Which is the best hotel loyalty scheme?

Andyh7

Hi everyone - I have recently joined Accor's A-Club loyalty scheme. On the face of it, this scheme looks fantastic. You receive points for every stay.

However, redeeming the points seems to be a real pain. You have to redeem your points for vouchers - the problem is, you cannot reserve or pay for rooms online using voucher codes. This means you cannot secure the best room rates.

The only way to do it is to reserve a room on a higher tariff - this means you reserve the right to cancel the room at short notice. You will need to check in before 7pm on the day of arrival - then tell the receptionist that you will be paying by voucher instead of cash.

This seems very unfair to me. Surely, loyalty schemes are there to reward loyal customers not deceive them! I feel rather cheated!

Does anyone have any direct experience with Accor A-Club?
Are there any better schemes out there - Holiday Inn for example?

Thanks

Andy

pcg2001

This is a very complicated question that depends on your type of usage and what you wnat out of the hotel scheme. I suggest you have a close look at flyertalk.com. They have forums for individual chain loyalty schemes. of course that is the forum frequented by people like the george clooney character in Up in the air, so loyalty pros, but there is invaluable info for people like me who travel for leisure.

Having said that, in my opinion there really is no right scheme for people who travel only a few times a year. In my case, price ends up being the deciding factor. Since as you said you need to book the higher rate (not prepaid) to use some of your vouchers that erodes the benefit of aclub benefits.

Programmes like hilton give you a free night, but without breakfast, and with breakfasts at €20/ €30 the benefit of getting a free night quickly disappears, since you can book a non-refundable BB rate for a bit more then the cost of 2 breakfast (some times) and keep the points.

Also now I have found priceline it is possible to get really cheap big chain hotels but no loyalty benefit.

I hope someone can come along and give you a better answer, since I myself have not found a programme to suit my needs, so I have a couple of accounts open without really getting a lot from it.

*j*

I have an Accor A-Club platinum card (requires about 60 nights per year) and feel it is worth very little. Upgrades and gifts at Pullmans and Sofitels have been pretty insignificant, and 40 Euros off a non-prepaid rate isn't much to get excited over.

Marriott were good for a while; silver and up received a certain amount of respect, and the points were collected on an airline FF scheme.

Currently Hilton HHonors are being good to me, where 16 nights per year will give you gold. This gives complimentary breakfasts at Hilton Garden Inns and upwards, and almost always executive rooms and executive lounge access at Hiltons.

Ultimately, though, you need to look at the different programmes and see which suits you best. Where you usually travel will be one of the determining factors: Accor covers Europe and the Far East quite well, Marriott and Hilton are well represented in the US of course.

Don't forget that even though you may use points for a "free" night, the hotel might still want taxes paid, based upon the rack rate. Consider what benefits they give you while you are at their hotels, not just what accumulated points will give you.

*j*