Amex Platinum Cardholders Can Now Enrol in ALL Accor™ Gold Status

If you hold the American Express Platinum Card or the Business Platinum Card from American Express, you can now add ALL Accor™ Gold Status to your account at no extra cost. It joins the Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite and Hilton Honors Gold status that already come with both cards.

Amex and Accor announced the perk in July, alongside the new Membership Rewards transfer partnership, but gave no launch date beyond "later this year." Enrolment is now open in Canadian cardholders' online accounts.

I already hold ALL Accor Platinum, which sits above Gold, so I haven't enrolled myself. A colleague has, and the upgrade to Gold was instant.

How to Enrol in ALL Accor™ Gold Status

The benefit lives on the Card Benefits page of your Amex online account, listed as "ALL Accor™ Gold Status" with an "Enrolment Required" tag.

You'll need an ALL Accor member number before you start. If you don't have one yet, joining is free on Accor's website.

1. Log in to your Amex account and open the ALL Accor™ Gold Status enrolment page. You can also find it under Card Benefits.
2. Enter your ALL Accor member number.
3. Click Enrol.

Amex sends your full name to Accor along with your member number, so make sure the name on your Amex profile matches your Accor account. You can check it under Manage Accounts.

Business Platinum cardholders are eligible too, and enrol the same way from their Card Benefits page.

Only the Basic Cardmember can enrol. Supplementary Cardmembers aren't eligible, so a partner with an additional Platinum card won't get Gold through it.

What ALL Accor™ Gold Status Gets You

Gold sits in the middle of ALL Accor's elite ladder, above Silver and below Platinum and Diamond. Earning it the usual way takes 30 nights or 7,000 Status points, and our guide to ALL Accor elite status covers every tier in detail.

The main Gold benefits are:

• A 48% bonus on Reward points
• A room upgrade to the next category, subject to availability (suites excluded)
• Early check-in or late check-out on request, subject to availability
• Guaranteed room availability when you book at least three days before arrival
• A welcome drink, except at budget brands

On paper, that list isn't much. My own experience as a Gold member was better than it looks, though, and my late check-out requests were approved pretty consistently.

The points bonus is the easiest perk to put a number on. ALL Accor points are worth a fixed 2 euro cents each, and most brands earn 25 points per €10 spent at the base level.

Gold raises that to 37 points per €10, which takes your return from 5% to 7.4% in points. On a $1,000 (CAD) stay at a Fairmont, that's roughly $74 back instead of $50.

You can also top up an Accor balance with Membership Rewards, which transfer at 1,000 to 500. That works out to about 1.6 cents per Membership Rewards point against our 2.2-cent valuation, so I'd keep transfers for rounding out a booking rather than covering whole stays.

What Gold Doesn't Include

Gold won't get you into Fairmont Gold, the private lounges at many Fairmont hotels. That access is a Diamond benefit, and even Platinum members don't get it.

There's also no executive lounge access or free breakfast at Gold here in Canada. Lounge access starts at Platinum, and free breakfast outside Asia Pacific is a Diamond perk, on weekends only.

Finally, the status comes without any Status nights or points attached, so it won't move you closer to Platinum. That still takes 60 nights or 14,000 Status points.

Where ALL Accor+ Explorer Still Fits

Until now, the most popular shortcut to Gold was a paid subscription like ALL Accor+ Explorer, which grants Gold on day one. Platinum cardholders no longer need to pay for that part.

Explorer still earns its keep in other ways. It deposits 30 Status nights the day you subscribe, which gets you halfway to Platinum, something the Amex benefit doesn't do.

It also takes 15% off stays at more than 4,500 hotels and includes two Stay Plus free nights at Asia Pacific hotels. A single trip to Asia can cover the fee on its own.

Stack the two and you'd hold Gold through Amex plus 30 Status nights from Explorer. From there, 30 nights of hotel stays would get you to Platinum.

Use ALL Accor™ Gold Status for a Kenya Airways Status Match

There's one more use for ALL Accor™ Gold Status that's easy to miss. Kenya Airways's paid status match lets ALL Accor Gold, Platinum, and Diamond members buy Asante Rewards Platinum Elite Plus for $299 USD (about $417 CAD). That's the program's top tier.

No other hotel status gets you that far. Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite and Hilton Honors Gold, which also come with both Platinum cards, match only to Gold Elite Plus for the same fee.

Asante Rewards Platinum carries SkyTeam Elite Plus, the alliance's top status. Airlines such as Delta, Air France, and KLM recognize it when you add your Asante number to a booking.

The match lasts 12 months from approval. You'll need a free Asante Rewards account and proof of your Accor status to apply.

Book Direct with Accor to Get Your Benefits

The fine print matters if you book hotels through Amex. Bookings made through tour operators or online travel agencies, "including Amex Travel Online," aren't eligible for ALL Accor benefits.

Gold benefits also can't be combined with Fine Hotels + Resorts or The Hotel Collection. Book an Accor property through either program and you'll get that program's perks on the stay, not your Gold ones.

Keep that in mind before you put the card's $200 annual travel credit toward an Accor hotel, since the credit only applies to bookings through Amex Travel. For stays where you want the upgrade and the points bonus, book directly with Accor.

How Long Gold Lasts

Gold stays on your Accor account for as long as you remain an eligible Platinum Cardmember, with no stays required. Amex can revoke it if you cancel the card or your account isn't in good standing.

As I read the terms, that makes Gold a useful floor for anyone who already holds a higher tier, as I do. If a slow travel year costs you Platinum, you'd land on Gold rather than further down.

Conclusion

ALL Accor™ Gold Status doesn't stand out next to the card's Marriott and Hilton statuses. In Canada, though, it may be the one you use most, thanks to Fairmont's landmark hotels from Banff to Quebec City. It's also the only hotel status that buys you into Kenya Airways's top tier.

My one worry is those late check-outs. With every Amex Platinum cardholder now eligible, far more Gold members will be asking at the same hotels, and I suspect approvals will get harder to come by.

Enrolment is instant, so there's no reason to wait. Just remember to book direct with Accor, or the perks won't follow you to the front desk.