Mastercard offering instant Brilliant by Langham elite status

Brilliant by Langham is the loyalty programme of Langham Hotels, and replaces the former 1865 Privilege and Langham Supper Club programmes.

While the chain has a relatively small footprint, its properties tend to be more upscale, and Mastercard cardholders can enjoy an instant upgrade up to Ruby status, the highest elite tier in the programme.

This offer was originally set to lapse on 28 February 2026, but has now been extended till 31 December 2027.

Brilliant by Langham fast-track for Mastercard customers

Offer Details

From now till 31 December 2027, Mastercard cardholders can enjoy a complimentary fast-track to Brilliant by Langham elite status, bypassing the usual qualification requirements. 

• World Elite Mastercard: Ruby
• World & World Select Mastercard: Sapphire
• Platinum, Titanium, Standard & Gold Mastercard: Diamond

It’s understandable if you’re confused by the naming convention, especially since Sapphire outranks Ruby in the oneworld status hierarchy, and Diamond is generally considered to be the highest tier for programmes everywhere! But with Langham, the pecking order (from top to bottom) is Ruby > Sapphire > Diamond > Topaz > Onyx. 

How do you register?

1. Create a Brilliant by Langham membership account, which can be done via this link.
2. Login to the Mastercard Redemption Portal to obtain your registration code. This can be found on the home page after logging in. Click on the Get Code button to generate your unique registration code (if you have multiple Mastercards linked to the redemption portal, be sure to select the highest tiered one before generating your code!)

3. Visit this page and join the Brilliant by Langham programme with your membership code

Upgrades will be processed immediately. 

How long is status valid for?

Once your account is upgraded, status is valid for a 12-month period. Unlike other hotel programmes, Brilliant by Langham tracks status by membership year rather than calendar year.

To retain your status beyond this period, you’ll need to meet the regular requalification criteria, namely:

• Ruby: 720,000 status points (equivalent to US$24,000 spending)
• Sapphire: 360,000 status points (equivalent to US$12,000 spending)
• Diamond: 108,000 status points (equivalent to US$3,600 spending)

That’s an awful lot of spending with a relatively niche programme, and I doubt many Mastercard cardholders will see value in extending their status beyond the free look period. 

What perks do members enjoy?

Here’s a summary of the perks enjoyed by the various tiers of Brilliant by Langham membership.

Given the relatively small footprint of Langham, you’d think that the elite benefits would need to be great in order to compensate. 

Unfortunately, they feel rather underwhelming. Even at the highest Ruby tier, there’s no free breakfast, and room upgrades require the use of a voucher, implying limits. The website itself seems confused about elite perks too, describing the 4 p.m late check-out benefit as “guaranteed” in some places, and “subject to availability” in others (I’ll side with the T&Cs here, which list the perk as guaranteed, except at Cordis Dongqian Lake-Ningbo, The Langham, Gold Coast and The Langham Huntington Pasadena, Los Angeles).

In any case, most Langham hotels would be available through programmes like American Express Fine Hotels and Resorts and Virtuoso, which would offer even better benefits such as complimentary breakfast and a US$100 hotel credit. 

Langham might have been better off joining a programme like GHA DISCOVERY instead of trying to run their own programme, which doesn’t feel like it’ll drive a lot of incremental loyalty.

In my personal experience, I did a stay at the Langham Hong Kong in September 2024 as a Ruby member, but didn’t find status to be of much use. No early check-in was available, nor room upgrade, and the staff seemed confused about the status benefits accorded to Ruby members.

On the plus side, my status was renewed all the way till August 2026 despite my lack of stay activity, in celebration of the first anniversary of Brilliant by Langham.

Where are Langham hotels?

The Langham Hospitality Group has more than 30 properties across four continents, though the bulk of its footprint is located in China. Outposts are also available in London, Jakarta, Melbourne, Sydney, Chicago, New York and Boston.

In addition to Langham Hotels, Cordis Hotels and the Chelsea Hotel Toronto also fall under the Brilliant by Langham umbrella. 

What other hotel status do Mastercard customers enjoy?

Mastercard has been busy striking deals with smaller hotel chains, and cardholders can enjoy fast-tracks to elite status with the following loyalty programmes.

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.

Which Mastercards belong to the World Elite tier?

Mastercard World is an extremely common tier these days, available even with entry-level cards like the Citi Rewards Card, OCBC 90°N Card or UOB PRVI Miles Card. 

Mastercard World Elite is more selective, and is generally only available on cards with income requirements of at least S$120,000 p.a., or through privilege banking relationships.

Card	Annual Fee	Qualification Req.
Citi Prestige Card Apply	S$651.82	Income ≥ S$120K
Citi Private Client Debit Card Apply	N/A	Min. AUM S$1.5M
Citi ULTIMA Card Apply	S$4,237.92	Income ≥ S$500K
DCS Imperium Card Apply	S$1,294.92	Unknown
HSBC Premier Mastercard Apply	N/A*	Min. AUM S$200K
HSBC Prive Card Apply	S$5,327.92	HSBC Global Private Banking relationship
OCBC Premier Debit Card Apply	N/A	Min. AUM S$350K
OCBC PPC Debit Card Apply	N/A	Min. AUM S$1.5M
StanChart Beyond Card^ Apply	S$1,635	Income ≥ S$200K
UOB Lady’s Solitaire Metal Card Apply	S$598.99	Spend S$45K in 3-month period on UOB Lady’s Solitaire Card
*Waived if min. AUM is maintained, otherwise S$708.50 ^Supplementary cards may not enjoy this benefit because of StanChart’s “copy-paste” problem

Conclusion

Mastercard cardholders can continue to receive an instant upgrade all the way to top-tier Ruby status in the Brilliant by Langham loyalty programme, bypassing the usual spending requirement. 

Some status is better than none, but I’m struggling to see the appeal of the programme in general. If you were going to stay at a Langham in the first place, you might as well book it through a luxury privileges programme like Virtuoso which guarantees better benefits without the need for status. 

Well, maybe those invitations to member-exclusive experiences will be worth something…

Anyone has experience with Langham hotels?