How I maximised the value of an IHG reward night, including free lounge access

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• barrycutters says:

  27 Jul27 July 13:26

  Off topic.
  I’m staying at a holiday inn tonight for one night. Needed two rooms , one for myself and one for a worker. Booked them both separately, but both under my name and on my ihg app. Therefore I’m hoping I will get points , and accelerate credit, for both these nights. Is that likely to happen. If so do I even have to bother booking as two separate bookings?. Thanks in advance

  • Rob says:

    27 Jul27 July 15:04

    Won’t happen, the 2nd will count as an overlapping stay and earn nothing. IHG is very mean on this, Hilton lets you get credit from 2 rooms and SPG 3.

    • Fenny says:

      27 Jul27 July 15:25

      What about Accor? Our local hotel has just become a Mercure (I think. Used to be Hilton and has changed hands pretty regularly in the last 20 years). We’re having our Martial Arts annual ball there and I shall be waiting for the nearest appropriate HM deal to book my room. But if I can get points for booking for others, I’ll do that. I do keep telling them to join LCA and get their own points and discounts, but it all falls on deaf ears.

      • Fenny says:

        27 Jul27 July 21:05

        Ta

      • Will says:

        27 Jul27 July 23:02

        I’ve actually had Accor hotel credit stays that I did not check in for.

    • Danksy says:

      27 Jul27 July 23:53

      +1

  • CV3V says:

    27 Jul27 July 15:38

    Just checked back to a booking in BKK earlier this year when i needed 2 rooms booked. The booking for 2 rooms posted as 4 reservations, 2 as earning points and 2 as earning zero points! Then of these 4 bookings, only one showed as a ‘qualifying’ booking. In my case it might be the hotel added them on for me, but i didn’t ask for it.

• Dannyrado says:

  27 Jul27 July 15:51

  I’m guessing the IHG 72hr summer sale rates that are currently available, do NOT qualify for accelerate?? Does anyone have experience?

  • Rob says:

    27 Jul27 July 16:08

    Check the small print. IHG has started adding to the T&C’s ‘Rate will earn IHG Reawrds Club points’ in many cases. If that is not there, assume No.

    If this was an old offer, check my article.

    • Sididdly says:

      27 Jul27 July 19:11

      Slightly OT but still IHG related. I had a stay at Intercontinental London O2 last week and spent £610. For this I received a paltry 5880 base points. I looked at the earning details and the bill in no way resembled my spend e.g. it had £50 worth of phone calls on (who uses hotel phones?!)
      I complained and IHG Ambassador informed me that they were delighted to have corrected my mistake. When I checked I had an adjustment taking away 202 points (101 base)! I assume this was a change in the exchange rate in the past week on the still incorrect phantom bill.
      Exasperated!
      How many points do you think I should earn. At time of booking it forecast 7590 base points and I spent an extra £36 on a meal.

      • Rob says:

        27 Jul27 July 20:29

        In that case, just under 8,000 plus status bonus.

        • Sididdly says:

          27 Jul27 July 20:46

          Agreed. Also, I obviously booked it through your link but I am not overly optimistic about getting the correct double points posted. By my calculations I should have had roughly 8000 points x3 for base, elite bonus and HFP bonus. I’ll be happy if I can get my base/elite bonus right for a starter.

• Andrew A says:

  27 Jul27 July 21:52

  I used my Ambassador free night in Times Sq New York this year and tagged on 4 free/reward nights but emailed the hotel beforehand so got upgraded to Sky view and kept the same room for 6 nights. I would like to go to the Le Grand in Jan next year so i was thinking I could renew my Ambassador membership 4 months early, get another certificate so spend 2, hopefully 3, nights in a junior suite with lounge access for €650 plus $150 for the membership. I will have spent £10k by then on IHG card for a free night. So can I renew early and get the free night again?
  Thanks

  • Rob says:

    27 Jul27 July 22:32

    Suites do not come with lounge access which is a pain. You either book a JS and pay Euro 120 per day for club, even on your AMB free night, or book a club room and hope for a JS upgrade. That was my plan, it failed.

• Danksy says:

  27 Jul27 July 23:52

  nicely done! as you say it doesn’t always work!

  I booked 4 nights at century city in LA

  night 1 – free visa night
  night 2 – paid for suite
  night 3 – paid for suite
  night 4 – rewards night

  and had to move 3 times … I wasn’t happy but they weren’t able to help…not helped much by the fact that the hotel was undergoing refurb at the time!

  so I lucked out !

• Simmo says:

  28 Jul28 July 20:23

  Worked along the same lines with Hilton Phuket for me.

  Diamond Status

  Night 1-3 booked a Suite for cash
  Night 4-7 used points and cash
  Night 8-9 booked the lowest rate std room

  All 3 reservations have been upgraded to a Deluxe Suite! Result!

• WTL says:

  29 Jul29 July 18:17

  I’m contemplating using an AMB award weekend +3 paid nights, along with 4 nights (free night vouchers/points at Pool View). With the AMB award weekend + 3 paid nights (5 “paid” in total) I have booked one level above the standard reward night (Ocean View). This is for a stay at the IC Presidente Cozumel.
  Is it likely, I will retain the AMB upgrade (Ocean Front?) for all 9 nights? Or would I be given Ocean Front (?) for the first 5 paid nights, and a Pool View for the remaining 4 nights on points/free nights?

  • Sididdly says:

    5 Aug5 August 02:43

    I have a two night stay in Kuala Lumpur coming up in a couple of weeks. Thinking of doing a paid club room followed by a reward night. Do you think I’m likely to get club both nights? I know that sometimes they are rigidly ‘by the book’

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