New partnership between Qantas and Accor lets you double-dip by earning points in both programmes for a single flight or stay

In a partnership between Qantas and Accor that goes live today, Qantas Frequent Flyers and some Accor ALL members can now earn points in both programmes when they stay and spend at Accor hotels, or by taking a Qantas flight, under a new partnership between the airline and hospitality group.

The partnership was first announced in November 2020, but the details are only made known today as the partnership takes off.

First and foremost, members must sign up for an account (if they don’t already have one) with both Qantas Frequent Flyer (QFF) and Accor ALL, and link them, before they can double-dip on the points.

All Qantas Frequent Flyer members can earn Qantas points on Accor hotel stays

All QFF members, regardless of status, will earn 3 Qantas points per Australian dollar spent at Accor properties across Asia Pacific, including properties in Singapore. This is on top of what you will earn as an Accor ALL member.

For instance, if you spend S$1,200 (about A$1,210) on a night’s stay at Raffles Hotel, that will rake in 3,630 Qantas points, on top of your usual Accor points based on your status.

Eligible spend at the hotel includes all other expenses incurred during your stay, including restaurant meals, spa services, internet (where there’s a fee), room service and more.

Note that the rate of earning is regardless of your status with both QFF and Accor ALL, the earn rate remains the same at 3 Qantas points per A$1 spent, without any status bonus.

Select Accor ALL members and QFF members can also earn Accor points on Qantas flights

However, earning Accor points for flights is only limited to elite members of both programmes. Eligible members are:

• Qantas Platinum and Platinum One members, or
• Accor ALL Gold, Platinum and Diamond status members

For every A$10 eligible spend on a Qantas flight, all the above-mentioned members will earn 2 Accor points, with the exception of Accor ALL Gold members who will earn 1 Accor point. Again, this is on top of the usual Qantas points and status credits you will earn.

One very specific requirement in order to receive your Accor ALL points is that the flight must be marketed (carries a QF flight number) and operated by Qantas. So if you are flying Jetstar with a QF flight number, you are out of luck.

Qantas defines eligible spend as “the price paid for the seat including fare and carrier charges, but excluding government imposed taxes or optional fees such as seats, bags, upgrades”.

If you recall, Accor points are essentially a flat-rate rebate, every 2,000 points will net you 40 Euros that you can use to offset your hotel spend. As such, each Accor point is worth 2 Euro cent, or about 3 Singapore (or Australian) cents. This translate to an effective rebate of 0.3% for Accor Gold members or 0.6% for Qantas Platinum, Platinum One and Accor Platinum and Diamond members.

Fast-track to Accor ALL Silver

For QFF Gold or higher members who do not hold any status with Accor ALL, Accor is also offering a fast-track to its Silver tier for Qantas Frequent Flyers holding Gold status or above with just one stay.

Accor ALL Silver is the first elite tier in its programme, with only some nominal perks. The only noteworthy benefits are a ‘priority welcome’ at select hotels, as well as a welcome drink and late checkout where available.

Note that Accor ALL Silver is also given with the Accor Plus membership, so this fast track is not particularly attractive. Moreover, there are no additional fast-track for higher tiers, including Accor ALL Gold or Platinum.

How to link your membership

To link your membership between both programmes, you can head to either the Qantas website or Accor ALL website to do so.

Of course, you must be members of both programmes in order to link them, but if you don’t have a membership with either, there will be a link to sign up along the way.

Final thoughts

This partnership moves in the right direction for its members, by allowing an official double dipping in both programmes for either a stay or a flight. What this also does is to further encourage loyalty to both programmes, given that all other rival programmes now only allow you to credit points into a single programme at any point in time.

Accor Pacific CEO Simon McGrath said this was a major milestone for the travel industry, enabling greater benefits for loyalty members across more than 1,200 Accor hotels, apartments and resorts in the Asia Pacific region.

“We are joining forces to reward our customers, delivering exceptional travel benefits and unrivalled service for people who enjoy our two much-loved brands,” Mr McGrath said.

“Our partnership with Accor launches at an ideal time, with domestic and international borders reopening and frequent flyers starting to plan and book their next getaway,” said Qantas Loyalty CEO Olivia Wirth.

While Qantas points are not as highly valued as some other frequent flyer programmes, this added bonus of earning Accor ALL points may drive up the value by a little more, especially if one travels a lot within the region. The only downside is the definition of ‘eligible flights’ for the earning of Accor ALL points on Qantas flights – for Singapore-based travellers, it would be an added incentive if Jetstar flights are also included in the programme.