Bad News: Fairmont President’s Club Is Ending Next Year

Le Club AccorHotels Program Replacing The Fairmont President’s Club In 2018

Fairmont President’s Club has long been one of my favourite hotel loyalty programs for Canadians, and unfortunately it’s just been announced that Le Club AccorHotels will replace the Fairmont program as of July 2, 2018. I’ve had Platinum status with Fairmont for a number of years and have really come to appreciate the benefits, and am very sad to see this change taking place.

For anyone who has re-qualified for next year, you will still get your regular set of certificates in March, 2018, which can be used until February 2019. As a reminder, here’s the list of benefits afforded to the various status levels in the Fairmont President’s Club.

Both Brad and I have been Platinum for the last couple of years, and have received thousands of dollars in benefits from the program. We used a suite upgrade certificate at The Fairmont Singapore, where we were upgraded to a beautiful Junior Penthouse Suite, and used one of our free-night certificates at The Fairmont Pacific Rim on New Year’s Eve, when rates were close to $1,000 per night.

While I’ll have a full review of the Le Club AccorHotels program in the coming days (hint – it’s not good), I’ll highlight some of the major losses with the discontinuation of the Fairmont program:

• No more certificates (free night, suite upgrade)
• Le Club AccorHotels is a revenue based program for earning status
• No more dining/spa certificates
• No more guaranteed early check-in/late check-out

So in other words, the program is essentially gutted, which is a shame. What does Le Club AccorHotels Platinum status get you? Well, not much:

• Room upgrade, subject to availability
• Early check-in, subject to availability
• Late check-out, subject to availability
• A welcome drink
• Lounge access at select properties (Fairmont Gold Floor lounges will be excluded, of course)
• Free internet (available to all status levels)
• Welcome Amenity

Notice all of the ‘subject to availability’ in that list? As if that wasn’t enough, Le Club AccorHotels also offers the following ‘benefits’ to their loyal members:

• Online check-in and fast check-out
• Customer service phone number
• Priority check-in
• Access to advanced private sales

I’m shocked that Le Club AccorHotels would even include the above services in the sales page. What hotel doesn’t have online check-in these days? Oh, and a customer service phone number… groundbreaking.

I also suspect the accelerated Platinum status offer available on The American Express Platinum card and The American Express Business Platinum card will be discontinued, which makes those cards a little less valuable.

Bottom Line

The frequent travel community is upset by this change, and understandably so. Fairmont had a great loyalty program that did an awesome job at rewarding top-tier members. The new Le Club AccorHotels program is one of the worst hotel programs for benefits, and will be difficult to earn Platinum status without spending a small fortune on paid stays.

I’m grateful that Fairmont has offered one last set of certificates for those who have re-qualified for status, but that’s the only positive I can mention with this news. Sadly this will likely be my last year having status with this program, and instead will shift my hotel stays to programs like Marriott where top-tier status actually has rewards. RIP Fairmont President’s Club.

Share your thoughts on the new program in the comment section below!