Extended: Instant GHA DISCOVERY Titanium or Platinum with Mastercard

For several years now, Mastercard has been offering instant GHA DISCOVERY elite status, with cardholders getting fast tracked up to Titanium, the highest (published) tier in the programme.

Titanium members enjoy perks such as two-category room upgrades, late check-out, and complimentary breakfast at selected GHA brands.

The fast-track offer is renewed on a rolling basis, and the latest extension means it’s now valid for applications submitted till 31 December 2025. Cardholders will enjoy status till the end of the following calendar year, so applying at the start of 2025 nets you two years of status benefits. 

Get instant DISCOVERY status with Mastercard

From now till 31 December 2025, Mastercard cardholders can enjoy a complimentary fast-track to GHA DISCOVERY elite status, skipping the usual qualification requirements. 

Here’s how the tiers align:

• World Elite Mastercard: GHA Discovery Titanium
• World Mastercard: GHA DISCOVERY Platinum
• Platinum & Titanium Mastercard: GHA DISCOVERY Gold

In Singapore, almost every Mastercard is at least a World tier, so you should easily qualify for GHA DISCOVERY Platinum at the very least.

World Elite Mastercards are rarer, but here’s the ones I know of.

Card	Annual Fee	Qualification Req.
Citi Prestige	S$545	Income ≥ S$120K
Citi Private Client Debit Card	N/A	Min. AUM S$1.5M
Citi ULTIMA	S$4,238	Income ≥ S$500K
DCS Imperium	S$3,584	Unknown
HSBC Premier Mastercard	N/A*	Min. AUM S$200K
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

The GHA DISCOVERY fast-track offer is available to Mastercard customers in the following countries.

How do you register?

For new GHA DISCOVERY members

1. Visit https://redemption.mastercard.com
2. ‘Sign-Up’ for a new account using your email and eligible Mastercard card or ‘Log-In’ using an existing account
3. Click on ‘Experience GHA DISCOVERY’
4. Click ‘Use Now’
5. Click ‘Confirm’
6. Click ‘Create an Account’
7. Once all fields are complete, click ‘Next’
8. Provide consent preference under ‘Preferences and T&C’ and click ‘Confirm’
9. “Congratulations! Your new membership status” will be shown. Click ‘Done’ to be brought to your membership dashboard. At the same time, an enrolment confirmation email will be sent to the registered email.

For existing GHA DISCOVERY members

1. Visit https://redemption.mastercard.com
2. ‘Sign-Up’ for a new account using your email and eligible Mastercard card or ‘Log-In’ using an existing account
3. Click on ‘Experience GHA DISCOVERY’
4. Click ‘Use Now’
5. Click ‘Confirm’
6. Sign in using your GHA DISCOVERY account details, user name/email and password. Should you need to reset your password, please ensure you complete the process within the same browser window.
7. After signing in, cardholder will be asked to confirm if you would like to proceed with the upgrade, click ‘Confirm’
8. “Congratulations! Your new membership status” will be shown. Click ‘Done’ to be brought to your membership dashboard. At the same time, an enrolment confirmation email will be sent to the registered email.
9. If the cardholder’s existing membership level matches the membership level offered through the partnership campaign, the member’s membership will be renewed to the end of the next calendar year.
10. If the cardholder’s existing membership level is higher than the membership level offered through the partnership campaign, the member’s membership will not be downgraded.

How long is status valid for?

Once upgraded, your status will be valid until the end of the next calendar year. For example, if your account gets upgraded on 1 January 2025, you will enjoy status till 31 December 2026.

Requalification is subject to GHA’s regular criteria, namely:

What if I already have status?

If your existing status level matches the membership level offered through Mastercard, you’ll receive a further extension till the end of the next calendar year.

This is provided you haven’t already taken advantage of a Mastercard fast-track in the past. 

What perks do DISCOVERY elites get?

GHA DISCOVERY benefits are valid at more than 800+ participating hotels worldwide, covering 40 brands including heavyweights like Anantara, Avani, Capella, Kempinski, Pan Pacific, PARKROYAL, and Tivoli. 

While double room upgrades and 11 a.m check-in sound enticing on paper, do note that these are subject to availability. Therefore, your experience very much depends on how willing the hotel is to follow the rulebook, and YMMV. 

There is one guaranteed benefit, however- breakfast for Titaniums. This was introduced in 2024, and is now available at the following brands:

• Andronis
• Araiya Hotels & Resorts
• Capella Hotels & Resorts
• Divani Collection
• Lore Group
• Lungarno Collection
• Marco Polo Hotels
• Maqo Hotels
• Mysk Hotels
• Niccolo Hotels
• Nikki Beach Hotels & Resorts
• Pan Pacific Hotels & Resorts 
• Paramount Hotels
• PARKROYAL Hotels & Resorts
• PARKROYAL COLLECTION Hotels & Resorts
• Shaza Hotels
• The Set Collection 
• Grand Hotel Heiligendamm
• Unike Hoteller

This is offered daily for up to two adults per room, and the savings can really add up over longer stays.

What other hotel status do Mastercard customers enjoy?

Mastercard has been busy striking deals with smaller hotel loyalty programmes, and cardholders can enjoy fast-tracks to elite status with eight programmes in total.

Like I said, these aren’t necessarily the largest loyalty chains out there- I know I’d rather have Hilton Gold status than Swiss Belexecutive “Gold Influencer”, whatever that is.

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

Conclusion

Mastercard has once again extended its tie-up with GHA DISCOVERY, which grants cardholders instant elite status up to Titanium.

Titanium perks are great to have, with double category room upgrades and complimentary breakfast (at participating brands) particularly useful. Even Platinum gives you a shot at a room upgrade, and given how easy it is to get a World Mastercard you really shouldn’t be anything less than that.

I’m really digging Mastercard’s strategy of partnering up with numerous hotel chains for status fast tracks. Even if some of them are rather obscure, who knows? It might come in useful some point down the road.