I have never received any platinum benefits when staying in the last year. I tend to save my points to pay for an extra room when travelling with my in-laws at LGW/LHR but it is annoying that you can’t use them from pre-payed rates.
What I have found more annoying this year is the absence of dedicated check-in, in the last month I have spent thirty minutes in line to check-in at LGW and 20 minutes at the Novotel in Southampton. In Southampton they even had a dedicated desk for a-club members but they simply kept serving the main line.
I actually switched from Accor to Radisson (Club Carlson). They matched my Accor platinum status to Club Carlson Gold and the difference is undesribable ! A-club is still a joke. I absolutely disadvise any frequent traveler to choose Accor as a regular customer.
In another thread, the question is What genuine benefits do you get from FFP? I think in the case of Accor its, what chance do you get to earn any benefits?
What is a shame is that the sites, be it Ibis, Novotel, Mercure or Sofitel are not too bad really, it is just a shame the loyalty scheme is such a mess. I am staying at the Sofitel T5 in December but that is out of convenience rather than choice, although it is a good hotel.
