Accor is still expiring your hotel points despite covid – what can you do?

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Most of the hotel loyalty programmes had generous rules over points expiry, even before coronavirus. Usually any activity, earning or spending, via a stay or with a partner, every 24 months or so was enough to keep your points alive.

Accor Live Limitless, owner of the Novotel, Ibis, Sofitel, Mercure etc brands, has decided to play hard ball with members.

During 2020 it had an amnesty on points expiry. On 15th December, this amnesty ended for non-status members.

Your Accor Live Limitless points will now expire on the 1-year anniversary of your last stay.

How can I stop my Accor Live Limitless points expiring?

Not only has Accor begun to expire points again, but it has substantially stricter rules than other programmes.

You need ‘activity’ in the previous 12 months to keep your points alive

Spending activity does NOT reset the clock – it must be earning activity

Technically your ‘earning’ activity must be a hotel stay, not partner activity. This rule has been relaxed, but Accor has virtually no ‘earn’ partners.

The problem, assuming that you can’t do an Accor hotel stay before your points expire, is that there are very few ways of earning Accor points without staying with them.

The main reason for this is the way that the programme is structured. Accor is a revenue based programme. 1 point get you 2 Eurocents of free hotel room.

This structure is unattractive to partners. Accor probably charges 2.5 Eurocents to partners to award you with 1 point, which you value at 2 Eurocents. You probably DON’T value an Accor point at 2 Eurocents, however, because clearly 2 Eurocents of cash is better than 2 Eurocents of hotel credit.

For a potential Accor partner, you are faced with paying Accor €2.50 to give your customer €2 of hotel credit which they don’t value as high as €2. Who would sign up to that?

Compare this to Avios. An Avios partner pays 1p to IAG Loyalty to give you 1 point. Most HfP readers value an Avios at more than 1p, so everyone wins. An Avios partner can spend £2 to give you 200 Avios which you value at more than £2.

How can I generate some Accor points?

There are a few ways of generating some Accor points and so keeping your existing points alive.

Option 1:

Transfer 4,000 Amex Membership Rewards points into 4,000 Flying Blue miles, the KLM / Air France loyalty programme. You can transfer those points onwards into 1,000 Accor Live Limitless points. Using 4,000 Amex points for €20 of hotel credit is a weak deal but you’ve kept your existing balance alive. This HfP article explains more about the Accor / Flying Blue partnership.

Option 2:

Transfer 3,500 Amex Membership Rewards points into 3,500 Finnair Plus miles. You can transfer those points onwards into 500 Accor Live Limitless points. This is a poorer deal than the Flying Blue option but you may prefer it if you want to conserve your Amex points. You can find out more on the Finnair website here.

Option 3:

Transfer 7,500 Amex Membership Rewards points into 500 Club Eurostar points. You can transfer those points onwards into 1,500 Accor Live Limitless points. This is a poorer deal for Amex cardholders than the Flying Blue route above, unless you already have some Club Eurostar points you can top up. This HfP article explains more about the Accor / Club Eurostar partnership.

Option 4:

You can also transfer miles from Aegean, Azul, Hainan, LATAM, Oman Air, Qatar and Royal Air Maroc into Accor Live Limitless, although these are not that common amongst our readers. The list of Accor airline partners is here.

Option 5:

Join ClubOpinions, the Accor market research panel. This is free and you earn 250 points for your first survey which is enough to reset your expiry date. This HfP article explains more about ClubOpinions.

Option 6:

Rent a car from Europcar and credit the points to Accor. The Europcar / Accor landing page is here. This is not very practical under current restrictions, unfortunately. Accor is also a partner with Hertz and Avis, although Avis requires a 7+ day rental to earn with Accor.

Option 7:

Buy something online via the Accor shopping portal. Don’t forget to toggle to the UK page via the dropdown in the top left corner. The risk here is that the points take so long to arrive that your existing balance has expired in the interim. It is worth a go if your expiry date is still 3-4 months ahead.

Option 8:

Subscribe to The Economist via the special Accor deal. These deals are less attractive than the ones we see from Avios, however, and the points do not come close to covering the cost of the magazines.

Option 9:

Accor runs a confusing offer which lets you earn for eating or drinking in some of its hotels as a non-resident. The problem, of course, is that this is not an option until hotels re-open.

Visit this page of the Accor website which explains how it works. You need to download the Accor Live Limitless app and register your credit card details. When you make a food or drink purchase in one of the hotels listed on the site, and pay with the credit card you registered in advance, you earn 1 point per €1 spent. Importantly, you are promised the points within seven days.

Conclusion

Accor’s behaviour in expiring points in the current environment is something you should bear in mind when deciding where to stay in the future.

It is especially weird when you remember that Accor is a French business and is therefore in lockdown in its home market. I would have expected slightly different behaviour than you get from the US-owned chains, given that most US hotels are open.

The good news is that you should be able to save your Accor Live Limitless points if you plan ahead. ClubOpinions is a good place to start, and if that fails then you should consider an American Express Membership Rewards transfer via Finnair, Flying Blue or Club Eurostar.

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.

Category

Accor Live Limitless

This article is closed to new posts. Discussion continues in the HfP Forums.

Andrew says:

21 Feb21 February 07:38

From the Accor app:

Reward points expiration: For all members with an active Reward point balance upon sending our communication on 18 May 2020, the expiration date has been extended:
– Until 15 December 2020 for Classic members;
– Until 30 April 2021 for Silver, Gold, Platinum and Diamond members.

So those with status have a bit longer to avoid the overly-harsh expiry policy.

To add my own experience to earlier commentators: Accor customer service is non-existent, but the hotels are often very eager to help (we had a brilliant interaction with a Paris MGallery at the end of last year). I’ve also used Club Opinions to keep my points alive – it’s clunky and you have to click through a few surveys that then tell you you’re “not eligible” before finding one that you are allowed to complete which is a time-waste but worth it once or twice a year to keep €80 of points alive.
blenz101 says:

21 Feb21 February 07:44

I disagree that Accor need to be more generous. They operate globally and the UK is pretty low rent in terms of brands operated, 3 Sofitel (two of which are at airports) and a couple of Fairmont. They UK is firmly Ibis country with a handful of run down Mecures and some nothing to write home about Novotels.

As for their home market in France whilst there is a curfew shops and services do remain open.

You can also earn points by spending in the bars and restaurants of many Accor hotels so no need to stay overnight https://restaurants.accor.com/themes/earn-rewards-points-on-food-and-beverages.en.shtml

Whilst this may not be an option in the UK right now much of the rest of the world is operating in a way that does allow for some economic activity to continue. They shouldn’t have to operate their loyalty programme based on the lowest common denominator.

If Boris presents a roadmap tomorrow which allows some hospitality then a single drink at the Ibis Earls court would solve the problem for most. Meanwhile the USA, MENA, huge chunks of Europe and Asia Pacific will allow earn and burn in the normal way.
- Toddy says:
  
  21 Feb21 February 08:22
  
  Absolutely bizarre comment.
  
  There will be a huge number of people who will have points expiring (or already expired). The fact that local markets may be operating on an extremely limited basis is irrelevant. Tourism and business travel is almost non existent.
  
  You’ve completely missed the point.
- Peter K says:
  
  21 Feb21 February 08:49
  
  “A single drink at the Ibis Earls court would solve the problem for most”. 😂😂
  I think that very insular, unaware, london-centric comment typifies what this whole comment wrong!
  - Peter K says:
    
    21 Feb21 February 09:02
    
    *why this whole comment’s wrong.
  - blenz101 says:
    
    21 Feb21 February 09:40
    
    Not at all. I am based in Dubai. I had a Staycation at the Sofitel on the Palm last weekend, 700AED a night, Platinum recognised and upgraded from the most basic room type to a beach suite. Free drinks voucher provided at the private check in and welcome gifts delivered to the room.
    
    Lounge was fantastic with the evening cocktails and canapes running for almost 3 hours instead of 2. Had a great meal Porterhouse which was 2-4-1 on The Entertainer.
    
    My suggestion to go and buy a drink when either bars or restaurants re-open within the UK is hopefully far more cost efficient than blowing 4000 membership reward points.
    
    I accept international travel is off limits in the medium term but given domestic markets are operating there is no real reason for further blanket extensions. For most jurisdictions it is perfectly possible to keep your points alive. The UK is really the exception.
    
    And if your points were earned via business travel then you are hardly missing out, it was just free cash back on your leisure stays or bar spend.
    - Rob says:
      
      21 Feb21 February 10:56
      
      Problem is that you won’t be buying that drink until May looking at current predictions.
      - blenz101 says:
        
        21 Feb21 February 12:59
        
        Could be as early as Easter weekend though. If stay at home orders are lifted and restaurants are back with social distancing then certainly an option to consider if you don’t have points expiring until later in the year.
        
        My point was more that Accor aren’t being especially evil. Beyond the UK things are generally more open than not. I can also see why Accor would want to encourage spend at their properties via domestic tourism this year. I also can’t see a reason why they would want to keep extending points which just amount to cash discounts until such time as business travel picks up.
- TGLoyalty says:
  
  21 Feb21 February 09:10
  
  I use like Accor at all but did enjoy referring to The Savoy as one of a couple fairmont 🙂
  
  Sofitel, Fairmont, Pullman, Mantis,
  
  Novotel has some decent properties but Mercure seems very much a mixed bag of great properties and sh1t holes
  - Tony says:
    
    21 Feb21 February 09:43
    
    Most of the mercure are leftovers from Jupiter Hotels. No money has been spent on them for some time.
    - blenz101 says:
      
      21 Feb21 February 09:48
      
      A month in the Mecure Watford (or Hilton next door for that matter) would put you off ever wanting to stay in a hotel room again!
      - TGLoyalty says:
        
        21 Feb21 February 11:05
        
        A month in Watford …
TripRep says:

21 Feb21 February 08:25

“Accor is still expiring your points despite covid – what can you do?”

Well that’s a simple one. Give your future business those that have dealt with Covid the best like Hilton.
- TripRep says:
  
  21 Feb21 February 08:27
  
  *to those
  - memesweeper says:
    
    21 Feb21 February 08:51
    
    …and if you need to stay in an Accor, book through hotels.com. Earned benefits do not expire there. Accor’s scheme is abysmal.
    - TGLoyalty says:
      
      21 Feb21 February 09:11
      
      Agree with this!
- Peter K says:
  
  21 Feb21 February 08:53
  
  My thoughts exactly. I’d already gone down this route when I’d found that they didn’t care at all about customer service when I was an Accor platinum via the Amex Platinum a few years ago.
  I gave them 2 or 3 tries but each time was such a disaster and they had a “we don’t care” attitude (at both hotel level and Accor customer service) that I gave up on them completely.
- Harry T says:
  
  21 Feb21 February 10:29
  
  Yes, vote with your feet! This is one of the reasons Marriott and Hilton get the majority of my stays.
- Alan says:
  
  21 Feb21 February 13:47
  
  Totally agree, Hilton have been fantastic and IHG have done the right thing too – even of it was a little close to the wire when it came to the free night certs!
flyingbee says:

21 Feb21 February 08:27

I’m based in France and a gold member with €250 of points expiring the end of April. To give you an idea of the situation in France, I’ve tried to book stays at the only two Accor hotels in my local ski resorts for a quick snow break in the current school holidays and they are both closed, so I couldn’t even spend the points on something we wanted to do. Ski lifts are shut, restaurants are only open for take away and the 6pm curfew means you’re stuck in your room all evening…

I’m going to check my Flying Blue account and will likely transfer some miles into Accor if I have enough. Otherwise I’ll book a stay for the summer using points.
ChrisA says:

21 Feb21 February 08:29

Please forgive me, but re. the headline, you can’t expire something. You can let them expire.
- Peter K says:
  
  21 Feb21 February 09:03
  
  Darth Vader might disagree 😁
  - Tony says:
    
    21 Feb21 February 09:44
    
    Rob is your Father …..
    - ChrisA says:
      
      21 Feb21 February 10:33
      
      Will I inherit his Avios?
Fraser says:

21 Feb21 February 08:30

I still find it a hard to understand the expiry date. I have “courtesy nights” from 4th Feb 2020, and my last stay was October 2019, but no points have expired and they are marked “use by 17-Dec-21”.

So will all the points remain valid until 17-Dec, and if so, why when others’ are expiring? (I’m back down to Gold this year).
Pb says:

21 Feb21 February 08:39

I have never found them flexible , used to always use the Mercure at G de Lyon , the track was washed away on my route so had to switch to another of the groups hotels in Switzerland , steadfastly refused a refund , so they lost a regular customer . I do not understand these companies , they spend oodles trying to create brand loyalty and for the lack of common sense the lose customers . Symptom of there will be another one along shortly I suppose .
Richard says:

21 Feb21 February 09:05

I’ve got a feeling I know the answer to this, but has anyone managed to persuade Accor to reinstate an expired points balance?
- TGLoyalty says:
  
  21 Feb21 February 09:12
  
  Has anyone ever managed to get Accor to do anything via customer services!
  - Axel says:
    
    21 Feb21 February 09:24
    
    Yes,. after a stramash with them
    
    I also think they are rewarding hotel guests on previous (higher) status rather than current, which has dropped for most loyal members.
    
    I was told I was given platinum benefits during a stay before xmas because I had been platinum in 2018/19.
  - RussellH says:
    
    21 Feb21 February 11:55
    
    Yes, with no difficulty at all.
    Was struggling to part pay a booking with points a few years ago. Phoned up and a very pleasant woman sorted it all out for me in a few minutes.
- The Savage Squirrel says:
  
  21 Feb21 February 09:17
  
  Prepare for a Gallic shrug when you ask…
- Brian says:
  
  21 Feb21 February 09:18
  
  Yes. If you catch it early enough, they will generally offer to reinstate the points if you do a stay within a certain time.
- Ikaz says:
  
  21 Feb21 February 09:36
  
  Twice on the same account, once before covid, they accepted as I was silver. Once during Covid with the offer stay 2 nights, get points reinstated (this one was actually a lot harder to get! It wasn’t automatic and they were not reading the emails)