NEW: Get a VERY rare increased points bonus on the free IHG Rewards Club Mastercard credit card

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• Genghis says:

  5 Feb5 February 05:30

  “ For the first time in a long time (ever?)”
  I got a 20k bonus from the free card a few years ago.

  • Genghis says:

    5 Feb5 February 05:37

    Also note the £99 and free cards are discrete products and can be held concurrently.

    • Simon says:

      5 Feb5 February 05:44

      Thank you – was the first question I had!

    • Dr Doo says:

      5 Feb5 February 05:52

      Do you actually have them both? Add previously creation were strict in this sort of thing

      • Genghis says:

        5 Feb5 February 06:05

        I had the £99 card first and then applied for and got the increased sign up bonus on the free card. I no longer have the free card as it has no use whatsoever.

      • Crafty says:

        5 Feb5 February 17:44

        I have had both for a while. The only potential issue is my credit limit on Premium is too low, but based on other comments on here, Creation are reticent to transfer or combine credit limits across the products. Therefore, it’s possible that my holding the free card is constraining my credit on the paid one.

    • Doug M says:

      5 Feb5 February 07:16

      Yes, I had them both maybe 18 months ago. Cancelled the free card about a year ago, recently applied again and was refused. Never before refused for credit.

      • Binks says:

        5 Feb5 February 10:04

        +1

  • Rob says:

    5 Feb5 February 09:55

    Was that targetted though? I couldn’t remember.

    • Charlieface says:

      5 Feb5 February 10:50

      Don’t think so

    • Genghis says:

      5 Feb5 February 12:40

      No

• Tracy Regan says:

  5 Feb5 February 06:08

  I have booked two nights at an Intercontinental and would like a third night using my free night voucher. Does anyone know if I can book a cancellable rate and then change it when I receive the voucher? Thanks.

  • Genghis says:

    5 Feb5 February 06:15

    Not directly. Holding a cancellable cash rate does not imply that cancelling means reward nights are available.

    What I do is use points to make a couple of bookings for the same night then when I get the free night, cancel one and rebook using the voucher, then cancel remaining booking. This has always worked though I understand there is no guarantee that cancelled reward nights go back into reward inventory (hence the double bookings so I still have a booking that I need should things go wrong).

    • Tracy Regan says:

      5 Feb5 February 07:43

      Thank you.

  • Rob says:

    5 Feb5 February 09:54

    Yes, totally fine. You need a reward night showing to be able to use the voucher.

• Rob says:

  5 Feb5 February 06:36

  Can you earn a referral bonus for this card ??

  • BJ says:

    5 Feb5 February 06:54

    I posted in the Bits article how to get multiple free IHG nights without taking out any cards!

    • Peter K says:

      5 Feb5 February 07:43

      Having to only pay for 3 nights in a 4 might stay is nice but not earthshattering.

      • BJ says:

        5 Feb5 February 08:17

        If Rob did an article titled ‘25%discount on IHG stays’ there would probably be a minor feed frenzy but if it was ‘IHG fourth night free’ probably less so.

  • Rob says:

    5 Feb5 February 09:54

    No

• BJ says:

  5 Feb5 February 06:39

  The premium card is only fantastic for those who can spend (much) more than £10k, can use the voucher wisely, stay loads at IHG and pay with the card, and are happy to continue membership into year 2+. Otherwise it is not so great as spending the minimum £10k to get the voucher only yields an extra £40 (£80 if £10k spent at IHG) of value reducing net annual fee cost to £19-59 which has to be offset against cost of the free night. In reality the free night value needs to be reduced further as it does not factor in the reductions in cost or extra value that can be obtained ia other means/promotions by paying cash for that night instead. Thus, I think the premium card is really only fantastic if we can put huge spends through it, far in excess of £10k. Most will not be able to do so because they simply don’t have the expenditure, have other cards on the go diluting spend, or because MS opportunities are closing. I didn’t bother factoring in Platinum as it’s of little value and those spending loads on this card at IHG will be Platinum or Spire regardless. Thus, for most, I think they would be better taking the 20k bonus on the free card.

  • Steve-B says:

    5 Feb5 February 07:33

    Don’t disagree with your analysis, but you’re playing down the impact of the free night voucher that is worth c£200/50k if used properly. Potentially a fair chunk of value even when set against cash/promo options.

    • BJ says:

      5 Feb5 February 08:25

      It could be worth a 3-4x more than if spent certain places at certain times. However that is in the realms of a fantasy loyalty game because the vast majority of HFP readers are incapable of paying £1000+ per night for a hotel, and many of those who are are probably too tight to do so.

    • Rob says:

      5 Feb5 February 09:47

      I’m typing this in a £200/night InterCon. Would have happily used a free night voucher for it!

      • BJ says:

        5 Feb5 February 11:25

        Interesting, I would have guessed that you personally would have wanted at least double that as an incentive to trade a voucher 🙂 Does the UK premium card also benefit from the fourth reward night free perk or is that only for the USA card? I’m guessing the latter as I assume you would have discussed it otherwise. I’ve been waiting for ages foe an accelerate target to take out an IHG card. Time to give up on that and make a decision to jump now or wait for a possible increased bonus on the premium card.

  • Lynn says:

    5 Feb5 February 07:43

    I think it depends on where you take the free night. My free night bought me a night at the intercontinental Tahiti, and was upgraded to an over water bungalow next tot he dolphinarium. The other two nights were booked using the ambassador certificate. A fantastic stay and excellent value.

    • BJ says:

      5 Feb5 February 08:38

      Shows how aspirational awards can be realised from the hobby. Not saying it’s not worth it, all depends on how well somebody plays the game, their spending power and to what extent they sacrifice earnings in one loyalty area to benefit more in another. Going forward I doubt you will be able to use either of the free nights in the likes of IC Tahiti and the games will need to be reassessed but certainly enjoy it while it lasts 🙂

  • Paul74 says:

    5 Feb5 February 07:57

    If you take Rob’s valuation of 0.4p/point, then the figures for spending £10,000 should be £80 for non IHG GBP spend and £160 for IHG spend.

    • BJ says:

      5 Feb5 February 08:30

      No, because I was assuming that you would likely have the free card if not the paid card so the benefit of the paid card relative to the free card is half what you state.

      • Paul74 says:

        5 Feb5 February 23:35

        Right, okay fair point.
        I used last year’s voucher in place of a c£250 room rate last year. I work on the basis that I’m likely to get c£200’s worth from it. The status can get some good and even excellent benefits in Crowne Plazas. Nonetheless though, I take your point about the earning rate when compared to the no fee one.

  • BJ says:

    5 Feb5 February 08:48

    Yes, but if you stick to spend just over the £10k mark you could otherwise save the £99 fee and yield alternate benefits elsewhere that might amount to the same or better benefits than your free night. But if you are happy with it and as Lyn shows huge value can be obtained then that’s fine . My point is not that you cannot benefit well at £10k spend but that to make this card fantastic compared to the free card you have to spend loads more than £10k.

• Luckyjim says:

  5 Feb5 February 06:45

  I can’t remember. Do the bonus points count towards status?

  • Genghis says:

    5 Feb5 February 06:47

    No

    • Rob says:

      5 Feb5 February 09:53

      You don’t need to remember because it’s written down clearly in the article 🙂

      Twice

• Neil says:

  5 Feb5 February 06:50

  To clarify, can both cards be held at the same time and the bonuses be awarded. A premium card holder here and with the recent changes in Amex, my credit card turnover has dropped significantly. Happy to take out a free card for the bonus….

  • Andrew L says:

    5 Feb5 February 07:51

    Yes you can hold both cards at the same time and collect both bonus point promotions….as long as you get accepted for both of course!

• Paul says:

  5 Feb5 February 06:52

  I have never really understood the love in with the £99 version. If you take away the bonus points and focus on service then this is by some way the worst paid credit card on the market. I haven’t had one for 28 months or so but I still don’t think they have an app, or Apple Pay compatibility ( I could be wrong) but don’t have problems with this card. Call centres were dire, response to even minor issues shockingly bad.

  • Andrew L says:

    5 Feb5 February 07:01

    They do have an app now.

  • Waribai says:

    5 Feb5 February 07:19

    Please do drop a clue…!

    • Andrew says:

      5 Feb5 February 09:12

      Top line is that a business is charged around £600 if a complaint gets referred to and is investigated by the FOS. Reality isn’t quite so straightforward with bulk discounting and the FOS is becoming a bit more clued up on individuals weaponising the published tariff.

      Some organisations have done the figures and worked out that it’s cheaper to simply pay £250 for a reasonable complaint than to actually have trained staff to get things right first time.

  • CraigyC says:

    5 Feb5 February 07:47

    While not directly, you can use curve for Apple Pay now so it works with through that.

    • TGLoyalty says:

      5 Feb5 February 08:00

      Yep there was always a way before too with Revolut, now tricky.

      Curve + this card = do whatever you want.

      • Ash says:

        5 Feb5 February 10:11

        What are the best manaffacture spend options? Can it be used at the post-office for monese?

  • Genghis says:

    5 Feb5 February 07:50

    The ongoing earn rate on the card is decent. In £ terms:
    Assuming £10k spend, £250 (free night) + £80 (points) less £99 fee = £231 return, net 2.31%
    On the Virgin black, assuming 1p/point, and no value placed for me on the upgrade voucher since I’m not gold and don’t want to fly in Y, break even point is:
    250 + 0.008x – 99 = 0.015x – 160
    311 = 0.007x
    X = £44,400 of spend over which the v black card is better than ihg.

  • Rob says:

    5 Feb5 February 09:52

    Unfortunately you need to take this trade off. Only smaller card companies with low overheads are efficient enough to be able to pay for points too. Barclaycard and Lloyds / MBNA are monolithic institutions who, I am 99% certain, employ more HR staff alone than Capital On Tap etc have total staff.

• BJ says:

  5 Feb5 February 06:57

  I posted in the Bits article how to get multiple free IHG nights without taking out any cards

  • Luckyjim says:

    5 Feb5 February 07:08

    By staying three nights in September? The forth night is always three if booking with points.

    • Andrew L says:

      5 Feb5 February 07:14

      September is an awfully long time off!
      O/T My Hilton Visa credit card expires in March. It will be interesting to see is Barclays send me a new Hilton Honors card or just convert it to a basic unbranded Platinum card.

      • Jane says:

        5 Feb5 February 07:19

        They sent me a new Hilton card in October so I would have thought you would get one too.

      • BJ says:

        5 Feb5 February 07:20

        They will send you a new one.

        • Andrew L says:

          5 Feb5 February 07:41

          Good, thanks botn. I was worried due to the fact thst the Hilton Honors card has been closed to new applicants for so long.

    • BJ says:

      5 Feb5 February 07:18

      From now through 30 September.

    • BJ says:

      5 Feb5 February 07:23

      It’s got nothing to do with cards or points, it’s simply a booking promotion.

    • Lynn says:

      5 Feb5 February 07:45

      Really, I didn’t know that. I knew the Hilton had five for four nights on points and have taken advantage of that several times. Where can I find details of this please?

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