Free points daily via Accor’s Advent Calendar
Accor has a tradition of having an online advent calendar promotion every year, and this year is no exception. You can access the offer here.
Note that all information in French, and the competition is meant for French residents in selected countries only. However, I had no issue participating despite my address being in UK, and other people on Flyertalk have reported similar results.
Simply enter you membership number (without space) and email address and then you are good to go. There’s only one question to answer and even a hint next to it! My question was “How can you accrue Accor points” which was super easy.
Unfortunately I only won an extra entry to the final competition (3-night stay voucher for two at any Accor hotel in France). Many people managed to win 250 points (€5) straightaway.
Besides nearly six millions points to give away, other prizes include free night vouchers (brand specific), bags and cabin luggage etc.
Double Accor points for Europe stays
Accor has launched a good rewards offer for hotel stays if you intend to travel in the next month.
You can sign up to the offer here.
- Book by 8 January
- Stay by 10 January
- Your stay(s) will earn double reward points
Note that you must register before making the booking, and the stay must be in one of the following countries: Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bosnia And Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Ireland, Poland, Republic Of Macedonia, Romania, Russian Federation, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine and the United Kingdom.
Accor is terrible in writing terms & conditions, and in following them. In the t&c it sounds like the offer may only be valid only once, however I won’t be surprised if it’s valid every time instead.
Back in stock – Heavily discounted Melia points vouchers
We wrote about the dirt-cheap Melia points vouchers on Amazon a couple of weeks ago, which sold out very quickly. They are back online finally, at the same very reasonable price.
The link on Amazon UK is here. You can buy 55,000 points for £161 (0.29p per point) and delivery will take place in approximately two weeks.
The link on Amazon DE is here. You can buy 55,000 points for €179 (0.29p per points) and it’s currently in stock so shipping will be faster. However there’s a four euro charge to post to a UK address.
There points behave like normal Melia points (12-month rolling expiry, convertible to miles / Avios). I’ve written a lot about the valuation of Melia points so won’t elaborate here, but I genuinely think it’s a great deal.
[Black Friday] Hotels.com 5% off all hotel bookings
Although nothing exceptional, Hotels.com is running a Black Friday deal which could be useful to some.
You’ll see the pop-up when visiting their homepage.
By Monday 30th November, book your stays and enter code BFRWD5 to take 5% off your bookings. 5% off is not great, but the good news is you also earn reward stamps as usual, which is rarely the case with coupons.
[Black Friday] Amazon £10 off coupon & other deals
[£10 off first App purchase]
Selected members only. By 16th December you could get £10 off your first purchase of £30 or more in the Amazon app, with code APP10UK.
[Emma Mattresses]
As I’m moving into my new home, the first thing I bought was a mattress. A friend strongly recommended Emma, which happens to be at their lowest price ever on Amazon (link here). I tried it out already and it felt pretty comfortable.
RRP: £579 / Now: £395.85 (32% off)
[Joseph Joseph]
Joseph Joseph is renowned for their design of kitchen utensils, and their official website is also running a sale at the moment. The bamboo chopping board set I bought however (link here), costs a lot less on Amazon than on their website (£56).
RRP: £70 / Now: £45.99 (34% off)
[Bowers & Wilkins]
If you need a wireless noise cancellation headset, B&W’s PX7 can be a very good deal at the moment (link here).
RRP: £349.99 / Now: £218 (38% off)
[Philips Air Fryer]
Frees your hand from cooking (link here)!
RRP: £200 / Now: £154.95 (23% off)
[Amazon Devices]
Although prices are adjusted all the time and some (or many) of the so-called Black Friday deals may not be genuine, Amazon’s own devices are usually real cheap under such promotions.
Echo Dot 4th generation plus 6-month Music Unlimited trial
RRP: £109.92 / Now: £28.99 (73% off)
Kindle White plus 3-month Kindle Unlimited trial
RRP: £69.99 / Now: £49.99 (28% off)
[Black Friday] Marriott 40%-off Sale in Europe, Middle East and Africa
Marriott has started its Black Friday sale, which is valid for stays in Europe, Middle East and Africa.
You can access the offer here.
- Book by November 30
- Stay by January 10, 2021
- 40% off best flexible rate at participating hotels
- Certain brands, including Ritz Carlton, St Regis, Luxury Collection and Design hotels are excluded
- Some hotels may only have availability for weekend stays
You could search on Marriott’s homepage as usual with code QRI to filter the results.
I was shocked when I saw the stay-by date – what the hell is in their mind to think that people would rush to travel in the next six weeks, with the pandemic still going so strong?
Here are some example rates in London:
- W London – £213
- London Marriott Hotel County Hall – £189
- JW Marriott Grosvenor House London – £219
- Residence Inn London Bridge – £83
- London Marriott Hotel Kensington – £113
To be honest they don’t look 40% off to me – the hotels might have adjusted their best flexible rates in time for the promotion.
Buy Star Alliance Gold & 130K miles for €718
TAP Portugal has been running a status match promotion – and now even better, you could buy out a Star Alliance Gold card directly without any conditions!
The offer page is here. Now through 30th November, if you purchase the Club Top or Club Platinum membership, you’ll be granted TAP Portugal Silver or Gold status for six months.
They match Star Alliance Silver and Gold status respectively. Your account will be updated by 9th December.
As we know, *A Silver means next to nothing, so let’s just take a look what Club Platinum offers:
- Annual fee: €718
- *A Gold for six-months, and then TAP Silver benefits until it expires
- 36,000 welcome miles, plus 8,000 miles per month, so a total of 132,000 miles after one year
- Some exclusive benefits when you fly TAP, e.g. 25% bonus miles
*A Gold comes with business class check-in, fast track, airport lounge access (plus one guest) and additional baggage allowance etc, when you fly TAP, Lufthansa Group, United, ANA and other *A carriers. You are essentially pay seven hundred euro for these benefits and 130K miles.
You can check TAP Portugal’s redemption chart here. There’s nothing exceptional, but with 130K miles you can still get a one-way flight in business class from Europe to any part of world except Australia, subject to taxes and fees of course.
[Black Friday] 50% extra on IHG Bonus Points Package
In addition to its hotel sale, IHG is also giving Bonus Points Package bookings a boost this Black Friday.
You can see its mention on the BF promo page here, and details about Bonus Points Package here. If you book any package by the end of this year, and stay by 31st March 2021, you’ll earn 50% extra on the package. For example if you book a 5000-points package, you’ll earn 7500 bonus points for the booking in total.
And IHG has made it crystal clear on the promo pages – these points count toward status. With this promotion it may be fairly easy for you to hit Spire next year, although it doesn’t have many solid benefits unless your stays are mostly in Asia.