I’ve increasingly been taking an interest in the Accor Live Limitless (ALL) program. While Accor isn’t the most US-centric brand, it does have a huge global footprint, with over 5,000 properties across more than 50 brands.
I recently did an Accor Platinum status match (thanks to a Bilt promotion), so I’m starting to learn the details of the program. In this post, I want to go over the details of the Accor elite program, including how you can earn elite status, and what the perks are.
While my firsthand experience is limited so far, at first glance, I can’t say that I’m terribly impressed by the elite perks, and they don’t seem to be particularly competitive, on balance. But that’s not to say that the program isn’t worth participating in.
In this post:
How to earn Accor Live Limitless elite status
Accor Live Limitless has four elite tiers — Silver, Gold, Platinum, and Diamond. The three entry level elite tiers can be earned through completing a certain number of nights or through spending, while the top elite tier can only be reached through spending.
Here are the annual elite requirements to earn Accor status:
- Accor Silver requires 10 elite nights or 2,000 status points, equivalent to €800 of hotel spending*
- Accor Gold requires 30 elite nights or 7,000 status points, equivalent to €2,800 of hotel spending*
- Accor Platinum requires 60 elite nights or 14,000 status points, equivalent to €5,600 of spending*
- Accor Diamond status requires 26,400 status points, equivalent to €10,400 of spending*
Now, you’ll see the asterisk above next to the amount of hotel spending required to earn a certain number of status points. That’s because stays at different brands earn status points at different rates. At a vast majority of properties, you earn 25 status points per €10 spent, meaning you’re earning 2.5 status points per €1 spent. However, at some limited service brands, you may earn status points at significantly slower rates.
See the below chart (and check the “status points” section at the bottom). The chart otherwise talks about the rate at which you earn points based on your elite tier, and I’ve written separately about how to redeem Accor Live Limitless points, which is super straightforward.
Coming from the United States, we’re of course so used to just being able to earn hotel elite status with credit cards, so earning status with Accor actually takes some effort.
Accor Live Limitless elite benefits by tier
What kind of elite perks should Accor Live Limitless members expect? While you can find a full breakdown of elite perks on this page, let me summarize what I’d consider to be the most valuable perks.
For the most part, I consider the perks to be quite weak, in terms of the upgrade benefit, breakfast benefit, late check-out benefit, etc. Note that all Accor Live Limitless members receive free Wi-Fi and health club and sports facilities access, so those are the benefits just for registering (in addition to being able to accrue points).
Accor Live Limitless Silver perks
Accor’s entry level Silver status offers several incremental perks:
- A 24% bonus on rewards points; so rather than earning 25 points per €10 spent at most brands, you earn 31 points
- Priority hotel check-in, at the desk specifically for elite members
- A complimentary welcome drink; this is a digital voucher delivered through Accor’s app
- Late check-out up to 2PM, subject to availability
The way I see it, the real perks of Silver status are earning more points, plus a welcome drink. I wouldn’t put much weight on the other perks.
Accor Live Limitless Gold perks
Accor’s Gold status offers several incremental perks above Silver status:
- A 48% bonus on rewards points; so rather than earning 25 points per €10 spent at most brands, you earn 37 points
- Upgrade to the next room category, subject to availability
- Early check-in (time not specific) or late check-out (up to 2PM), subject to availability
- Guaranteed room availability, up to three days before arrival
- A welcome amenity, except at BreakFree, ibis, ibis budget, ibis Styles, Adagio Access, greet, and JO&JOE
I’d consider the main benefits of Gold status to be the additional bonus points, plus the one category room upgrade. A welcome amenity is also nice, but I wouldn’t expect much from that.
Accor Live Limitless Platinum perks
Accor’s Platinum status offers several incremental perks above Gold status:
- A 76% bonus on rewards points; so rather than earning 25 points per €10 spent at most brands, you earn 44 points
- Two Suite Night Upgrades, each of which can be used to confirm a one-night upgrade at the time of booking; you receive an extra Suite Night Upgrade for every 4,000 status points earned
- Club lounge access, with the exception of Fairmont Gold Lounges; find hotels with eligible lounges here
- Complimentary breakfast, but only at properties in Asia-Pacific; find hotels that offer breakfast here
- Premium customer care, in the form of access to a dedicated phone line
The confirmed Suite Night Upgrades are interesting, and I’ll discuss those in more detail in a separate post. I also appreciate the lounge access, though keep in mind that Fairmonts are excluded, and many properties don’t have lounges.
Other than that, I’d consider the incremental elite perks here to be quite weak, compared to what the competition offers. The upgrade benefit is otherwise the same as it is with Gold, there’s no guaranteed late check-out, and it’s disappointing that breakfast is only free in Asia-Pacific.
Accor Live Limitless Diamond perks
Accor’s top tier Diamond status offers several incremental perks above Platinum status:
- A 100% bonus on rewards points; so rather than earning 25 points per €10 spent at most brands, you earn 50 points
- Beyond the Platinum club lounge access perk, Diamond members also receive access to Fairmont Gold club lounges
- Beyond the Platinum breakfast benefit of complimentary breakfast in Asia-Pacific, Diamond members receive complimentary breakfast worldwide for weekend stays
- Up to €100 in dining and spa rewards annually, in the form of 10 rewards worth €10 each, which can be used while on property
- The ability to gift Gold status to another member
The additional bonus points, Fairmont Gold lounge access, and weekend breakfast globally, are all nice incremental perks. However, you still don’t get complimentary breakfast on weekdays in most of the world, and you’re still limited to a one category upgrade, if not using a Suite Night Upgrade.
Bottom line
Accor Live Limitless is a program that doesn’t get that much attention in the United States, so I’m having fun taking a closer look at it, now that I have Platinum status. At least on paper, it’s not the most lucrative hotel elite program out there.
On the plus side, I like the confirmed suite upgrades, and it’s nice that Diamond members get access to all club lounges. However, otherwise the program seems to be lacking a bit — there’s no guaranteed late check-out, no upgrade benefit beyond one category (and the limited confirmed upgrades you can earn), and the breakfast benefit is also quite weak.
What do you make of Accor Live Limitless’ elite perks? To those who are Accor regulars, what has your experience been?
In north America, I've stayed at a couple of Sofitel hotels and found them to be great for the price
The MEX one has a fantastic reputation, although I haven't tried it yet as I tend to go to for the NH properties.
It's a fantastic property!
For me one of the main perks with Accor is their massive footprint in particular in Germany, Italy and France. I travel a lot by car in these countries and really participate in the locations outside of the big metropolitan areas.
They're like that in much of the world - you'll find them in a large number of African capitals, lots of second-tier cities in Brazil and China, dotted around the North of England, and generally in scores of places where most other chains don't seem to have the interest and/or ability to expand.
I was a Platinum in the program for several years while living full-time in Asia and while I agree with @Ben that these perks are, on paper, kind of mid as compared to other chains, my experience, FWIW, was outstanding. For example, I received many upgrades - including to suites - at hotels in BKK, SGN, HAN, SIN, and Krabi (never got to China so not sure how the properties there work); incredible customer service...
I was a Platinum in the program for several years while living full-time in Asia and while I agree with @Ben that these perks are, on paper, kind of mid as compared to other chains, my experience, FWIW, was outstanding. For example, I received many upgrades - including to suites - at hotels in BKK, SGN, HAN, SIN, and Krabi (never got to China so not sure how the properties there work); incredible customer service - including welcome amenities like free breakfast, a "platinum happy hour" each night, all kinds of chocolates/fruits/wines/beers, and even laundry service. What I *think* I learned was that each Accor property in Asia is allowed to do whatever they want to do, and many bent over backwards for Platinums and Diamonds. Post-COVID, I know some things have definitely changed - for example, the Sofitel in BKK is now notoriously stingy with upgrades of any kind - but if others have kept up these practices, it can be a very nice program. The Metropole in Hanoi was unreal, in particular!
Not many Accor hotels have lounges. In the UK I can only think of the three Sofitel properties that have lounges, 2 of which are at airports.
I made ALL Diamond in 2020 due to changes in travel plans during COVID and poor footprint of Hyatt Hotels near me. I found the experience to be quite poor compared to WoH Globalist. No upgrades to suites at check in, no guarantee of late checkout, points redemption has a fixed rate - making use during peak periods unpalatable, and advance suite certificates where you have to book a significantly more expensive rate to redeem...
I made ALL Diamond in 2020 due to changes in travel plans during COVID and poor footprint of Hyatt Hotels near me. I found the experience to be quite poor compared to WoH Globalist. No upgrades to suites at check in, no guarantee of late checkout, points redemption has a fixed rate - making use during peak periods unpalatable, and advance suite certificates where you have to book a significantly more expensive rate to redeem them.
I've dropped all the way back to ALL Silver now, it's just no where near as good a program as Hyatt's is.
Of course, the problem is Fairmont is not that nice of a brand. I've stayed at the Fairmont Royal York in Toronto, Fairmont Austin, and Fairmont Château Laurier in Ottawa. Those properties are range somewhere between a very nice Sheraton and an average JW Marriott.
Fairmont is a pretty small brand, they're only just starting to expand its footprint. Accor doesn't really work for US travel, a bit like Hyatt etc won't really work in Spain, Brazil, Indonesia etc.
There are enough Fairmonts in North America to cover places like Austin, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, New York, San Francisco, and Washington. But is Fairmont the best option in those markets? Maybe in San Francisco with the Nob Hill property. The one in Washington is probably nicer than the Park Hyatt and the two Ritz-Carltons. But it's trumped by the Four Seasons.
My experience is limited to a few properties. And at those properties the experience...
There are enough Fairmonts in North America to cover places like Austin, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, New York, San Francisco, and Washington. But is Fairmont the best option in those markets? Maybe in San Francisco with the Nob Hill property. The one in Washington is probably nicer than the Park Hyatt and the two Ritz-Carltons. But it's trumped by the Four Seasons.
My experience is limited to a few properties. And at those properties the experience is very much in the very good Sheraton to average JW Marriott category.
"City" Fairmont's tend to be mid to good. The international ones and the ones outside of cities (Banff etc) are where the brand gets its reputation.
As @Mika has noted, a key benefit of Accor hotels is the value for money they tend to offer. In places like Barcelona or Italy, it's not uncommon for the American chains to charge twice the Accor prices for a similar room/property type.
The sort of hotels charging $500 or whatever a night for a standard room (just checked the SFO one for May, it's over $400) operate in a market that's very different...
As @Mika has noted, a key benefit of Accor hotels is the value for money they tend to offer. In places like Barcelona or Italy, it's not uncommon for the American chains to charge twice the Accor prices for a similar room/property type.
The sort of hotels charging $500 or whatever a night for a standard room (just checked the SFO one for May, it's over $400) operate in a market that's very different from Accor's bread and butter offering.
That's not to say they can't do decent high end hotels (I'm sure they can), but things like the ALL elite tiers may not be optimised for the customer demographic that frequents them.
So, Accor platinum and diamond are more comparable to IHG Intercontinental ambassador and royal ambassador with lounge access added. If they would have a worldwide breakfast benefit, this could be a viable alternative to Marriott or Hyatt. I think it would be hard to hit Accor diamond status domestically in the USA, unless you were doing 30-plus nights a year at a Fairmont combined with expense account F&B spending.
Lucky,
I've had Platinum for years. It was been great for my needs in Asia and the Middle East. Always granted upgrades, breakfasts are REAL full buffet breakfasts and the club lounges are also great in the two regions.
Does the Middle East get free breakfasts for Platinum? I'm unsure what they define as 'Asia'.
As a Diamond I find the soft benefits pretty solid.
The welcome drinks are a nice touch, and although it's a little inconsistent, in many higher-end properties you can get quite expensive drinks using your vouchers. For example some of the Fairmonts in Canada let you get a drink that costs up to $35 CAD each.
The suite upgrades are a challenge. You basically book a room (type and rate) that is upgradable, and...
As a Diamond I find the soft benefits pretty solid.
The welcome drinks are a nice touch, and although it's a little inconsistent, in many higher-end properties you can get quite expensive drinks using your vouchers. For example some of the Fairmonts in Canada let you get a drink that costs up to $35 CAD each.
The suite upgrades are a challenge. You basically book a room (type and rate) that is upgradable, and then you can use the suite upgrade(s). Many hotels don't have availability to use upgrades, and you have to apply it at time of booking. There are also some weird IT issues, so if you are checking out of one property using an upgrade and checking into another property the same day, the system won't let you apply an upgrade, because it believes you are already using an upgrade on that day.
Ben, make sure you link your Flying Blue account with your Accor account. That way you will earn your ALL points, but will also earn a small amount of Flying Blue miles for each stay. I stay at a lot of Accor properties and they do add up over time.
I second that. It's a painless way to earn some FB miles and keep them from expiring. Next year though I might try to go for Platinum and linl with Qatar instead to get OW Sapphire.
I have looked into the Accor program before, as they have lots of properties in Indonesia, which I travel to very frequently.
They have loads of Novotel & Mercure properties in second/third tier cities allover Indonesia, which makes it particularly interesting.
I am Titanium with Marriott & Platinum with IHG, but haven't seen or don't know of a status match possibility with Accor.
Can anyone comment on what they'd do in order...
I have looked into the Accor program before, as they have lots of properties in Indonesia, which I travel to very frequently.
They have loads of Novotel & Mercure properties in second/third tier cities allover Indonesia, which makes it particularly interesting.
I am Titanium with Marriott & Platinum with IHG, but haven't seen or don't know of a status match possibility with Accor.
Can anyone comment on what they'd do in order to earn higher tier status with Accor without staying a ton/dropping loads of $$ with them upfront, just to earn status? Thx!
@Wolfgang Hi. This should be of help to you:
https://help.accor.com/s/topic/0TO7Q000000D8mmWAC/subscription-cards?language=en_US
I think at most you can get gold if you combine a certain two of those subscriptions. Some of the subscriptions are only valid for certain regions. For instance, ALL Signature seems to be only for the Brazilian market. No matter what though, you do not need to spend a lot to get silver elite or gold elite with Accor.
ALL Signature is available worldwide, it's just marketed in Brazil . Since the points purchased through ALL Signature are below face value, it effectively gives 12000 status points for free.
If you're in Asia-Pacific, look at Accor Plus. It costs A$399, but gets you 20 nights, and various other benefits which may mean there is value for you if you stay in a lot of Indonesian or other Asia-Pac hotels,
The perks of Accor is that the perks are mid at best.
The result: Accor properties are almost always cheaper than the comparable Hilton, Marriott or Hyatt properties of similar quality even when you include breakfast in the rate.
It's a low effort programme with budget benefits. The biggest issue is the upgrade is next category even at highest level.
I've not had any issues with getting upgrades, although some of the time, especially at Novotel, the upgraded room isn't any bigger than the standard one- it just happens to come with bathrobes, slippers, Nespresso and maybe a better view.
Have found Accor excellent in Asia. I’m platinum and have often had more than 1 category room upgrades. Compared to my Marriott titanium it does feel slightly lower value but the price point for Accor I find regularly lower in Asia so on balance Accor gets more of my Asia business than Marriott.
I would also add there is an invite only “limitless” tier and one friend I travel with had this status. The...
Have found Accor excellent in Asia. I’m platinum and have often had more than 1 category room upgrades. Compared to my Marriott titanium it does feel slightly lower value but the price point for Accor I find regularly lower in Asia so on balance Accor gets more of my Asia business than Marriott.
I would also add there is an invite only “limitless” tier and one friend I travel with had this status. The recognition is incredible. Includes personalised service, a named personal contact, upgrades to best available suite and many personalised touches and gifts. I’ve been blown away with the service received from that tier
@lucky, off topic but did you see Global Airlines is offering a status match?!?
@ Nikojas -- I have a Global Airlines post coming today, stay tuned, hah. I feel like making regulatory filings to launch operations is more valuable than promising a status match or picking champagne, but that's just me.
Hah, quite. Don't forget the Amex partnership too! It's as if they are almost airborne.