Booking accommodation with FlyBuys and Accor Advantage Plus

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arun

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I just redeemed 22,000 flybuys points for two nights accommodation at Adelaide All Seasons Meridien for 2 adults and 1 child. The cheapest rate available was $115 per night.

I then called and Accor and checked if I could get a free room for the third night and use a 50% discunt voucher for the fourth night if I join Accor Advantage Plus. They booked me in without any problem. I will have to pay $80 for the fourth night. The advantage plus cost $230 and I already have got about $150 back. I will still have five 50% vouchers and will get free meal for one person when two or more people dine at their restaurants.

I had the Sheraton's card for an year and could not use to the free and 50% vouchers due to "no availabilty" whenever I tried to book. I cancelled it!
 
I've been an Adv+ member for three years now. This is probably my last.

Most available 50% stays seems to coincide with 'Accor' "Hot Deals" availability where the rates are very cheap.

Lots of the last couple of years has been spent booking Accor Accom using 50% vouchers and then cancelling (at no charge) these bookings as a "hot Deal" has better value.

With your example, the ADL All Seasons Meridian is currently giving $95 "Hot Deal" stays. This includes carparking and "a newpaper". If you are an Adv+ member you get 5% off this price ($4.75). This is one of the better uses for Adv+.

However, of the places I need to pay to stay the most (cf AKL, SYD) it's the other way around.

Also, I've found that for the more expensive places, the free night need to be booked well ahead, 6 to 9 months. Not only that, I have been advised on many occasions: "The free night accom is not available, however If you pay $50 (or so), we will accept your free night as co-payment!

The 'free' meal is good, so is the 20% off the cost of dining for one.

(A great use of the free meal that I can reccomend is the $25 Cafe La Buffet lunch at the MEL Sofitel, two people can roll out extremely well fed for $12.50 per head)
 
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Thanks Serfty.
Yes, I have used the hot deals in the past and they are very good (Novotel Singapore for SIN$90.00 for three people per night!).
ADL All season for the dates I have booked charge $115.00 for the hot deals. So even with that there is a $30 per night saving for me.

I will see how I go this year. But they seemed much more approachable than Starwood.

Thanks
Arun
 
I stayed at Adelaide All Season Meridien. They booked us in Room 26. This quite a large room (a bedroom and a lounge room). But the room and the bath room looked quite old. Of course we got used to it and the stay was good.

Great benefit on the Accor card was the breakfast. It was $23 per person for a hot full breakfast. As I had the card, my wife and I had 50% off it. Even better, as my son is only 11, he ate free (Accor policy). So for $23, three of us had a breakfast.
 
Hi all,

Just used my Accor card for the first time in CBR for an over night weekend with my wife. The Olims was $135 with breakfast for a loft bed room. Good value for just a quick trip week end to get away from BNE with no kids.

My question is to those who know more than I is, If I use the card as a non guest for example a breakfast in an Accor hotel will my daughter who is 9 be at no charge, eg 50% off the total bill rather than 33% if we 3 dine together.

Thks to all for any ideas
 
I've been with Advantage Plus for four years now...

My experience has been, that Novotel and Mercure and even Sofitel have different rules on 'kids' and meals.... so, it depends on which brand you are talking about.

If you are not staying overnight, then breakfast is the normal rule of 50% off for two; 33% off for three etc. (% off the food bill - drinks are not included)

If you ARE staying o/n, then certain brands offer kids for FREE, which doesn't count for the % off. Eg. Two adults dining = 50% off, two kids are free, so you are only paying for one adult, with your partner adult and two kids free.... assuming that breakfast WASN'T included in your package)

Is Advantage Plus worth the $230. a year?

I've found it to be....

My last 'free' vouncher was used at the Wentworth Sofitel in Sydney.

I booked about three months in advance (when I pre - ordered my Diamond tickets to the Military Tattoo)

Now, a little trick I pulled, was to flash a Sofitel Privileged Guest card upon check in (issued free from being a PLATINUM credit card holder)....

We got upgraded to a two room suite (they called it "Executive")....

It was superb... polished marble and brass everywhere! 17th floor, as I recall.

Freebies.... bottle of house Australian bubbly; (small) box of chocolates; bottled Evian water, and FOUR drink vouchers (I estimate we got almost $40. worth of drinks from these in the 'very expensive' bars at the Wentworth!)

Breakfast the next morning was 50% off, thus only one of us paid!

Regarding the 50% vouchers you get.... My experience has been, that there are many many different deals to be explored. Too many to list and discuss, so, it's up to the user to seek out your own 'best deal'. The website is a start, but you can also ring them up, and negotiate with an operator (in Australia.... not MANILA!!! see posts on Citibank)

good luck...
 
The accor advantage program does have the benfit of offering 10% of the hot deals which other program sdont seem to offer. Makes me laugh though that Accor really make it hard to book a non-hot room deal !
 
markis10 said:
The accor advantage program does have the benfit of offering 10% of the hot deals which other program sdont seem to offer. Makes me laugh though that Accor really make it hard to book a non-hot room deal !
Yeah, the 10% came in on 1st July. Also, there are no more certificates exactly. You 'free' night is electronic and your card gives you an 'unlimited' number of 50% nights.
 
I joined the Accor Advantage program late last year and so far have found it to be good value. I have used the 50% off meal offer a few times, including the Summit restaurant in Sydney, and the Sofitel in Melbourne. When I stayed at the Mercure Ultimo in Sydney the 50% off rack rate was the best price I could see. There is also the 10% off any hot deal price.
I haven't yet booked my free night, but a friend who has the card wanted to use his night at either the Sofitel Brisbane, or Sofitel Gold Coast, at Easter. Full range of nights were available for Brisbane, and half the nights for Gold Coast.

So far my experience has been good.
 
Free Night - Marketing Tool!

The trouble I have the program is the free night! I can never seem to get in for the night I want? They always seem to push us to combine it with a Sunday Night on Weekend etc, or we wanted to do is use it for a Saturday night in Manly. :(
 
Re: Free Night - Marketing Tool!

Travel_insider said:
The trouble I have the program is the free night! I can never seem to get in for the night I want? They always seem to push us to combine it with a Sunday Night on Weekend etc, or we wanted to do is use it for a Saturday night in Manly. :(
I've never had a problem using the free night! However, I will alway be booking 3 or more months in advance as I do not expect one to be available much closer in.
 
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