One of the most popular perks with American Express Platinum and Centurion Cards is fast-track status at Shangri-La hotels. In many countries worldwide, American Express Platinum Cardmembers get complimentary Jade membership of Shangri-La’s Golden Circle loyalty programme. For Centurion cardmembers, they get complimentary Diamond membership of Shangri-La’s Golden Circle loyalty programme. Here are all the details of the Shangri-La Golden Circle Amex Platinum perk.

Shangri-La Golden Circle has three tiers: Gold, Jade and Diamond. Jade is the mid-tier for the programme, and usually requires ten hotel stays or 20 nights in a calendar year. You get the following benefits as a Jade member:

• Partner stays in the same room and enjoys applicable breakfast benefit.
• Daily buffet breakfast served at Café Restaurant or designated restaurant.
• Upgrade to the next best room category, if the reserved room type is not available at check-in
• Early check-in / late check-out – 11am / 4pm
• Bonus GC Award Points

Diamond is the top-tier for the programme, and usually requires 25 hotel stays or 50 nights in a calendar year. You get the following benefits as a Diamond member:

• Partner stays in the same room and enjoys applicable breakfast benefit.
• Daily buffet breakfast served at Café Restaurant, Club Lounge, where available
• Upgrade to the next best room category, if the reserved room type is not available at check-in
• Access to Club Lounge, where available
• Concierge services for non-staying guests
• Early check-in / late check-out – 11am / 4pm
• Bonus GC Award Points

Currently, the Shangri-La Golden Circle Amex Platinum benefit is offered in various countries, including but not limited to:

• Singapore
• Australia
• India
• Canada
• International Dollar Card
• Thailand
• United Kingdom
• Hong Kong
• Philipines
• Finland

Unfortunately, the American Express and Shangri-La partnership will be discontinued on March 31, 2021. This announcement has been rolled out on the Amex website, wherever applicable. It looks like this, but differently worded, for different markets.

The good thing is, there is still time to claim your Shangri-La status if you hold an American Express Platinum Card. If you don’t have one and are considering applying for one, you should pick it up right away, as it will help you secure your Shangri-La Jade status before March 31, 2021. Apply using this link to get 120,000 Membership Rewards points when you sign on in India. Once you have the card, you will be able to enrol for the status by March 31.

The Shangri-La status does not just have benefits by itself, but also, it has many associated perks which come with it.

Get Star Alliance Gold via Shangri-La Golden Circle short-cut.

Shangri-La has long had a tie-up with Singapore Airlines called Infinite Journeys. Shangri-La Jade- and Diamond-tier members receive instant KrisFlyer Silver status once they join up their Shangri-La Golden Circle and Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer accounts.

Once the accounts are jointed up, Shangri-La Jade Members need to take three flights on Singapore Airlines, or just one flight as a Diamond member to receive KrisFlyer Gold status. Once you have KrisFlyer Gold status, you have the equivalent of Star Alliance Gold status, which means you unlock the following benefits on flights across the globe on a Star Alliance member carrier:

• Priority Airport Check-in
• Priority Baggage Handling
• Airport Lounge Access
• Priority Boarding
• Extra Baggage Allowance
• Gold Track services at some airports.

Get Taj InnerCircle Gold via Warmer Welcomes

Shangri-La Golden Circles and Taj Inner Circle joined up in a strategic alliance called Warmer Welcomes, which went live in March 2017. Under this tie-up, both programmes give benefits to each other’s loyalty members. Also, there is an automatic status match between the tiers of the programmes.

• GC Members:
  • Jade (GC) -> Gold (TIC)
  • Diamond (GC) -> Platinum (TIC)
• TIC Members:
  • Gold (TIC) -> Jade (GC)
  • Platinum (TIC) -> Diamond (GC)

Remember, Taj InnerCircle is mostly an Indian hotel company’s loyalty programme. However, Taj also has hotels in various countries worldwide, such as the US, UAE and UK. The UAE has Taj Dubai, which is close to Bur Dubai. The US has The Pierre in New York and so on.

In both cases, with Singapore Airlines and Taj Hotels, the provision of moving points in both directions also exists.

Bottomline

American Express Platinum Cardmembers and Centurion Members will lose an important benefit in the coming days, the Shangri-La Golden Circle status that came along with it. However, there is still time to benefit if you already have the card and have not picked up your status with Golden Circle.

What are some of your experiences with the Shangri-La Golden Circle Amex Platinum benefit?

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