Tag Archives: Accor

Loyalty Programs: Account Statuses (July 2012)

Posted on July 25, 2012 | 10 Comments

Back in May 2011, I published an insight in my loyalty program statuses including the number of points and miles earned.  More than a year has passed since then, so it’s time for an update:

HOTEL LOYALTY PROGRAMS

1) PRIORITY CLUB

  • Membership Level: Platinum Royal Ambassador
  • Expiration date: Jan 2014 (Platinum) Feb 2013 (Royal Ambassador)
  • Qualifying nights in 2012: 11
  • Number of points: 117,574
  • Points earned in 2012: 77,545

How did I earn these points?
Obviously by resting my head for 11 nights on qualifying rates at IHG properties in the first 6 months of 2012, but more importantly, by signing up for every possible Priority Club Promotion (check FrequentFlyerBonuses.com and FlyerTalk.com for more details)  I also made some changes to my London 2012 Olympic Games reservations.  I cancelled my 7 nights at Hotel Indigo London Paddington reimbursing me 175K points.  I retained my two night booking at Hotel Indigo London Tower Hill for the opening weekend and added one extra night at Radisson Blu Edwardian Mercer Street using Club Carlson points.  This shortened my London 2012 Olympics trip to 3 nights instead of 9, but allowed me to use some of the points to book my upcoming French Polynesia trip.
Where did I spent points?
Past stays:
30K points for two nights at City Ocean View room at Holiday Inn Pattaya
25K points for one night at King Suite at Crowne Plaza Changi Singapore
5K points for one night at Crowne Plaza Venice East-Quarto d’Altino
Upcoming stays:
60K points for two nights at InterContintal Resort Tahiti
150K points for five nights at InterContinental Bora Bora Resort & Thalasso Spa
90K points for three nights at InterContinental Moorea Resort & Spa
Video: Intercontinental Bora Bora Resort & Thalasso Spa

2) HYATT GOLD PASSPORT

  • Membership Level: Diamond
  • Expiration date: Feb 2013
  • Suite Upgrade Award vouchers left: 4
  • Qualifying nights in 2012: 0
  • Number of points: 40,820
  • Points earned in 2012: 452

How did I earn these points?
I only stayed once at Hyatt this year and it was on points.  During award stays you only earn points on food & beverage charges, in my case 452 points.
Where did I spent points?
30K points for two nights at Club View King room at Grand Hyatt Seoul

3) HILTON HHONORS

  • Membership Level: Gold
  • Expiration date: Mar 2013
  • Qualifying nights in 2012: 6
  • Number of points: 3,066
  • Points earned in 2012: 9,236

How did I earn these points?
Stays at Hilton Millennium Bangkok and Hilton London Tower Bridge.  Interesting detail:  I didn’t stay a single night at Hilton properties in 2011, still I managed to achieve Hilton HHonors Gold status for free.  I posted this opportunity several times on my twitter feed, make sure you don’t miss it next time, follow me on twitter! 
Where did I spent points?
170K points for four nights at Ocean View Pool Villa at Conrad Koh Samui
Note: 153,435K points were bought for this stay, read the blog post for all details.

4) STARWOOD PREFERRED GUEST (SPG)

  • Membership Level: Preferred Guest
  • Expiration date: N/A
  • Qualifying nights in 2012: 4
  • Number of points: 2,524
  • Points earned in 2012: 4,040

How did I earn these points?
Stays at Honeymoon Suite at Sheraton Seoul D Cube City and Caroline Astor Suite at St. Regis Bangkok
Where did I spent points?
3K points for one night at Four Points by Sheraton Barcelona Diagonal

5) Club CArlson

  • Membership Level: Silver
  • Expiration date: Feb 2013
  • Qualifying nights in 2012: 3
  • Number of points: 64,214*
  • Points earned in 2012: 108,722*

How did I earn these points?
Stays at Radisson Suites Bangkok Sukhumvit, Park Plaza Soi 18 Sukhumvit Bangkok and Park Inn Leuven.  Check my Club Carlson post for more details.
* Points from my Park Inn Leuven still need to post (including 44K bonus)
Where did I spent points?
50K points for one night at Radisson Blu Edwardian Mercer Street Hotel (Opening weekend London 2012 Olympics)

6) LE CLUB ACCOR

  • Membership Level: Platinum
  • Expiration date: Oct 2012
  • Qualifying nights in 2012: 1
  • Number of points: 1,676
  • Points earned in 2012: 452

How did I earn these points?
One night stay at Novotel Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport.
Interesting detail:  I acquired free Le Club Accor Platinum status using a simple sign-up link.  I posted this opportunity several times on my twitter feed, make sure you don’t miss it next time, follow me on twitter! 
Where did I spent points?
No Le Club Accor points spent in 2012.  Le Club points have a very low value, you need a minimum of 4K points to convert them to 2000 airline miles or 2K points for a €40 discount voucher (which can only be used to lower roomrates, not on F&B)  In general, this loyalty program is really weak,  with platinum benefits rarely honored.  The only really positive experience I had as A Club Gold member was at Sofitel Paris La Defense back in 2010.

AIRLINE LOYALTY PROGRAMS

1) MILES AND MORE (LUfthansa)

  • Membership Level: Senator – Star Alliance Gold
  • Expiration date: 02/14
  • Number of Award miles: 346,564
  • Number of Status miles earned in 2012: 59,093
  • Number of eVouchers: 2

How did I earn these miles?
I earned more than 280,000 miles in the past year.
150K miles were ‘butt-in-seat’ miles (by taking flights)
32K bonus miles for business flight to Rio de Janeiro
75K miles were earned using the Brussels Airlines American Express cards.
23K miles were earned from various sources like hotel stays, shopping, etc…
On what did I spent miles?
70K miles to upgrade GIG-FRA from Business Class to new Lufthansa First Class

2) MILEAGEPLUS (UNITED)

  • Membership Level: MileagePlus member
  • Expiration date: N/A
  • Number of Award miles: 521
  • Number of Status miles earned in 2012: 0
  • Number of Award miles earned in 2012: 61,200

How did I earn these miles?
I bought 98,000 Wyndham Rewards points for $308 (€237,85) during the yearly U.S. Travel Association “Daily Getaways” campaign and converted them to 39,200 United Mileage Plus miles.  I also bought 20,000 Mileage Plus miles for $451 (€347,86) via a facebook 40% discount sale.
Finally, during an award reservation, I was 1479 miles short, so I had to buy a set of 2000 Mileage Plus miles for $70 (€58,47).
Conclusion, in total I bought 61,200 United Mileage Plus miles for €644,18
On what did I spent miles?
70K miles on an itinerary including Singapore Airlines First Class & Business Class + Air New Zealand Business and Economy Class.  More details to follow! :)

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Accor Hotels Super Sale 50% Off

Posted on November 19, 2011 | 1 Comment


Accor Hotels currently has a Super Sale with discounts of 50% for reservations made before November 26, 2011 applicable to all stays between 11th December 2011 and 12th February 2012 at participating hotels.  Make sure to enter your A|Club account number to be eligible for the 50% discount.  No A-Club member yet?  Free instant A-club Platinum (100% bonus points, room upgrades, late check-out, etc… ) via this link.  Update 22/11: Free Platinum offer expired.  Sign-up for free A-Club Gold account at A-Club.com using promo code “ACLUBFROHMYGOLD2011″ Update Jan 05, 2012: The A|Club instant Platinum sign-up link is active again! Update Jan 09, 2012: The Free Platinum offer code is no longer valid.

Below a selection of great deals I found using the 50% discount promo.  At many properties the 50% discount also applies to suites which results in even more value for your money.  Note Accor hotels offers lower rates for single occupancy, below offers are based on double occupancy.  Sample dates used are Dec 16-17 unless otherwise stated.  There are many more deals hidden between the 1300 participating hotels, please share your findings in the comments field of this post.  Thank you.

Junior Suite at Pullman Dubai Mall of the Emirates for EUR 126
Check the Accor Hotel Dubai list for more great rates with this promo.
Venice Carnival – Junior Suite at Papadopoli Venezia for EUR 191
Enjoy the Venice Carnival opening weekend (Feb 10-12, 2012) at this awesome rate!
Deluxe Suite at Novotel Bucharest City Centre for EUR 142
Read my review of this massive suite with jacuzzi, highly recommended!  Rate available during Christmas and NYE weekend too!
Executive Suite at Novotel Brussels off Grand’Place for EUR 117
Executive Aisawan Club Suite at Pullman Pattaya Aisawan for EUR 95
Stayed at this hotel in August, read my review.
Grand Deluxe Suite at VIE Hotel Bangkok – MGallery for EUR 58
Stayed at this suite in August, read my review.
Muse Residence King at Hotel Muse Bangkok for EUR 87
Fabulous new design hotel in Bangkok, check the website.
Executive Premier suite at Novotel Beijing Peace for EUR 94
Superior Suite at Pullman Beijing West Wanda for EUR 90
2 Bedroom Suite at Novotel Bali Nusa Dua Hotel for EUR 109

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Deluxe Suite at VIE Hotel Bangkok

Posted on September 5, 2011 | 7 Comments


Pic: Bedroom of Deluxe Suite at VIE hotel Bangkok (Aug 2011)
For my last night in Bangkok, I had booked a Deluxe Suite at MGallery’s VIE Hotel. (Accor)  For booking info, see my Planning: Bangkok Hotels post.
The bad:

  • Upgrade request for VIE Duplex Suite rejected at time of booking (I’m A-Club Gold member)
  • I accepted a breakfast + internet package at check-in (1177THB)  Afterwards I noticed internet was already included in my room-rate and breakfast was only 900THB for two pax, so I was overcharged 277THB
  • The interior color scheme of the rooms (red-brown-orange-gold) is ugly
  • The fruit cocktails at the pool were bad tasting powdered drinks
  • The pool is in a different building, you need to cross the hotel driveway to go to the pool.
  • I signed-up for the Accor Miles and More promo (1000 miles per stay) but didn’t get the miles.  Instead I got very few A-club points (219+164)

The good:
Pic: Transparent swimming pool at VIE hotel Bangkok (iPhone – Aug 2011)

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Deluxe room at Pullman Pattaya Aisawan

Posted on August 23, 2011 | 1 Comment


Pic: View from Deluxe room at Pullman Pattaya Aisawan (Aug 2011)

Pic: My Deluxe room at Pullman Pattaya Aisawan (Aug 2011)
Originally I had booked a 4-night reward stay at Holiday Inn Pattaya.  Early August, Miles and More launched an Accor hotels promo which made me reconsider my booking.  I reduced my reward stay at Holiday Inn to two nights  and booked one night at Pullman Pattaya Aisawan and one night at Hilton Pattaya.  Looking back at my Pattaya trip, this hotel hopping strategy was the right thing to do.  Not for the sake of collecting miles or points, but to experience the same beach location from different angles.

My stay at Pullman was supposed to earn me 1000 Star Alliance Miles, until I played the Winning Wheel and won my stay for free!  All excited for my upcoming free stay, I agreed on the expensive Holiday Inn Pattaya hotel limo (400THB for 10 min. ride) to the Pullman Aisawan.  Surprisingly, our overpriced limo driver didn’t know where the hotel was located and had to ask locals for directions.  The arrival at Pullman was quite impressive.  We approached the hotel along an nice driveway before drawing up in front of the elegant lobby entrance.  As A-Club Gold member (a status which I obtained for free via a sign-up link last year) I was ushered to at a dedicated check-in desk and served a refreshing drink.  After the usual formalities, I was offered a nice Pullman travel bag as welcome gift and informed my deluxe room booking was upgrade to a ‘Suite’.  A free stay and still being upgrade to a suite, nice!  A staff member escorted me to my ‘Suite’ only to discover I was not upgraded to a Suite, but an Executive Aisawan Club Room.  What I had previously read online was confirmed, this room type offered a nice sea-view but the interior was run down pretty bad.  Being quite disappointed, as my exceptions were set on an Executive Aisawan Club Suite Room at check-in, I requested to see my original booked Deluxe Room.  As it had a more recent interior, I switched rooms.  Too bad the staff didn’t handle this too well.  They weren’t quite friendly at this point compared to the initial check-in phase and I had to collect my new room keys at the reception myself.  When I complained about this, the front desk manager just stared at me speechless.

After settling at the deluxe room, it was time to relax.  Contrary to Holiday Inn, Hilton and most other Pattaya hotels, Pullman Aisawan offers direct beach access.  The Pattaya beach is a relatively narrow strip of sand which is unfortunately littered with trash at many places.  I found a quite different situation at Pullman’s beach: it was private, well maintained and guarded.
The Pullman Aisawan Beach Club offered private Cabanas with a reasonable 1000THB minimum spend , two big pools and impressive Beach Bar.  We had a great afternoon with a nice view, good food and cocktails.  Check my iPhone 360 panorama of the Pullman Pattaya Beach Club.

Overall, not a bad stay,  but front-desk staff needs some more training and focus should be put on details (i.e. a lot of minor defects in rooms, elevators, corridors, etc…)

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Planning: Bangkok Hotels

Posted on August 2, 2011 | 3 Comments

Back in 2008, when I traveled to Bangkok for the first time , I stayed at an ‘alternative’ hotel called Phra-Nakorn Norn-Len If you’re not hooked to hotel chain loyalty programs, I can highly recommend this one as it provides you with a unique atmosphere.  Read the Tripadvisor reviews and you’ll get what I mean.
Pic: Holiday Inn Bangkok Silom – 1 King Bed Premier Room (Feb 2011)

Pic: Holiday Inn Bangkok Silom – Premier Room – Bathroom (Feb 2011)
Earlier this year I stayed one night at the Holiday Inn Bangkok Silom road on the way back from Hua Hin to Kuala Lumpur.  With prepaid rates around 2000 baht per night (47 euro incl tax), it’s a real steal.


Pic: InterContinental Bangkok - Concierge Lounge (Copyright IHG)
This month, I’ll travel to Thailand again and will spend two weekends in Bangkok.  For the first weekend, I’ll use an InterContinental Ambassador ‘Complimentary Weekend Night Certificate’ at InterContinental Bangkok.  The Certificate is valid for one complimentary room night on the second night of a paid Ambassador booking.  Each year, when your renew your Ambassador membership, you get such certificate. This used to be a very good deal as you could book the cheapest available prepaid rate and basically get two nights for the price of one.  Unfortunately IHG decided this was too good of a deal and introduced a special ‘Ambassador Weekend Rate’ in 2010.  A rate which is +- 35% higher than the lowest available rate.  Only advantage, you can cancel Ambassador Weekend Rate bookings.  The total for my 2 night stay with Ambassador Certificate will be 6473THB (153 euro incl tax)  If I would use the cheapest available rate without certificate, the total would be 9710THB (229 euro)  Still a nice saving of 76 euro.  As Royal Ambassador my booking has also been upgraded from a Grand Deluxe room to a Club InterContinental room.  Booking a Club room for my stay would normally cost 14124THB (334 euro)


Pic: Grand Hyatt Erawan Bangkok (Copyright Hyatt)
For my second weekend in Bangkok, I booked a one night stay at Grand Hyatt Erawan.  I used my last Goldpassport Suite Upgrade Certificate for 2011 to upgrade from a Grand King Room (40 sq.m.) to a Grand Suite King (80 sq.m.)
At 6308THB (149 euro incl tax) this one-night stay will be almost as expensive as my two night stay at the InterContinental Bangkok.  A Grand Suite King is not bookable on the Advance Purchase rate at Hyatt.com, but on the Daily rate it would cost me 16831THB (397 euro incl tax)
Looking forward to enjoy my Diamond Membership perks at this Grand Hyatt!


Pic: VIE Hotel Bangkok – Exterior (Copyright VIE Hotels)
For my last night in Bangkok, I booked a Deluxe Suite at the VIE Hotel.  At a rate of 4025THB (95 euro incl tax) per night, this 80 sq.m. suite should be considered a good deal.  Next to the fact this hotels is cheap, fairly new and highly ranked at Tripadvisor, I chose this hotel for my last night as it earns me 1000 miles with the new Accor Hotels Miles and More promo.  Also, as a member of the MGallery Collection, my Accor Hotels A-Club Gold membership perks should apply.  I wrote ‘should’ as I already received an email of the VIE Revenue and OTA Coordinator to inform me my upgrade request to a Deluxe Duplex Suite (145 sq.m.)  has been rejected.  Deluxe Suite is the highest room upgrade they provide, instead they “will allocate the best room for me”… we’ll see about that.

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