How to ‘buy’ status with each of the six major hotel groups

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• Ian Boogh says:

  5 Dec5 December 06:06

  Is it still possible to get Accor Gold by being a shareholder ?

  • Rob says:

    5 Dec5 December 08:03

    Was discussed in our forum recently so I believe so.

  • Tiberius says:

    5 Dec5 December 09:01

    Yes I did it, purchased a share through trading 212. Had to email to chase after a month but it came through eventually

    • Rjn21 says:

      6 Dec6 December 09:18

      Did you just send the trade confirmation receipt from 212 to the Accor shareholder email?

• Stu p says:

  5 Dec5 December 06:20

  My only regret about getting the Hilton debit card is that I’m no longer eligible to do the status match.

• davidl says:

  5 Dec5 December 06:21

  Hilton Diamond is on Centurion Card, which is suspect is not for everybody, nor I suspect is GGL

• Neil H says:

  5 Dec5 December 06:44

  Great article. Ref the Accor Signature Brasil thing, the pay x for 1.5x in accommodation feels a material benefit on its own.

  • Rob says:

    5 Dec5 December 08:02

    It is, but you don’t earn points back when you pay with points – if a double or triple points promo is running you are missing that rebate. But, yes, if you are certain to use the points it is worthwhile.

    • Ilou says:

      5 Dec5 December 08:07

      Rob, can you please do an article on Accor Signature Brasil.. seems very interesting

      Can we get it here as UK based

      • Rob says:

        5 Dec5 December 08:19

        Not doing an article because it is aimed only at Brazil residents and will annoy Accor – although no checks are made and the website appeared in English recently as well as Portuguese so Accor knows what is going on. You used to have to upload your Brazilian ID documents but this was also removed.

        Works fine though. First batch of points post as soon as you click ‘pay’ (assuming your credit card approves a large purchase from Brazil, which is another issue for many).

        • Ilou says:

          5 Dec5 December 09:42

          Understood. Thanks Rob

        • Stuart says:

          5 Dec5 December 10:17

          Rob, any idea why this scheme is unique to Brazil? This there something special going on there? I’d jump on this but a bit cautious as it is Brazil only.
          I maintain ALL Platinum via nights topped up with the Voyageur card as Accor hotels work out best for me: prices, locations, brands, flexible with requests and chipping off the costs at the economy brands with the Reward Points (I’m not a points saver for aspirational 5* resorts).

        • Rob says:

          5 Dec5 December 10:57

          Absolutely no idea. If it’s a trial, it’s a long trial – Signature launched two years ago (10/22) although status points were only added in Jan 2023. I think it is only 12-15 months ago that the need to provide Brazilian ID was removed. Accor has a history of running niche loyalty products in different geographies though.

• DanATC says:

  5 Dec5 December 06:50

  Losing my IHG Diamond after two years in January, back to Platinum – that’s most of my spend switching to Hilton for the free breakfast (as a Gold). It’s a shame IHG restrict the free breakfast to their top tier only.

  • Philip says:

    5 Dec5 December 07:21

    Agreed over stepdown from Diamond to Platinum regarding breakfast

  • Lynn says:

    5 Dec5 December 07:44

    Me too, retaining Diamond made it worthwhile paying for Ambassador

  • John says:

    5 Dec5 December 10:48

    If you can do 40 nights (which could have been as low as 20 actual nights, as this year I was offered double night credits on up to 4 stays of up to 7 nights each) you will get lounge access which usually has breakfast.

    So it’s actually harder to get free breakfast at Indigo/Kimpton than CP/IC… As for HI you may as well just stay at HIX if you aren’t diamond.

    • Pangolin says:

      5 Dec5 December 13:03

      You were lucky then. I’ll finish on 23 nights this year so will lose the lounge pass (along with Diamond) that I’ve had since Jan 2023.

      I would definitely have planned an extra trip if I’d had the double nights offer.

      I enjoyed the IC lounges in places like WAW, ATH, KUL and DOH and unfortunately the Marriott lounges (I’m still Platinum there) aren’t anywhere near as good.

  • LittleNick says:

    5 Dec5 December 13:27

    Same, yep sad about loss of diamond, is it possible to match it to anywhere else?

  • Nick says:

    6 Dec6 December 01:34

    It’s worth retaining Diamond not only for the free breakfast but also for the upgrades which tend to be to a higher room category. It’s quite easy to retain if you boost your points (which qualify for status) by 5,000 per night. The boost rate varies by hotel but can be as low as £7 per night for 5,000 points per night. Doesn’t take long to get to the 120,000 required for Diamond.

• josh says:

  5 Dec5 December 07:04

  Hyatt and marriott are the only top tier programs worth making an effort for. breakfast, suite upgrades, reasnably good exec lounges, 4 pm checkout

  Hilton- Gold is easy to get and gets the free breakfast. Mopst hiltons do not upgrade to suite with Diamond and their exec lounges (i have been to quite a few in europe and asia lately) have gone dowhill sharply since covid. and their breakfasts do no come close to Hyatt or many marriotts.

  Accor- totally useless program .no free breakfast even at platinum level nor suite upgrades . breakfast for 2 can easily cost $60-80 at many hotels

  • TJones says:

    5 Dec5 December 08:50

    Accor Platinum gets breakfast, lounge access etc in Asia-Pacific. It’s not “totally useless” there.

    • Rob says:

      5 Dec5 December 08:52

      It’s not useless elsewhere, I had some excellent upgrades as Platinum and of course you get lounge access at the (few) hotels which offer one.

      Where Marriott Platinum scores is the guaranteed 4pm check out, far greater lounge network and free breakfast, offset by lack of upgrades due to too many elites – and, long term , lifetime status.

      If Radisson VIP continues with ‘guaranteed best room we have at check in’ then it could put them back in contention given you get breakfast too.

  • jj says:

    5 Dec5 December 08:58

    Whilst breakfast for two can easily cost $60-80 (or more in the USA once service is included), I’d argue that it’s worth only a tiny fraction of that. Most hotel buffets serve cheap, unappetising, low quality, ultra processed muck that will send you on a premature trip to an XL-aized coffin.

    • Tom says:

      5 Dec5 December 10:54

      At a resort where there’s no other option free breakfast is still a valuable benefit. Agree that for anything but a very high-end city hotel, unless room service is included breakfast is not worth anything like the headline value to me otherwise – I’d much rather go to a decent local café / restaurant instead (even more so if the hotel is buffet only with no a la carte). There are ways to minimise the amount of muck you eat from an industrial buffet, e.g. order poached eggs (or fried, if you, prefer) rather than eating the scrambled eggs / omelette which are likely to be some God-awful concoction rather than just eggs. I have my first trip to the US in a year this weekend, kind of dreading the food, to be honest.

      • jj says:

        5 Dec5 December 14:03

        In a resort, I’d skip breakfast and take an early lunch of real food rather than eat a buffet. Industrial pastries, mass-produced bread, ultraprocessed cereals, cheap sausages, congealed bacon and lukewarm eggs aren’t my idea of good food.

        All I want for breakfast is decent coffee, seasonal fresh fruit, dried fruit, nuts, and real Greek yogurt (not Greek-style). Freshly squeezed orange juice is an unnecessary bonus. The only time I’ve had that in any hotel run by the big six chains is the Athens airport Sofitel. Smaller chains like Kempinski or Jumeirah deliver consistently, as do any number of tiny boutique hotels that are proudly run by an owner-manager.

        Free != Good.

        • Tom says:

          5 Dec5 December 14:15

          I don’t drink fruit juice and would prefer the option of some form of eggs with vegetables. My biggest food bugbear is probably ‘Greek yoghurt’ that is actually Greek-style yoghurt. Skipping breakfast doesn’t work for me, sadly.

    • John says:

      5 Dec5 December 10:57

      Hotels which charge USD 40 for breakfast tend to have a good selection of healthier foods – though I grant that a lot of it is still ultra-processed e.g. pastries, flavoured yoghurts.

      You don’t have to always go for the bacon and sausages – I probably only have processed meats 2-3 times a year out of ~40 nights. In Europe / Aus/NZ I haven’t been disappointed with the salad options and in Asia there is always something interesting (though tend to be high in sodium). I don’t travel to the US.

      • Tom says:

        5 Dec5 December 12:28

        “Hotels which charge USD 40 for breakfast tend to have a good selection of healthier foods”, in Asia and cheaper parts of Europe, yes, absolutely. In the US or even London/Paris, that’s probably a Hilton at best these days, though. Even in Asia, high-end buffets are often above that now ($52.50 per person for FS Hong Kong last week…)

    • Neil says:

      5 Dec5 December 12:15

      Quite often you still have to sign for your free breakfast. Just wondering if most people still leave/sign for a tip in that situation?

      • Tom says:

        5 Dec5 December 12:29

        In the US, I probably would as I’d be worried the staff would take it out on me next day if I didn’t. Anywhere else, no chance.

      • jj says:

        5 Dec5 December 14:06

        ‘Free’ breakfast isn’t free in the USA as you are firmly expected to leave a gratuity for 20-25% of the notional value.

  • Stuart says:

    5 Dec5 December 10:24

    I have ALL Platinum and currenty staying in Kuala Lumpur, paid for a mid tier room in a 5* hotel so got room upgrade, free breakfast, lounge access and confirmed late check out. Saved enough that the Voyageur card more than paid for itself on this trip. And as a little top up there’s 20% Reward Points bonus when booking on the ALL app. What’s not to like.

• dundj says:

  5 Dec5 December 07:39

  Isn’t it three 20% off vouchers for Melia, plus an extra one or an upgrade voucher for your birthday.

  • James C says:

    5 Dec5 December 07:58

    Gold Guest List members of British Airways Executive Club (requires 3,000 tier points per year).

    I’d just note it’s 5k TPs to initially qualify for GGL but then only 3k to renew GGL status each year after.

  • Rob says:

    5 Dec5 December 08:00

    Could be!

  • Simon says:

    5 Dec5 December 08:16

    Yes, and the upgrade voucher can be another 20% off voucher if you prefer. You get the choice. I’m not sure why the Melia status through Platinum isn’t considered the best hotel perk to be honest. Those 20% vouchers have saved us over £1,000 this year and you can get twice as many if you give your supplementary card to your spouse.

    • Ian says:

      5 Dec5 December 08:49

      Never had anything from Melia via Amex Platinum.

      Mind you long time since I stayed at one

      • Rob says:

        5 Dec5 December 08:53

        You don’t ‘get’ anything, they are quietly loaded onto your Melia account waiting for you.

  • HampshireHog says:

    5 Dec5 December 19:28

    If I recall correctly there is a way of combining the upgrade at online checkin with the 20% off?

• Warren says:

  5 Dec5 December 07:52

  “ There is no route to automatic, renewable, World of Hyatt status.”

  And that, in a nutshell, is why Hyatt is now the only top tier status that genuinely feels worthwhile.

  Hilton Diamond status is given away so freely in the US that upgrades are rare these days unless you’re in a place that doesn’t see many US guests. Properties shifted long ago to upgrading repeat guests over those with status.

  Marriott became so vast that you became just a number. If a Titanium has enough and walks, there will be another one arriving the next day to take their place – one who is happy with free breakfast and no upgrade. And you only have to flick through the Ambassador thread on FT to see how poor their reputation is there.

  Accor benefits are dire, even at top tiers.

  Hyatt, because they don’t give away their status, remains the last bastion of proper benefits. Their Conceirge team do a great job of calling ahead to properties before I arrive to ensure I’ve been upgraded, my early check in is sorted, etc. etc. The 4pm late check out is guaranteed, rather than ‘subject to availability’ elsewhere which generally translates to ‘we can do 12:30 as a one time gesture of goodwill’.

  All in all, the benefits are well worth having, and in return I will go out of my way to stay at their properties.

  This comes off a history of being Accor Platinum for years, Marriott Titanium for years and walking away from both. I’m currently Hilton Diamond and Hyatt Gloablist. Hyatt wins, hands down – with the one caveat that points accrual outside of double point promo periods isn’t as generous as some other programmes.

  • JDB says:

    5 Dec5 December 09:41

    @Warren – it appears that there is often such an over saturation of hotel elites and that hotels don’t wish to pick between them (knowing they are likely to blab) those of us who don’t, for choice, stay in the big chains but do occasionally often both pay less and get better looked after. Long may they keep creating new elites!

  • CJD says:

    5 Dec5 December 10:49

    That only really applies to UK members.

    Take out the Chase Hyatt card in the US and you get 5 qualifying nights, plus you get an extra 2 nights for every $5,000 you put through the card. If you can spend $140,000 annually then the card allows you to buy Globalist status.

    • Rob says:

      5 Dec5 December 10:59

      Indeed. I would be seriously interested if you could it here for the same rate.

      • camille55 says:

        5 Dec5 December 13:37

        And it’s a Visa card, rather than an Amex!

      • CJD says:

        5 Dec5 December 14:19

        I just want the option of transferring Amex points.

        • Rob says:

          5 Dec5 December 14:27

          Amex UK is no longer accepting new airline or hotel partners, I was told. It wants to reduce the number of people redeeming for airline and hotel points because they cost it a heck of a lot more than giving out 0.45p per point as statement credit.

        • LittleNick says:

          5 Dec5 December 15:27

          @Rob, perhaps Amex should make it more compelling to redeem points against statement credit then. Instead of 0.45p make it 0.9p and it would be far more tempting to a lot of people

        • Rob says:

          5 Dec5 December 15:54

          You’re missing the point?! Amex is paying 0.9p for airline miles, which is why they want you to redeem for 0.45p of statement credit!

        • LittleNick says:

          5 Dec5 December 15:28

          It does seem like whichever way you look, loyalty is being killed off, Virgin changes, Amex limiting partners, trasnfer rates cut (emirates) and now BA moving towards dynamic redemptions.

  • John says:

    5 Dec5 December 11:01

    Obviously anyone can buy Ambassador, but while IHG does give away diamond to targeted people, I think the overall numbers are still quite low. I’ve been treated pretty well in the past two years I’ve had it.

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