GHA Discovery is once again offering members the opportunity to purchase Discovery Dollars (aka D$) at a discount.
Through until 21 November 2024. you will be able to by each Discovery Dollar for US85c per piece. As D$ have a fixed value of 1 US Dollar, this represents a discount of 15% off the normal value of a D$.
This time around the discount is 15% regardless of your tier.
Key Details
- Offer: Buy D$ at a 15% discount
- When: The discount offer is available until 21 November (GST)
- Limits: There are some overall limits to keep in mind
- Minimum purchase amount for all tiers is D$10
- Maximum transaction limit is D$1,000
- Annual purchase limit is D$3,000
- Maximum of three transactions per day
Value of the D$
Under the GHA Discovery a program, a D$ is pegged to the US Dollar. As such one D$ has the same value as 1 US Dollar. With the discounts outlined above, members will be paying US85 cents for each D$.
As with many points programs, points.com is used to facilitate the sale of D$. You can only purchase amounts from 10 D$, and then in increments of 10 D$.
Any D$ you purchase will appear in your account within two business days. They will then be valid for 24 months from the date of issue.
Is it worth it?
When converting cash into a loyalty program you need to consider whether there is value in it. On the surface, a 15% discount sounds like it would give you a 15% discount on your hotels stays. However, you need to consider a few things:
- In most cases, they can only be used to pay for hotel rooms at the hotel. As such, you may not be able to take advantage of cheaper prepaid rates. Depending on your hotel booking style, this may or may not be an issue.
- In addition, you do not earn D$ on amounts that you pay with D$ at the hotel. It is possible, depending on your tier that you forgo the D$ earning that may exceed the value you saved.
The reality is that you will need to do your own assessment of whether this offer has value.
Final Words
D$ have a fixed rate of 1 US Dollar. As a result, being able to buy them at a discount is similar to buying discounted gift vouchers. Thus, there can be some benefit in buying them at a discounted rate.
However, as with gift vouchers, they come with a set of terms and conditions. In the case of D$ it is worth keeping in mind that they have an expiry date 24 months after they are issued. On top of that, you can only use them for rates that are paid at the hotel, not for the cheaper prepaid rates that might be on offer. You also need to factor in the loss of D$ earnings that you will have.
