Jumeirah's loyalty program (Jumeirah Sirius) explained

Friday newsletters always feature luxury travel contests, tips, series, or news.

Today (July 10, 2014): Travel Series: Jumeirah’s loyalty program (Jumeirah Sirius) explained.

Being a member of a hotel loyalty program is one of the easiest ways to get free nights and/or score upgrades at luxury hotels. I previously published the details, with pros & cons, of the loyalty programs of Starwood, Hyatt, Hilton, Marriott and IHG hotels. Today, I have a look at the Jumeirah Hotel Group’s loyalty program.

Jumeirah Sirius is the complimentary loyalty program of the Dubai based, ultraluxurious Jumeirah Hotel Group. Members earn Jumeirah Sirius Points and exchange them for valuable rewards when they stay at one of the more than 20 Jumeirah Hotels & Resorts in the world (in destination such as Dubai, the Maldives, Frankfurt, London, and Rome).

Jumeirah’s flagship hotel is the world-famous Burj Al Arab, which features in my top 10 lists of the most expensive hotels in the world and the world’s most amazing hotel lobbies.

In this overview, I explain the Jumeirah Sirius loyalty program:

Membership tiers
Earn points
Redeem awards & travel for free
Pros & things I like about Jumeirah Sirius
Cons & things I don’t like about Jumeirah Sirius
Key points
Poll: what’s the best hotel loyalty program?

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JUMEIRAH SIRIUS : MEMBERSHIP TIERS

When spending your money at one of the Jumeirah Hotel & Resorts, you will earn two types of Points:

Tier Points determine your Tier Status (membership level) and are not exchangeable for rewards. All guests earn two Tier Points for every USD spent at Jumeirah Hotel & Resorts.
Jumeirah Sirius Points can be exchanged for rewards and privileges (see below).

Jumeirah’s loyalty program is a top class awards structure offering a three-tier system. Membership level is determined by the number of Tier Points you collect every 12 months (from the date of submission to the program or renewal). Blue membership is the first level, Silver the second and Gold is the top-level. Each level has benefits and as the member moves from Blue to Silver then Gold, they become more valuable.

Blue membership is the base level and has the following benefits:
- Two Jumeirah Sirius Points for every USD dollar spent across Jumeirah Hotels, Resorts & Residences globally.
- Complimentary internet access.
- After your first stay, you will get a free night on your next stay when you stay a minimum of 4 nights (booking must be made through the Jumeirah Contact Centre).

Silver membership is reached after collecting 10,000 Tier Points in a time span of 12 months. Silver members receive more benefits than Gold members:
- Complimentary internet access.
- Complimentary continental breakfast for two.
- Late check-out until 14:00 (upon request only and subject to availability).
- A unique Jumeirah amenity.
- Complimentary transfer in the Maldives (when staying a minimum of five nights).
- 15% savings on selected Jumeirah spas and leisure facilities.
- 15% savings on entry to Wild Wadi Waterpark in Dubai for you & 4 guests.
- 10% savings on dining in all Jumeirah restaurants (this is applicable for food & beverage).
- 50% Bonus Jumeirah Sirius Points for every USD 1 spent in any in any Jumeirah hotel or resort.

Gold membership, Jumeirah Sirius’ highest level, is reached after collecting 40,000 Tier Points in a time span of 12 months. Gold members receive more benefits compared to Jumeirah Sirius’ lower tiers:
- Complimentary internet access.
- Complimentary full breakfast for two.
- Late check-out until 16:00 (upon request and subject to availability).
- A unique Jumeirah amenity.
- Complimentary airport transfers.
- Complimentary room upgrade (subject to availability at time of check-in and not applicable at Jumeirah Living Residences).
- 20% savings on selected Jumeirah spas and leisure facilities.
- 25% savings on entry to Dubai’s Wild Wadi Waterpark for you and four guests.
- 10% savings on dining in Jumeirah Restaurants (applicable for Food & Beverage)
- Club Executive Lounge access for you and one guest.
- Burj Al Arab Jumeirah access for you and three guests.
- 50% Bonus Jumeirah Sirius Points for every USD dollar spent in any Jumeirah hotel or resort.

JUMEIRAH SIRIUS: EARN POINTS

As stated above, when you stay at one of the Jumeirah Hotel & Resorts, you will earn you two type of Points:

Tier Points, which determine your Tier Status (membership level) and are not exchangeable for rewards.
Jumeirah Sirius Points, which can be exchanged for rewards and privileges.

There’s only one way to earn Jumeirah Sirius points so far, and that is to spend your money at Jumeirah Hotels & Resorts. There a few options though to boost your account:

Guests earn two Jumeirah Sirius Points for every USD dollar spent across Jumeirah Hotels, Resorts & Residences globally

Silver and Gold elite members automatically receive a bonus of a 50% Jumeirah Sirius Points, meaning they earn three Jumeirah Sirius Points for every USD dollar spent in any Jumeirah hotel or resort.

You can earn Jumeirah Sirius Points for wining and dining at Jumeirah hotels, even when you are not staying at them.

You can earn Jumeirah Sirius Points at selected Jumeirah Talise Spa’s, even when you are not staying at the hotel.

JUMEIRAH SIRIUS: REDEEM AWARDS & TRAVEL FOR FREE

You can redeem Jumeirah Sirius Points for free hotel nights at Jumeirah’s portfolio of hotels (no blackout dates). The number of points required for a free night depends on the luxury caliber of hotel (ranging from 600 to 30,000) and the period you want to stay (with off-peak, peak, and super-peak rates).

You can use Jumeirah Sirius Points to upgrade to a higher room category, where available. The number of points required for a room upgrade depends on the room type and the luxury caliber of hotel (ranging from 150 to 40,000)

You can redeem Jumeirah Sirius Points for gourmet dining at award-winning restaurants at participating Jumeirah hotels around the world, even when you’re not staying the night.

You can redeem Jumeirah Sirius Points for an exciting range of luxurious lifestyle experience at participating Jumeirah hotels around the world, even when you’re not staying the night. You can choose from spa treatments, stylish shopping, gift certificates, or airport transfers in style (in a Rolls Royce Phantom!).

Jumeirah Sirius Points can be converted to airline miles. Airline partners are Qatar Airways, All Nippon Airways, Japan Airlines, and Saudia Airlines.

PROS & THINGS I LIKE ABOUT JUMEIRAH SIRIUS

Jumeirah is one of the very few luxury hotel chains that owns a loyalty program and thus makes efforts to reward its most loyal guests.

You can use your Sirius Jumeirah Points for a free stay at Jumeirah’s iconic and world-famous Burj Al Arab hotel. Burj Al Arab features in our top 10 list of the most expensive hotels in the world and the world’s most amazing hotel lobbies.

The program is uncomplicated and thus very easy to understand.

Jumeirah Sirius Points don’t expire as long as, in the past 12 months, you have collected points through any eligible spending at any Jumeirah hotel or resort.

With Jumeirah, you can earn airline miles per stay with more than 15 participating airlines. Simply present your airline frequent flyer number and Sirius Jumeirah card at check-in. Jumeirah’s airlines partners all offer 1 mile per 1 USD spent during a qualified stay. If you are staying with Jumeirah but not on a qualifying room rate, you will earn 1 mile per 1 USD on your spend with Jumeirah Hotels & Resorts, excluding room charges. If you stay at any Jumeirah Hotel or Resort for 15 nights or more in a calendar year, whether consecutive nights or a cumulative number of stays, you will earn a bonus of 5,000 miles.

Jumeirah has a Best Rate Guarantee (BRG) program, which means that, when you book directly with Jumeirah (Jumeirah website, Jumeirah’s worldwide reservation offices, or directly with a Jumeirah hotel), you can be sure that you are getting the best publicly available price on the room of your choice. If within 24 hours of making your booking you find a lower price for the same hotel, room type and reservation dates, simply submit a BRG claim and Jumeirah will honour the lower rate and provide an additional complementary 15% rate reduction. Finding a better rate is not difficult at all, as you can read in my tips for booking a luxury hotel at the cheapest price.

There are no award blackout dates. As long as there is a standard room available, you can book it using your Jumeirah Sirius Points.

CONS & THINGS I DON’T LIKE ABOUT JUMEIRAH SIRIUS

Jumeirah is a very small luxury hotel chain with only 25 properties in its portfolio, making it very hard to achieve any status at all unless you are a Jumeirah die-hard fan.

Jumeirah has very limited international representation outside the Middle East. The chain is absent from many international markets. They are expanding rapidly however.

While Jumeirah Sirius is very easy to understand, the options to earn and spend Jumeirah Sirius Points are very limited.

Jumeirah Sirius only has limited airline partnerships, contrary to loyalty programs of other hotel chains such as Starwood, Hyatt, Hilton, Marriott and IHG.

KEY POINTS

Jumeirah is a small but ultraluxurious hotel chain, so be sure to subscribe to their loyalty program when you stay at one of their hotels.

There are not many earning options and the ways to burn points are limited as well.

Always make a booking using a Best Rate Guarantee to throw in an additional 15% discount.

The best way to spend your Jumeirah Sirius Points is to use them for hotel stays, dinners and spa treatments.

The worst way to spend your Jumeirah Sirius Points is to transfer them to airline miles.

When you don’t travel a lot to the UAE, Jumeirah Sirius Points membership is not very rewarding since Jumeirah’s international representation outside the UAE is very small.

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