I have just finished three nights at InterContinental Le Grand in Paris, a hotel which I rate highly for its frankly epic public areas – including the most astounding ballroom you will ever visit – and great location.
I successfully pulled off one of the best tricks you can do to maximise the value of a reward night – stacking it behind a paid night and assuming that the hotel will continue to honour your existing room and benefits.
In actual fact, this is what I did:
Friday night – paid for a Club InterContinental room
Saturday night – used my InterContinental Ambassador free weekend night certificate
Sunday night – redeemed my IHG Premium Visa free night voucher for a standard room
I spent my 4th night, in case anyone is wondering, at a non-descript place near Gare du Nord. With a 4pm check-out from the InterContinental and an early train, it wasn’t worth splashing out.
The InterContinental did not blink an eyelid about letting me keep my Club level room. More importantly, they didn’t blink an eyelid about me continuing to use the Club lounge on my reward night. They could have done, because Le Grand sells lounge access as an add-on for €120 per room per night for Ambassador members (€140 for non-members).
The club lounge is a big deal here. The staff are excellent, especially Gilles. There is food available pretty much all day, as well as free flow champagne at breakfast and in the evenings. The food is of high quality, although does not vary much so got a little repetitive by my third night. Because the hotel is so central, it is easy to pop back in during the day for a top up!
This technique is one solution to the problem of how to book ‘premium’ rooms for IHG points. It is also a solution if you want to bring children with you but a standard room cannot sleep more than two people. Book yourself a larger room for cash for the first night and then book redemption nights behind it.
It is not 100% foolproof. I hear the odd story about people who are asked to change rooms. In general, you WILL get away with it. Of course if you book a suite for one night and then book a standard room on points for seven nights then you should expect trouble! In my case, I had booked two cash nights – although the Ambassador voucher made one of them free – so extending the benefits for one reward night was not asking much. I could almost certainly have added at least one more reward night without fear of being moved.
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About Head for Points
Worth flagging that not all hotels are as generous- I have had stays on a mixture of bookings before where the hotel had expected me to move rooms I.e. Recognising ambassador benefits only for nights paid in cash direct with IHG, and downgrading me for adjacent nights booked on points, with vouchers or through 3rd parties. One can’t complain as them’s the rules, but it’s still a pain and inevitably I end up having to pay cash to upgrade the points nights so I don’t have to change rooms mid-stay
When booking with the AMB certificate (which i am still waiting on arriving) on website, and on the AMB booking page/rate, my booking shows at the full rate for 2 nights although it does reference the AMB certificate i.e. it looks like being charged for both nights. Is this normal?
Looking at booking the IC Nha Trang for 3 nights using the same approach as Raffles. The debate i am having is going with a standard room and paying for the huge breakfast spread or paying the inflated Ambassador rate, using certificate, and going all out with an Exec room and lounge access.
I asked this last week and was informed that it’s perfectly normal. Present your AMB voucher on arrival and the bill gets sorted out.
It is confusing I agree – as a first time user I emailed the hotel direct for an explanation, which they happily gave – confirming that the AMB night does not actually make it onto the final bill which it didn’t. It was a simple process even without having a physical certificate due to non-arrival of pack.
SAY WHAT?
“Le Grand sells lounge access as an add-on for €120 per room per night for Ambassador members (€140 for non-members)”
This is a good deal for a couple given you get fed all day and there is free flowing champagne and decent wine.
That makes 60 pP which is indeed a better ratio 🙂
I was thinking of how much champagne I had to drink on my own for 120…
Euro 120, so £50 each. I actually paid the full £100 just for myself when I was there in May – but I did get evening food and (lots of) drink, breakfast, lunch and afternoon tea snacks on both days (had 4pm check-out) for that.
Plus, if you know your going to be around the hotel for a large chunk of the day you at least shield yourself from an unexpected bar tab once your too merry to turn down another (10).
Raffles, the hint on booking a room when travelling with children is great.
Have you thought about putting together an article on travelling with kids? I have 2 young kids now and when 4 of us are travelling the usual tricks don’t work.
Great idea
Have just emailed the Conrad algarve that same question!!!
It’s always worth asking in advance on things I find.
I managed to get an upgrade and lounge access at the CP Liverpool based on my Plat status, when booking a free night from my wife’s standard Club account!
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
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.
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.
2 – http://www.accorhotels.com/gb/support/loyalty-membership/le-club-accorhotels/gain-points/faq/how-many-rooms-can-i-credit-to-my-card-for-the-same-stay.shtml
Ta
Should you become the meeting planner?
http://meetings.accorhotels.com/gb/leclub/meetingplanner.shtml
Not sure if it is that for you.
I’ve actually had Accor hotel credit stays that I did not check in for.
+1
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.
I’m guessing the IHG 72hr summer sale rates that are currently available, do NOT qualify for accelerate?? Does anyone have experience?
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.
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.
In that case, just under 8,000 plus status bonus.
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.
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
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.
Sorry, but unless I am doing something wrong this one does.
https://www.ihg.com/intercontinental/hotels/gb/en/reservation/book?qRef=df&qRpn=1&qChld=0&qSrt=sBR&qSHp=1&qSmP=3&qGRM=0&qSlH=parhb&qRms=1&srb_u=1&qAdlt=2&qPSt=0&qRtP=IGCLB&qCiMy=002017&qHtlC=parhb&qCoD=21&qCiD=20&qCoMy=002017&qRRSrt=rt&qRpp=12&qBrs=hi.ex.rs.ic.cp.in.sb.cw.cv.6c.vn.ul.ki&qWch=0&method=redirect#roomratestitle
The junior suite description shows the lounge as part of the package.
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 !
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!
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?
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’