A brief refresher course on some nice aspects of the InterContinental Hotels Group loyalty program:
1. There are lots of promos, and they are stackable. This is what I got for one night in Asheville last weekend:
- Qualifying Nights 1
- Earning Details 1,598 pts.
- Bonus Points Earned 799 pts.
- NEW MEMBER BONUS PROMOTION 3,000 pts.
- ANNIVERSARY BONUS OFFER 1,000 pts.
- New Stay Bonus 1,500 pts.
- ELITE MEMBER NEXT STAY BONUS 3,000 pts.
- ELITE MEMBER WINBACK BONUS 3,000 pts.
- ELITE MEMBER NEXT STAY BONUS 3,000 pts.
- ELITE MEMBER NEXT STAY BONUS 3,000 pts.
- 1,000 BONUS POINTS FOR 60 DAYS 1,000 pts.
- ANNIVERSARY BONUS OFFER 1,000 pts.
- WELCOME BACK BONUS 1,500 pts.
- NEW MEMBER BONUS PROMOTION 1,500 pts.
That’s 25,000 points for those of you keeping track at home. I’m also participating in the Big Win program, which will get me another 100,000 after three more strategically booked stays. If you want to stack some promos, Gary Leff can point you in the right direction.
2. There is a non-publicized credit card offer for 80,000 points. The public offer is 60,000 points, but those in the know go here for the super top secret 80,000-point offer.
3. The PointBreaks program is pretty cool. Every few months IHG puts out a list of hotels where you can book stays for only 5,000 points per night, so the points earned via (1) and (2) above can go a long way. I’ve used mine to book the InterContinental in Managua. The best values–that is, the nice hotels in the bigger cities–tend to go quickly, so book early. The new list will be out on Monday. Cheers!
I’m sure you know this, but your readers may appreciate knowing that not all the promotional bonus points apply for a subsequent stay. Many of the promotions are only for the FIRST stay, but nothing thereafter. However, some promos are applicable for multiple stays, but you’ll get probably closer to ~5,000 extra IHG points for the subsequent stays (depending on which promotions apply to your account).
Good point, thanks!