Accor Live Limitless program review
ALL you want to know about membership of Accor loyalty
Dated 25 February 2020
Updated 1 June 2021 for the ALL
Points and Status Level extension
Updated 20 October 2021 to reflect the change to all points earning activity refreshing the expiry date of ALL Points
Updated 15 January 2022 to provide a separate, more detailed look at the Accor membership benefits
specifically relating to the APAC region
only.
Updated 18 February 2022
Related content: Latest Accor Live Limitless news
This Accor Live Limitless guide is based upon ALL
Terms & Conditions dated
1 December 2021.and the current list
of non-participating Accor brands & properties.
Updares 30 April 2024 - https://all.accor.com/loyalty-program/legal/terms-and-conditions-en.pdf
Introduction to Accor ALL
The Accor Hotels loyalty program (Le Club Accor) was revamped and renamed Accor Live Limitless (or ALL) in 1Q2019. Accor has positioned ALL as not just a loyalty programme - but a lifestyle loyalty programme. Le Club Accor members retained their existing accounts, which became re-branded. All Accorhotels were transferred to the new program except for a couple of the budget brands.
As a result of the Accor 2019 changes, rewards are not limited to a free stay at an Accor hotel with luxury hospitality, but also provide access to prestigious events and elite experiences such as fine dining, culinary encounters or taste festivals that provide a "truly spectacular experience".
Accor is one of the world's largest hotel chains, with French roots and an extensive network of properties. Its rewards program ranked well (top 5) in our comparison of the best hotel rewards programs, particularly for folk making mostly short stays in the categories of:
- best for road warriors
- best for business owners
- best for leisure/infrequent travellers
This program may initially look like a simple program, yet it is also one of the hardest from which to extract out-sized value, unless you do your homework.
The challenge of working with Accor ALL is that it is like "wrestling with an octopus" (
So, imagine having a "road map" that cuts through the complexity and shows how to navigate both the "sweet spots" of the program as well as its pitfalls.
Our complete guide to Accor's revamped ALL program does exactly that. We go through the key features of the program and then show you how to best use them, with specific tips and strategies.
Curious? Let's dig a bit deeper into the ALL program.
Alternatively, jump ahead to the special sub-programs if you are already familiar with the basics of ALL. Some sub-programs have their own special promotions separate to those of the core Accor ALL program.
Table of Contents
Accor Brands Hotels & their positioning
AccorHotels covers approximately 5,350 hotels globally, making it comparable in size to Hilton (5,850). Only Marriott (over 7,700) surpasses them both in size (by number of properties in a global program).
All Accorhotels operate primarily under the brands of Sofitel (236), Pullman (140), MGallery (7), Novotel (549), Mercure (866), Rixos (21), Adagio (64), Banyan Tree (26), Angsana (13), Raffles (14), Swissotel (33), Fairmont (83) and Ibis (2,442).
Accor also owns the Formule1 brand but this is not a participating hotel brand of the ALL program. Nor are The Hoxton and Ibis Budget.
The 2019 Accor Live Limitless launch coincided with amalgamation of new brands, including The House of Originals, Delano, Mondrian, Hyde, Mantis, Mövenpick, Sebel (33), Mantra (77), Art Series (9), Peppers (25) & Breakfree (22) brands,
Historically the Accor brand was not well represented in the luxury market but that has improved markedly with the recent acquisitions of
Swissotel, Raffles and Fairmont and alliances with Banyan Tree and Delano.
Table 1 - Accor's brands and approximate alignment with some competitor brands
| Company | Luxury | Upper upscale | Upscale | Upper midscale |
| AccorHotels |
Raffles, Orient Express, Banyan Tree, Delano, Fairmont, SLS, SO/, Sofitel |
The House of Originals, Rixos, OneFineStay |
MGallery, Mantis, Art Series, Mondrian, Pullman, Swissôtel, Angsana, 25hours, Movenpick, Grand Mercure, Adagio Premium, , Peppers, Quay West, The Sebel, |
Mantra, Novotel, Mercure, Adagio, Mama Shelter, |
| Best Western Hotels | WorldHotels | Best Western Premier, Vīb, BW Premier Collection |
Best Western Plus, Executive Residency by Best Western |
|
| Hilton Worldwide | Waldorf Astoria, Conrad Hotels, LXR |
Hilton, DoubleTree, Canopy by Hilton, Curio Collection |
Embassy Suites by Hilton |
Hilton Garden Inn, Homewood Suites by Hilton, Home2 Suites |
| Hyatt Hotels Corporation | Park Hyatt, Grand Hyatt, Alila | Hyatt Regency, Hyatt Hotels, Andaz | Hyatt Place, Hyatt House Hotels, Hyatt Centric | |
| InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) | Six Senses, InterContinental, Regent | Crowne Plaza, Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants |
Hotel Indigo, EVEN Hotels, Staybridge Suites, Holiday Inn Select, HUALUXE Hotels & Resorts |
Holiday Inn |
| Meliá Hotels International | Gran Meliá, ME by Meliá, Paradisus | Meliá, Innside | ||
| Marriott International | Ritz-Carlton, Bulgari Hotels, Edition Hotels, JW Marriott Hotels, St. Regis, Luxury Collection |
Renaissance Hotels, Marriott, Autograph Collection, Delta, Marriott Executive Apartment, Gaylord Hotels, W Hotels, Design Hotels, Westin Hotels & Resorts, Le Méridien, Sheraton, Tribute Portfolio |
AC Hotels, Fairfield Inn by Marriott, Courtyard by Marriott, SpringHill Suites, Residence Inn by Marriott, Four Points by Sheraton, Aloft Hotels, Element Hotels |
MOXY Hotels, Protea Hotels, TownePlace Suites |
| Millennium & Copthorne Hotels |
Grand Millennium Hotels |
Millennium Hotels, Grand Copthrone Hotels |
Copthorne Hotels, M Hotels |
Source: extract from wikipedia.org
Geographic spread of Accor Hotels
Relative to the other major hotel chains, Accor is well represented in Europe, but lightly represented in North America, where it currently has 51 locations. However, it is larger than even Marriott in Europe, Asia and Oceania and has only a slightly smaller presence in the Middle-East and Africa than Marriott (226 vs 250 properties).
So if your travel patterns are typically within the corridor between the UK/Europe, Middle-East, Asia and Oceania then Accor (and ALL) should definitely be on your short-list for devoting your travel loyalty.
The strong presence of the Accor property portfolio in Oceania across the business, leisure and resorts markets makes it especially attractive for Australians and residents in the APAC region generally.
Chart 1 - Number of Accor Properties by Region (as at 30 June 2021). 
Popular searches for Accor Hotels
If you wish to earn or burn points with your selection, or to utilise the Accor Best Price Guarantee, you must book direct with either Accor, the sites for Fairmont or Raffles, or the relevant hotel itself.
Use of a Travel Agency (other than an OTA like Expedia, Hotels.com etc) will also allow you to earn points with a cash booking, while still receiving your ALL member discount.
- Hotel Fairmont
- Kempinski Hotels
- Accor hotels Australia
- Pullman Hotel
- Fairmont Whistler
- Accor Plus
- Raffles Singapore
- Fairmont Maldives
- Raffles Maldives
- Orient Express
- Mantra+
How the Accor Live Limitless program works
Accor membership is free and anyone over the age of 18 can apply to join (T&C 4.1).
Like most other programs, members can earn Reward Points (count towards rewards only) and Status Points / Tier Points (determine the members tier and associated benefits).
Unlike many other hotel rewards and hotel loyalty programs, Accor's programs is entirely revenue-based. Accor Live Limitless Points are earned at a fixed rate based on spending (except these Accor properties not participating in ALL) and are redeemed at a fixed rate (€40 per 2,000 points) for rebates against further spending. As the rebate is fixed, the value of Accor ALL points is €20 per thousand points (or 2 eurocents each).
Essentially, you earn a rebate from your spending, which can be used as a credit towards your next stay at an Accor Live Limitless hotel.
Does this mean that room rates are inflated? No. A key feature of the program is the Accor ALL Best Price Guarantee whereby if you book direct via the Accor site and within 24 hours find a cheaper price elsewhere, Accor will match the lower price and give a further 25% discount (10% discount for Fairmont, Raffles and Swissôtel). To me, this provides great peace of mind.
There are tier bonuses, so as you progress to higher elite status, you earn Accor Live Limitless points (and rebates) at a faster pace (T&C 7.2.3).
Tier bonuses do not apply to status points, so everyone earns status points at the same rate, which is that at which Classic (base tier) members also earn rewards points. (T&C 7.2.4).
Accor ALL Elite tiers & benefits
As part of the Accor ALL program, there is a base level and 4 elite status levels in the program (and a further one by invitation-only), offering different levels of ALL Tier Status and benefits.
Upon joining the program, you are given "Classic" status - the base member level.
You are then qualified to:
- earn both rewards and status points:; and
- receive "up to" a 10% discount off the standard room rate when booking via the Accor website.
Tip: Note
that the ALL members' discount does not apply to any properties within the Accor APAC region.
Instead, the range of benefits available is extended in the region. Our separate ALL
APAC benefits guide goes
into more detail.
Elite tiers & benefits
The table below summarises the criteria for attaining and the benefits associated with each of the membership tiers.
Table 3 - Tier benefits and Rewards Points earned per €10 spent at current tier status
| ALL Membership Tier |
Qualifying Criteria |
Benefits |
Adagio Access, Jo&Joe, Ibis Budget* | Adagio, Peppers, Art Series, Breakfree & Mantra | Ibis, Ibis Styles & Mama Shelter | Other Participating Accor Brands |
| Tier Points (all tiers) | 5 | 10 | 12.5 | 25 | ||
 Silver
Status
|
or
|
As above plus
|
6.25 | 12.5 | 15.5 | 31 |
 Gold
Status
|
|
As above plus
|
7.5 | 15 | 18.5 | 37 |
 Platinum
Status
|
|
As above plus
|
8.75 | 17.5 | 22 | 44 |
 Diamond
Status
|
26,000 points (€10,400 spend) |
|
8.75 | 17.5 | 22 | 44 |
Discounts off Spa treatments and Products
This benefit varies with status tier but there is something for everyone:
- All AccorLive Limitless members - 10% off Willow steam spa treatments and products at Fairmont hotels
- Gold tier upwards - 20% off spa treatments at Swissotel hotels
- Platinum tier upwards - 10% discount at Raffles Spa treatments and at Thalassa sea & spa institutes.
Any ALL members - Earning points from Food & Beverage without a stay
(T&C 7.3)
You can earn points (if over the age of 18) when dining at Accor
participating restaurants
(minibars and private functions excluded), even without staying as a guest at the property.
You can also use points when paying your bill (minimum spend is €1 or 1,000 points).
Payment must be made in either case via:
- the Accor ALL app
- an Amex or Visa credit card
- in some countries, notably especially Eastern Europe, Middle-East and Africa, in cash only and requesting the points be manually credited. In this instance, the number of points credited may be capped.
This can be a handy way to boost your points. Not all programs allow you to earn hotel points when dining, without being a guest at the hotel.
Tip: Complimentary Breakfast - Under the Sofitel
Breakfast Included
offer - stay in selected Sofitel Hotels and receive free breakfast every morning. There
are participating properties in France, Thailand, Brazil and the UAE. Oh and in Australia,
at the very desirably located Sofitel Noosa Pacific on
Hastings Street.
Not strictly speaking a status benefit, but you do need to be an Accor ALL member (of any tier status) to be
able to access these offers. Being a (reasonably) ongoing offer rather than benefit, you should check at your time of booking to see that
the offer is current.
#BreakfastsAtAccor
Gold Status benefit - Guaranteed Room Availability
(T&C 9.2)
You can request guaranteed room availability for a future booking. The guarantee is for a room to be available, not necessarily a particular type of room.
A guaranteed room is always a good benefit to have, especially if you need to work your stay into particular time-frames.
Importantly, you must remember to request this guarantee at the time of booking, which can be no later than 12:00 PM (local time at the hotel) and at least three days (for Gold cardholders) or two days (for Platinum cardholders or higher Members) prior to the date of arrival at the hotel.
In hotels identified as belonging to the ‘resorts’ category and at Thalassa Sea & Spa establishments, the guarantee of availability applies only to stays of at least seven nights.
The guarantee only applies for the room you are staying in as a member, paying a non-promotional price. Accor room guarantee blackout dates also apply.
Gold Status benefit - Room Upgrade
Gold tier members are eligible for a room upgrade (subject to availability) to the next higher room category. This could be a suite, although villas and specialty suites (eg Presidential suites) are excluded.
What I like about Accor's upgrades is that they are genuine ones you will notice and appreciate. Some other chains have many more room "categories", where the upgrade difference may be quite trivial (eg coffee making facilities, etc).
Platinum Status benefit - Suite Night Upgrade
(T&C 9.3)
On reaching Platinum status (eg 14,000 points), you receive 2 Suite Night Upgrades. Booked in advance, and guaranteed. You can then Earn a third Suite Night Upgrade at 18,000 Status points, and then an additional one with every further 4,000 Status points, up to 12 upgrades per year. In order to be considered eligible, stays must be booked at eligible rates by using the Accor website or calling direct to participating hotels only.
Stays booked via other channels (travel agents, tour operators or third-party online travel agents such as Expedia.com, booking.com, etc.) are not eligible.
This benefit allows members to spend the night in a ‘suite’ for the price of a ‘room’ selected by the member when making a pre-confirmed booking. Note that not all Accor properties offer the Suite Night benefit, so it pays to check prior completing your booking.
You should have plenty of time to arrange your bookings, as each Suite Night Upgrade is valid until 31st December of the year following its date of issue.
In contrast to the Accor ALL Gold tier benefit of room upgrades for any stay, your 2 Suite Night Upgrades are guaranteed, not subject to availability, making them a valuable benefit.
By comparison, only Marriott Bonvoy Platinum elites (and higher) can be upgraded to select suites at any time and their Suite Night benefit is for 5 nights pa but in both cases are subject to availability. Their Gold elites do not qualify for upgrades to suites at all.
Diamond Status benefit - Dining & Spa Rewards
This tier enjoys all the advantages of Platinum along with free breakfast on weekends (T&C 9.4) and 4 Dining & Spa rewards per year (value €25 each), valid for use at any Accor restaurants or spas, during your stay and beyond. Use is limited to two vouchers per visit.
The benefit is limited but more appealing to me than the "free breakfast, but only on weekends for Platinum members". Given this is Accor's ultimate tier, both seem stingy compared to other programs.
Diamond Status benefit - Gifting Gold Tier Status
(T&C 9.5)
Members of the Diamond tier are able to gift Gold Tier status to a person
of their choice, Their status remains at this level for the duration of your own current status (other programs
only allow the gifting for one person once pa, if at all). You can arrange for the gift by signing
on to your Accor ALL account.
Earning & Maintaining Accor ALL Tier Status
(T&C 8)
The only way to earn status tier points is through paid stays (or events). There is no status-matching offer available.
At the start of each new year, an assessment is made of Eligible Status Nights completed and Status Points earned by a Member during the previous calendar year.
If, during the previous calendar year, you reached one of the thresholds allowing you to maintain your current Status or access a higher Status, then you retain that new status for the rest of current calendar year.
If, during the previous calendar year, you did not reach one of the thresholds allowing you to maintain your current Status, you will be awarded the Status directly below the one previously held..
Tip:
Only falling a single status tier is a valuable feature, as you do not lose your entire status due to one unusually quiet year, Some
programs have you start from their base level each year, while others have you drop back to the level consistent with the number of points
you did earn.
Status Nights and Status Points counters for the current year are then reset to zero (effective 1st January of each year).
The use of Rewards Points has no effect on retaining or changing a Status.
How to earn Accor ALL Points
Paid Stays
Accor ALL points are earned on a wide range of spending during a stay at a participating hotel:
-
(T&C 7.1) base room rates (you must stay at least 1 paid night in a room), including all public, corporate and
promotional rates, except for the following:
- Room rates for group bookings (excluding the Meeting Planner promotional offer
- Special "Industry rates" proposed to employees of partner companies (travel, tourism, etc.),
- Room rates for crew members (airlines, shipping or other, companies, etc.);
- Rates for employees of Accor Group partner companies and service providers;
- Tour operator rates.
-
(T&C 7.2.2) eligible expenses (which must be paid for by the member who must also be completing a stay) including:
- minibar
- telephone
- room service;
- pay television;
- meals at the hotel restaurant, and
- drinks at the hotel bar.
- where relevant, expenses related to thalassotherapy or balneotherapy treatments performed in a Thalassa sea & spa centre linked to the hotel
However, while you can earn points on up to 2 rooms the member pays for, only base points from the member's room tariff count towards Accor ALL status points.
Each 1,000 ALL points are worth EUR 20 in rebates with Accor hotels. Alternatively, each ALL point is worth EUR 0.02 or 2 eurocents.
Looking at table 4 below, the rebates really don't get very interesting unless you are staying at the upper end of the Accor brands while
holding at least Gold tier status. Even then, the rebates earned at APAC brands seem to be consistently at a lower
rate than the more established brands in the same category
(Art Series vs Movenpick or Swissotel, Peppers vs Sebel, Mantra vs Novotel) and even the "lower" Ibis brands.
Table 4 - Rebates earned per €100 spent (% rebate)
| Membership Tier | Adagio Access | Adagio, Peppers, Art Series, Breakfree & Mantra | Ibis, Ibis Styles & Mama Shelter | Other Participating Accor Brands |
| Classic |
1.0 |
2.0 |
2.5 |
5.0 |
| Silver |
1.3 |
2.5 |
3.1 |
6.2 |
| Gold |
1.5 |
3.0 |
3.7 |
7.4 |
| Platinum |
1.8 |
3.5 |
4.4 |
8.8 |
To give this some perspective, if you remain on a single tier and all your stays are at one of the upper brands and at the same cost each time, it would require a Classic member to stay 20 nights to earn a free night. The number of nights required drops as tier status increases. For a Silver member, it is 16 nights, 14 nights for Gold and 12 for a Platinum member.
Planning your stays around times of points promotions (eg 4X promotions) will significantly reduce these amounts.
Tip: The amount of rebate you receive from a paid stay at a Pullman or Sebel property is 150% more (or 2.5x) than that from an Art Series, Peppers or Mantra property. So for Australians who earn points through business stays to enhance their domestic vacation stays, your best Accor options are from staying for business in a legacy brand (Pullman, Sofitel, Novotel) and staying on vacation at a Peppers, Sebel or Mantra resort. This does seem to unfairly disadvantage the very nice Art Series properties, which may become more reliant on non-member stays.
Tip: The rebate obtained from stays at the the upper end of the Accor brands is 6.2% for a member with Silver status and a very attractive 7.4% for a member with Gold status (Platinum even better). This means that:
- if your yearly accommodation spend is AUD 6,435 or more, then you could recoup the cost of Accor Plus membership (from the automatic Silver membership status and ignoring all other benefits).
- if your yearly business accommodation spend is only EUR 1,216 then you could recoup the EUR 90 cost of Ibis Business membership from the automatic Gold tier membership and receive all associated benefits.
This offer is very good value if relevant to your circumstances.
Road and Rail
You can earn ALL Rewards points from car hire and rail travel:
- Europcar: earn up to 1,000 points for every rental
- Avis: 150 points/day for 7+ day rentals (125 Rewards points / day for 1-7 day rentals in USA & Canada only)
- Hertz:: 3 Rewards points per euro spent (an earning rate of 6% - not bad)
- Eurostar: exchange 500 Club Eurostar points for 1,500 Rewards points
Shopping
You can earn ALL rewards points for shopping in the Accor ALL online store. The earning rate is generally 1 point per €1 spent. This equates to a relatively poor 2%, so don't pay any more here than you would elsewhere.
Credit Cards
Currently there are no Accor co-branded creditcards other than a BNP/Accor issued card, available in EU.
Retaining Accor ALL Points
Reward points are valid for 365 days from earning them and extended for a further 365 days each time a further eligible stay is completed or points are earned under the Dining Offer. However, if no extension is made then the points are forfeited and cannot be restored (T&C 7.1).
So your rewards points do not expire, as long as you make a paid stay of at least one night, or earn points from a dining event each year.
Tier points are reset to zero each 1 January.
Tip: To prevent losing points prior to their expiry, if you cannot use them for a stay in time, consider a transfer to an airline partner and perhaps later transfer them back (eg Flying Blue and perhaps from mid-2021 also Qantas). Note that the exchange rate is very poor but still better than forfeiting the points entirely.
ALL (covid-19) Points and Status Extension
Accor ALL like many other programs, has extended the life of its points and status tiers, so that members are not disadvantaged by the difficulty in redeeming points due to travel restrictions during the coronavirus crisis.
Status extension: For members who received Silver status or higher when statuses were allocated in January 2020, this period has
been extended until 31 December 2021.
Status points and Status nights report: Status nights and Status points counters of the year 2021 have been credited of the Status
nights and Status points earned for eligible stays made between 1 July 2020 and 31 December 2020.
This will facilitate access to a higher status, or retention of status for the year 2022.
Suite Night Upgrades: For Platinum and Diamond members in 2020, the validity of Suite Night Upgrades obtained in 2019 that remain
unused have been extended for an additional year.
As such, their validity date has been adjusted from 31 December 2020 to 31 December 2021 across eligible members’ accounts.
Reward points expiration: For all members with an active Reward point balance upon sending our communication on 18 May 2020, the
expiration date was extended:
- Until 15 December 2020 for Classic members;
- Until 15 December 2021 for Silver, Gold, Platinum and Diamond members. For members with a valid Reward points balance beyond this date, no changes have been made.
Transfer or Pooling of Accor ALL points
Points and Status Nights may not be transferred to another Member. They are strictly personal and non-transferable. This
means that family pooling is not a possibility.
Using your Accor ALL points
Accommodation
This is the simplest part of the program, for two key reasons:
- Generally, 2,000 points = EUR 40 rebate when used by a member for a stay.
- There are no blackout dates for the core Accor ALL program, other than the special Room Availability Guarantee and Suite Night Upgrade features.
When settling your accommodation account at Accor properties, you can pay in any combination of points and cash.
This includes OneFineStay (luxury home rental) properties. To
use your Rewards points in this case, you will need to convert them into a gift card which will entitle you to a rebate when renting a
premium property. Gift cards are purchased at the rate of 7,200 points per 100 EUR card ( 2,000 points = EUR 27.77). This is a less
attractive rebate than that for hotel or resort stays
(EUR 40).
Tip: The same number of points provides a rebate at OneFineStay at a less attractive rate than
that for hotel or resort stays. The
rebate for hotel or resort stays is almost 1.5x that for OneFineStays. A better option for families may be a villa in one of
the resort brands, with use of the Family
Offer
feature which provides a 50% discount off the second room.
If three or more bedrooms are required, OneFineStay may be the better option, depending on how it is priced for the time of your stay.
You can also pay for your Accor accommodation using Qatar Qmiles. To do this, you convert
your Qmiles to ALL rewards points. You need to log in to your Qatar Privilege account and from the My
Dashboard page, click
the Redeem Qmiles tab. Then select Convert Qmiles from the Redemption with Partners section and complete the request form.
Qatar isn't the only airline that Accor partners with though. The following all convert into 1,000 ALL rewards points (value EUR 20):
- 4,500 Qmiles (Qatar)
- 4,000 Flying Blue miles (Air France/KLM)
- 4,000 Miles+Bonus (Aegean)
- 4,000 Safar miles (Royal Air Maroc)
- 7,000 Finnair Plus miles
- 2,500 LATAM Pass miles
Accor ALL Program Partners
Accor also has more traditional one-way partnerships with British Airways and another with Iberia which allow you to transfer your ALL rewards points into Avios.
Oddly, BA and Iberia have different exchange rates. Swapping your points to Avios with BA gives you a half the number, whilst doing so with Iberia gets you a far better 1:1 transfer rate.
What you should do is convert to Iberia and then move your Avios from Iberia Plus to British Airways Executive Club using the ‘Combine My Avios’ function. Think carefully before you do this, however, because you could use your points for an Accor voucher instead, You are effectively paying 2 eurocents per Avios(2,000 Accor points = €40 or 2,000 Iberia Plus Avios). This is very expensive and you would be better off using the points for a hotel stay if possible.
If you don't want to retain ALL points for stays, but want to use them for flights, the direct earn option provides a similar outcome to converting to BA Avios. This is where instead of earning ALL reward points, you elect instead to earn airline miles. You must inform the desk of this election at the time of check-in (or in advance on the ALL app).
Going this route means that you get 12.5 Avios per €10 spent at Sofitel, Fairmont, Pullman, Novotel, Swissôtel and Mercure properties. The same as if you had assigned your reward to ALL points and then converted at the BA exchange rate.
Experiences
Use your points to purchase often hard to obtain experiences, including sporting events (PSG football matches, Golf Pro clinics...), concerts/performances and culinary experiences. Note that most seem to be held in either Europe or the Middle East.
Shopping
Your All Rewards points can also be used to purchase a range of items in the online shopping portal. From cosmetics through electronics to luggage and travel accessories and more. Just check your prices and remember 2,000 points = EUR 40 when used for accommodation.
Accor ALL Program Promotions
Accor ALL has some very attractive offers,
.
Best Deals of the Day:
up to 40% off selected destinations (which vary over time).
Early booking offer up to 25% off when you book at least 30 days in advance.
Stay Longer and save up to 25% on your next stay.
Points offers for
either bonus earning rates or discounted requirements for a stay.
Private Sales: Each
week, there are discounts of up to 40% offered at selected locations within 2,000 Accor destinations worldwide. These
Private Sales for hotels are offered exclusively online and are only available to members of the ALL program.
In addition to these, there are ad hoc promotions for discounted stays or multiple reward points earning (up to 4x!). Such promotions are often "stackable" too which can result in exceptionally good deals.
The "sub-programs" also have their own special promotions, so there are plenty of opportunities to find bargains.
Special features of the Accor ALL program
Best price guarantee
If you find a lower price than that available on ALL's member website, Accor will match it and give you up to 25% off the
competitor’s rate!
(nb 10% off applies for Fairmont, Raffles and Swissôtel). Best
Rate Guarantee T&C's
apply (eg special group rates are excluded and you must make
your claim within 24 hours
following confirmation of your booking and no later than 48 hours before the planned date of arrival at the hotel ), but the offer
seems quite fair and transparent.
Special Ongoing Offers
ALL members receive access to special ongoing offers. Unlike promotional offers, these offers are described as available all year.
- Family Trip: free accommodation for children in their parents' room or 50% off the second room, plus a discounted rate on children's breakfast. This offer is available in more than 2 000 locations and across most of Accor's brands from ibis budget, ibis, ibis Styles, Mercure, Novotel, to Novotel Suites, The Sebel, Pullman, MGallery and Sofitel . You must book via the dedicated page.
- Family Time: similar to the Family Trip offer, but limited to only stays in the upscale rooms and suites of Accor's more prestigious brands of MGallery, Pullman and Sofitel. Under this offer, you receive a luxurious stay as a family with a reduced rate for the 2nd room and free breakfast for the children. You must book via the dedicated page for this offer too.
Discounted price for Priority Pass membership
At least 10% discount and 500 ALL Reward Points when you subscribe to Priority Pass via Accor ALL to gain access to over 1,200 airport
lounges around the world. This can combine well with the Miles+Points benefit until you gain airline tier status.
Miles+Points for double-dipping
The Miles+Points feature is similar to other crossover programs (eg Marriott and both Emirates and United; Shangri-La and Singapore Airlines; Hyatt and American Airlines).
Once you register for Miles+Points, you earn both Accor points and Flying Blue miles when either:
- completing a flight (must be both commercialised and operated) with Air France/KLM, or
- when you complete a stay in an Accor hotel.
The number of points/miles is based on your spending on:
- seat, upgrades, meals and luggage fees associated with flights; and
- room rate paid for hotel stays.
A key difference from the other crossover programs is that while you must be a member of both programs, you do not need to hold any tier status with either Accor or Air France/KLM. This makes it a very attractive feature and an easy way to boost for everyone to boost rewards earning with both loyalty programs.
This benefit is now additionally attractive following the alliance launched in February 2020 between Air France/KLM and Virgin Atlantic. This allows miles earned with Air France/KLM to be redeemed for Virgin Atlantic flights (or vice versa). Also included is reciprocal recognition of your airline membership tier status (including lounge access).
.
Accor ALL sub-programs
There are also sub-programs available for members to join. Their key features are compared in the following table, with further details below. For APAC-based sub-programs, details are in our Accor Live Limitless Benefits in APAC guide.
For individuals:
|
Restrictions |
Cost |
Room Discount % |
Free Night | Room Upgrade |
Breakfast Included |
F&B Discount % | Late check-out? | Days Notice for Guaranteed Room | Earn Rewards Points | Earn Tier Points | Tier Boost | |
| Accor Plus |
Benefits in APAC only |
$A 399 pa |
|
1 pa (conditions) |
|
25%-50% Dining 15% Drinks (Asia) |
|
Y |
Y |
Silver Personal ALL |
||
| My Resorts |
|
Nil | MyGlass* package (cost varies) | ALL silver or higher, cost applies |
|
Y |
Y |
|||||
| Mantra+ |
|
Free but Closed to new applicants |
Y (breakfast and room service excluded) |
Noon |
|
Y |
Y |
|||||
| Miles + Points | Must be member of both ALL and FlyingBlue |
|
EXTRA |
|
|
|||||||
| Accor Family & Friends |
Employee + their family & friends |
Nil | up to 30% or fixed price voucher | Sometimes included in fixed price voucher |
|
|
|
For business owners:
|
Restrictions |
Cost (EUR pa) |
Room Discount % |
Free Night | Room Upgrade |
Breakfast Included |
Breakfast Discount % | Late check-out? | Days Notice for Guaranteed Room | Earn Rewards Points | Earn Tier Points | Tier Boost | |
| Business Plus |
|
|
|
|
4 pm |
3 |
Y |
|
N | |||
| Ibis BUSINESS |
Ibis, Ibis Styles, Ibis Budget |
90 |
10% (up to 2 rooms) |
10% | 4 pm |
2 |
|
|
Gold Personal ALL |
|||
| Mantra BizBeds |
Australia, NZ |
Nil |
10% |
|
|
|
||||||
| ALL Meeting Planners |
Must be an individual ALL member |
Nil |
|
|
1 per EUR 2 spend |
No. But can share points with other ALL member accounts (including your own). |
Accor Family and Friends
Employees of the Accor group have access to team-member discounts and deals via the Bienvenue
portal.
Bookings at discounted employee rates can be made on the dedicated Accor
employee booking portal.
If you are a friend or family member of an employee within the Accor group of companies, you can receive significant discounts on paid stays around the world. The size of discount varies by region, but is generally 30% off the accommodation cost. Some regions offer fixed price vouchers, which offer hefty discounts and may also include breakfast.
- APAC - flat discount off the best available room-rate
- In Europe - team members receive 10 vouchers pa
- South America
To access Accor Family and Friends deals you must, you must:
- Book via the family and friends page
- Enter the name and place of employment of the Accor staff member who sent you this deal in the “Message to the hotel” section of the Reservation and,
- Bring a scanned copy of the employee’s Bienvenue card OR have them complete this Accor Family and Friends Authorisation Form to be submitted during check-in.
Note that family offers do not earn reward or tier points.
Accor ALL for Business Owners
There are four memberships aimed at business customers. Two are free, two are paid and one is limited to the APAC region. Each has its own features, so every business should be able to select at least one of them that suits their needs.
ALL Meeting Planners
Based on ALL Meeting Planner Terms and Conditions dated July 2020.
An often overlooked feature of the Accor loyalty program is the meeting planners program.
Meeting planners who register and organise events can earn from eligible spending (T&C 10):
- 1 x ALL rewards point per EUR 2
- 1 x ALL tier point per EUR 2
which is the same rate as a Classic member earns for stays. Generous!
These points accrue in the Meeting Planner's account, but can be transferred on up to 30 occasions pa to another ALL Accor member's account (T&C 13).
Additionally, if a separate individual attending an event booked by a registered ALL Meeting Planner is an Accor ALL member and pays for their own accommodation, they also earn ALL rewards points in accordance with their personal membership (T&C 17).
Tip:
This is an especially attractive feature for business owners. Business events and meetings can substantially boost the points balance
of a trusted employee (who is possibly also a family member) which is then shared with other employees (an incentives prize?) or the
owners.
Some special
conditions form part of the ALL Meeting Planner registration.
Note that there are some properties
which do not participate in the ALL Meeting Planner program.
Business Plus
Based on Business Plus Terms & Conditions dated 11 July 2019
Accor Business Plus is a paid subscription. For an annual fee of EUR 170 pa you receive:
-
up to 20% discount for 11 brands globally, including:
- Sofitel: 20% off all room rates (whether or not subject to restrictions)
- Pullman, MGallery, Grand Mercure, Novotel and Mercure: 20% discount weekends and 15% on weekdays applied to best room rate without restrictions, and 5% of selected rates subject to restrictions
- Suite Novotel : 10% off full suite rates for short stays (1-2 nights), and 7% off stays of 3 nights or more
- ibis : 10% discount
- guaranteed room availability up to 3 days prior to your stay (if paying the standard room rate)
- 4pm checkout
- 20% discount on Europcar car hire.
Best uses of ALL points for value-enhanced stays
Best use of Accor programs
To get the maximum value for minimal cost, I would:
- join Accor ALL as an individual (free);
- enrol in the Miles+Points program (free double-dipping for reward points and miles);
- make good use of the Accor ALL special ongoing offers;
- if planning a stay at an aspirational property in the APAC region, subscribe to Accor Plus for that year. you could easily recoup the annual cost of AUD 399 with only one nights free stay at a property with Fairmont, Sofitel, Pullman or even Quay West. Also, bookmark and keep a keen eye on the weekly Red-Hot Specials as these can be VERY attractive.
- keep an eye on the ALL MasterCard Partner Rewards page for potential breakfast deals (must be a member of both programs)
- watch out for the new ALL Visa card and potential offers it may have too (no details available yet).
Tip: For an extra free night with your partner, have them independently
subscribe at the individual member rate, rather than being an additional member (at the lower fee) on your account. Additional
members do not receive the free night (Stay Plus) benefit.
If also a business owner, I would then:
- join ibis Business (cost €90 pa for Gold Accor ALL status - room upgrades and 50% tier bonuses in all Accor brands immediately from the time of subscription rather than earnt through the year);
- enrol in the ALL Meeting Planner program and hold meetings/events at participating properties (free to join and you earn both rewards points and tier points).
Best use of Accor tiers
If you hold Gold tier status, you can book a room just one level under the room with lounge access and then receive a complimentary upgrade
to a room with lounge access. Free breakfast and sometimes evening cocktails are served in the lounge. This is a better deal than the
"weekend only" breakfast benefit provided to Diamond members (or Platinum members staying in APAC).
The value of the rebate for the points you own does not vary. So you will receive a greatest % benefit when booking at
less popular (expensive) times. Programs
that have peak/off-peak pricing (Hilton, Marriott and most recently, Hyatt) increase/decrease the number of points required at peak/off=peak
periods, but not in direct proportion to the changes in cash prices.
Best Accor redemptions
My experience of Accor hotels is not extensive. However, the Sofitel St James in Mayfair is a very impressive UK flagship and a great place to stay when wanting a break in London.
My experience with Accor hotels has been more extensive within the APAC region. See my suggestions for Accor stays in APAC.
For more aspirational stays outside the APAC region, these are all on my "bucket list". Any one of these would be a great application of the Accor Plus free night (Stay Plus) benefit and discounted tariffs:
- Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise
- Raffles Maldives
- Banyan Tree Seychelles (closed for renovations until June 2022)
Observations
Business Owners
If you are a business owner and your hotel stays are infrequent, the BizBeds membership costs nothing and provides a 10% discount, regardless of whether your stay is for business or leisure. A handy discount for holidays. But it is only available for properties in Australia and New Zealand.
If you travel frequently enough to attain Platinum or Diamond status, the tier benefits make stays quite comfortable, so the 20% price discount associated with the Business Plus (paid) membership will be your best choice to cut costs without sacrificing comforts.
In between lies the Ibis Business (paid) membership. It has a lower fee than the Business Plus membership, but provides automatic ALL Gold status. You can then use the latter card for stays at more upmarket (non Ibis) properties, with complimentary room upgrades and potentially from that, lounge access (for complimentary breakfast). For anyone not likely to be qualifying for Platinum or Diamond status, this is a sweet spot within Accor ALL and provides exceptional value when used well.
Individuals
ALL is very much aimed at being a loyalty program. You must stay at least one night per year to retain your rewards points (or lose them).
Paid stays in APAC properties under the newer brands earn rebates at a lower rate than the established brands.
There are promotions and special treatment for Platinum members staying in APAC properties. In the short-term, this may overcome the lower earning rates. In the medium-term it may be smarter to earn points in established properties in the region (or elsewhere) and redeem them for vacations at discounted cash rates at the newer brands.
The Gold tier status opens up opportunities for upgrades to stay in rooms with lounge access. This is a way of gaining "free" breakfasts - a popular benefit. You can either earn the Gold status through stays, or businesses can purchase an annual Ibis Business membership for automatic Gold ALL status.
Accor Plus may be worthwhile if you can recoup your AUD 399 annual membership fee from the Dining discounts. I would more likely aim to recoup the cost with the 1 free night benefit used at a luxury property (eg Fairmont).
Participating Sofitel properties (including the Sofitel Noosa) offer free breakfast every day of your stay, regardless of tier status.
The breakfast benefit offered for ALL Diamond (the top tier) members seems stingy, as it is only during the weekends. For the program to be competitive, this should be one of the benefits starting at Platinum-level. Hilton offers free breakfast from its Gold tier upwards.
Platinum tier breakfast benefit:
- To be fair, Accor does provide free breakfast every day of a stay to Platinum (2nd top tier) members, but only in the Asia Pacific region.
- This is confirmed on the Accor site which says "Once you reach ALL Platinum membership status, you will enjoy free breakfast wherever you stay in Asia Pacific; either in the executive lounge, or in the hotel restaurant if the hotel does not have a lounge. Registered guests sharing your room are also invited to enjoy breakfast with you".
So breakfast is offered to not only the member, but also to a guest staying in their room. This "double breakfast" benefit is a very attractive one for Platinum members, but is only available when staying in an APAC property.
Conclusions
If you manage to earn at least Gold, preferably Platinum or Diamond status, stay in brands which have lounges (limited) and are happy to use your points for hotel room discounts, it can work out well.
Members staying in the new brands that are concentrated in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region are disadvantaged by a lower earning rate than comparable properties in other Accor brands. However:
- Platinum members receive a valuable double breakfast benefit for every day during stays in the APAC region.
- The sub-programs that are available for the APAC region offset the lower earning rate for the newer brands to a good degree and many are available regardless of Accor ALL tier status.
The suite upgrades benefits available at Platinum and above aren't as attractive as those of other programs. If your stays are outside the APAC region, there isn't a lot of additional value in tier benefits once you move above Accor ALL Gold status.
On balance, I think that:
- The best value will come from targeting Gold status (possibly via Ibis Business paid membership for business folk), then paying cash for rooms at the level just below that providing lounge access (and being upgraded to that level).
- The strong presence in Europe and now Oceania means a very good range of options for stays outside of the USA..
- Supplementing your Gold tier by joining Accor Plus will give you nice benefits for stays in the Asia Pacific properties - equivalent to Platinum at far lower "qualifying" requirements.
The Accor ALL is a program with a lot of complexity to work through. Once you have done that (or hired a marine
biologist to do it), if you stay frequently in Europe (lots of locations) or especially APAC (lots
of benefits), there are ways of making it work well.
Accor ALL would be more attractive if they simplified the program, reduced the number of its brands and re-focused on customer service.
Nevertheless, it is a good core program (particularly for APAC members/stays), if supplemented by another program for folk seeking wider coverage in North America.
How to Join
For individuals
Accor Live Limitless (free)
Miles+Points (free but requires registration in both ALL and Flying Blue)
Accor Plus (APAC properties only, paid subscription)
MyResorts (APAC properties only, fees for some benefits)
Mantra+ (was free to join, now closed to new membership. New applications are now re-directed to ALL membership)
For business owners
Note that you will need to be a registered business. Have your registration details (VAT registration, Australian Business Number, or similar) ready when applying.
ALL Meeting Planner (free)
Business Plus (paid subscription)
Ibis Business (paid subscription)
Mantra BizBeds (Australia & New Zealand only, free membership).