Bits: Curve / Creation news, Accor launches new ‘experiences’ rewards, Pret Perks, 99p Audible deal

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News in brief:

Were you caught up in the Creation credit card cancellations?

If you are one of those people whose IHG Rewards credit card is being closed down this week, you may find this correspondence interesting. It will take 30-60 seconds to download.

A reader has used a Freedom of Information request to get hold of the internal emails between Curve and NS&I on this issue. See what you make of it.

Accor launches new ‘experiences’ rewards including BST Hyde Park

Accor Live Limitless, the loyalty programme for Novotel, Sofitel, Ibis, Mercure, Fairmont etc, is ramping up its ‘Limitless Experiences’ programme in the UK with a range of new events.

This is good news, as the ‘Limitless Experiences’ programme is one way of getting better value for your points than the fixed 2 Eurocents you get when booking a hotel.

The experiences programme is also a win for Accor, since it encourages you to sit on your points and build a balance, rather than redeeming immediately when you hit the 2,000 required for a €40 hotel voucher.

I have listed below what is currently bookable via the Accor Experiences website.

Where the pricing says ‘from’ it means that there are a variety of packages available, some of which include a hotel stay. Some packages offer different levels of VIP treatment depending on how many points you use.

All packages are for two people and usually include other perks on top of your ticket:

Amy Winehouse: Beyond The Stage exhibition @ The Design Museum (multiple dates) – 1,000 points
Jake Whitehall @ Eventim Apollo (20th December) – 4,000 points
Romesh Ranganathan @ Eventim Apollo (15th January) – 3,000 points
Russell Brand @ Eventim Apollo (1st February) – 4,000 points
Ronan Keating inc ‘meet and greet’ @ Eventim Apollo (3rd February) – 18,000 points
Mamma Mia! The Party (19th February, 12th March) – from 25,000 points including a hotel stay
Ludovico Einaudi @ Eventim Apollo (23rd March) – 8,000 points
Elton John @ BST Hyde Park (24th June) – from 18,000 points
Eagles @ BST Hyde Park (26th June) – from 18,000 points
Pearl Jam @ BST Hyde Park (8th and 9th July) – from 10,000 points
Duran Duran @ BST Hyde Park (10th July) – from 10,000 points

In terms of ‘read the small print’, Mamma Mia! The Party wins. You get:

Tier A seats including a four course dinner, drinks package and official merchandise party pack
‘Meet and greet’ with the cast
Overnight stay with breakfast at the Novotel Canary Wharf
Pre-show cocktails and canapes
Transfers to the O2 via Thames Clipper boat, including a glass of prosecco, with a taxi transfer to the hotel after the show

You certainly get a full night for your 25,000 points.

You can redeem your Accor points for any of the above on the Experiences site here.

‘Pret Perks’ launches today

A couple of weeks ago we had the exclusive news about the launch of ‘Pret Perks’, the new Pret A Manger loyalty scheme.

The programme finally goes live today. However, it will be in beta for a few weeks and can only be accessed by people with a Pret coffee subscription and an iPhone.

You will earn one ‘star’ for every purchase and stars can be redeemed for ‘perks’. You will require 10 stars to receive a free product from a rotating list of rewards. You do not get your choice of any item in the store.

Once you have hit 10 ‘stars’, you will have 30 days to claim your free product. Your free gift will expire at this point.

You will NOT earn ‘stars’ when claiming a free coffee from your subscription unless something else is bought at the same time. All Pret coffee subscribers will receive a nominal one star per month as part of their subscription. You need to scan a QR card in the Pret app to receive your stars.

One attempt at gaming the system is already blocked in the rules. Any purchases made in quick succession will be amalgamated together, so you cannot buy a coffee and a sandwich in two transactions and earn two ‘stars’.

Full details should be on this web page from this morning.

Last call: get 3 months of Audible audio books for 99p

Audible, Amazon’s audiobook subsidiary, has been running a special promotion over Black Friday. See here.

Until tonight, 30th November, you can claim 3 months of Audible for just 99p. This works out at 33p per month.

You can choose one free audiobook per month during your trial.

The offer is not available if you have had an Audible trial in the last 12 months. If you don’t see the 99p offer like this when logged in to your Amazon account:

….. then you don’t qualify.

The link to sign up is here. The offer ends tonight.

(I know this is non-core to HfP, but we have a good relationship with Amazon who always keep us up to date with their offers. The commission we earn if you sign up keeps us ticking over whilst airline and hotel advertising remains weak.)

Category

Accor Live Limitless, Curve Card, IHG Rewards

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

Definitas says:

30 Nov30 November 17:51

We should have received Chronomics day 2 test kits yesterday. They were sent out and even loaded onto a delivery van yesterday but DPD failed to deliver due to a “technical problem” (which I take it meant ran out of time). They are allegedly on a van today but they were not scanned so nobody knows and today was the final day to use them. Is there any actual comeback for not doing the day 2 test and has anyone managed to get a refund from Chronomics for non-delivery of tests within the test window?
- Pete M says:
  
  30 Nov30 November 18:18
  
  No comeback
- TGLoyalty says:
  
  30 Nov30 November 21:52
  
  Just do an nhs LFT instead and crack on.
  - Definitas says:
    
    30 Nov30 November 22:08
    
    Thanks for the replies
- Jan M says:
  
  1 Dec1 December 00:13
  
  Same thing happened to me. I like Chronomics. It was DPD that was at fault. They sent me a new kit which I took when I received it, certainly a day or two late. No problems.
Super Secret Stuff says:

30 Nov30 November 18:37

Does all this mean Creation can bring back the paid IHG card?

Too soon? 😉
- Yorkie Aid says:
  
  30 Nov30 November 19:05
  
  lol 😆
mutley says:

30 Nov30 November 19:08

The Pret coffee subscription is the real bargain, up to five drinks a a day for £20 a month, its an absolute steal. Obviously they hope that you will spend money on the array of sarnies and cakes in store.
- John T says:
  
  30 Nov30 November 19:23
  
  Do you actually go to Pret five times a day though? They launched it because far less people are going into the office each day and buying a coffee on the way in
  - Mutley says:
    
    30 Nov30 November 23:36
    
    Morning latte, smoothie at lunchtime and double espresso mid afternoon
- Yorkie Aid says:
  
  30 Nov30 November 19:27
  
  It’s great if you’re in London and a handful of other cities. Otherwise not as useful as free Nero from O2.
  - Froggee says:
    
    30 Nov30 November 19:41
    
    We had an intern that we joked was able to retire from rounding up the cost of everyone’s coffee. If he was still with us he’d definitely have a couple of Pret coffee subs.
EwanG says:

30 Nov30 November 19:43

@Rob @Rhys url for Pret Perks has changed to http://www.pret.co.uk/en-GB/pret-perks-rewards
- Rob says:
  
  30 Nov30 November 22:09
  
  Thanks, will update.
BlueThroughCrimp says:

30 Nov30 November 21:21

Just how did they break all those Enigma grade code words that just looked a bit silly?
- Anna says:
  
  30 Nov30 November 21:35
  
  They didn’t need to, there was always someone who helpfully decoded them in the comments!
  - BlueThroughCrimp says:
    
    30 Nov30 November 21:43
    
    Exactly. A bit naff, with a whiff of showing off.
    Pointless now, pun intended!
    - Super Secret Stuff says:
      
      30 Nov30 November 21:52
      
      Also can we just take a moment that the correspondence basically proves if its contained and not taking the p its fine
      - BlueThroughCrimp says:
        
        30 Nov30 November 22:24
        
        Exactly. There’s always some that just can’t help themselves spoiling a good thing.
      - Alex W says:
        
        1 Dec1 December 09:45
        
        No doubt there are a few selfish frequent fliers, but I imagine there are a lot more people, possibly abroad, that have no interest in the frequent flier community and will exploit any opportunity to extract money from these loopholes.
    - TGLoyalty says:
      
      30 Nov30 November 21:53
      
      There was a point. The issue is people like you having to let everyone and their dog know what it meant without the read having to apology any thought.
      
      If anything’s pointless it’s your original comment and reply …
      - TGLoyalty says:
        
        30 Nov30 November 22:03
        
        Damn phone!
        
        *without having to apply any thought.
      - BlueThroughCrimp says:
        
        30 Nov30 November 22:20
        
        You need to wind your neck in. I didn’t let anyone know.
- Graham Walsh says:
  
  30 Nov30 November 22:35
  
  They didn’t need to. Just look for large suspicious transactions going through Curve. I guess their systems are modern and easy to search and filter compared to the legacy stuff the other use.
  - TGLoyalty says:
    
    30 Nov30 November 23:19
    
    Obviously not. That’s why curve had to send them the data …
JM says:

30 Nov30 November 22:10

Interested in the Accor Limitless Experiences for an event that is sold out normally – I have an Accor account but minimal points – What is the best way to transfer into Accor? I remember seeing something about Eurostar a while ago…
James W says:

1 Dec1 December 13:50

I wonder if Creation will loose the IHG contract given Chase is now in the UK and holds the US cards.
- Paul Pogba says:
  
  1 Dec1 December 22:19
  
  If Creation stay in the hotel credit card business it’ll probably be with Accor, Isabelle Birem mentioned on the Lets Talk Loyalty podcast they were looking to launch more cards and BNP Paribas (Creations parent) has the French contract.
- will says:
  
  2 Dec2 December 01:04
  
  They should really lose their license full stop. Even prior to money-go-round-gate they’ve shown themselves to be very poor at running a credit card company.
  
  Surely now they’re in a position where if asked they’ll have to say to the FCA that they didn’t bother to ask the people they’d issued credit cards to based on relatively normal income levels where the hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, of pounds they ran through the cards came from.
Robert says:

2 Dec2 December 13:55

I have never engaged in MS and have no accounts with NS&I, but my account is being closed. No idea what I have done wrong, other than link it to Curve. I have made a complaint which they have acknowledged. Be interesting to see what they say about the annual fee, the free night I have earned already and the points on my account at present. I also wonder what the FCA will think about all the complaints, which Creation will have to report to the FCA on a regular basis.