Usually, the path towards attaining status with hotel loyalty programs involves staying a lot of nights. But sometimes, there are shortcuts, and ALL Accor+ Explorer is one of them.
Through this paid membership, you’re essentially buying a form of status, along with a range of other perks, such as ‘free’ hotel nights. It’s certainly possible to get much more value out of this membership, compared to the annual fee.
The news is even better for American Express Platinum Card Members, as a complimentary Accor Plus membership is included in the package (or, more accurately, the $1,450 annual fee).
What is ALL Accor+ Explorer Membership?
Unlike the free-to-join Accor Live Limitless loyalty (ALL) program, ALL Accor+ Explorer is a separate premium membership that retails for AU$349.
Here are the headline benefits:
- Two Stay Plus ‘buy-one-get-one’ nights at participating hotels with 800+ properties in 18 countries across Asia-Pacific.
- Up to 50% off ‘Red Hot Rooms’ promotions, where you get a half-price discount rate at certain hotels.
- Up to 30% off your restaurant bill and 15% off drinks at participating restaurants in Asia-Pacific.
- Gold status with the Accor Live Limitless loyalty program.
- 30 Status Nights that effectively unlock the aforementioned Gold status, and give a significant boost to Platinum status.
- 15% discount on most properties worldwide for members.
What is the ‘Stay Plus’ free night?
The two Stay Plus benefits are both valid for a complimentary night in a standard room at a participating hotel across the Asia-Pacific when you pay for one night. They’re usable at almost every chain, from Economy to Luxury. You also get the most expensive night free, which is a good perk.
It’s a no-brainer that the Stay Plus benefit yields the best value at the upscale hotels. However, not all hotels are eligible for Stay Plus, and there are blackout dates during busy periods.
As with flight reward seats, there are good deals if you plan in advance. For example, I searched 19-21 January 2026 with and without the Stay Plus. At the time of writing, the popular Sofitel Sydney Darling Harbour offered a two-night stay for $260.77 with Stay Plus, or $604.48 without it.
That’s a saving of $343 for one night, almost making back the annual fee of ALL Accor+ Explorer. Use your second Stay Plus night in a similar way for even greater savings.
How to book the ‘Stay Plus’ benefit
- Visit the Accor website to check room rates.
- Under ‘Search and Book’, click on ‘Stay’ to expand the search fields.
- Search for your desired destination and dates (two-night minimum).
- Select ‘Yes’ from the dropdown box for ‘Stay Plus’.
- Browse available properties and room types that show availability for Stay Plus.
- Check out to redeem your Stay Plus night in conjunction with a paid night.
Notes on using the ‘Stay Plus’ benefit
- Ineligible properties will be marked as ‘Stay Plus Not Accepted’ in blue somewhere on the booking screen.
- In some cases, a Stay Plus benefit may not be available on the dates you want. Instead, you may have the option to mix the Stay Plus benefit with cash and book an upgraded room type.
- Use the hotel’s pricing calendar to see the best-value dates with Stay Plus.
- A minimum length of stay may also apply at some hotels.
Save money with Red Hot Rooms
Accor Plus members have access to special deals at certain hotels over a certain time period, where you can book rooms at up to 50% off.
If Red Hot Rooms promotions are not running, you can also receive 15% off the Best Available Rate at over 4,500 brands across the world (previously this was restricted to within Asia Pacific as well).
You can book up to two rooms at the discounted rate, provided you will be staying in one of the rooms and will settle the bill for both upon checkout. Red Hot Rooms rates are usually non-refundable.
Eat more with up to 30% off dining
As an ALL Accor+ Explorer member, you also get year-round access to 30% off the food bill and 15% off drinks at any participating hotel restaurant, whether it’s breakfast, lunch or dinner. No, you don’t even have to be a guest staying at the hotel.
The discount is no longer tiered based on the number of members and diners. Instead, one membership gets a flat 30% off food and 15% off drinks for up to 10 diners on one table.
Not all restaurants participate and there are blackout dates (usually public holidays and big event days). Accor publishes a list of blackout dates here.
What status perks do I get with Accor Plus membership?
In addition to those benefits, an Accor Plus membership also gives you a Gold status with the ALL program. This normally needs at least 30 nights of paid stays or 2,500 Status Points (earned from hotel spend). You also get 30 bonus Status Nights which brings you half way to Platinum (60 nights usually required).
With Gold Status, you enjoy a few benefits including:
- Priority check-in
- Early check-in or late checkout on request and (depending on availability)
- Welcome drink
- Complimentary room upgrade (based on availability)
- Bonus rewards points on eligible spend
Remember, the Amex Platinum Card gives you Gold status with your complimentary Accor Plus membership.
American Express Platinum Card
Summing up
Savvy members could extract a lot of value from an annual $349 ALL Accor+ Explorer membership.
- The two Stay Plus nights could be conservatively valued at $250 each = ~$500 savings
- 15% off the best available rate, or 50% off Red Hot Rooms on two stays a year = ~$150 savings
- Up to 30% off dining and 15% off drinks, dining twice a year = ~$100 savings
All up that could equate to at least $750 in value if you use the core benefits on a few stays a year – and even more if you get better value out of the Stay Plus nights.
Compared to the old iteration of Accor Plus, some benefits will be missed. The original Stay Plus was good for a completely free, no-strings-attached night, while the dining discount was up to 50%.
But the introduction of two ‘buy one get one’ Stay Plus nights arguably offers better value for regular travellers, and there are some other concessions such as a lower annual fee and greater member discounts. Ultimately, you should look at your travel style to see if this newer ALL Accor+ Explorer membership suits you.
Want to know what other travellers think about Accor Plus?
Frequently asked questions
How much is an ALL Accor+ Explorer membership?
The cost of ALL Accor+ Explorer varies. In Australia, it is currently AU$349 a year.
Is ALL Accor+ Explorer membership worth it?
If you can maximise the two ‘Stay Plus’ free night and discounted dining benefits, then it is certainly possible to get more than $349 worth of value out of the membership.
What is the difference between ALL Accor+ Explorer and Accor Live Limitless?
ALL Accor+ Explorer is a premium paid membership giving the holder greater discounts. Accor Live Limitless (previously called Le Club AccorHotels) is the chain’s loyalty program and is free to join.
How do I book the ALL Accor+ Explorer complimentary nights?
Refer to our guide above to learn how to redeem the ALL Accor+ Explorer Stay Plus ‘buy one get one’ nights.
Originally written by Daniel Kinnoch. Featured image courtesy Sofitel Nusa Dua.
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this year have been short paid on recent stays at hotels in NSW, the Accor calculator states 62 status points at Ibis but I received only 22. Accor says 22 is correct, is the calculator wrong? I will probably just scrape in with 14000 status points by 31st December, but I will certainly be rethinking the value of the membership.
It is disappointing that an international hotel brand based in Europe don’t operate the program worldwide.
Poor decision Accor!
The Accor Plus website still shows those benefits as being applicable. I’d suggest you contact Accor Plus to see what happened to your benefits.
The “Up to” 50% off at restaurants actually isnt only impacted by the amount of the cards at the table, some restaurants such as the Noosa Beach House has a maximum 15% discount regardless.
I can echo some of the comments when trying to book a “free” room with availability, and the night I have booked has cost me $100 as the room is self contained.
The communication through their website (Contact Us) is truly terrible, I think I’ve only had 1 response to 3 queries that I’ve made.
And their Apps – You have to use one App to see the benefits, and another to book. There’s links that don’t work, prices that still show in Euro when you have AUD selected, I could go on.
BONUS: Instant Accor Gold Status
Silver Status, not enough? Here’s some good news, for only 90 Euro you can buy your way to a shiny gold card with Accor Le Club. As a gold member, you get similar benefits as Silver but with the additional perk of room upgrades. If you like staying at luxury Accor properties the status could pay for itself pretty quick.
Here’s how you get it:
Head on over to: https://businesstravel.accorhotels.com/hotel-subscription-cards/ibisbusiness/index.en.shtml
Sign up for the Ibis Business card, not only will you get 10% off Ibis hotels, but you will also get Gold Status with Accor Le Club
ACCOR PLUS HAS NOT RESPECTED MY 10-DAY COOLING OFF PERIOD and I haven’t been able to cancel the membership.
BEWARE ACCOR PLUS IS A SCAM!!
When you actually want to book a hotel and include the “free-night” (which you have already paid for), it is never available as part of other bookings you want to make.
Personal experience and recommendation – lack of flexibility, waste of money.
Paulo stated
What I did in the beginning of the year was buy Smiles miles in one of their buy miles promotions. Got enough to transfer to Accor when they released a 3:1 promotional rate. At the end, I got Platinum and a discount at Accor Hotels since I paid 32 EUR for every 2.000 Le Club points (that worth 40 EUR).
Is this a strategy you are familiar with? I also don’t quite understand, I went to smiles which was a foreign language and that completely threw me off.
The restaurants I have been to never let me use two card for the same table.
Had great experiences with upgrades, breakfast, check in early 8am! and check out late 4pm.
It’s one status thst really has me hooked on their brand.
Keith you have any ways to shortcut to platinum that you came across?
Yes it does as well as Le Club Platinum, which is handy to use to status match with Hilton Diamond and other programs.
I think the most significant thing for me, though, was that Accor loyalty status was pretty patchy in recognition (worse than the other major hotel loyalty programs) which sort of killed any enthusiam to continue in the scheme (plus Accor was often giving away Platinum status which sort of undermined a significant benefit of this paid program).
That Ibis Business Card certainly sounds like a sweet spot.
I’ve held off though, having watched the Red Hot Rooms availability for a while. Quite obviously they are trying to fill empty rooms in low periods. Consequently most of the Red Hot Rooms seem to be available Sunday – Thursday. Most (although not all) of deals also tend to be for the immediate week to month – not too far off into the future. Work OK for a last minute business travel bargain though, I should suppose.
Unsurprisingly there isn’t a whole lot available in CBDs on weekends (although there is some, having said that, just don’t expect something in every city every weekend). Also don’t expect the Sofitel to appear to often. That said, from time to time there are some deals for places that’d be nice for a little escape that can get a bit pricey – Cairns, Broome etc.
A plus side of the program is that as I understand it points are still earned on the Red Hot Room deals. Down side, I’ve read in places once above silver there generally aren’t any upgrades when staying on Red Hot Room deals.
Overall for me, given Accor always seem to have a sale of some sort on (i.e the 40% off one rolls around a few times a year) I’ve found the Ibis Business card better value. For what is about $120 AUD a year you go straight to Accor Gold with all benefits at all brands & 10% off everything @ Ibis.
Even after a few stays that card has paid for itself with room upgrades, drink vouchers and late checkouts. When trying to use the card for the 10% off food and drinks however, be prepared to explain to the average Ibis staff member what the card is!