Does Accor Gold really make a difference? I ask this as a Accor+Gold member who haven't seen a whole lot in terms of benefits (perhaps I'm staying at the wrong properties). Arguably Platinum is where you want to be if you care about status (i.e. complimentary lounge access, free brekkie, early check in and late check out, etc.). Also, there are many ways to get Accor status complimentary. For instance, Qantas is handing out Gold (and even Platinum) to its frequent flyers. I'd also point out that the Accor Business card provides benefits that not even having Accor status provides. In particular it provides 4 PM late checkout, guaranteed room availability up to 3 days prior to arrival, etc.
I would also make the argument that the type of people who fork out $400/year for Accor+ or even 179 Euros for Accor's Business card are gonna get status from stays. Why else would you fork out that much money for something that saves you tens of dollars per stay? In my case I stay at Accors out of necessity rather than choice. They tend to have both the variety in properties and price I'm looking for here in Australia. Back when I was living in Canada Accor would never be an option since they don't exist in North America, and to the extent that you find an affiliated Accor property in North America they were super expensive (i.e. Fairmont Royal York in the Big Lemon). Instead, my primary chains were Marriott, Choice and the occasional Hilton when TPIR.
-RooFlyer88
