Start here: One Harmony (Okura Nikko Hotels) — join, earn and use points, keep them valid and understand the upper tiers

Step 1: What One Harmony is and who it suits

You will learn: who runs the programme, where the benefits apply, and what kind of traveller it fits.

One Harmony is operated and administered by Okura Nikko Hotel Management Co., Ltd. ("ONHM"), which may delegate operation and administration in whole or in part to subsidiary or affiliate companies or third parties [1]. Registering as a member means accepting the terms and the related rules posted on the One Harmony website [1]. The privileges, discounts and services apply at member hotels of Okura Hotels & Resorts, Nikko Hotels International and Hotel JAL City, at certain affiliated hotels and restaurants, and at listed group restaurants [1]. Services are provided to the member who applied, and the membership card can be used only by that member [1].

The edges matter. Premium Selection privileges at specified facilities require application documents approved by the OHM Office [1]; some benefits may be provided only to specified members depending on participation conditions, use history, area of residence or campaign entry [1]; and privileges and services may be changed or terminated at any time without prior notice, with the version updated on the website prevailing [1]. The terms are governed by Japanese law, with the Tokyo District Court or the Tokyo Summary Court having exclusive jurisdiction [1], and ONHM must give at least three months' notice of any termination, after which unused points and benefits are cancelled [1]. It suits travellers and diners who already use Okura, Nikko or Hotel JAL City hotels or the group restaurants and who can book directly, since hotel-stay points are awarded only on direct bookings [1].

Go deeper: Start here: hotel points for how hotel currencies work in general, and best hotel programmes for Asia for how the region's schemes compare.

Step 2: How to join and keep your membership in good order

You will learn: how to apply, who qualifies, and the housekeeping that keeps an account open.

Apply on the hard-copy form or online through the One Harmony website, and the application must be approved by the OHM Office [1]. The only address you can register is a home or work address in your country of residence [1], and membership takes effect when registration is completed in the registration system [1]. There is no admission fee or membership fee, although members issued cards with a credit function pay admission and annual fees under the relevant card issuer's terms [1]. Members must be 18 or older; under-18s may join with the consent of a parent or legal guardian, and corporate entities and organisations may not join [1].

Membership can be refused or revoked without notice for reasons including incorrect registration data, false information, payment delinquency at a facility, breaches of facility rules or of the terms, and conduct that damages the relationship of trust with ONHM, and an account with no hotel stay and no accrual of points for 36 consecutive months may be revoked [1]. Only one membership number is allowed, and multiple numbers may be consolidated into one [1]. Withdrawal must be notified to the OHM Office by the member personally and takes effect on the day it is registered [1]. Notify changes to your registered data without delay [1], register a password and keep it private [1], hold your one card and never lend or transfer it [1], and report loss or theft promptly so a replacement can be issued [1].

Go deeper: the One Harmony programme hub groups every page about the programme by task.

Step 3: How earning works

You will learn: how points are calculated, which bookings qualify, and how to take partner-airline miles instead.

Points are awarded when you present your membership card at a hotel stay, food and beverage use or other approved use, in proportion to the cost you paid, excluding taxes, local taxes, service charges, tips, in-room movies and telecommunications charges [1]. Stay plans that bundle meals earn on accommodation charges only, apart from certain facilities, and the method may differ between facilities [1]. The rates are 3 points per 100 yen on hotel stays and 1 point per 100 yen at restaurants and bars, before service charges and taxes, with stays outside Japan earning on the amount spent in local currency [1]. Points are credited within one week after use, or within one week after checkout where charges are billed to the room [1].

Hotel-stay points are awarded only for direct bookings: the Okura Nikko Hotels Reservation Center, the Okura Nikko Hotels websites, the One Harmony website, or directly with the hotel [1]. Dynamic packages that include airline tickets or rental cars count as travel agency bookings and earn nothing [1]. Points are not awarded at some hotel restaurants, only when the member personally makes the payment, not on cancellation fees, not where payment is made partly or fully with JAL Coupons or JMB Restaurant Miles are requested, and not at Nikko Alliance Hotels [1]. Alternatively, select "Miles" in My Account and register a partner-airline number in advance: the choice applies to all eligible transactions, cannot be changed at checkout or retroactively, covers stay and restaurant points only, and miles arrive two to three months after use [1]. Points may not be transferred or consolidated between members unless the OHM Office authorises it [1].

Go deeper: hotel points vs cash for how a points balance compares with paying.

Step 4: How to use points

You will learn: the ways to spend points, and which bookings can still be undone.

Redemptions must be requested by the member, with identity confirmed through the membership number and registered details [1]. Points are deducted at application and are not restored, with two exceptions: Stay Awards and Upgrade Awards may be changed or cancelled up to two days before the arrival date [1].

• Pay by Points. Minimum 500 points; one-point increments at hotels in Japan; outside Japan the value is calculated at the exchange rate set by the OHM Office at the time of use, with fractions rounded down; some outlets do not accept it, any excess is not refunded, amounts paid this way still earn points, and it applies whatever the booking channel [1].
• Stay Awards. Required points, hotels and room types are listed on the website; each room is booked separately; cancellations from the day before arrival forfeit points; the award cannot be combined with Upgrade Awards or upper-tier room upgrades, and other taxes may apply [1].
• Upgrade Awards. Handled by the hotel and not guaranteed, usable with non-direct bookings, blacked out December 30 to January 3, and not offered at some hotels [1].
• Gift Awards and Points to Miles. Gift products ship only within Japan; points convert to partner-airline miles at rates listed on the website, through the website only, credited in three to four weeks, with rates that may change [1].

Go deeper: the points value calculator to put a number on a balance.

Step 5: Upper tiers and keeping your points

You will learn: how statuses renew, how points stay valid, and what the upper tiers add.

Member is the basic status; Loyal, Exclusive and Exclusive Plus are the upper tiers, valid from April 1 to March 31 [1]. Meet the qualification criteria during the January 1 to December 31 evaluation period and you are upgraded at the time you meet them, with the status running to the end of March of the following year; if the criteria are not met, you move down one tier on April 1 [1]. The terms do not print the qualification criteria themselves [1]. Points earned above the criteria may be rolled over to the following year as status-qualifying points, up to the total earned during the evaluation period; points rolled over from a previous year cannot be rolled over again, and rollover does not apply to stay nights [1]. Stay nights from non-direct bookings count toward status as long as you present your membership number [1], room nights cannot be pooled between members [1], and missing stays or points must be reported to the hotel or OHM Office within six months of the qualifying stay to be corrected [1].

Points are valid for 24 months from the date they are earned or redeemed, and each new earn or redemption extends the valid term of all points held by a further 24 months; stay credits and airline mile accruals do not extend validity, expired points cannot be reinstated, and all points expire on withdrawal or revocation [1].

All members can use member discount rates on overnight stays in their own room (some hotels and plans are excluded, and points are calculated on the discounted rate); an anniversary cake or dessert once a year (April to March) within one month before or after the anniversary month, after registering the anniversary in My Account; restaurant discounts of 10% at Nikko Hotels International and 5% at Hotel JAL City, not at Okura Hotels & Resorts restaurants; and Premium Selection benefits at one hotel they register, which some hotels open only to Loyal, Exclusive and Exclusive Plus members [1]. Upper tiers add 15% off the Best Available Rate or SAVER rate on certain high-category rooms, bonus points of 25% for Loyal and 50% for Exclusive and Exclusive Plus, late checkout for Exclusive and Exclusive Plus on request at check-in, a one-category upgrade on request at check-in (up to five times for Loyal and without limit within card validity for the Exclusive tiers), and daily complimentary breakfast during a stay for Exclusive Plus, for the member and up to two guests sharing the room, children sharing beds excluded [1]. Appendices C and D attach conditions to each of these benefits, such as requesting it at check-in or when booking, availability on the day, blackout dates, rules on combining with other discounts, and hotels, rooms or plans that do not offer it, so check the item for a benefit before relying on it [1]. Exclusive Plus members who earn 50,000 or more points in a calendar year, excluding rollover points, also receive five complimentary stay coupons by the end of March [1]. Applying for the One Harmony VISA Gold Card upgrades a member to Loyal status until the end of March of the following year, and cancelling the card does not affect the status until it expires [1].

Go deeper: the status progress tracker to follow a year's activity against a tier.

Step 6: Your first concrete action

You will learn: the five things to do before your next stay.

1. Join online and register a home or work address in your country of residence; the rules are at the One Harmony Membership Terms and Conditions [1].
2. Book directly through the Reservation Center, an Okura Nikko Hotels website, the One Harmony website or the hotel itself [1].
3. Choose points or partner-airline miles in My Account before you stay, because the choice cannot be changed at checkout [1].
4. Earn or redeem at least once within each 24-month window so your points stay valid [1].
5. Report a missing stay or points within six months of the stay [1].

Next: read the One Harmony programme hub for every page about the programme, and browse guides for the same treatment of other programmes.