Hotel Upgrade: Use your connections
Look beyond AAA and AARP memberships to affiliations you might not
expect. Lexus and Saks First cardholders are sometimes eligible for
upgrades at Fairmont hotels. If you bank with Merrill Lynch, UBS, or
HSBC, you can often book an upgraded Ritz-Carlton package though the
banks’ member benefits programs. Occasionally, hotels partner with
airlines in ways that benefit you, too. Business- and first-class
passengers on Singapore Airlines flights, for example, get automatic
upgrades at Raffles hotels.