American Express has introduced Accor Live Limitless (ALL) as a new hotel transfer partner for members in Australia and New Zealand. This will allow cardholders to convert Membership Rewards points into ALL points. Transfers follow a 5:1 rate, meaning that 5,000 Membership Reward points transfer as 1,000 ALL points. Thers is a minimum transfer of 2,500 MR points.
Snapshot
- Transfer rate:
- 5 Membership Rewards points → 1 ALL point
- Minimum transfer:
- 2,500 MR points
- Transfer speed:
- Allow up to 48 hours (but may be instant)
- Where it’s available:
- Australia & New Zealand Membership Rewards programs
- Value of ALL points:
- 2,000 ALL points = €40 (~A$65) off your bill
Understanding the Value: What Your Amex Points Are Worth
So, for those interested in the numbers:
ALL points have a fixed value of 2,000 points = €40 (around A$65). At the 5:1 transfer rate:
- 2,500 MR points → 500 ALL points
- 500 ALL points = €10 (a little over A$16)
That means each Membership Rewards point redeemed via Accor is worth around 0.65 cents (AUD).
As a point of comparison, you can also swap Membership Rewards points for Accor gift cards. This generally yields around 0.5 cents per MR point. The new transfer option therefore offers a meaningful uplift in value, especially for travellers who prefer to use points directly toward hotel stays.
Other Hotel Transfer Options
As mentioned, American Express also offers the opportunity to transfer to Hilton Honors (at a 2:1 rate), and Marriott Bonvoy (at 1.5:1). Directly comparing the options is a bit fraught as the point value in the three programs is different. In particular, only ALL assign a fixed value to the points. As such, the following is just a rough guide.
Hilton Honors
Hilton uses dynamic pricing, so the value varies widely. Typical ranges:
- 0.4–0.6 cents (AUD) per Hilton point
- With the 2:1 transfer rate, that means:
- 1 MR point ≈ 0.2–0.3 cents (AUD) in theoretical value
Marriott Bonvoy
Marriott also uses dynamic pricing, with typical values:
- 0.8–1.0 cents (AUD) per Marriott point
- With the 3:2 transfer rate:
- 1 MR point ≈ 0.53–0.66 cents (AUD)
Final Words
Australian and New Zealand Amex cardholders have long had a good range of airline transfer partners, however, hotel options have been limited. Indeed, cardholders have had just two – Hilton Honors and Marriott Bonvoy.
This situation has now changed with the arrival of Accor Live Limitless (ALL) as a Membership Rewards transfer partner.
