Leaked: Benefits of IHG’s new reward programme

[strickers]

Looks like we might have two types of qualifying night?

3. What constitutes an Elite qualifying “night”?

This includes nights stayed on loyalty Qualifying Rates, Reward Nights and Free Nights.

A loyalty Qualifying Rate is a rate that is eligible to earn IHG One Rewards points or airline miles. Qualifying Rates include most business and leisure rates; please see the programme Terms and Conditions for details.

[TGLoyalty]

FYI from TPG

“The IHG spokesperson confirmed that elite tier benefits apply to paid and award stays equally. And, for tier benefits, it doesn’t matter whether you earned your elite status via nights, elite-qualifying points, a cobranded credit card or a status match.”

[aseftel]

To expand a bit on my analysis of the terms excluding reward nights for some benefits (I agree that reward nights count towards nights requalification and milestones):

The choice of amenity is only offered on Qualified Stays and is non-transferrable

Annual Lounge Membership available on Qualified Stays only

Then in the main terms:

17. A “Stay” is defined as one night or consecutive nights at the same hotel, regardless of frequency of check-in/check-out. A Stay is a “Qualified Stay” when a Member pays a Qualifying Rate for that Stay.

18. Qualifying Rates include most business and leisure rates, such as Advanced Purchase rates, Best Flexible rates, Global sales negotiated rates (including but not limited to Corporate Gold rates), national/regional/local government rates, and specified leisure rates as confirmed by SCH’s reservation systems. In Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Greater China (Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan) hotels and resorts, Qualifying Rates include all locally negotiated rates. In all other parts of the world, Qualifying Rates include locally negotiated rates only if those rates are discounted less than 30%.

Points are not issued for Stays at the following reduced room rates, which are Non-Qualifying Rates, and which make a Stay a Non-Qualifying Stay: net wholesale individual and group rates paid for by a master account/folio, certain package rates, the employee discount rate, the friends and family rate, the crew rate, special discounted contract rates, the seasonal worker/crew rate, the 50% travel club discount rate, the distressed passenger rate, IHG Rewards Club Reward Nights/Airline Hotel Reward rate, most rates booked through most third-party web sites, complimentary hotel Stays, and any other rates not defined as Qualifying Rates.

Emphasis mine on the last quote. I wouldn’t be surprised either by poorly-drafted terms (they use qualifying and qualified seemly interchangably, and Eligible Rate in the Confirmable Suite Upgrade terms isn’t well-defined) or a misinformed spokesperson. Perhaps @Rob can clear it up as part of the HfP analysis of the change.

[MKB]

TGLoyalty wrote:

@MKB The diamond welcome choice is Breakfast OR drink/snack OR points. Platinum retains points or Drink/snack.

I know. Did you think I said breakfast was the only option rather than “only an option”? Confused.

[marks7389]

We have a redemption stay coming up later in the year. It will be mostly on my IHG points as a Spire/Diamond member but my wife also has some points that we’re looking to use, so planning to book one night under her account (she’s a Gold member) and then see if the hotel can link the bookings so we remain in the same room in order to avoid the ridiculous $5/1000 points transfer charge.

Does anyone have any experience of doing this? In terms of the benefits such as free breakfast is it likely we would be excluded from that for night booked under her account?

[strickers]

marks7389 wrote:

We have a redemption stay coming up later in the year. It will be mostly on my IHG points as a Spire/Diamond member but my wife also has some points that we’re looking to use, so planning to book one night under her account (she’s a Gold member) and then see if the hotel can link the bookings so we remain in the same room in order to avoid the ridiculous $5/1000 points transfer charge.

Does anyone have any experience of doing this? In terms of the benefits such as free breakfast is it likely we would be excluded from that for night booked under her account?

Email the hotel and ask.

[SteveJ]

MKB wrote:

Lounge access when you’re upgraded to a Club room at Crowne Plazas doesn’t seem to be mentioned any more, so I guess that has gone at some point too.

Was this ever a documented benefit? Upgrades were always best efforts, and not always with club floor / club lounge access?

[Peter K]

SteveJ wrote:

MKB wrote:

Lounge access when you’re upgraded to a Club room at Crowne Plazas doesn’t seem to be mentioned any more, so I guess that has gone at some point too.

Was this ever a documented benefit? Upgrades were always best efforts, and not always with club floor / club lounge access?

I’m sure I’ve read before on HfP of those upgraded to a club room but not given lounge access.

[MKB]

I’ve probably only done Crowne Plaza about a dozen times, but I’ve had upgrades with Club access on most. But it’s always a one-night stay, which helps.

[TGLoyalty]

CP usually provided club access if they upgraded you to a club room. Being upgraded to a club room at an IC doesn’t include usually club unless they’re being really generous.

[NorthernLass]

Wonder if we’ll start seeing price rises now …

• This reply was modified 54 years, 4 months ago by .

[BrianN]

Do we know yet what status the ihg creation premium credit card provides under the new scheme?

I’m now diamond but I won’t retain it after this year so wondering if I’ll drop down to platinum or gold as a result of holding the fee paying creation credit card.

Thanks, Brian

[aseftel]

VFTW picked up on the ‘no lounge access on reward nights’ raised with IHG and has reported that the terms will be updated. No mention of the welcome benefit exclusion in the article though.

https://viewfromthewing.com/wow-new-ihg-elite-program-has-confirmed-suites-lounge-access-and-breakfast/

IHG One Rewards tells me, “Confirming that if a member selects Club Lounge access, they can use lounge access on any stay, assuming they book directly through IHG. This is true, even on an reward night.” IHG will be updating its terms to make this clear.

• This reply was modified 54 years, 4 months ago by .

[TGLoyalty]

BrianN wrote:

Do we know yet what status the ihg creation premium credit card provides under the new scheme?

I’m now diamond but I won’t retain it after this year so wondering if I’ll drop down to platinum or gold as a result of holding the fee paying creation credit card.

Thanks, Brian

Platinum

[BuildBackBetter]

NorthernLass wrote:

Wonder if we’ll start seeing price rises now …

Someone has to pay for those free breakfasts with all those rolled-over status holders and credit card holders.

[aseftel]

BuildBackBetter wrote:

NorthernLass wrote:

Wonder if we’ll start seeing price rises now …

Someone has to pay for those free breakfasts with all those rolled-over status holders and credit card holders.

I don’t think it’ll be that big a deal. It’s breakfast instead of a welcome drink and snack so the cost nets off – and the marginal cost of an extra person at a breakfast buffet is pretty slim. They also now don’t have to provide a welcome amenity to Golds. More tangible will be the loss of upsell revenue, I don’t know how material that is though.

[marks7389]

aseftel wrote:

I don’t think it’ll be that big a deal. It’s breakfast instead of a welcome drink and snack so the cost nets off – and the marginal cost of an extra person at a breakfast buffet is pretty slim. They also now don’t have to provide a welcome amenity to Golds. More tangible will be the loss of upsell revenue, I don’t know how material that is though.

I think you’re right that its not a big deal as it will only be Diamond Status Holders, and the point is to attract the level of loyalty (and therefore increased revenues) to get there.

It is every night of the stay though (at least from the clarification I saw on the Kimpton site), whereas the welcome drink and snack is a one-off, so clearly won’t simply net off for longer stays.

[NorthernLass]

I’ve re-priced a couple of stays beyond June today and both would now cost more without breakfast than the price I originally booked at including breakfast (CP Manchester and Indigo Venice). I know prices do fluctuate but it’s not a great sign, especially for non-diamonds.

@marks7389, have you got a link to the Kimpton site – I’m dying to know if the Kimpton Seafire is going to offer the breakfast option as it’s normally anything up to £100 per room per day!

[NorthernLass]

https://www.ihg.com/kimptonhotels/content/us/en/kimpton-loyalty?msclkid=dc1659b6bc4c11ec9a9f7c134e05933e

It seems to be saying here that all Kimptons will offer free breakfast on qualified stays.

This should offset the $80 resort fee at the Seafire slightly!

• This reply was modified 54 years, 4 months ago by .

[slidey]

Is there zero chance of getting breakfast on stays in early may? Free breakfast at the Thalasso wouldve been nice 🙂

[Andrew J]

slidey wrote:

Is there zero chance of getting breakfast on stays in early may? Free breakfast at the Thalasso wouldve been nice 🙂

The breakfast benefit is “from May” with other benefits “from June” so you might be lucky depending on when in May they start it.

[NorthernLass]

I’ve just emailed the Indigo Bath enquiring when they will be implementing the benefit as I am staying there on the early May bank holiday weekend.

[dst87]

I’m also very interested in when the breakfast offer will launch. I have a couple of stays in May (4th and 11th) so… will be interesting. Though new cities – I’m most likely to want to head to local places for breakfast anyway.

[slidey]

What page is the details about breakfast being from may on? I may play dumb at checkin 😀

[Andrew J]

slidey wrote:

What page is the details about breakfast being from may on? I may play dumb at checkin 😀

It’s in the IHG One FAQs –

2. What does the new Free Breakfast Welcome Amenity Choice benefit for Diamond Elite members include? How does it work?

As part of the Welcome Amenity choice at check-in, beginning in May, Diamond Elite members now have the additional choice of a free daily hot breakfast for up to two guests. Hotels reserve the right to exclude certain menu items, such as alcoholic beverages or specialty coffee, from the free breakfast benefit. This benefit is available at all IHG brands, except limited-service brands that already offer breakfast, and at Candlewood Suites, Holiday Inn Club Vacations, select Kimpton properties, InterContinental Alliance Resorts (Las Vegas and Macau)​ and Mr. and Mrs. Smith properties.