Accor Group: An umbrella group that covers a wide range of brands form Sofitel, Pullman, Novotel, Mercure, MGallery, Swissôtel and many more.

The feature I like the best is that for those hotels that offer airline staff rates, most offer either 12 Noon or 6PM cancellation the day before arrival, which is great for airline employees and retirees. Almost all Accor Hotels are overseas, mostly in Europe and Asia, not in the US.

1. Download the ALL Accor app. Apply online for a free ALL-Accor Loyalty membership.
2. Open the app and register or sign in for the first time. Go to account information and enter your Personal details. Under “Work details” in order to obtain the business rate for airline employees, fill in the Customer Code (SC396089195) and Access Code (ST524FR871). You can leave your business email address blank if you want to.

When making a reservation on the Accor app, please make sure that ”Use your business trip account” is toggled ON. It defaults to off. and it also toggles back to off whenever you make a change on this page. The airline rate will be displayed only if it is toggled on.

If an airline employee rate is available at the hotel you’ve selected the hotel will display a Navy blue banner with white letters that says “Dedicated offer.” Otherwise it will simply say “Member rate.” Please note that the dedicated offer could be for either refundable rates off non-refundable or it could be available for both. Please make note of the cancellation policy for each rate.

Best Western:

Go to the Best Western app or website and enter the United Airlines Discount code of 01282540. In addition to a discount, they also provide night before cancellation at many if not most locations.

Bonvoy Group of Hotels which includes Sheraton, Westin, Marriott, JWMarriott,Ritz CarltonLe Meridien, Renaissance, W Hotels and more

Many of these hotels, especially the midrange hotels offer reasonably good discounts and their cancellation is usually 1-3 days ahead. However if a “UAL” rate is offered, it is often same day cancellation. If a UAL rate is available, they are most often offered for hotels at or near the airport. Other rates are offered also, such as Airline Staff, AAA, Senior and AARP rates, and the app will tell you which one is lowest.

1. Once again, download the Bonvoy app and register for their free loyalty program.
2. Then, when you sign in, select a location and date. The app will take you to a black background page that says “Find Hotels.”
3. But before you click on "Find Hotels," it is important to select the discounts you are looking for. So tap or click on the line on this page that says, “Special Rates.” Scroll to the bottom of that page and, on the line that says “Add Corp/Promo Code,” enter "Z31" which is the code for Airline Employees. Then make sure you put a check mark in the box that says “Save for future Searches.” Then click “Apply.”
4. Repeat the previous step, but this time enter “UAL” which is the special rate they give to United employees and retirees. Don’t forget to put a check mark in the box that says “Save for future Searches.”
5. I would also recommend that you put a check mark next to Senior Discount, AAA, and Military, if you qualify. Once in a while, these rates are cheaper than the airline rates.

Hilton Hotels

Many of these have shorter cancellation policies like midnight the day before arrival.

The airline staff rates are not available on the Hilton app, but they are available on a dedicated web site called hiltonairlineemployeerates.com Sign in with your free Hilton Honors loyalty number in this web site. That way after you reserve your airline employe room, it will appear in your Hilton app where you can later cancel or modify it if you need to. But remember, you can reserve the Hilton airline rates only from the dedicated Hilton Airline employee website shown above, not from the app.

Important: When you first open the web site it will ask you for your employee email address. Entering your last United employee email address will work. If you have a problem or can’t remember it just recreate an email address for yourself. They don’t contact you for anything at that address. Airline employees can actually use any email address that ends in an airline domain name such as @united.com or @aa.com, etc.

Hotels.com

In the Discount or Corporate Code section, enter UnitedEmp10.

IHG Group of Hotels include Holiday Inn Intercontinental, Crowne Plaza and others

Just like with Hilton, the IHG discounts for airline staff are available only on a dedicated web site, not their app. The website URL is lengthy so in the interest of ease, just google: IHG airline staff rates. But if you are reading this on the electronic version of the RUPA Mag, the web site is https://www.ihg.com/content/us/en/deals/partneroffers/airline-employee

The pros: IHG airline staff rates often come with same day cancellation! The cons: I’ve found that IHG hotels at times have blackouts of airline staff rates. You may have to choose different dates or a different hotel in the city you want.

Wyndham Hotels

In the section for Corporate Codes, enter 8000001071.

Hertz Rental Car Discounts

United employees get lots of car rental discounts. I’ve done a lot of comparison shopping and our discount with Hertz is head and shoulders above all others.

Advantages of the UAL Hertz discount:

The cheapest domestic rental rates in the industry. After applying for the free Gold Rewards membership, you also get the following benefits:

1. In most US stations, the collision damage waiver is free and automatic for Gold members. Overseas, the waiver can be purchased.
2. There is no need to go to the counter. Just follow the signs that say “Gold members proceed to…” When you arrive there, someone will check your driver’s license and direct you to the row of cars you can choose from. And off you go. Make sure you have your United Retiree ID card or Verification of Eligibility Letter in case they ask for it.
3. The Hertz app is probably the best in the industry. You can rent, modify, cancel, or extend your rental 24/7 from the app without having to call anyone.

To obtain the discount:

1. Download the Hertz App.
2. Open the app and, near the bottom right corner, click on “Sign up.”
3. During the sign-up process, you can obtain your free Gold Rewards Membership number. The sign-up will ask for all your personal information and allow you to save a credit card for future bookings.
4. Somewhere in the sign-up process, look for “Corporate Discount Program” and enter the United CDP number. The magic number is 1444149.
5. After signing up, log in. Then, at the bottom of the home screen, click on “Account.” Scroll down near the bottom, where you will see “Personal Information.”

Under the Corporate Discount Program it should already say, “UNITED EMP SKYNET (Preferred).” If it says this, you’re in! If it doesn’t say this, try to locate a place to enter the Corporate Discount Program code for United, 1444149. If you have problems with this important step, call or email me!

IMPORTANT NOTE for Overseas Hertz Rentals: The United Hertz discounts for overseas rentals are not as favorable as the corporate discounts for Accor Hotel members (lucky you!). I have found the Accor Hertz discount far cheaper than the United discount in certain foreign cities. (I recently saved $200 in Europe by using the Accor CDP number on a week long reservation) The Accor CDP number is 902517.

Once you enter a CDP, such as United’s or Accor’s they will remain in your account with the last one used remaining at the top. If you use the overseas Accor CDP don’t forget to toggle back to the United CDP when renting back in the U.S.

The UAL discount is far cheaper than the Accor discount throughout the US and in a few foreign cities.

You can enter more than one discount code and just toggle between the discount codes to see which is cheaper. To do that you have to go to the account page, select “Edit” and then select “Preferred” after the discount you want to use or check. Then click SAVE!!

Cheers,
Pat