Bits: pay for access to Etihad lounges, 3x Flying Blue & Lufthansa miles with Accor

News in brief:

Buy yourself access to Etihad’s airport lounges

Following rival Emirates which opened up its facilities to paying passengers earlier this year, Etihad has decided to let Economy passengers buy access to their airport lounges.  Times are getting tougher for the Middle East carriers.

Included are the Business Lounges at Abu Dhabi in Terminals 1 and 3 and the Premium ‘first and business class’ lounges in

Sydney

Melbourne

London Heathrow

Manchester

Dublin

Paris

New York JFK

Washington Dulles

Etihad’s First Class Lounges are currently not included.

The price depends on the facilities of the lounges. Access to the London Heathrow lounge is apparently £45.  There is a 50% discount for children.  Advance booking is not allowed and access is subject to availability.

If you want to see whether it’s worth the money (note that the spa is no longer free unless you are in First Class) you can read Rob’s review of the Etihad lounge at Heathrow Terminal 4 here.  He was there again last week and an updated report will follow in 10 days or so.

It is worth remembering that the SkyTeam lounge in Heathrow Terminal 4 we reviewed here is in Priority Pass and there is also the impressive Plaza Premium Terminal 4 lounge (Priority Pass and Lounge Club), so there are other alternatives.  Plaza Premium is cheaper at £35 if pre-booked here, or get an Amex Gold card which comes with two free passes.

You can find out more about the ‘pay to enter’ Etihad scheme on the lounges page of their site here.

Le Club AccorHotels – up to 3 x miles with Air France/KLM and Lufthansa

Le Club AccorHotels is going on a Sweet Pillows World Tour.

During the current promotion period which ends on 30th April, members can earn:

• Double miles on their second stay
• Triple miles on their third stay

…. with either Flying Blue or Miles & More.

Flying Blue members usually earn the usual 1 mile per 2 Accor points earned, with non-status members receiving up to 2.5 points per €1 depending on brand.  Miles & More members earn at the same rate but with a guaranteed minimum of 500 miles per stay.  A stay of 2 or 3 nights is required at cheaper Accor brands for this minimum guarantee to apply.

In order to earn double or triple miles you must be a Le Club AccorHotels member, set your earning preferrence to either Air France/KLM’s Flying Blue or Lufthansa’s Miles & More and complete your stays before 30th April.

The page to find out more about the Flying Blue promotion is here and the page with information about Miles & More is here.

Note that the Flying Blue offer requires you to book by 30th March for stays by 30th April.  The Miles & More version lets you book right up until the last minute on 30th April.

Everyone who earned bonus miles during this promotion will also be entered into a prize draw with the chance of winning 100,000 award miles, awarded as 200,000 Accor points.

An Avios version of this offer will launch on Monday with different booking and stay dates and we will cover it next week.

Accor Live Limitless update – December 2021:

Earn bonus Accor points: Accor is not currently running a global promotion

New to Accor Live Limitless?  Read our overview of Accor Live Limitless here and our article on points expiry rules here. Our analysis of what Accor Live Limitless points are worth is here.

Want to earn more hotel points?  Click here to see our complete list of promotions from Accor and the other major hotel chains or use the ‘Hotel Offers’ link in the menu bar at the top of the page.