tl;dr – This would have been some interesting news if it applied to the US market.
Amex recently added Accor as a transfer partner for Japanese Amex cardholders. ALL (Accor Live Limitless) is Accor’s loyalty program.
Headquartered in France, Accor’s ALL isn’t the most popular among many North American-based travelers, but I have enjoyed some of the more marquee properties within Accor’s portfolio. Last year I stayed at the Sofitel Legend in Panama City, Panama, and thought it best its down-the-street rival – Hyatt’s La Compañía Casco Antiguo – The Unbound Collection by Hyatt. (The Hyatt isn’t terrible, though.)
The transfer rate is a bit strange as it’s two-tiered – for cardholders enrolled in Membership Rewards Plus and those that are not:
3,500 MRs = 1,000 ALL Accor points for members enrolled in Membership Rewards Plus
7,000 MRs = 1,000 ALL Accor points for those not enrolled.
Amex’s divisions are pretty siloed, but I’d be curious if this might be an entrypoint for extending the partnership to other markets. For what it’s worth, Accor’s has a few different regional ‘flavors’ of its loyalty program, such as the All Accor+ Signature program for Brazilian travelers.
