GUIDE: How to Earn and Redeem Accor Points for Maximum Value (Part 2)

Accor Live Limitless is the joint loyalty programme of 45+ hotel brands, including luxurious options such as Raffles, Sofitel, Fairmont and MGallery. Despite the loyalty programme being revenue-based, there are still plenty of ways to get more value from your points, and a multitude of ways to earn additional points that can be put towards stay discounts, miles, Limitless Experiences, vouchers, and more. 

This is part 2 of our Accor Live Limitless series. Make sure you also read part 1, which gives an overview of the Accor loyalty programme to help you decide whether it’s right for you. Part 3 will focus on the paid Accor Frequent Traveller Cards.

What is an Accor Point Worth?

Accor is a French brand, and accordingly, its points carry a fixed euro value. Accor Points are worth a fixed amount of €0.02. 2,000 points translates to a €40 discount off your stay.

Unlike many other loyalty programs, where you can obtain oversized value from your points, there is no award chart, and the value of Accor points is fixed. However, there are some exceptions to this. Some redemption options have a value of less than €0.02 per point, whereas some Limitless Experiences yield a higher value.

Converting Accor Points Vs Spending Them with Accor

Once you have a balance of Accor Points, you may wonder whether to keep them in your account for stay discounts or convert them into other loyalty programmes (e.g., airline miles).

The short answer is that the best value usually comes from keeping points in your Accor account. Another tip is to use points on Euro currency stays if you can, to minimise the FX rate and get even more value.

Points Expiry

Points will expire if you’ve had no ‘earning activity’ in 12 months from the date they were earned. Points expire 12 months after the credit date, not the date the points were earned. For example, if you stay another night within that time frame, the 12-month period will reset.

You can view the date your points will expire by clicking on your name in the top right-hand corner and selecting ‘Your Loyalty Account’. You can view your points balance and the date they expire.

Earning and Redeeming Reward Points with Accor Stays

Hotel stays are the most obvious and one of the best ways to earn Accor points. You will earn a set number of points per €1 spent (not including taxes and fees), depending on the hotel chain. Elite status will earn you even more points.

Classic members earn 25 points for every €10 spent at the Hotel (excluding selected brands), equivalent to a 5% rebate, which increases as you earn status.

Elite members earn a bonus on top of the base earning rates, ranging from 24% for Silver members to 100% for Diamond members. You’re essentially earning double the points with Diamond status, which is equivalent to what you would have at the Classic level with most brands. Stays paid with points also earn status points and tier benefits on the cash portion (though not on the points-used amount)

You will earn the following per €10 spent:

If you’re unsure how to work this out, Accor has a useful calculator which you can try here.

Staying with the cheaper brands that offer the highest earning rates can be the most valuable. For example, Novotel and Ibis styles are often priced similarly. At Gold, you will receive 37 points per €10 spent at Novotel, compared to 18.5 at Ibis Styles. That means staying at Novotel could cost the same upfront, but net you double the points. 

Here’s how your points would compare for a €120 stay (after taxes): 

• At Novotel, you’d earn 518 points at a rate of 37 points per €10 – €10.86.

• At Ibis Styles, just 259 points at a rate of 18.5 points per €10 – €5.18 of points

A Budget Stay in Nuremberg

As a Gold member, you would earn 18.5 points per €10. Your stay would earn you 962 points worth €19.24.

At a glance, the Mercure is £71 cheaper, despite being a 4-star hotel. Mercure hotels earn 37 points per €10 at Gold level, so your stay would earn 1,610 points worth €32.20.

A Week’s Stay in London

The Adagio London Stratford costs £827 for 7 nights. While it looks good on paper as a self-catering option, it falls under Accor’s long-stay category – meaning points-earning is much lower. At Gold level, you’d earn just 7.5 points per €10, so on a €970 stay, that nets you 727 points worth €14.54 – not very impressive for a week in London!

Now compare that to the Mercure London Earls Court at £872. Despite being only £45 more, it’s a 4-star hotel, and you earn the full 37 points per €10, which would result in a total of €75.48 back in points. This is over 5 times what you would get at the Adagio.

A 7-night stay came in at £1,639, roughly €1,920. At Gold status, you’d earn 37 points per €10, bringing in 7,104 points – worth €142 off a future booking.

Earn Points During Your Accor Hotel Stay

NOTE:

Inform the check-in staff that you would like to earn points for items included in your stay-holding deposit, which is charged to the card.

You can earn points on most aspects of your stay, including dining, spa services, and minibar purchases. 1000 Reward points = €10 to redeem, giving a value of €0.01 per point – half the value compared to using your points for stays.

Redeeming Reward Points

The most important thing about a good reward scheme is the ease of redeeming the rewards. Accor Live Limitless allows you to redeem online, by phone, and at the hotel reception. 

“I actually like the fact that it doesn’t take long to earn enough to get €40 off. The fact that it is a very simple scheme is appealing and that you don’t need to stay that much to get a reward back. You also don’t need to try to work out how many points a hotel needs if it is a rainy Wednesday in October versus a sunny July date when the hotel is busy!

“I often use this for a stay at the Sofitel T5 since they are generally quite overpriced. Add in a discount from Topcashback which happens on a regular basis, and it makes it a lot more affordable.”

– Michelle

Transferring Airline Miles to Accor Points and Vice Versa

 Accor is among the few hotel loyalty programmes that permit miles-to-points conversions across multiple airline partners. However, this usually has less value than spending your points on stays or ‘Limitless Experiences’

If you’ve got some Accor points that you wouldn’t otherwise use, or you’re just short of the number of points needed for a redemption, transferring Accor points could work out well. You can transfer Points into miles starting at 2,000 points.

There are several airline loyalty programmes you can transfer Accor Points to – some also allow you to link your accounts and earn Accor Points for flights and miles for Accor stays. 

The best options are usually those that allow you to link your account and earn both miles and points on your stay, and vice versa. 

Here’s what you need to know:

Oneworld 

For one-off transfers, Iberia is the best option, unless one of the other loyalty programmes is your preferred choice and is non-transferable from Iberia. Qatar is also a compelling option with the ability to fast-track status with both programmes!

Star Alliance

There are no Star Alliance airlines which permit you to link your account with Accor for automatic transfers. Despite having less value, transfers can be a good option for adding to your miles balance if you’re just short of a redemption. Here, it’s best to send points directly to your programme of choice.

SkyTeam

Flying Blue is the most compelling option out of the SkyTeam carriers here. The value of your Accor points increases rapidly when you factor in the XP earned. 

Other Transferable Airlines

Earning and Spending Points with Accor >< Eurostar

2,000 Reward points for 300 Club Eurostar points. This reduces the value of your points and should only be done if you would not otherwise spend the points.

500 Club Eurostar Points = 1,000 Reward points. This loses more than half the value!

Earning and Spending Accor Points on Rental Cars

You can earn Accor points when renting cars through partnered agencies:

You just need to log in via the Accor portal or add your ALL number to the booking.

The only car rental provider you can spend points with is Hertz:

Earning and Spending Accor Points with Orient Express 

You will earn points for every €1000 spent, depending on your status level. This varies from 2,500 at Blue to 5,000 with Platinum. Cabin extras also earn points. This results in a value of €50-€100 in points for each €1,000.

You can also earn status with Orient Express bookings. The number of status points depends on the type of cabin you book. 

• Deluxe Cabin guarantees Gold status 

• Suite guarantees Platinum status

• La Dolce Vita Suite guarantees Diamond status

Prices start from €2,500 per person per night in a deluxe cabin, and €3,700 per person per night in a suite.

OneFineStay

A London-based company owned by Accor offering home, villa and chalet rentals. Add your Accor number to your booking and earn 1 point per €1 spent.

If you select Accor as your payment method (or partial payment), you will be asked how many points you would like to redeem.

If opting to spend your points this way, you would lose an average of 30% of the value compared to using points for Accor stays.

Meetings and Events

You can earn Accor points for event planning at various Accor properties. 1 point for every €2 spent (exclusions apply). Read more about this here.

You can also offset costs using points at eligible properties across all locations. Some hotels allow full event redemptions with catering included.

Other Ways to Earn Accor Points

Credit Cards 

Although Accor doesn’t have a branded UK credit card, a number of credit cards allow you to convert your points into Accor points, including:

• AMEX: You can transfer Membership Rewards Points (MR Points) to Accor at a value of 3.5:1. Your credit card must earn MR Points to be able to do this (e.g. not the British Airways cards). These include cards such as the AMEX Rewards, AMEX Preferred Rewards Gold and AMEX Platinum.
• HSBC: Transfer HSBC Rewards Points at a ratio of 2.5:1. Eligible cards include the HSBC Premier Card and HSBC World Elite Mastercard.

Surveys

• e-Rewards – Earn 250 points with your first survey, then 25-50 points per survey completed (€0.50-1 per survey)
• Club Opinions – Earn 100 points for completing your profile. You will then receive a bonus of 250-500 points for your first survey (equivalent to €5-€10 off a stay).

If you enjoy filling in surveys, it’s a nice way to earn extra points, and the Club Opinions welcome bonus is worth signing up for. However, €0.50-1 per survey is not much for your time!

ALL Collections 

Accor also has a shopping portal that works in a similar way to cashback portals or airline equivalents, such as Avios.com. You can earn points by clicking through to the various sites when you shop online:

More Ways to Earn Accor Points

• Flight + Hotel Packages: Accor offers a booking portal called ‘All Holidays’, powered by Expedia.
• Priority Pass: Standard Pass = 500 points, Prestige = 1,000 points and Prestige Plus = 1,500 points. You can read our full Priority Pass guide here.
• Wojo (workspaces in France): Earn 1 Reward & 1 Status point per €2 on bookings, or 1 point per €1 on subscriptions.
• Worklib (global workspaces): Over 20,000 spaces. Earn 1 point per €1, get 5% off, plus a free trial day for Platinum members.
• Rakuten: 3,200 points = 1,000 Reward Points
• Bicester: €1 /£1 = 2 Reward Points
• GrabRewards – 1,600 points = 100 Reward Points

Additional Options:

• Livelo
• CJ One
• Utu
• Delsey
• Share Rewards
• ADP – Extime Rewards
• OnePark
• Giltedge Africa
• Orange Travel
• Peloton 

Other Ways to Spend Accor Points

Concerts, Events and Limitless Experiences 

There are some great deals to be found via Limitless Experiences. You’ll find unique experiences from  Formula E weekends to private vineyard tours. Highlights include Orient Express experiences, yacht voyages, and luxurious travel packages. There are also exclusive tickets to concerts, sporting events, and cultural shows (e.g. VIP suites at Wembley Arena)

There are different ways to book Limitless Experiences. Some have a fixed cost, whereas others are priced through an auction and awarded to the bidder with the highest bid.

Here’s an example:

Yes, this is a hotel room within the stadium! It includes room-service breakfast and a terrace with a pitch view.

And Another:

You can filter by number of points depending on your points budget.

The Saint-Germain redemptions have great value. Here’s a snapshot of what’s available:

Here’s an example of a fixed price redemption:

If you win a bid or look carefully at the site, there are plenty of options that yield more value than the standard €0.02 per point.

Activities

You can book activities and events for your trip directly through Accor via their portal powered by Fever. The portal includes tickets for tours and attractions. You can also pay for activities with points.

For example, an ‘Early-Access Tower of London: Complete Tour with Crown Jewel & Opening Ceremony’ costs £132.00 or 15,146 Reward points (€0.01 per point). Other options I looked at had identical point values. That’s half the value of using your points for stays!

Shop 

Purchasing via the Accor shop typically yields less value per point compared to spending on stays.

More Options

• Charity Donations: Accor partners (e.g. the ALL Heartist Fund and the Orient Express Endowment Fund).
• Deutsche Bahn: 2,000 Reward points = 1,000 BahnBonus points
• Extime: 400 Extime Points = 400 Reward Points. You can also convert Reward Points to Extime Points at a rate of 2,000 Reward Points = 800 Extime Points.

Additional Options:

• CJ ONE

• Everyday Rewards

• Livelo

• Rakuten

• Share Rewards

Final Words

 With fixed-value redemptions and no need to second-guess whether you’re getting a good deal. 2,000 points equals €40 off your stay, every time. Although that takes some of the fun out of it, it makes the programme easier to understand. Besides, the real fun comes from earning status and enjoying the benefits.

When it comes to redemptions, the best value usually comes from keeping Accor points in your account and spending them on money off your room. The only exception to this is excellent value Limitless Experiences, which can often yield more value per point.

Sticking to hotels that offer the full earning rate makes all the difference, as does avoiding long-stay properties or budget brands with lower return rates. Some redemptions have slightly less value, such as opting for vouchers or spending points on Accor restaurants and spas.

With regards to airline miles, you’re better off transferring credit card points into miles rather than Accor points unless you can’t think of a better way to spend them. However, transferring Accor points into airline miles serves a purpose if you’re just short of the points you need for a redemption. Make sure to carefully review the transfer rates (e.g., you earn double Avios with Iberia at a 1:1 ratio compared to BA at 2:1).

Accor’s partnerships with Qatar and Air France mean it’s well worth linking your account. The value of your points can really exemplify whether your stays can also lead to Qatar status or extra Flying Blue XP, or when you can earn Accor points and even additional status nights for flights. The one you choose really depends on whether you’re aiming for Oneworld or SkyTeam status.

If Accor is your go-to programme, then it’s well worth maximising all the ways to earn, whether that’s dining, shopping, car hire or surveys.

Have you managed to get good value from your Accor points? Let us know in the comments below. We’d also love to hear which hotel loyalty programme you’d like us to cover next: