Analysis November 03, 2026 at 11:51 PM
Here's a little-known fact: People who hold as little as a single share of certain travel companies are entitled to instant perks that far outvalue the price of their investment.
Hotels
That's a small price to pay for gold status, which usually requires staying at the company's hotels for 30 nights during a calendar year. The status can be valuable: It confers room upgrades, late checkout times and welcome gifts for guests at any of Accor's hotels — the company's 53 brands include legacy stalwarts such as Fairmont, Sofitel and Raffles.
To get a sense of the return you might expect on that $35 investment — not counting the couple of bucks you might make on your single share — imagine you have a weeklong vacation booked to Singapore, with a stay at the legendary Raffles hotel.
If gold status means an upgrade from a State room suite to a Courtyard accommodation room, that could represent a value of $500 over the course of your trip.
The only other major hotel company that has a program like this is InterContinental Hotels Group PLC, which offers eligible shareholders a 20% discount on "flexible" room rates. That option, however, comes with a far steeper buy-in — it's only available to those who own at least 100 shares of the company, and the current stock price is 6,337 GBp ($80) — making it less recommendable.
For the best deals, turn to brands with less global name recognition. For instance, Spain-based NH Hotel Group SA, which is now part of the fast-growing Minor Hotel Group Co Ltd, offers up to elite status within the NH Discovery loyalty program.
The level of status conferred varies based on the amount invested. Buying just one share for about €4 is enough to get gold status; it takes more than €2,000 worth of shares to receive platinum and some €3,000 worth to get top-tier titanium status.
It's easier to use that newfound status than you might think.
In addition to being valid at NH's 350-plus locations around the world, including the recently opened NH Collection New York Madison Avenue — where the rooms are much more tastefully styled than their $210-a-night price point would suggest — that status also applies to hundreds of hotels within the Global Hotel Alliance.
This could net you late checkout, double room upgrades and welcome gifts at brands such as Anantara, the Leela, Kempinski and Viceroy. While the upgrades are dependent on availability, they can deliver an incredible return on investment.
A booking for a Superior Over Water villa at Anantara Veli Maldives Resort ($670 a night) could get upgraded, perhaps, to an Ocean Pool villa ($931 a night), yielding $1,827 in returns for a weeklong trip.
Meliá Hotels International SA, another Spanish brand, similarly awards elite status to shareholders for investing. Owning at least one share (roughly €6 at press time) earns you silver status. One thousand shares buys gold status, and top-tier platinum status is reserved for those who have at least 10,000 shares.
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Airlines
More long-term deals can be found among international aviation brands. Japan residents, for instance, can take advantage of shareholder deals with each of the country's two largest carriers, ANA Holdings Inc and Japan Airlines Co Ltd.
Both airlines offer the same deal: 50% off vouchers for domestic flights with the purchase of at least 100 stock shares. The more stock you own, the more vouchers you earn. (The share prices were at 3,045 yen and 2,802 yen for ANA and Japan Airlines, or $21 and $19, respectively, at press time.)
SAS AB, the national airline of Denmark, Sweden and Norway, has a similar program for people who buy shares of its Nasdaq Stockholm-listed stock, where shares are trading for around $0.29 each.
If you own at least 4,000 shares, you're eligible for special discount fare offers, but the real perks kick in when you own 100,000 shares — enough to earn gold status in the airline's EuroBonus loyalty program.
This status automatically unlocks Star Alliance gold status and comes with benefits such as United Club access any time you fly in the US with United, lounge access when flying internationally (no matter what cabin), priority check-in and extra baggage allowance.
A word of caution: The airline is expected to leave Star Alliance for SkyTeam in 2024 and is on the heels of entering bankruptcy proceedings. Both factors make it unclear if the program will remain. (Executives have been mum on this so far.)
Even if the shareholder perks persist, there are cheaper paths to the same status by flying with the airline itself. For example, taking 45 round-trip domestic flights within Scandinavia will get you there (typically costing around $4,000).
Ultimately, what's true for SAS is true for many of these offers: The perks are great, but they're only worth it as an added benefit to an investment you were already happy to make.
Credit: Adobe Stock
Cruise Lines
