The Leading Hotels of the World Collection: What to Know

Some of the finest and most familiar luxury hotels are part of The Leading Hotels of the World collection. With more than 400 hotels in this elite group, well-heeled guests and those looking to splurge can wake up in palace hotels, boutique and design properties, urban retreats and beach resorts.

Here's how you can maximize the perks on your next LHW stay by being part of the Leaders Club program.

» Learn more: Travel loyalty program reviews

Leaders Club is free to join and points do not expire as long as your account remains active. Members receive one complimentary, pre-arrival upgrade each year, plus early check-in, late checkout and free Wi-Fi.

The LHW portfolio is smaller than other hotel collections, but it does include some world-famous hotels. You won’t find many budget options on the list. Instead, LHW focuses on well-known hotels like Hotel Sacher in Vienna and the Ritz Paris in France.

You’ll also find LHW properties in the world’s ultra-luxe, see-and-be-seen destinations like Monaco and St. Moritz, including the swanky Kulm Hotel St. Moritz. In Asia, there’s the Palace Hotel Tokyo and the towering, modern Reverie Saigon in Vietnam.

Stateside, you can enjoy Leaders Club benefits in New York at The Lowell and The Knickerbocker, or mix fine dining with luxury accommodations at Nobu Hotel Miami Beach, among others.

» Learn more: Questions to ask before joining a hotel loyalty program

As with many other loyalty programs, to be eligible for benefits and the ability to earn and redeem points, you must book directly through the program. A hotel stay should be reserved on LHW.com, at LHW's reservations center or with a travel agent. This means that reservations made directly through a hotel (and not through an approved LHW channel) would not be eligible for Leaders Club perks.

Members earn 1 point for every dollar they spend on the room rate (on as many as three rooms per booking), but not on restaurant, bar or spa charges.

Fans of hotel elite status will appreciate Leaders Club Sterling, which is for members who spend at least $5,000 on qualifying stays within a calendar year. Once you earn Sterling, you’ll receive five pre-arrival suite upgrades annually and a points bonus equal to 5% of your room rate spend after a qualifying stay. Bonus points are earned at a rate of 1 point per $1 and may take up to 10 days to reach your account.

The suite upgrades at LHW properties can pack some incredible monetary savings, as LHM has some of the most elite hotels in the world.

Above Sterling is Aurelian status. Aurelian members are part of an invitation-only group reserved for the highest spenders in Leaders Club.

Similar to before, a free night redemption begins at 4,000 points. Since there are no award charts, you will have to know your dates of travel first to search on LHW.com and determine the number of points needed for a redemption. For a member with no elite status, it would take $4,000 in spending to achieve 4,000 points.

Without an award chart, it can be hard to plan ahead for how many points you might need, and Leaders Club does not have any credit card transfer partners. The only way to accrue points is by staying at LHW properties.

Similar to loyalty programs like Hilton Honors, Leaders Club uses a dynamic pricing model that determines the number of points needed for a night by factoring in local demand and current rates of an individual property. Each hotel also determines its own blackout dates.

Leaders Club perks are available whether you pay with cash or points.

Credit card programs for boutique stays

Loyal readers may recognize some of the Leaders Club benefits as being similar to programs like the American Express Fine Hotels & Resorts program and The Edit by Chase (formerly called the Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection). These two programs are reserved for members with affiliated credit cards like The Platinum Card® from American Express or the Chase Sapphire Reserve®. Cardholders who book using these credit cards would receive an on-property amenity like a food, beverage or spa credit or a welcome gift, plus breakfast, space-available room upgrades and potential late checkout.

» Learn more: The best travel credit cards right now

Since the AmEx and Chase programs are limited to those carrying a certain credit card, they may not be useful to everyone. To its credit, Leaders Club is free to join and useful no matter how you pay.

When booking directly with LHW, guests are assured the lowest rate, too. Not so when booking a hotel through the Chase or AmEx credit card programs, since they sometimes charge higher rates that may offset the value of the benefits received.

More traditional hotel loyalty programs

If comparing Leaders Club to more traditional loyalty programs like Marriott Bonvoy or World of Hyatt, the LHW program deserves high marks. All members — not just elite status members — are treated to breakfast and upgrade perks. It may take reaching a certain elite status with other programs to be treated to similar perks.

With Leaders Club, those perks are guaranteed. The main benefit of elite status with Leaders Club is earning upgrades and a 5% points bonus after each qualifying stay.

Of course, if your budget only allows a certain price range, Leaders Club may not be the best fit for you, as its properties tend toward the expensive side. But if you're an occasional traveler who likes to stay at high-end brand names like St. Regis or Park Hyatt without status, you might want to consider Leaders Club-participating properties in your next destination.

The decision as to whether Leaders Club is right for you comes down to where you want to stay and how you like to travel. If you want to make a bold statement and bask in luxury, Leaders Club is a great option since it comes with some value-focused perks that can take the edge off of high rates. Free continental breakfast and at least one upgrade for all members (not just those with elite status) are benefits we can all appreciate.

While the rates at LHW properties tend to be on the high end, the immediate rewards that come with Leaders Club are great for less frequent travelers who like to splurge at the ritziest addresses in the world.