First batch of Mr & Mrs Smith hotel redemptions now available on ihg.com

IHG Rewards Club, the loyalty scheme for Holiday Inn, Crowne Plaza etc, has now made the first batch of ‘Mr & Mrs Smith’ luxury hotel redemptions available to book following a short trial.

All 400 properties taking part will be available by the first week of December. You can learn more about the partnership on ihg.com here.

What is Mr & Mrs Smith?

Originally launched as a pure booking agent, Mr & Mrs Smith has evolved over the years to become a ‘marketing brand’, in the same way as Design Hotels or Small Luxury Hotels of the World.  Hotels remain fully independent but benefit from being part of a broader marketing consortium.

Recent years have seen Small Luxury Hotels become a Hyatt partner and Design Hotels become a Marriott partner. Do you spot a trend?

This new deal, at a stroke, doubles the number of luxury hotels where you can earn and redeem IHG Rewards Club points.  Many will be unique boutique properties.

Amazingly, it also puts IHG into 11 countries where it didn’t previously have a single hotel.

Are there status benefits for IHG Rewards Club elite members?

Yes there are. To quote:

• InterContinental Ambassador and Royal Ambassador members, plus Kimpton Inner Circle members, will receive: (a) complimentary room upgrade when available, and (b) Goldsmith welcome amenity when available
• Elite IHG Rewards Club members will receive their tier Bonus Points on eligible room rates (10% Gold Elite, 50% Platinum Elite, 100% Spire Elite)
• All IHG Rewards Club members booking through IHG channels will receive select BlackSmith program benefits

Are these redemptions a good deal?

You’re expecting me to say ‘No’. However ….. it’s not bad.

IHG is using dynamic pricing, and you get around 0.45p per IHG Rewards Club point vs the cost of cash booking at ihg.com. Here is an example at The St Mawes Hotel in Cornwall, for example:

…. which works out at 0.44p.

Oddly, despite dynamic pricing, IHG is only offering standard rooms for redemptions. This seems like a bit of an own goal.

Of course, 0.45p of value assumes that ihg.com is offering the best price. It seems to match the Mr & Mrs Smith rate but hotels may be offering special deals via their own websites. Buyer beware.

Note that redemptions must be cancelled more than 30 days prior to arrival. This is substantially worse than the standard IHG policy for its own hotels. Find out more on the IHG website here.

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IHG One Rewards update – April 2024:

Get bonus points: IHG One Rewards is offering 2,000 bonus points for every two cash nights you stay (not necessarily consecutive) between 1st April and 31st May 2024. You can read our full article here and you can register here.

New to IHG One Rewards?  Read our overview of IHG One Rewards here and our article on points expiry rules here. Our article on ‘What are IHG One Rewards points worth?’ is here.

Buy points: If you need additional IHG One Rewards points, you can buy them here.

Want to earn more hotel points?  Click here to see our complete list of promotions from IHG and the other major hotel chains or use the ‘Hotel Offers’ link in the menu bar at the top of the page.