I enjoyed my recent stay at the Fairmont San Jose and realized that I always enjoy Fairmont hotels. Accor is Fairmont’s parent company, and I think it’s an overlooked brand with some great luxury potential. Here I’m going to cover how to use Accor Hotel points for maximum value.
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Which hotels are part of Accor?
Accor Hotels are comprised of several dozen brands; perhaps the most well-known in the U.S. are Sofitel and Fairmont. There are currently 37 brands in the Accor Hotels portfolio, including:
Accor does have a large presence in Europe and Asia, with some 5,000+ total hotels. I’ve always enjoyed my experiences at Fairmonts and Sofitels, so I decided to learn more about the program.
How do you earn points with Accor Hotels?
Earn between 0.5 and 4.5 Accor points per dollar spent at Accor hotels, depending on your status level and the hotel brand. Actually, you’re earning 5 to 44 Accor points per every ten Euros spent, but I’m normalizing the calculation to points per $1 USD.
Downside: Accor’s earning program is NOT simple. The big range of .5 – 4.5 points per dollar is based on 5 different elite status levels and 4 different earning rates depending on the brand. Simple, right? As a general rule, staying at a Fairmont or a Sofitel will earn you about 2.4 points per dollar. You’ll earn more if you have elite status, but this is pretty hard to achieve, and we’ll talk about that later. Also generally speaking, the Economy and Midscale Accor brands earn fewer points per dollar.
When you’re thinking about staying at an Accor hotel, I recommend you go to their website. Use their calculator to figure out how many points you’ll earn on your upcoming stay.
Besides earning points on room rates, you can earn points with Accor in several other ways. These include several car rental partnerships, the Eurostar train system, a few mostly European retailers, and you can earn a small amount of points by taking surveys. All options are listed here. These are not very attractive or easy options for U.S.-based travelers. For that reason, I’ll focus on earning points with Accor Hotels directly.
How many points do you need for a free night with Accor?
2,000 Accor points = 40Euros off your hotel bill, and you can redeem as many of these 2,000-point increments up to the value of your bill. You can redeem them online, over the phone, or in person when checking in or out of your hotel. How to use Accor hotel points is very straightforward!
Image courtesy of Fairmont San Francisco
CAVEAT: It’s hard to tell which Accor hotels you can redeem points with. Accor states they have over 5,000 properties worldwide, but only 3,960 participate in the program as of this writing. So which ones participate? Well, I guess you’ll just have to call and ask, because short of clicking around on each hotel’s individual website, I dunno.
Can you redeem Accor points for airlines?
Yes, in addition to redeeming Accor points for hotel stays, you can use them for airline miles. Most of Accor’s partners convert at a rate of 2:1 points (Accor:Airline), with a 2,000 or 4,000 Accor-point minimum. Here is a full list, with my favorite options highlighted below:
| Airline Partner | Ratio Accor:Airline | Minimum Accor |
| Aegean | 2:1 | 2,000 |
| Aeroflot | 2:1 | 2,000 |
| Aero Mexico | 2:1 | 4,000 |
| Air Canada | 2:1 | 4,000 |
| Air China | 4:3.2 | 4,000 |
| Air France KLM | 2:1 | 2,000 |
| Alitalia | 2:1 | 2,000 |
| Avianca | 2:1 | 2,000 |
| Azul | 2:1 | 2,000 |
| British Airways | 2:1 | 4,000 |
| Cathay Pacific AsiaMiles | 2:1 | 4,000 |
| Delta | 2:1 | 4,000 |
| Emirates | 2:1 | 4,000 |
| Etihad | 2:1 | 4,000 |
| Finnair | 1:1 | 2,000 |
| Hainan Airlines | 2:1 | 2,000 |
| Iberia | 1:1 | 3,000 |
| Japan Airlines JAL | 2:1 | 4,000 |
| Jet Airways | 2:1 | 4,000 |
| Korean Air Skypass | 2:1 | 4,000 |
| Latam Pass | 2:1 | 4,000 |
| LATAM Pass – Brazil | 2:1 | 2 |
| Oman Air | 4:1.5 | 4,000 |
| Qantas | 1:1 | 2,000 |
| Qatar Airways | 2:1 | 2,000 |
| Royal Air Maroc | 2:1 | 2,000 |
| Singapore KrisFlyer | 2:1 | 4,000 |
| TAP Portugal | 2:1 | 4,000 |
| Thai Airways | 2:1 | 4,000 |
| Turkish Airlines | 2:1 | 4,000 |
| United MileagePlus | 2:1 | 2,000 |
| Virgin Australia | 1:1 | 4,000 |
How can you maximize Accor airline partner transfers?
Here is how to use the Air Canada and Iberia transfer partners for the best value:
- Air Canada: Economy flights within the U.S. or between the U.S. and Canada cost either 15K or 25K Air Canada miles for a round-trip ticket. Or, you can use Air Canada miles to get a round-trip, business-class flight to Europe for only 110K miles. However, Air Canada charges $600+ in taxes and fees for tickets with certain airline partners of theirs. Typically, taxes are low with Brussels, LOT Polish, SAS, Swiss, TAP Portugal, Turkish Airlines, or United Airlines.
- Iberia: This is one of the few 1:1 transfer partners with Accor. For only 68,000 points and ~$250 in taxes, you can get a round-trip business-class flight between Chicago and Madrid. Award availability tends to be open, especially in springtime. Iberia points also transfer from Chase Ultimate Rewards or Amex Membership Rewards at a 1:1 ratio, so this is a great way to use Accor points to supplement a ticket.
Note, you can also redeem Accor points for certain experiences such as concerts. However, most of these experiences are in Europe, and there aren’t many of them.
How much are Accor points worth?
Redeem Accor points in 2,000-point increments for 40Eur off your bill, which makes each Accor point worth about 2.15 cents at current USD-Euro transfer rates.
You might be able to get more value for Accor points than that, if you’re able to strategically redeem them for flights. For instance, if you find round-trip business class award availability from Chicago to Madrid for 68,000 points, those flights normally cost about $3,500. That makes these points worth over 5 cents apiece, which is a better deal than the 2.15 cents you’ll get for redeeming hotel certificates.
But generally, I think 2.15 cents per point is a fair valuation for Accor points. It’s hard to make scenarios like the Iberia deal above work, and Accor’s approach to using points for certificates at a fixed rate is very straightforward.
What do you get for having elite status with Accor Hotels?
Readers know I love hotel elite status because of the extra perks you can get. (I have top-tier Diamond status with Hilton due to the Hilton Amex Aspire card – see why I love paying $450/year for it even during coronavirus!) However, I’m not particularly impressed with the perks of elite status from Accor Hotels. Unless you spend over $6,000 per year or stay over 60 nights at Accor, the perks are pretty weak here.
If you DO manage to spend 60+ nights per year at Accor Hotels, a real feat in the U.S., then you can expect benefits similar to what you’d get with IHG Platinum status, just for having the $89-annual-fee IHG Premier Card. The Accor Hotels elite benefits for spending 60+ nights or ~$6,000 include:
- Early check-in OR late check-out
- Welcome drink
- Upgrade to a next room category subject to availability
- Access to the Executive Lounge (sometimes IHG will give you this, sometimes they won’t; at least Accor states they definitely will if it exists)
- Upgrade to a suite for only one night of your stay, maybe.
Lower-tier status at Accor still requires 10 nights or 800 Euros in spend per year, which is a lot for a U.S.-based traveler. At that level, you can still only expect a priority welcome line, a drink, and late checkout.
Does Accor Hotels offer elite status matches?
This is a great question because, as I stated above, it’s really hard to gain elite status at Accor Hotels if you reside in the U.S. due to the small number of Accor properties here. However, Accor does not match elite statuses to any other program. I couldn’t find evidence that they’ve ever granted status matches.
I love elite status matches and have been able to use them to my benefit, getting a free $100 dinner and free show tickets out of them. Elite status matches have also allowed me to explore brands I didn’t know very well, such as the Radisson when I tested out a status match at the Park Plaza Nuremberg.
It’s hard to get a frequent traveler like me to stay at your hotel chain if I’m not going to get the elite benefits I’m used to at every other major U.S. hotel chain: Hilton, Hyatt, IHG, Marriott, Radisson, and Wyndham. (Sorry Accor, but it’s true.) However, I do genuinely enjoy the Sofitel and Fairmont brands.
For that reason, I’d consider using the Amex Fine Hotels & Resorts program, which I have access to through my Amex Platinum card. The FHR program grants you elite-like benefits when you’re staying at high-end hotels booked through the AmexTravel.com site. You’d get free breakfast, a room upgrade, and a $100 credit to use at a property – which is way better than what you’d get for a top-tier Accor elite status anyway! And typically, but not always, you can still earn hotel loyalty points when booking with AmexTravel.com. That’s probably how I’d choose to interact with the Accor brand.
Bottom line
Accor Hotels aren’t well-known within the U.S., but I think there is some value to be had here anyway. I love the straightforward points redemption program. I love the Fairmont and Sofitel brands. And I never even knew that Accor points could be converted to airline miles! It’s unfortunate that Accor doesn’t give many perks to its elite members, especially since it’s so hard to earn Accor elite status here for U.S. travelers. However, many Fairmont and Sofitel properties participate in the Amex Fine Hotels & Resorts program, which adds a lot of value to these brands and still should allow you to earn Accor points.
Will I stay more frequently at Accor Hotels, now that I know more about their elite program? Maybe! For me, I’ll still always prioritize Fairmont and Sofitel based on my luxury experiences there.
