Le Club Accorhotels IMPROVES its earning rate

In a punchier hotel market, with reducing pressure on occupancy and room rates, some hotel loyalty schemes have been cutting back on their benefits.  The recent announcement from Le Club Accorhotels that it is improvings its earning rate is one to note.

Le Club Accorhotels is the loyalty programme for Ibis, Novotel, Sofitel, Pullman, M Gallery and Mercure amongst other brands.  You can read my two-part overview of the programme here and here – these articles have been updated to reflect these changes.

The key difference between Accor and Hilton HHonors, IHG Rewards Club etc is that the points you earn can ONLY be turned into Accor gift vouchers or transferred to airline miles.

For every 2,000 points you earn, you receive a €40 Accor voucher off a future stay.  There is no arbitrage possible because €40 is always worth €40!  Contrast this to IHG Rewards Club, where 50,000 points can save you anything between £150 and £500 for an InterContinental night depending on location and time of year.

Here are the main changes:

The earning rate increases

The new rates are:

Classic members:  €10 = 25 points (was 20 points)
Silver members:  €10 = 31 points
Gold members:  €10 = 37 points
Platinum members:  €10 = 44 points

The cashback for ‘Classic’ members increases from 4% to 5% of spend – the rises for other levels are smaller.  Remember that American Express Platinum cardholders receive automatic Platinum status for the life of their membership.

Geographical blocks disappear

Ibis hotels in France now earn points for midweek stays – they were previously excluded

Certain Australasian hotels which did not previously take part will now do so.  As well as awarding points, these hotels will now give status benefits as well – Platinum members will receive lounge access for example.

Whilst none of these changes are ground breaking, they do represent an improvement.  Accor stays are now very attractive for Platinum members who effectively receive 8.8% of their spend back.

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Accor Live Limitless update – April 2024:

Earn bonus Accor points: Accor is not currently running a global promotion

New to Accor Live Limitless?  Read our review of Accor Live Limitless here and our article on points expiry rules here. Our analysis of what Accor Live Limitless points are worth is here.

Want to earn more hotel points?  Click here to see our complete list of promotions from Accor and the other major hotel chains or use the ‘Hotel Offers’ link in the menu bar at the top of the page.