End of the Road for Fairmont’s Loyalty Program, and What It Means for You

Signing up for credit cards through partner links earns us a commission. Terms apply to the offers listed on this page. Here’s our full advertising policy: How we make money.

We have an update in the Fairmont Accor hotel merger!

Fairmont’s loyalty program will officially be discontinued on July 2, 2018, and combined with the Accor loyalty program.

The Accor loyalty program isn’t quite as good as Fairmont.  That said, Fairmont didn’t have very many hotels worldwide, and Accor is much larger.  So this could be good news for some.

Le Club Accor Envelops Fairmont President’s Club

Link:   Fairmont Merges Into Accor

Accor Hotels is taking over Fairmont Hotels, including the Raffles and Swissotel brands.

At first, we didn’t know what would happen with the 2 loyalty programs.   Chase stopped issuing the Fairmont card in January, and disowned the card in August.  It looked like the Fairmont program was losing steam.

We now know that the Fairmont loyalty program will end next year.  Here are some quick facts:

• Nothing will change until July 2, 2018
• If you earn elite status in 2017, it will still be honored in 2018
• Fairmont eCertificates you earn in 2018 will be valid until February 28, 2019

What Does This Mean for You?

1.   Elite Status

If you happen to have Fairmont elite status (from eligible stays or from previously owning the Chase Fairmont card), you can now match your status with Accor.

You can also check out the chart showing the result of having elite status in both programs.

It looks like having elite status with Accor is not as profitable as with Fairmont.  For example, for having mid-tier elite status with Fairmont, you received benefits like:

• 1 complimentary room upgrade per year
• 1 complimentary suite upgrade per year
• Annual $50 Fairmont dining e-certificate
• 1 complimentary 3rd night on a 3-night stay per year

You will NOT get that with the Accor program.

2.   Earning Rate

You’ll soon earn Accor points, which have a fixed value of 2 euro cents each.  The Accor earning rate is as follows:

• Classic status – 2.5 points per euro (5% back)
• Silver status – 3.1 points per euro (6.2% back)
• Gold status – 3.7 points per euro (7.4% back)
• Platinum status  – 4.4 points per euro (8.8% back)

That said, Accor frequently has promotions that can greatly increase this earning rate.

Bottom Line

The Fairmont President’s Club officially has an end date!  It will disappear on July 2, 2018.

The Accor loyalty program will be the loyalty program for all Fairmont hotels.  Thankfully, you’ll get a status match from Fairmont to Accor.

What are your thoughts on this hotel merger news?