GHA DISCOVERY Red: GHA’s secret invite-only tier

GHA DISCOVERY is officially a four-tiered loyalty programme, with Silver, Gold, Platinum and Titanium. But did you know there’s a further unpublished level called Red?

Red is an exclusive, invite-only tier reserved for VIPs, similar to other programmes like Shangri-La Circle Polaris, Marriott Bonvoy Cobalt, and Hyatt Courtesy Card.

GHA has waffled as to how much information it discloses about this tier. A few years ago, Red was a closely-kept secret, and the stuff of urban legends. Then in 2024, GHA decided to publicise the tier on its website…only to scrub all references to it a few months later. That’s where we’ve settled for now, with the only mentions of Red found on blogs, or the occasional GHA hotel which didn’t get the memo to take it down. 

Here’s what we know about this tier, how to qualify, and what benefits it gives.

How do you qualify for GHA DISCOVERY Red?

There are some publicity materials circulating online which suggest that the qualification criteria for GHA DISCOVERY Red is 5 brands, 100 nights, or US$25,000 spend. 

Tier	Brands	Nights	Spend
Silver	–	–	–
Gold	–	2 stays	US$1K
Platinum	2 brands	10 nights	US$5K
Titanium	3 brands	30 nights	US$15K
Red	5 brands?	100 nights?	US$25K?

But I don’t for a moment believe that five brand stays will get you a Red invitation, or Red members would be a dime a dozen. Heck, I don’t even think 100 nights or US$25,000 spending is a sure shot.

Instead, it’s more likely that membership is only available to key decision makers at corporate clients, or nomination by the General Manager of a GHA DISCOVERY-participating hotel.

As it says in the T&Cs:

Red Tier members do not earn their status by reference to fixed thresholds of Eligible Nights stayed, Net Eligible Spend or Eligible Brand Stays. They are invited to Red Tier status by GHA at GHA’s absolute discretion

-GHA DISCOVERY T&Cs

Long story short, if you have to ask…

What benefits does GHA DISCOVERY Red offer?

Here’s a summary of how GHA DISCOVERY Red compares to the Platinum and Titanium tiers.

Compared to Titanium members, Reds can be upgraded all the way to suites, with 10 a.m check-in and 6 p.m check-out. But here’s the catch: these benefits are subject to availability, and not a guaranteed perk. From what I understand, these used to be guaranteed benefits, and the check-out time could be as late as 9 p.m!

In fact, the only guaranteed benefit you now receive as a Red member is breakfast for two guests at selected brands, which is really no different from what Titaniums receive. There’s also the same room availability guarantee, valid for bookings made up to 48 hours before arrival. 

In addition to this, there are some brand-specific benefits, though again, they’re not exactly earth-shattering. In fact, the 30% discount on F&B offered at PARKROYAL hotels is identical to the benefit offered to Titanium members!

So unless that VIP customer service line is able to move heaven and earth, or unless there are some significant unpublished benefits to be had, it’s difficult to discern what incremental benefit is offered beyond Titanium.

Moreover, given the sheer number of brands under the GHA DISCOVERY umbrella, and the lack of centralised control (GHA membership is more akin to a marketing agreement than a true chain), it’s inevitable that there’ll be a huge disparity in treatment. You might get treated like a prince at one hotel, and no different from a regular guest at another.

Conclusion

GHA DISCOVERY has an invitation-only tier called Red. The main benefits here are suite upgrades and earlier check-in/later check-out, but they’re subject to availability, and it otherwise doesn’t seem that much of an upgrade compared to Titanium. 

In reality though, the point of such hush-hush tiers isn’t so much the published benefits, but rather to alert hotels that a customer is important to the company and should receive extra TLC (what form exactly that takes is usually at the hotel’s discretion).

GHA DISCOVERY Red members: Any stories to share?