A/Club and Accor Advantage plus to combine into 1 card

[malmacdowall]

Hi All, I received this email from Accor advantage plus this morning.

Your membership is about to get a whole lot easier and more rewarding!

We are very pleased to inform you that Accor's two loyalty programs - Accor Advantage Plus and AlClub - are merging to become a single program called AlClub Accor Advantage Plus.

This change means even more of a good thing for members. In addition to the benefits of Accor Advantage Plus membership, valid across the Asia Pacific region, you can take advantage of AlClub's flexible worldwide rewards and benefits - all in a single program. You will soon receive a new membership card for the AlClub Accor Advantage Plus program in the mail. Your new two-in-one card will replace both your existing Accor Advantage Plus card and your AlClub card from 21 July 2011. Once you receive your new card, simply follow the enclosed instructions to activate it. Keep on using your old cards up until 21 July 2011. Remember, you will still receive all your current Accor Advantage Plus benefits, including accommodation and dining discounts and that all-important complimentary night, while also accumulating AlClub points with each stay - points you can then transfer to hotel cash vouchers or frequent flyer points. From 21 July, you'll also enjoy access to the new member exclusive website where you can search and book the best accommodation and dining deals and easily manage your AlClub points. Best of all, you'll only need to present the one card at check-in! So keep an eye on your mailbox for your new AlClub Accor Advantage Plus card, and stay tuned for further information about this exciting change. If you have any questions or if your mailing address has changed recently please contact Member Services on the number below. Kind regards, Maria Taylor Vice President Loyalty & Direct Sales Accor Asia Pacific

[LiamR]

Interesting,

Considering I spend the majority of my time in Novotel hotels, I guess this is an improvement. One less card to carry around!

[proskyneo]

Mmm haven't received this email yet - SG based member. I never remember my A|Club card anyway and always thought it ridiculous to have 2 numbers. Here's hoping that there will be a minimum of hiccups in the transition period.s

[oz_mark]

Mmm haven't received this email yet - SG based member. I never remember my A|Club card anyway and always thought it ridiculous to have 2 numbers. Here's hoping that there will be a minimum of hiccups in the transition period.s

A|Club has been nothing but smooth sailing!

[serfty]

Not an Adv+ member, I gave it the @rse 3 years ago and havn't missed it.

Interestingly, my last two Accor stays this month posted correctly within a few days of the stay, along with "Points Accelerator"'s.

This is the first time this has ever happened to my for any A|Club stay outside of France.

[gumpy]

this is a surprising step forward for A-Club...

They've been very patchy at best... the thing is I stay at Accor quite a bit so this improvement is a good step forward.

[gumpy]

Actually what are the benefits for the Advantage plus card? Just visited the site again and it seems there are some discounts available?

[gumpy]

has this happened? i have had no notification yet...

[Sprucegoose]

Interesting,

Considering I spend the majority of my time in Novotel hotels, I guess this is an improvement. One less card to carry around!

Yes I am spending more time in them as well. Is the card worth it?

How would it compare to IHG priority club?

[MikeV8]

Suffered many problems with the amalgamation...
- Status level didnt carry over,
- existing bookings got lost to the old card#,
- Profiles held by regular hotels didnt get updated (points require manual chasing), - etc

Also, I've just noticed that A|Club no longer have AU$ voucher redemption as an option.
This is a big loss, as it means we go back to the days of multiple currency conversions for redemption.
- AU$ stays converted to EURO (for points calculation) at the hotel 20%+ currency buy/sell rate scam,
- A|Club points then converted to US$ for redemption at the hotel 20%+ currency buy/sell rate scam,
- A|Club vouchers in US$ then converted to AU$ at the hotel 20%+ currency buy/sell rate scam.
All in all, the points quoted by the program Tees&Cees get watered down to about 50% of the value expected.

And the 'Elite Status' ain't all it could be either...
As a 'Platinum' level for the third year, I'd have to say that I've managed an upgrade for perhaps 1 in 10 requests.
I've even tested the theory/policy ('upgrade depending on availability') by booking the higher room on a public website (successful) after being refused the upgrade upon checkin. It is BUNKUM.

Think I'll move my 60 or so nights a year over to Marriott and test their nettle.