Qatar and Accor take their partnership to another level. Status match kicks off
Collaborations between hotel chains and airlines are nothing new, however, what they announced at an event [...]
Qatar Airways
Oneworld
Collaborations between hotel chains and airlines are nothing new, What Qatar Airways and Accor have announced in a joint event, however, is a real boost to a partnership that has existed for years. Starting today, members of the Privilege Club and ALL program will not only be able to earn extra points, but will see reciprocal benefits recognized based on the level possessed. And this is a real novelty, a kind of status match campaign that is always active.
In this article:
The new Privilege Club partnership and All
Today's announcement grants members of the two loyalty programs new ways to earn Avios and ALL Reward points. The partnership expands benefits for Privilege Club and ALL members globally: they will now enjoy the benefit of accumulating Avios and ALL Reward points on their first eligible Accor stay or Qatar Airways flight.
After linking membership accounts, members will earn:
- Up to 1 Avios for every euro spent on eligible stays at participating Accor hotels, in addition to the usual ALL Reward points. Participating hotels include Raffles, Fairmont, Sofitel, Rixos, SLS, 25 Hours, Movenpick, Pullman and many others.
- 1 ALL Reward point for every $ 2 spent on Qatar flights Airways eligible, in addition to the usual Avios.
ALL has a similar collaboration in place with Flying Blue, a loyalty program of Air France and KLM. Agreement providing similar benefits.
Thierry Antinori, Chief Commercial Officer of Qatar Airways, said, "At Privilege Club, we constantly strive for excellence providing a loyalty program that sets the highest standards for our members. To achieve this goal, we have made a strategic decision to strengthen our partnership with Accor, expanding benefits for both Privilege Club and ALL - Accor Live Limitless members and offering opportunities for the accelerated level. We are confident that they will enjoy the benefits of this strengthened partnership in some of the world's most renowned hotel brands, and we look forward to introducing ALL members to our award-winning services."
Mehdi Hemici, Chief Loyalty and Partnerships Officer at Accor commented, "We are excited to elevate our existing partnership with Qatar Airways offering additional benefits to our joint members. Through a seamless Web or app customer journey, ALL and Qatar Airways Privilege Club members can easily sign up and receive rewards for every flight and hotel booking. In line with the fact that sports is one of our members' passions, we are also excited to announce this partnership ahead of the upcoming World Cup to be held in Qatar."
The real novelty of this agreement is the mutual recognition of benefits based on status held.
Status benefits for Qatar Airways Privilege Club members.
- After the first stay in the hotel, Privilege Club Gold members will receive an upgrade to Silver status from ALL, receiving additional benefits such as free welcome drinks, priority desks, late check-out and more.
- Privilege Club Platinum members will receive an upgrade to Gold status from ALL, as well as free room upgrades, early check-in, late check-out and more.
Status benefits for members of ALL - Accor Live Limitless
- Gold members of ALL will receive an upgrade to Privilege Club Silver membership., getting priority check-in, extra baggage allowance, lounge access and more.
- Platinum members of ALL will receive an upgrade to Privilege Club Gold membership, level that gives priority check-in, extra baggage allowance, free seat selection, lounge access, reception service and more.
- Diamond members of ALL will receive an upgrade to Privilege Club Platinum membership, the highest level of the program, which will allow members to enjoy more benefits of extra baggage allowance, free seat selection and lounge access, including access to the Al Safwa First Lounge. at Hamad International Airport when traveling in Business Class with Qatar Airways.
Qatar, which has just been named the world's best airline for the seventh year, with this initiative exceeds in characteristics the partnership linking Marriott and Emirates. No airline, in fact, had ever offered match status to members of a hotel chain.
Because it is a small revolution and makes ALL a product to use
Obtaining status in hotel chains is significantly easier than in airlines, however, there is a huge benefit to this partnership: through the Privilege Club card you have access to all OneWorld companies, so the de facto benefits will extend to all carriers from British to American Airlines, from Jal to Cathay Pacific.
Only Hilton Honors remains cut off from these partnerships at this point; let's see if it will respond to this agreement in some way.
Fast track for 12 months
This is a one-time state fast track. With Qatar Airways Privilege Club, fast track status is valid for 12 months, while with Accor Live Limitless fast track status is valid for the calendar year in which it is earned and the following calendar year. This means that when the validity of the card expires, it will need to be renewed according to the rules of the individual program. Of course, it would have been nice to have a lifetime maintenance based on the maintenance of only one of the two statuses, but it would have been objectively too good.
To whom is this proposal suitable
If you have status in the ALL loyalty program and are planning to fly with Qatar, it is perfect, especially to amplify the eventual collection of points or, if you travel economy, take advantage of the free status benefits obtained through this sort of status match between the two programs. Being "one in a lifetime," my advice is to activate it only when you intend to use it, also calculating well the indirect benefits with any other flights with oneWorld airlines.
