This Travel Loyalty Program Gets You Perks at 5,100 Hotels in More Than 100 Countries

Everything you need to know about Accor Live Limitless, the hotel loyalty program that connects 45 of your favorite hotel brands, including Raffles, Sofitel, and The Hoxton.

Whether you stay at a hotel for two nights or 200 nights per year, it can be worthwhile to sign up for a hospitality brand’s loyalty program. Create the account now, accumulate points over time, and rake in the benefits later.

Take Accor, for instance. As one of the largest hospitality companies in the world, Accor has a footprint of about 5,100 properties across 45 distinct brands in more than 100 countries. From high-end Fairmont Hotels & Resorts to budget-oriented Ibis Hotels, the French company is sure to have a hotel for nearly every lifestyle and budget. Here’s a closer look at Accor’s loyalty program, Accor Live Limitless — and why it may make sense to become a member.

What is Accor Live Limitless?

First conceived as a hotel company in the 1960s, Accor calls the current iteration of its loyalty program “Accor Live Limitless” (or ALL, for short). Some iconic Accor properties where you can earn and redeem points include the Fairmont Château Lake Louise, Sofitel Le Scribe Paris Opéra, and Raffles Dubai, among many, many others.

As with most hotel programs, the more a traveler engages with ALL, the more benefits you’ll receive. “ALL is a simple, flexible, and transparent way for our members to earn and burn points,” says Mehdi Hemici, chief loyalty and ecommerce officer of Accor, in an interview with Travel + Leisure.

There are plenty of ways to earn, either through hotel stays and other travel and non-travel activity based on brand partnerships. And benefits include hotel perks like suite upgrades and dining vouchers.

How to Earn Accor Points

Accor Live Limitless members can earn points for each stay at a participating property. However, the program works a bit differently than the major U.S. based hotel loyalty schemes. For starters, you earn points on how much you spend in euros, not dollars. In addition, ALL points are earned based on each chunk of €10 spent.

With a wide range of properties, ALL points are earned based on the specific brand along with your elite status level. If that sounds confusing, not to worry. Accor has a handy tool to calculate the points that you'll earn on a stay, according to elite status tier, hotel brand, and room cost.

Accor members without elite status can earn up to 10 points per €10 toward eligible hotel spending. Privileged enough to have elite status? You can earn up to 44 points per €10 spent.

How to Redeem Accor Points

Unlike the way you earn Accor points, redeeming them on hotel stays is a fairly straightforward affair. With Accor, points are used to offset the cost of a room at a flat rate. Here’s how it works.

For every 2,000 ALL points, you’ll get €40 off of your final hotel bill (the exception for this is with the brand onefinestay, which has its own redemption process). This essentially equates points to be worth about 2 cents apiece, depending on the exchange rate at the time of redemption. On one hand, this means there are no ways to get outsized value out of your points. (Sorry, travel hackers and “sweet spot” seekers.) However, this makes Accor’s program easier to understand than some of the competition.

In addition to hotel stays, Accor partners with nearly three dozen airline programs, allowing you to convert points into airline miles at various rates. You can also redeem Accor points for an array of unique adventures and events, called “Limitless Experiences.”

“Members have access to exclusive money-can’t-buy experiences offering more than 2,000 member-only VIP events through our sports, food, and entertainment partners,” Hemici said.

Accor Live Limitless Partners

Besides earning on actual hotel stays at Accor properties, there are an array of travel and shopping partners to help members accumulate even more points. On the airline front, ALL members have the opportunity to earn points through alliances with some heavy-hitting international carriers including Air France, KLM, Qatar Airways, and Qantas. Partners also extend to rental cars (Hertz, Avis, and more), trains (Eurostar), and online shopping and dining.

In the U.S., Accor doesn’t offer a co-branded credit card option, as many hotel competitors do. However, through a partnership with Capital One, miles can be transferred to Accor points at a rate of 2:1. That's two Capital One miles to one Accor point.

Elite Status Tiers and Benefits

To earn elite status with Accor, you must stay a certain number of nights or hit the spending requirements annually. The top-tier Diamond status can only be earned by spending. Here, a breakdown of each tier and its corresponding benefits.

Classic: No nights or spending required. You’ll receive this status as soon as you sign up. Classic members receive:

• Free Wi-Fi

• Exclusive offers

• Partner benefits

Silver: 10 nights or €800 spent. As a Silver member, you’ll receive all of the benefits of the Classic tier plus:

• A welcome drink

• Priority welcome

• Late checkout

Gold: 30 nights or €2,800 spent. Gold members receive all of the benefits of the lower tiers in addition to the following:

• Guaranteed room availability

• Space-available room upgrade

• Early check-in or late checkout

Platinum: 60 nights or €5,600 spent. As a Platinum elite-status holder, you’ll receive all of the previously listed benefits plus:

• Suite upgrades

• Access to the executive lounge

• Premium Wi-Fi

Diamond: €10,400 spent. Diamond is ALL’s highest elite status tier. You only can reach this status through spend. This tier receives each of the lower tier’s benefits in addition to:

• Free breakfast on weekends

• Four €25 dining and spa rewards

• Ability to gift Gold status to a person of your choice

How to Sign Up

Before you can earn (or redeem) Accor Live Limitless points, you’ll need an account. Sign up here to join the program for free. 

For more Travel & Leisure news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Read the original article on Travel & Leisure.