Loyalty programs promising "experiences": Do any actually deliver?

[Mattg]

There seems to be a trend in recent years where loyalty programs are taking the focus of their benefits away from a points currency, and towards things like "money can't buy experiences".

I've lost count of the number of times I've seen cliches like loyalty programs talking about unlocking exclusive experiences as a core part of the loyalty program and the brand.

For example, when Accor rebranded its program from Le Club to ALL a few years ago, it promised "more elite experiences" through partnerships with restaurants and entertainment companies, while Marriott Bonvoy talks about "extraordinary moments" and "unrivaled experiences".

I've generally found that those "money can't buy experiences" are just the ability to redeem points for a discount at a restaurant or for tickets to an event that I could just purchase anyway. And the value of these redemptions is typically poor.

Has anyone actually found that they've been able to get these kinds of experiences out of loyalty programs, or are these just buzzwords?

 

[Muppet501st]

Accor + Diamond member here, Did purchase with points, go to the NRL Magic round on the Saturday, which also included lunch ( with Petro ) at Sofitel Brisbane and transfers to Lang Park.
I was also invited ( free of charge ) to a special thank you dinner, courtesy of Sofitel Brisbane, at Southbank museum and also given a free nights accomodation at the Pullman that night.
I do receive regular invites from Accor -- though most are for Sydney which makes sense, since the naming rights at Accor Stadium.

 

[flyingfan]

Plat One comes to mind for me. I’ve never, ever received any exclusive invites - I know I don’t live in Mascot, but Melb isn’t exactly the sticks even for QF. I emailed them myself asking about the sims, they said they’d get back to me and you can guess how that went.

 

[Princess Fiona]

Agree with @flyingfan
QFF P1 is the only one that has ever given me exclusive invites.

I’m fairly certain the higher levels of Centurion get pretty nice perks also although not strictly a loyalty program.

 

[oz_mark]

I haven't participated myself, but I have seen some pretty decent events/offers from both Accor and Marriott.

 

[Kiwi_Flyer]

QF I've never received invites to p1 events, but did get to fly a380 in f before the first commercial flight (joyride around Auckland as wp + secret tier before p1 even existed). My travel agent was jealous because he was in j.

SQ as pps regularly get invited to events but less often than years gone by.

NZ used to have some events for elite but seems to have stopped in the last several years.

I once got invited to ABs as guest of LH back when I was Sen (before Hon existed).