Well, the new Priority Club reward levels are out. And, as predicted, it is not good.
The result is what you would have foreseen with a move from brand-based pricing to rate-based pricing.
Hotels in big cities – London etc – have had their points requirements jacked up. Hotels in small regional towns have, generally, gone down – but then how often do you redeem for those? (Of course, now they are pretty good value on a ‘£ to points needed’ basis, you may redeem in them more.)
In London, Crowne Plaza hotels have gone from 35,000 per night to 45,000. (Remember they were 25,000 a couple of years ago.) Hotel Indigo hotels are similarly at 45,000, except for the new Earls Court one which is reduced to 30,000 as it is still in its ‘soft opening’ phase.
Some Holiday Inn Express properties are 35,000, unbelievably. Holiday Inn Mayfair, that great bargain of a redemption, goes up from 25,000 to 35,000. The two new hotels remain slightly discounted – Holiday Inn Commercial Road is 20,000 (was 15,000) and HI Stratford is 25,000 (was 15,000).
It is a similar story in New York, Paris, Hong Kong etc. The InterContinentals in Dusseldorf and Frankfurt are up by 50%, from 30,000 points to 45,000. The Holiday Inn Sheffield has gone down by 5,000 points though ….
InterContinental hotels in key cities, such as the IC Cannes (above), remain at 50,000 points. These remain some of the best value redemptions.
(To see our complete list of all current hotel promotions for the major chains, click here to visit our ‘Hotel Promos’ page or use the link in the menu bar at the top of the page.)
About Head for Points
Indeed, I was looking at some London hotels for back end of February last night and there are some big jumps, particularly on Express hotels. Will be using the phone! (or paying cash and booking the RAC 2-for-1 of course!)
If you already have a reward booking you can check if it is worth cancelling by checking the great piece of work that Loyalty Lobby continued to develop from the link Raffles posted above. It includes the before and after rates with traffic lights to show clearly if it is better or worse than the legacy rates.
http://cdn.loyaltylobby.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/LL-PCR-MPL-01-11-18.pdf
I’m intrigued why Sheffield is always part of the mix. Family connection?
My own stays in Oxford have jumped in points. The HIX is now 25k, but it was always expensive. I’m not sure if Oxford is a small, regional town, but it’s certainly pricey.
Yes! I am from that neck of the woods and we always stay in hotels when we go back up there, which is why I know the numbers!
HI Webley is 10k/night. This is the former Hilton Wembley Plaza. It is now rather tired and worn but has full facilities. Transport options are Wembley Stadium train station and Wembley Central tube. Ibis Wembley is just aound the corner for cheaper dining option. So all in a great redemption if you just want someplace reasonable to sleep at night.
Lucky I managed to bag so many Priority Club points through their £20.12 promo. Shouldn’t have even qualified, got 272 from the stay itself but with all of the bonuses I signed up for, managed to bag 5,772 points.
So thanks Raffles for the initial tip off!