Originally Posted by
Goldorak
Very hard to use ?
This is exactly the opposite. It's one of the easiest hotel program for use of points (to not say the easiest)
Hard to keep them alive ? It means that you don't stay at least once a year in a Accor hotel. No problem with that of course but it just means that you don't need a loyalty card for this hotel chain.
What's confusing to you? The only active FFP that I'm active in which Accor can convert to is Qantas. They don't allow automatic conversion (!) and the 4000 point minimum means that even staying a few weeks at some of their hotels is not enough to transfer anything! (The same period of stay at other chains would likely earn at least one free night.) Accor has very few partners, which makes it almost impossible to top up to be able to redeem which is, again, awful.
IHG never expire, Hyatt never expire, Hilton expire in 12 months in theory but I've gone way longer, Carlson expire in 2 years, Best Western never expire, etc. Accor kills off your points after a year. SPG expire after 12 months, but here's the big kicker: any
activity keeps SPG and every other hotel scheme alive. One little transfer from Amex MR per year will keep SPG alive forever.
Accor is, to my knowledge, unique in requiring a
stay. This makes them far and away the hardest to keep points alive in and hence the hardest to use before they disappear.