Le Club Accor Alters Loyalty Program for 2017
Joe Cortez March 31, 2016
Program members will now earn rewards points and status points separately.
Le Club Accor elite members will soon face a new process for status requalification in the coming years. In an announcement on their website, the hotelier announced an overhaul of their program, beginning with how guests earn reward points and loyalty status.
Beginning on January 1, 2017, guests will earn two sets of points: reward points which can be redeemed for awards, and elite status points that count towards requalifying for status. The points earned vary between properties. At the low end of the spectrum, guests only earn five loyalty points per around $11 spent at Adagio Access properties. At other participating AccorHotels brands, guests can earn up to 25 status points for around $11 of spending.
In order to earn status with Le Club Accor, guests must meet the qualifying point requirements. To qualify for the lowest tier, travelers must earn 2,000 status points and stay ten nights, while those who aspire for top-tier platinum status must earn 14,000 points.
“Our new Status Points define which status level you are, based on your activity during a calendar year,” the hotel chain operator explains on their website. “The more Status Points you have, the higher your status.”
The length of status is changing as well. Previously, loyalty members would hold their status for one calendar year, starting from the day they earn their increased loyalty tier. Starting in 2017, loyalty status will be granted until the end of the next year, regardless of when they earn their status. Travelers who do not retain their status level will be bumped to the next lowest status in the following year.
The changes to the AccorHotels loyalty program directly reflects the changes made by America’s legacy carriers over the past two years. By the end of 2016, all three carriers will grant separate loyalty and award miles to flyers, based on their status tier.
H/t: starflyergold
[Photo: Sofitel]
This is what European carriers have been doing for years now and is endlessly confusing. The difference is that while miles were originally granted based on sector length (exact or approximated by flight type), which could be completed by flyers paying wildly different prices, Accor's points were always based on monetary spend, so I do not see an obvious reason to add more complexity to the programme.