place Singapore, Ascott Orchard Singapore and lyf Funan Singapore, have been approved by the Singapore Tourism Board to accept staycation bookings.
ASR members will also get 1,000 more points for every two successful ASR referrals, and an additional 1,000 points when their two referrals recommend two other persons each.
Ms Tan said ASR membership has increased exponentially since its launch in April last year, and is seeing increasing interest from business partners to leverage its extensive reach worldwide.
She added that expanding ASR's outreach to other hospitality groups, banks, airlines, professional associations and other potential partners will enable the rewards programme to further grow its base of loyal customers.
Shares of CapitaLand were trading flat at $2.75 as at 9.39am on Monday.
