Platinum Charge Accor Plus Stay Plus free night

[Ken1]

I received an email from Accor Plus following my online chat yesterday:
"I am pleased to say that I had word that your Stay plus night expiring end of this month is to be rolled over until next Sept 21. It will take about 24 hours to show up on your account. So you now have 2 free nights."

When I log into my account it now shows 4 Stay Plus nights available. Two of them show Expiring 30/09/2020 and two show 30/09/2021. Yesterday it was showing 3 nights available - two for 2020 and one for 2021 (the new one from the membership renewal) but since they updated the expiry yesterday to 2021 for the 2020 one it's still showing the 30/09/2020 ones as well. I don't know why it had been showing 2 nights expiring 30/09/2020 for the last few months since I had used the free night in 2019 but I would think that these 2020 ones will disappear from 01 October and that only the correct two Stay Plus nights expiring 2021 will be there.

 

[Ken1]

I have recently tried to book several nights at once with my Stay Plus free nights. My Accor Plus account has shown 3 Stay Plus nights available but if I did a search to book to stay for 2 or three nights it would give one free night and quote for the other nights. I guess that the system is only set up for one free night available since before Covid extensions were being given only 1 night per year were offered.

A couple of days ago I needed to book 3 nights at one hotel for August. I booked the first night with the Stay Plus option and then a few minutes later I was able to book the second night and after that I booked the third night so I now have 3 separate bookings for 3 consecutive days as Stay Plus nights, all in the same type of room , and I paid $20 per night to upgrade so we will be in the same type of room each night.

Looking at the booking confirmation emails it says:
" Official documents to provide:
Guest must be an Accor Plus member and must present a valid membership card at check-in. The Complimentary Night needs to be available and processed at the time of check in. If not, the member s rate of the day applies to the booking."

Has anyone who has had more than one Stay Plus free night on their account this year booked or tried to book more than one night at the same hotel? Reading that the complimentary night needs to be available and processed at time of check in makes me worry that they may say we should only have used one, and the member s rate of the day would apply and that rate could be higher than what we would pay now for the two additional nights if we booked it as one booking.

 

[Daver6]

I ran into the same issue as you when trying to book two consecutive nights. Landed up doing the same and have two separate bookings for each night. My stay isn't until early August so I cannot comment any further.

 

[PPS_SYD]

I have recently tried to book several nights at once with my Stay Plus free nights. My Accor Plus account has shown 3 Stay Plus nights available but if I did a search to book to stay for 2 or three nights it would give one free night and quote for the other nights. I guess that the system is only set up for one free night available since before Covid extensions were being given only 1 night per year were offered.

A couple of days ago I needed to book 3 nights at one hotel for August. I booked the first night with the Stay Plus option and then a few minutes later I was able to book the second night and after that I booked the third night so I now have 3 separate bookings for 3 consecutive days as Stay Plus nights, all in the same type of room , and I paid $20 per night to upgrade so we will be in the same type of room each night.

Looking at the booking confirmation emails it says:
" Official documents to provide:
Guest must be an Accor Plus member and must present a valid membership card at check-in. The Complimentary Night needs to be available and processed at the time of check in. If not, the member s rate of the day applies to the booking."

Has anyone who has had more than one Stay Plus free night on their account this year booked or tried to book more than one night at the same hotel? Reading that the complimentary night needs to be available and processed at time of check in makes me worry that they may say we should only have used one, and the member s rate of the day would apply and that rate could be higher than what we would pay now for the two additional nights if we booked it as one booking.

I have booked and made 2 single night stays without any issues. You will be fine.

 

[jokes128]

I believe Accor Plus T&C states that one cannot use more than 1 Stay Plus credit PER STAY. And T&C states that a STAY is considered consecutive nights staying at the property, regardless of checking in or out or not. Whether individual properties police this rule is another matter. And that's why the website doesn't allow you to book two consecutive nights using two Stay Plus credits but allows you to book these on two separate bookings. However, if you are really unlucky and the hotel finds out on check-in that your bookings are against the T&C, they might make you pay for the second night at their prevailing rates(which can be expensive) and credit your Stay Plus credit back for the second night.

What I had done before to make it perfectly within their T&C(I believe) was,
(i)Book first night with my Stay Plus credit, then the second night with Mrs jokes128's Stay Plus credit. Then book with cheapest cash rate under my name again for the third night. Then book 4th night under Mrs jokes128's second Stay Plus credit, and then 5th night under my second Stay Plus credit. This would mean we used total of 4 Stay Plus credits plus a paying night for a 5 nights stay.
(ii)In the case when Mrs jokes128 had run out of Stay Plus credit for a 3 nights stay, then the second night in above scenario became a cash booking under Mrs jokes128, and then the third night became a Stay Plus booking under my name again. So it's 2 Stay Plus credits used plus a paying night under the name of significant other.

I have tried both the above scenarios and never had a problem with any hotels.

Hope that helps.

 

[jonboixxx]

I believe Accor Plus T&C states that one cannot use more than 1 Stay Plus credit PER STAY. And T&C states that a STAY is considered consecutive nights staying at the property, regardless of checking in or out or not. Whether individual properties police this rule is another matter. And that's why the website doesn't allow you to book two consecutive nights using two Stay Plus credits but allows you to book these on two separate bookings. However, if you are really unlucky and the hotel finds out on check-in that your bookings are against the T&C, they might make you pay for the second night at their prevailing rates(which can be expensive) and credit your Stay Plus credit back for the second night.

What I had done before to make it perfectly within their T&C(I believe) was,
(i)Book first night with my Stay Plus credit, then the second night with Mrs jokes128's Stay Plus credit. Then book with cheapest cash rate under my name again for the third night. Then book 4th night under Mrs jokes128's second Stay Plus credit, and then 5th night under my second Stay Plus credit. This would mean we used total of 4 Stay Plus credits plus a paying night for a 5 nights stay.
(ii)In the case when Mrs jokes128 had run out of Stay Plus credit for a 3 nights stay, then the second night in above scenario became a cash booking under Mrs jokes128, and then the third night became a Stay Plus booking under my name again. So it's 2 Stay Plus credits used plus a paying night under the name of significant other.

I have tried both the above scenarios and never had a problem with any hotels.

Hope that helps.

Did you manage to link these bookings? I attempted to do similar at Noosa Sofitel without success.

 

[jokes128]

Did you manage to link these bookings? I attempted to do similar at Noosa Sofitel without success.

No. It's best not to link those bookings, as that would mean one single stay and against the T&C.

What I usually did was I go to the checkin desk to settle the account in the morning and tell them that we had another booking for the coming night and we hope to stay in the same room. We have never been turned down using this approach.

However, if only booking for 2 nights(ie. first night under my Stay Plus credit and second night under Mrs jokes128's Stay Plus credit), then every hotels we booked were happy to link the bookings as this is perfectly within the T&C.

And I didn't know that Stay Plus free nights can be used on Sofitel Noosa. Was it long time ago that you managed to get free nights there or only recently? I couldn't find any available dates there for Stay Plus free nights.

 

[jonboixxx]

And I didn't know that Stay Plus free nights can be used on Sofitel Noosa. Was it long time ago that you managed to get free nights there or only recently? I couldn't find any available dates there for Stay Plus free nights.

Agree, they are rare. Just looked up my excel; we stayed 7/3/21, 21/3/21 and also 27/6/21 coming up on StayPlus. I booked in 12/2020, I suppose when forward bookings looked difficult for them; but they are all Sunday nights that I booked as part of a 3 night stay. I don't remember many being available at the time and imagine they are now virtually non existent, like Darling Harbour. I usually use mine at Pullman Reef Cairns, as I have a business up there.

 

[tinkybelle]

I just booked a stayplus for a friend in melb then called and asked to book the next night and they did it
i have a night booking in PD. And trying to get a second but its not avail at present i did not know you cant book a second
also i presumeif hotel accepts or website letsyou book a night then doubt they can charge at checkout

 

[Ken1]

Thanks everyone for your replies. I hadn’t realised that it was against the terms and conditions. I’m thinking that I should consider calling the hotel or Accor Plus to check if my separate bookings are ok so I don’t get caught when we arrive possibly paying a lot more for the second and third nights than I would pay now. It’s a hotel in the NT and some dates a few days before the dates we have booked are already booked out. When we were planning our road trip we had to reverse the order of travel so we could book to stay there - paid or with Stay Plus, since there were no rooms available on the dates we originally wanted.

 

[craven morehead]

I have recently tried to book several nights at once with my Stay Plus free nights. My Accor Plus account has shown 3 Stay Plus nights available but if I did a search to book to stay for 2 or three nights it would give one free night and quote for the other nights. I guess that the system is only set up for one free night available since before Covid extensions were being given only 1 night per year were offered.

A couple of days ago I needed to book 3 nights at one hotel for August. I booked the first night with the Stay Plus option and then a few minutes later I was able to book the second night and after that I booked the third night so I now have 3 separate bookings for 3 consecutive days as Stay Plus nights, all in the same type of room , and I paid $20 per night to upgrade so we will be in the same type of room each night.

Looking at the booking confirmation emails it says:
" Official documents to provide:
Guest must be an Accor Plus member and must present a valid membership card at check-in. The Complimentary Night needs to be available and processed at the time of check in. If not, the member s rate of the day applies to the booking."

Has anyone who has had more than one Stay Plus free night on their account this year booked or tried to book more than one night at the same hotel? Reading that the complimentary night needs to be available and processed at time of check in makes me worry that they may say we should only have used one, and the member s rate of the day would apply and that rate could be higher than what we would pay now for the two additional nights if we booked it as one booking.

3 lots of drink vouchers !!

 

[jokes128]

Agree, they are rare. Just looked up my excel; we stayed 7/3/21, 21/3/21 and also 27/6/21 coming up on StayPlus. I booked in 12/2020, I suppose when forward bookings looked difficult for them; but they are all Sunday nights that I booked as part of a 3 night stay. I don't remember many being available at the time and imagine they are now virtually non existent, like Darling Harbour. I usually use mine at Pullman Reef Cairns, as I have a business up there.

Thanks jjonnboy. I'll look and hopefully have some luck.

Thanks everyone for your replies. I hadn’t realised that it was against the terms and conditions. I’m thinking that I should consider calling the hotel or Accor Plus to check if my separate bookings are ok so I don’t get caught when we arrive possibly paying a lot more for the second and third nights than I would pay now. It’s a hotel in the NT and some dates a few days before the dates we have booked are already booked out. When we were planning our road trip we had to reverse the order of travel so we could book to stay there - paid or with Stay Plus, since there were no rooms available on the dates we originally wanted.

Good luck. It's unlikely you would run into problem but as I said, you will only have a problem if you are really really unlucky.

3 lots of drink vouchers !!

From my experience in multiple properties, if you linked your bookings the hotels will only give you one set of drinks vouchers. If I didn't link the bookings and went to reception to "check-out then check-in" every morning, 50% of times they will give you another set of drinks vouchers but 50% of the time they wouldn't, claiming that it is essentially the same stay.

 

[TravellingSquid]

I signed up to Accor Plus Silver through my Platinum card on 17/09/2019. Redeemed 1 stay plus night at Novotel on 29/09/2019. And then didn't book anything in the 2020 calendar year.

Just checked my account and I have 1 Stay Plus night expiring 30/09/2021.

For some reason I keep thinking that I should have 2 because of the extension. Am I missing a night or am I delusional?

 

[TravellingSquid]

I think my brain is just playing tricks because I redeemed the first night so quickly after getting an account. Looking at the dates again:

- Novotel used my first Stay Plus night for roughly for period 17/09/2019 - 17/09/2020
- The 1 x Stay Plus night I have in my account is roughly for period 7/09/2020 - 17/09/2021

So everything is fine and I'm just an idiot


Side note: What's the best way to keep track of all these perks and whether they've been used? I think I'm going to start some kind of spreadsheet

 

[Ken1]

I posted back in May about booking 3 Stay Plus nights for our trip in the NT in August. Because of the lockdown in Sydney I had to cancel the trip this week and my Accor Plus account now shows 3 nights available again. My Accor Plus expiry date is 30 September and it seems unlikely that I will be able to use the 3 nights before 30 September since I think the lockdown will probably go longer than the current listed date of August 28. I'll wait until closer to then to call Accor and ask if I can have the Stay Plus free nights extended again. Has anyone had their Stay Plus nights extended last year and then again this year?

 

[Infrequent traveller]

I posted back in May about booking 3 Stay Plus nights for our trip in the NT in August. Because of the lockdown in Sydney I had to cancel the trip this week and my Accor Plus account now shows 3 nights available again. My Accor Plus expiry date is 30 September and it seems unlikely that I will be able to use the 3 nights before 30 September since I think the lockdown will probably go longer than the current listed date of August 28. I'll wait until closer to then to call Accor and ask if I can have the Stay Plus free nights extended again. Has anyone had their Stay Plus nights extended last year and then again this year?

I have 2 Free nights credit expiring end of Aug but had to cancel a booking mid-Aug due to the extended Sydney lockdown. Another booked 28/8 but also looks unlikely to proceed. Also keen to know if anyone has any favourable experience under similar circumstances

 

[Daver6]

I posted back in May about booking 3 Stay Plus nights for our trip in the NT in August. Because of the lockdown in Sydney I had to cancel the trip this week and my Accor Plus account now shows 3 nights available again. My Accor Plus expiry date is 30 September and it seems unlikely that I will be able to use the 3 nights before 30 September since I think the lockdown will probably go longer than the current listed date of August 28. I'll wait until closer to then to call Accor and ask if I can have the Stay Plus free nights extended again. Has anyone had their Stay Plus nights extended last year and then again this year?

See my post here Check Accor Plus free night availability

Short versions is they told me they will only roll over one night. With some inconvenient hoop jumping you can get your other nights back, but I was told so many contradictory things during the call I don't really believe them. The promised call back by a supervisor hasn't eventuated either.

In my opinion, Accor Plus have handled this whole Covid situation poorly compared to other organisations.

 

[Ken1]

I posted back in May about booking 3 Stay Plus nights for our trip in the NT in August. Because of the lockdown in Sydney I had to cancel the trip this week and my Accor Plus account now shows 3 nights available again. My Accor Plus expiry date is 30 September and it seems unlikely that I will be able to use the 3 nights before 30 September since I think the lockdown will probably go longer than the current listed date of August 28. I'll wait until closer to then to call Accor and ask if I can have the Stay Plus free nights extended again. Has anyone had their Stay Plus nights extended last year and then again this year?

See my post here Check Accor Plus free night availability

Short versions is they told me they will only roll over one night. With some inconvenient hoop jumping you can get your other nights back, but I was told so many contradictory things during the call I don't really believe them. The promised call back by a supervisor hasn't eventuated either.

In my opinion, Accor Plus have handled this whole Covid situation poorly compared to other organisations.

I've just contacted Accor about my 3 free nights on my account which expire on 30 September. First I phoned the Member Services number and was on hold for a while so I tried chat as well. The call was answered just as the chat started. I explained the situation and the lady I spoke to said that the Stay Plus night will be rolled over when the membership is renewed by Amex. I said that I have 3 free nights and asked if they will all be rolled over and she said yes.

Since the lady on chat asked for my details I thought I may as well give the same query. She replied:
"Perfect, when the membership gets renewed which should be automatically renewed before the end of the month we can extend 1 Stay Plus Night on to the new membership year upon renewal.

I then said "I couldn't use last year's Stay Plus night either and that was extended. I had booked to use all of the Stay Plus nights in August this year but that trip had to be cancelled due to border closures and lockdowns. We are not allowed to leave our local area so we can't even use them to stay somewhere locally. If we were allowed to travel anywhere this month we could travel and use them but we are not allowed. Our lockdown currently officially runs until Sep 30 but will be extended."

She replied: "Due to the membership type we are only allowed to extend 1 Stay Plus night on to the new membership year because it's an American Express membership. Could you please contact us when the membership is renewed and provide the following ticket number xx_xx_ either on Chat or over the phone and someone will be able to assist accordingly and have the Stay Plus night extended."

I've just called Amex to notify them that Accor are saying this and he said he would speak to an Account Specialist to see if they can do anything but after a few minutes he came back and said he had spoken to several departments but there is nothing they can do since it is up to Accor. I said that I was letting Amex know what Accor are saying, about being an Amex membership being the reason they can only extend one night. He said he hopes Accor may change their procedures by then and be able to extend them. I'm not sure why I have 3 rather than 2 Stay Plus free nights but it seems to have happened when the membership rolled over last year and I told the Amex rep this and told him I would be happy if I can get 2 Stay Plus nights rolled over.

I'll call Accor back when the membership has been renewed and ask again.

 

[Infrequent traveller]

I have 2 Free nights credit expiring end of Aug but had to cancel a booking mid-Aug due to the extended Sydney lockdown. Another booked 28/8 but also looks unlikely to proceed. Also keen to know if anyone has any favourable experience under similar circumstances

A not-so-happy update, received a email reply in essence saying that they will only extend one night credit so the credit for the year before is "gone"

 

[Daver6]

A not-so-happy update, received a email reply in essence saying that they will only extend one night credit so the credit for the year before is "gone"

If you can be bothered pursuing it, give the Accor Plus folks a call. After I pushed it they did say it can be done after using one of your nights. It did sound convoluted and I wasn't 100% convinced I was being told the truth, so I used one of mine prior to the rollover date. Ie, I cannot confirm whether the process is valid or not.