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Bits: IHG UK sale at 9am, triple Avios registration hiccups, HfP lounge review links

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News in brief:

IHG flash sale starts at 9am

IHG, owner of the Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Crowne Plaza, InterContinental and Indigo brands amongst others, is launching a 72-hour flash sale at 9am today.

This will ONLY cover hotels in the UK.

I don’t have any further information except that the discounts will be “amazing” (says IHG) and that you need to stay between 4th January and 27th February 2017.

The landing page for the sale is here.  The InterContinental O2, pictured below, may or may not be included.

As the sale requires you to be an IHG Rewards Club (free to join) member to book, I would imagine – but check the small print – that rooms are guaranteed to qualify to earn points and stay credit.  This could make it a cheap way to tick off some of your targets for the Spring ‘Accelerate’ promotion, especially if you are targeted for an extra bonus for a stay in January.

InterContinental London O2

Registration issues for ‘triple Avios’

I wrote about the new British Airways ‘triple Avios’ promotion yesterday.

Many of us were getting odd messages when registering. During the morning, BA changed the website to say that UK and US residents must wait until Thursday to register.  If your BA account lives elsewhere you can register now.

If you tried to register yesterday and got the confusing ‘Thank you for registering / you are not registered’ message, try again tomorrow.

Plaza Premium Terminal 4 two

Our UK airport lounge reviews collected

Following a reader suggestion, I have put together links to all of our UK airport and train lounge reviews in one place.

Going forward, you can easily find a link to a UK lounge review by going here.  I haven’t included our overseas reviews because they are a rather eclectic selection.  The UK listing is fairly comprehensive for the South East – I apologise for the weaker coverage elsewhere.

This is what we have so far:

Heathrow: Club Millesime T5 Arrivals, British Airways Concorde Room T5, British Airways Galleries First T5, British Airways T5 Arrivals, Aspire T5, Plaza Premium T4, Etihad T4, SkyTeam T4, Qatar Airways T4, Cathay Pacific T3 (and video and video), American Airlines T3, British Airways Galleries T3, Club Aspire T3 (and a video), Emirates T3, No1 Lounges T3, Virgin Atlantic T3, Aer Lingus T2, Plaza Premium T2, Plaza Premium T2 #2, Plaza Premium T2 Arrivals, Lufthansa T2, Air Canada T2, United Airlines Business and First T2, Singapore Airlines T2

Gatwick:  No1 Traveller North, My Lounge North, My Lounge North #2, No1 Lounges South, No1 Lounges Clubrooms South

London City:  First Class / Private Jet Terminal (and a video)

Luton:  Aspire

Stansted:  Escape

Southend:  SkyLife

Edinburgh:  No 1 Lounges, British Airways

Eurostar:  St Pancras

Trains:  Euston, Kings Cross, Paddington, Liverpool, Manchester Piccadilly

The photo above is from the Plaza Premium lounge in Heathrow Terminal 4.

Getting airport lounge access for free from a credit card

How to get FREE airport lounge access via UK credit cards (April 2024)

Here are the four options to get FREE airport lounge access via a UK credit card.

The Platinum Card from American Express comes with two free Priority Pass cards, one for you and one for a supplementary cardholder. Each card admits two so a family of four gets in free. You get access to all 1,300 lounges in the Priority Pass network – search it here.

You also get access to Eurostar, Lufthansa and Delta Air Lines lounges.  Our American Express Platinum review is here. You can apply here.

The Platinum Card from American Express

40,000 bonus points and a huge range of valuable benefits – for a fee Read our full review

If you have a small business, consider American Express Business Platinum instead.

American Express Business Platinum

40,000 points sign-up bonus and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold is FREE for the first year. It comes with a Priority Pass card loaded with four free visits to any Priority Pass lounge – see the list here.

Additional lounge visits are charged at £24.  You get four more free visits for every year you keep the card.  

There is no annual fee for Amex Gold in Year 1 and you get a 20,000 points sign-up bonus.  Full details are in our American Express Preferred Rewards Gold review here.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review

HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard gets you get a free Priority Pass card, allowing you access to the Priority Pass network.  Guests are charged at £24 although it may be cheaper to pay £60 for a supplementary credit card for your partner.

The card has a fee of £195 and there are strict financial requirements to become a HSBC Premier customer.  Full details are in my HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard review.

HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard

A huge bonus, but only available to HSBC Premier clients Read our full review

PS. You can find all of HfP’s UK airport lounge reviews – and we’ve been to most of them – indexed here.

Category

British Airways and Avios, IHG One Rewards

Comments (117)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • Mark says:
    4 Jan4 January 08:28

    Yeah the Triple Avios promotion worked for me today too.

  • Mike says:
    4 Jan4 January 09:11

    No ICs are included in the sale. It’s just Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Crowne Plaza, and Hotel Indigo hotels and Staybridge Suites

  • Chris says:
    4 Jan4 January 09:12

    In the IHG accelerate offer – I have to book 2 stays with the App. Is it possible to book this sale in the App – I dont seem to see a way?

    • Peter K says:
      4 Jan4 January 10:01

      The prices should load up automatically when you sign into the app. Had an in app message a few days ago saying the sale would be here soon.

  • Genghis says:
    4 Jan4 January 09:12

    IHG sale related. I need to make 2 bookings on the IHG app with a points package and ideally get the sale rate. I cannot figure out how to do that on the app. Is it possible to book a points package and get the sale rate on the app?

    • Gabriel says:
      4 Jan4 January 09:29

      I wasn’t able even to book the sale rate through the app, no chance of adding a points package as well..

      • Gabriel says:
        4 Jan4 January 10:51

        Oh well, the sale rate has just been loaded in the app as well…

        • Genghis says:
          4 Jan4 January 11:03

          Thanks. Yes I got an alert but seemingly still can’t book points packages. Puts my planned mattress run out the window…

          • James67 says:
            4 Jan4 January 11:47

            What are your points earnings anyway? For the same targets I would get 5000+1000+1000+ 3600+2400+base+
            spire so around 15k = roughly $110 – cost for two nights stay. Doesn’t look like a good mattress run for me but you may have better earnings and plan on completing all your challenges which isn’t even technically possible for me.

          • Genghis says:
            4 Jan4 January 13:30

            I’d earn circa 34k IHG for two stays booked on the app (including 1k from a points stay) with one paid on the IHG credit card. Valued at 0.5p, £170 of points for £87.30. Trouble is I cannot get the points package on the app. I’ve emailed them. Would like to have done it but not too bothered.

            I only have a couple of work trips planned over the Q1 accelerate period and don’t really like the look of the IHG hotels. Alas.

          • James67 says:
            4 Jan4 January 14:23

            @Genghis, lucky you, my accelerate this time was only worth 41k total for six challenges and minimum 6 nights. Since they onlh got a singke night from me in the whole of 2016 I think they have just given up 🙂

  • ahop says:
    4 Jan4 January 09:13

    OT: In advance of purchasing an annual TFL travelcard, is anyone aware of any particularly good earning opportunities for such a purchase (outside of the standard use a mile earning credit card)?

    • Rob says:
      4 Jan4 January 11:20

      No. Amex Gold used to be good when it gave double points on ‘travel’ but has been enhanced to just ‘airlines’.

  • Alistair says:
    4 Jan4 January 09:15

    The IHG sale rate doesn’t seem to be available in the app. I need to book via the app for accelerate. Any suggestions? Even the mobile version of the sale web page doesn’t work. It says “you weren’t quick enough off” and you havery to switch to the desktop view.

    • Alistair says:
      4 Jan4 January 09:17

      I need to type faster…

    • David says:
      4 Jan4 January 11:41

      Can anyone get promo rates, such as the mastercard rate, etc, to work in the app?

      Obviously you can get Senior, etc, and corporate rates – but I can’t see a way to get promo rates…

  • Paul says:
    4 Jan4 January 09:16

    This sale by IHG looks very disappointing. £89 at the Aerial LHR…… I don’t think so…..have used it for mattress runs for as little as £40! Am I alone in feeling corporate have lost the plot on what is and what is not a sale. Sticking with Hilton for the time being

    • Andy S says:
      4 Jan4 January 09:20

      Sounds like I’m not missing much, I’ve never paid that much for the aerial normally, even a week before staying

    • Tony says:
      4 Jan4 January 09:43

      I checked the LHR Ariel for a booking I’ve got 20th Jan. It’s pricing out at almost twice as much as I paid outside the sale – no thanks! Have managed to get a mattress run at a local HIX for £33 which completes my Accelerate for this quarter

  • Andy S says:
    4 Jan4 January 09:18

    Just clicked on your link to be told that the sale is now over? Not even 72 minutes!!

    • Mark E says:
      4 Jan4 January 09:35

      Same for me a couple of minutes ago. This was using chrome on an android phone

    • Alistair says:
      4 Jan4 January 09:37

      Yeah, same. You have to switch to desktop view on mobile. If using chrome, click the 3 dotsockets and choose “request desktop site”

      • Alistair says:
        4 Jan4 January 09:39

        *dots.

        What does autocorrect think a “dotsocket” is?!

        • Andy S says:
          4 Jan4 January 09:55

          Thanks. Now in and agree it’s useless. E.g. hix slough, is in the 49 band. Yet through the app your rate of 45 quid is showing

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