Start here: GHA DISCOVERY — join, earn and spend DISCOVERY Dollars, and reach a tier

Step 1: What GHA DISCOVERY is and who it suits

You will learn: what GHA DISCOVERY is, who operates it, and where its rules sit.

The programme is operated by GHA, and its terms state that the programme has no predetermined termination date and may continue until GHA decides to end it [1]. GHA reserves the right to terminate the programme at any time with or without reason, and reserves the right to modify the terms with or without notice, including changing rules, benefits, rewards, tier levels and qualification requirements even where a change affects the value of rewards already accumulated [1]. DISCOVERY Dollars are reward points, not a legal currency in any territory, have no intrinsic value, and are not redeemable for cash or any form of credit [1].

Only one member per checked-in room can receive benefits during a stay, and where a member holds other reward cards or booking benefits that grant the same benefits, those benefits can be claimed under either the programme or the other system, not both [1]. The terms are governed by the federal laws of the United Arab Emirates and the Emirate of Dubai [1]. The programme suits travellers who stay at, or dine in, Member Brand Hotels and Participating Restaurants and want D$ and tier recognition across brands [1].

Go deeper: Start here: hotel points for how hotel loyalty currencies work in general, and hotel programmes for Asia for how GHA DISCOVERY sits alongside others in that region.

Step 2: How to join

You will learn: who is eligible to enrol, how accounts are created, and how to leave.

Membership is free and open to any individual who has the legal authority to agree to the terms, being more than 18 years of age or the age of majority where they live if higher, who resides in a jurisdiction that legally permits participation, who provides valid and accurate personal information including an email address, who is not already a member, and who is a natural person rather than a company or other legal entity [1]. Login credentials are created during enrolment on the GHA DISCOVERY website or participating GHA brand websites [1]. Only one individual membership may be registered per person; if GHA finds more than one, it may terminate all of them and the individual immediately forfeits programme benefits, D$ and Eligible Night, Net Eligible Spend and Brand Stay credits [1].

You undertake to keep your membership card and number from unauthorised persons and are responsible for all activity on your account [1]. You may end your membership at any time by written notice by email or post to GHA DISCOVERY Customer Care at [email protected], after which all unredeemed D$, benefits and tier credits are forfeited or cancelled immediately and may not be reinstated or transferred [1].

Go deeper: GHA DISCOVERY programme hub for everything on this programme, grouped by task.

Step 3: How earning works

You will learn: what D$ are earned on, at what percentage, and which stays do not count.

Base D$ are a percentage of your Net Eligible Spend on the folio, calculated after checkout, at the tier you hold when the D$ are issued: 4% at Silver, 5% at Gold, 6% at Platinum and 7% at Titanium; section 5.5 instead ties the percentage to your tier at check-in [1]. Promotional D$ are separate, may be a static amount or a different percentage, and carry their own expiry [1]. Base and Promotional D$ are awarded within 48 hours of the transaction posting, which for a stay means check-out [1]. You must reserve the room in your own name and give your membership number when booking or at check-in or check-out, and up to two rooms under the same name count for earning D$ if you stay overnight at that hotel; rooms under the same name at different hotels on the same dates earn none [1].

Only Eligible Rates earn base D$ and tier credit; a first stay on an Ineligible Rate may receive promotional D$ but no tier credit [1]. Ineligible Rates include third-party online retailer rates such as Expedia, Booking.com and Hotels.com, tour operator and charter rates, airline staff and crew rates pre-booked and paid by the airline or directly, travel-industry staff rates, other discounted rates, and complimentary or voucher stays [1]. Stays on Ineligible Rates are not eligible for tier benefits and D$ may not be redeemed against them [1]. Tier credit is for individual travel only: unless members share the reservation with Sharer status and pay separately, an option that varies by hotel and may not be accommodated, only one member receives credit, and each Sharer earns spend and D$ on the portion of the bill they pay while receiving the same nights and brand stays [1]. Nights and spend from before enrolment cannot be claimed retroactively, and no credit is given for no-shows [1]. If a credit is missing, the claims route is set by section 10: you may request an adjustment within six months of check-out, or of the transaction date for outlets, sending the hotel invoice or outlet receipt and your membership number to GHA DISCOVERY Customer Care [1].

Go deeper: GHA DISCOVERY Dollars guide for the mechanics of earning and spending D$, and hotel points versus cash for framing what a D$ is worth to you.

Step 4: How to use DISCOVERY Dollars

You will learn: where D$ can be spent, the minimum and increments, and what happens on a cancellation or no-show.

D$ can be redeemed on eligible folio transactions during a stay at the hotel, for eligible room rates at participating hotels, not Plum Guide properties, when booking on the GHA DISCOVERY website and app, where redemption may be limited to part of the total room rate, and at Participating Restaurants that are not attached to GHA hotels or where you are not staying [1]. You must redeem at least D$10 in a single transaction and, above that, in D$1 increments: on a Net Eligible Spend of USD 222.99 you could redeem D$222 and pay USD 0.99 another way [1]. Redemption is capped at two rooms under the same name, D$ are used in order of expiry with the nearest expiry first, and they cannot be used on Ineligible Rates such as OTA or tour operator bookings [1].

Refunds follow the channel. In-hotel redemptions are not refunded after the day of redemption unless the error was caused by GHA or the relevant Member Brand [1]. For online redemptions, D$ that expire between the booking date and the cancellation date are forfeited even on a cancellable rate, and D$ still valid on the day of cancellation are refunded only where the booking is still fully refundable and the cancellation is made on a GHA DISCOVERY channel rather than with the hotel [1]. No D$ redeemed online are refunded after a no-show or late cancellation [1]. Bookings that include online D$ redemption cannot be modified; you must cancel and book again [1]. The member who redeems D$ online must be staying on that reservation [1]. D$ cannot be bought, sold or transferred except where the terms permit, and transfers go through the GHA DISCOVERY app to another member, from D$100 to D$500 each, only after 90 days of membership, at up to two sent and two received a day, keeping the same expiry date [1].

Go deeper: GHA DISCOVERY Dollars guide for the spending side in detail, award versus cash calculator for comparing a D$ redemption with paying, and points value calculator for turning D$ into a per-unit figure.

Step 5: Keeping your D$ and reaching a tier

You will learn: when D$ expire, how tier status is earned and how long it lasts.

Base D$ expire by the tier at which they were earned: six months at Silver, or twelve months if issued on or after 1 January 2024, eighteen months at Gold, and twenty-four months at Platinum and Titanium, each expiring at 11:59 pm Central European Time on the expiry date [1]. If you are upgraded or downgraded, D$ already earned keep their original expiry dates [1]. Promotional D$ follow the expiry stated for each promotion [1]. GHA may terminate the membership of a member whose account is inactive, defined as no Eligible Night, no Net Eligible Spend and no D$ redemption during the previous twenty-four months, and that termination may forfeit accrued benefits, D$ and tier credits [1].

New members normally begin at Silver, the entry-level tier, and an upgrade happens once the required Eligible Nights, Net Eligible Spend or Eligible Stays are accumulated, with credit posted once full payment is received and allowing up to 48 hours after check-out [1]. Gold requires at least 2 separate stays or US$1,000 in Net Eligible Spend in a calendar year; Platinum requires 10 Eligible Nights, or 2 Eligible Stays at hotels within different Member Brands, or US$5,000; Titanium requires 30 Eligible Nights, or 3 such cross-brand Eligible Stays, or US$15,000 [1]. Stays are credited by check-out date, and dining spend at Participating Restaurants where you are not staying can also earn tier credit [1]. Status continues through the rest of the qualifying calendar year and the next calendar year, must be requalified each year, and if the requirement is not met in the next year you are downgraded to the immediate tier below at the end of that year [1]. GHA will not grant tier status based on status in any non-GHA DISCOVERY hotel loyalty programme, and the benefits given during a stay are those in effect at check-in [1].

Go deeper: status progress tracker for tracking nights, stays and spend towards the next tier.

Step 6: Your first concrete action

You will learn: the exact sequence to follow for your first credited stay and your first redemption.

1. Join free on ghadiscovery.com, remembering that only one membership per person is allowed and duplicates may be terminated with forfeiture [1].
2. Book an Eligible Rate in your own name directly rather than through an OTA or tour operator, and give your membership number at booking or at check-in or check-out [1]. Booking direct with an eligible rate entitles you to the full earn percentage for your tier, while a non-direct channel can reduce D$ earned by up to 100% [1].
3. After checkout, check that D$ and tier credit have posted; if something is still missing two weeks after the stay, request an adjustment within six months of check-out, or of the transaction date for outlets, sending the hotel invoice or outlet receipt and your membership number to GHA DISCOVERY Customer Care [1].
4. Note the expiry date of each batch of D$ by the tier at which you earned it, and spend the soonest-expiring first, because redemption follows expiry order [1].
5. Before redeeming online, read the refund rules: D$ expiring before a cancellation are forfeited, the booking must still be fully refundable, the cancellation must be on a GHA DISCOVERY channel, and a no-show refunds nothing [1].

Next: GHA DISCOVERY programme hub, GHA DISCOVERY Dollars guide, and Start here: hotel points.