Belmond selling gift cards with 20% bonus

Belmond may not be as much of a household name as Marriott or Hilton, but it’s one of the big players in the luxury travel space. Think of it alongside Aman, Four Seasons, Rosewood, and Six Senses- the kind of places you can’t hope to redeem with points (well, except Six Senses).

Belmond offering 20% bonus on gift cards

Belmond is currently offering a 20% bonus on gift cards, although they haven’t stated how long this will last. This bonus applies when you purchase a 500/1,000 EUR/GBP/USD gift card. In other words:

• Buy a 500 EUR/GBP/USD gift card and get an additional 100 EUR/GBP/USD
• Buy a 1,000 EUR/GBP/USD gift card and get an additional 200 EUR/GBP/USD

Belmond gift cards do not expire, and you can purchase a maximum of US$10,000 of gift cards in a day. Gift cards cannot be used to secure or prepay a hotel reservation; you’ll need to use them to pay at the time of check-out. 

There’s no need to use the entire gift card value at once, as any remaining value will be retained on the card. Do also note the following:

• Gift Cards may not be used to secure, confirm or prepay a hotel or restaurant reservation. 
• For in-house hotel guests, any charge that can be billed to the guest’s room can be paid for with a Gift Card. This includes taxes and gratuities.
• Gift Cards may ONLY be used to settle balances in advance of travel through the reservations department. They cannot be redeemed onboard a Belmond train or cruise.

The full T&Cs for Belmond gift cards can be found here. 

What can I use Belmond gift cards for?

The obvious option is to use gift cards for hotel stays, but what’s interesting about Belmond is that they offer much more than just hotels.

You could take a ride on a Belmond luxury train through Scotland, or Peru, or even through South East Asia. Forget the MRT, this is train travel like you’ve never seen it.

Or you could use your gift card at Belmond’s six restaurants in Brazil, Italy, Portugal, and the UK. There’s no requirement for you to be a staying guest to use a gift card. 

• Mee, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
• Ristorante Hotel Cipriani, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
• Oro, Venice, Italy
• Otto Geleng, Taormina, Italy
• William, Madeira, Portugal
• Le Manoir Aux Quat’saisons, Oxfordshire, UK

Or maybe a river cruise through France or Burma on a luxury barge? I don’t think I’ve seen a barge with a swimming pool before…

There’s also safaris and other experiences, but do note that most of these require prepayment, and you won’t be able to use a gift card for those. 

What card should I use to purchase Belmond gift cards?

These purchases will code as foreign currency hotel spending, so you can use the following cards to maximise the miles you earn.

	Earn Rate	Remarks
DBS Woman’s World Card Apply here	4 mpd	Cap S$2K per c. month
UOB Visa Signature Apply here	4 mpd	Min S$1K Max S$2K FCY per s. month
UOB Lady’s Card Apply here	4 mpd	Cap S$1K per c. month. Declare travel as 10X category
UOB Lady’s Solitaire Apply here	4 mpd	Cap S$3K per c. month. Declare travel as 10X category
SCB X Card Apply here	3 mpd	Until 30 Jun 20. Min S$2K per c. month
SCB Visa Infinite	3 mpd	Min S$2K per s. month
BOC Elite Miles	3 mpd	Until 15 June 20
DBS Altitude Apply here	3 mpd	Cap S$5K per c. month
S. Month= Statement Month | C. Month= Calendar Month

Conclusion

If you’re intending to book a Belmond train or cruise experience, you should probably brace yourself to shell out a lot of money. For instance, Belmond’s Singapore to Bangkok train costs an eyewatering US$4.7K per passenger for a 3 night journey. 

A 20% bonus on gift cards might help, but if you’re pinching pennies, this really isn’t the sort of deal for you anyway. 

(HT: OMAAT)