Mastercard offering I Prefer Titanium hotel elite status

You might not have heard of The Preferred Hotels Group, but it has more than 600 hotels and resorts in over 80 countries, including familiar names like The Fullerton Hotel, The Fullerton Bay Hotel, Artyzen Singapore and Royal Plaza on Scotts in Singapore.

The group’s loyalty programme is called I Prefer, and for the past few years, Mastercard customers have enjoyed an instant fast track up to Titanium (the highest published tier in the programme), along with 25,000 bonus points for World Elite Mastercard customers.

This offer was originally set to lapse on 30 June 2025, but has now been renewed till 31 December 2026.

Unfortunately, there’s also one major change: status is now awarded upon the completion of the first stay, instead of upfront.

I Prefer fast-track for Mastercard customers

I Prefer Offer

From 1 July 2025 to 31 December 2026, Mastercard customers with cards issued in Asia Pacific are eligible for a fast-track to I Prefer elite status, bypassing the usual qualification requirements. 

This offer is not valid for existing I Prefer members. You must create a new I Prefer account if you wish to participate. 

While status was previously granted instantly upon registration, cardmembers must now complete one qualifying stay before 31 March 2027 to receive their status upgrade. Once the stay is completed, status will be upgraded and remain valid for one year. 

Do note that there is no qualifying stay requirement for Gold and Standard Mastercard cardholders as they receive Silver status anyway, the lowest tier in the I Prefer programme. 

That said, the only relevant tier is really Titanium, because even the most basic debit and credit cards in Singapore belong to the World Mastercard tier. 

If you have a World Elite Mastercard, however, you’ll receive an extra 25,000 points after completing your first booking.  I Prefer reward nights start from 15,000 points, or you can redeem them for cash certificates at a value of 1 point = 0.2 US cents (so 25,000 points would be worth US$50).

As a reminder, the following Mastercards belong to the World Elite tier.

Card	Annual Fee	Qualification Req.
Citi Prestige Card	S$651.82	Income ≥ S$120K
Citi Private Client Debit Card	N/A	Min. AUM S$1.5M
Citi ULTIMA Card	S$4,238	Income ≥ S$500K
DCS Imperium Card	S$3,584	Unknown
HSBC Premier Mastercard	N/A*	Min. AUM S$200K
HSBC Prive Card	S$5,328	HSBC Global Private Banking relationship
OCBC Premier Debit Card	N/A	Min. AUM S$350K
OCBC PPC Debit Card	N/A	Min. AUM S$1.5M
StanChart Beyond Card	S$1,635	Income ≥ S$200K
UOB Lady’s Solitaire Metal Card	S$599	Spend S$45K in 3-month period on UOB Lady’s Solitaire Card
*Waived if min. AUM is maintained, otherwise S$490.50

How do you register?

I Prefer’s verification process used to be somewhat lacking, to put it mildly, as registration codes weren’t unique. Therefore, all it took was one person with a World Elite Mastercard to share their code, and presto- everyone’s Titanium!

That’s now been rectified, and you’ll need to generate a unique code via the Mastercard Redemption Portal.

1. Visit the Mastercard Redemption Portal and look for the I Prefer banner. 

2. Generate your registration code and use it to sign up for an I Prefer membership via this link

What perks do members enjoy?

Here’s a summary of the perks enjoy by the various tiers of I Prefer membership.

To be frank, the perks aren’t great. Titanium members do enjoy early check-in, late check-out, and enhanced room upgrades, but all these are subject to availability. Moreover, the same benefits are available to Gold and Silver, though presumably Titanium has higher priority.

There’s no complimentary breakfast nor lounge access, and in any case I Prefer is not so much a chain as it is a marketing alliance. Consequently, there isn’t a lot of consistency or enforcement of I Prefer elite benefits. 

In my experiences so far (at the Fullertobn Hotel Sydney, Hotel Munchen Palace and Hotel Maximilian) I got nothing more than a drinks voucher- no upgrades, no late check-out, no welcome amenity. The check-in staff seemed altogether unfamiliar with the programme. Perhaps things have changed in the years since, but I don’t have the best impression based on my stays.

According to the I Prefer terms and conditions, you’ll need to book through the following channels to enjoy points and benefits: 

• IPrefer.com, PreferredHotels.com, PreferredGolf.com, StayBeyondGreen.com
• Preferred Hotel Group call centers
• Travel agent bookings (other than online travel agents including, but not limited to Travelocity, Orbitz, Expedia, and Hotels.com)
• Hotel website
• Hotel direct bookings, e.g. phone bookings

However, I’ve been told by hotels that you need to book through I Prefer to receive benefits, so there seems to be some inconsistency there. 

What other hotel status do Mastercard customers enjoy?

Mastercard has been busy striking deals with smaller hotel loyalty programmes, and cardholders can enjoy the following fast-track offers.

While some of these chains are relatively obscure, GHA DISCOVERY and Wyndham Rewards are noteworthy enough.

In any case, if your travel plans happen to bring you to one of these hotels, then I’m sure you’d rather have some status than none at all.

Conclusion

Mastercard has extended its partnership with I Prefer till 31 December 2026, offering eligible cardholders up to Titanium status. 

However, status is no longer granted upfront. Instead, you’ll be required to complete one qualifying stay before getting upgraded, which will serve as a disincentive to trying out the programme.

Still, the 25,000 points you earn from a single stay (as a World Elite Mastercard customer) are enough for one free night at the chain’s lower-tier properties, so that’s still a deal worth taking.