As most frequent flyers know, there’s nothing more valuable … or personal than the type of membership card you have with any given travel loyalty program. Of course we speak of the elite cards with all those precious reminders of rare minerals and metals. But two programs have just recently taken the concept of “you are your card” to new levels. Both Starwood Preferred Guest and InterContinental Hotels Priority Club have new personalized cards which most members have yet to learn about. So let’s learn.

Priority Club:

Customized member card. When you log into priorityclub.com, click on the “Customer Support” tab located about half way down on the right. From there, click on “Member Materials” and finally to “Customize Member Card.” This allows you to replace the card you currently have with a custom card which will allow you to have printed on the back of your Priority Club Card, the membership numbers from any of 52 other loyalty programs, including other hotel programs and “other.” You can have up to 10 programs listed on the back of your membership card pre-printed with your choice of the abbreviation of the program and your membership ID number. I think this is pretty nifty and good use of that space on the back. Leave it up to Priority Club to continue to explore these boundaries, after all they are the hotel program that allows you to redeem their points for hotel stays at other hotels like Marriott or Hilton.

Starwood Preferred Guest:

Now, we know that SPG is one of the best programs for branding and very memorable hotels like the W. Well, they have brought that same attention to the personal touch to their membership cards for their Platinum AND Gold members (Note: not all Gold members are eligible). Referred to as “Design Your Own 2008 SPG Card,” it allows these elite members the opportunity to create their own member card for the first time ever by choosing the choice of 16 different properties that reflect the Starwood experience or for us regular folks, our travel inspirations. Among those you can choose from: St. Regis Aspen, W Maldives, Le Meridien Bora Bora. I don’t know about you but yes, they are on my Bucket List for frequent flyers, especially the W Maldives. If you haven’t seen this yet or forgot or just need a reminder, go here to test out your membership to qualify:

Choose Your Card

Here’s my two faves if I could … (I didn’t re-qualify at the level required)

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