Greetings!
Lately, many hotel membership programs have been talked about such as Accor Plus, Taj, and ITC. In this post, we will focus on my experience of buying the Accor Plus membership program and share
some tips to consider before purchasing it.
As I wanted to purchase it using Accor points , thus ,
1. Firstly, I signed up on
https://all.accor.com/ and transferred 15,000 points.
2. After this, I logged in using the same credentials on
https://www.accorplus.com/ and bought the membership with 12,000 Accor points that I had in my account already.
Please note that if you plan to buy the membership using your credit card, you can directly visit
https://www.accorplus.com/ and purchase it using INR 13500 (current offer).
When I purchased the membership, my existing account was directly upgraded to Accor Plus with silver status and additional benefits, including the remaining 3,000 points in my account. But it's important to note that when you do so,
your membership number changes, and the old classic number gets deactivated. Thus, if you have any pending points transfer requests that are not yet credited, don't purchase it
until the points are credited.
There are three types of vouchers available:
1.regional (city-specific)
2.pan India.
3. Asia-specific vouchers.
The first type of voucher (regional) can significantly affect the value of the voucher and membership.
For instance, if one's city does not have any Accor property, it would be better to opt for a voucher for the city they are planning to visit. Choosing the right city can make a difference in terms of the voucher's value.
For instance,
a regional voucher for
Delhi contains various dining vouchers, including free dining vouchers for Ibis Golf Course Road, which is 30-40 minutes away from the airport.
It may not be worth traveling and spending money on a taxi to redeem this voucher.
However, the voucher also includes a room for two adults and two children in Pullman/Novotel for only
5500 INR, including breakfast. This is a great deal as the flexible rates for this are usually between 10K to 13K INR.
On the other hand, if one has a voucher for
Goa,
they would miss out on the 5500 INR deal but could easily
redeem various lunch and buffet vouchers for Novotel in Calangute, which is a location that they would likely visit while in Goa.
It is important to note that there may be additional vouchers such as birthday cake that may not be useful if one cannot use them in their current city or while visiting another city. Therefore, choosing the right regional voucher depends on one's plans.
However, Accor Plus website
does not have an option to choose a regional voucher. So, before purchasing the membership, I raised a query on Accor Plus, and their sales team reached out to me. They informed me that they could help me with specific region vouchers. However, if I purchased via the sales channel, I could not pay by points, but by card only. Therefore, I purchased it myself via the website.
After purchasing the membership, I reached out to membership support to help me set the region for my voucher as Delhi. However, as with all customer care, it depends on where your call landed and how efficient the person is. So, the executive told me that they would see if this was possible or not and let me know in a day or two. This left me uncertain about which city I would get a voucher for.
Wait ? What ?
So now , I endup purchasing membership and dont know for which city I will get voucher ? If they endup giving any random city neat to my location , then It will be hard to reddem Region specific vouchers, because then you have to travel specifically to get them redeemed. And all above things about diffrent region has diffrent type of coucher then your plans goes for a toss.
So , I ended up escalating the issue , as their sales team earlier mentioned that they can help me with specific Location voucher and after that I received a call from them and they make their arrangements to get me vouchers for Delhi.
In conclusion,
it's essential to consider the type of voucher, the region, and the
value of money before purchasing the Accor Plus membership program.
Here are some recommendations for purchasing Accor Plus:
Dos:
1. If you plan to buy Accor Plus using your credit card and want specific regional vouchers, it is advisable to use the sales channel. You will have a dedicated person who can assist you with regional voucher-related queries.
2. While using the sales channel,Request them to email you the highlighted terms and conditions, including regional voucher details, for the specific location before making the purchase.
3. If you plan to purchase Accor Plus using your points, transfer 12K points to all.accor.com, and only purchase the membership once the transfer is complete. If you are looking for specific region vouchers, raise a case with Accor before making the purchase.
4. Since Stay Plus night is based on availability, it is recommended to purchase the membership at least 1-2 months in advance to have more options and properties available.
5.Night plus stay benefit reflects in app , immediately as soon as we purchase membership , but that nigh plus stay is not available in all properties And also , that is like a reward night , thus In most if the premium properties , you will need to book alt east 1 month in advance for night plus , so again , if you are planning to purhcase this memberhip , consider the points that you should plan it at least 2 months prior to your vacation plans.
Don'ts:
1. Don't wait until the last moment to purchase Accor Plus.
2. While choosing regions, compare and select the ones where you plan to travel to maximize your benefits from regional vouchers.
3. Keep in mind that Stay Plus night is not available at all properties.
4. Since the vouchers come physically, purchase the membership at least two months before you plan to use it , as The voucher kits arrived in physical form , thus it may take 2-3 week for it to get delivered.
5. As delhi contained that 5500 INR voucher , thus untill i dont get that voucher , I can not redeem it.I asked them to email that voucher , but was not knowing that that voucher has cool down period of 1 month, so even if i get it , I can not book any room using this voucher within 30 days of purchase. So agins , purchasing membership 1-2 month prior is the key.
Lastly, here are some additional points to consider:
Is Accor Plus worth it?
Yes, it is. With the current 12K points/13.5K INR, you can easily get the most value. For example, booking a night plust stay room in Pullman New Delhi or Novotel Goa alone will cover the membership cost, and you will still receive many other vouchers.
How is Accor membership support ?
(*After escalation) the support provided was excellent, and I would rate it 5/5.
