10-second tip: how to earn EVEN MORE from the new IHG promo.
Things you probably already know:
1. The latest “Into the Nights” promo from IHG Rewards is awesome.
2. It’s so good that it might make sense to book a couple of stays you don’t even need in order to earn the bonus.
3. If you aren’t already an IHG Rewards member, you can sign up and register for the promo in one fell swoop – then you can get in on this great deal, too. (If you are already a member, you can see what your personalized offer is here.)
4. The main idea is that by completing 2-3 cheap stays at IHG’s inexpensive hotels (such as Holiday Inn), you can parlay those stays into a bonus of two free nights that can be used at IHG’s more expensive properties (such as the Intercontinental).
5. The bonus of two free nights expires after a year, so if you aren’t sure if you will be able to use the free nights before then, you might not want to dive into this promo.
Now here’s something you may not know (or maybe you knew, but you forgot):
When you book a IHG hotel through the Barclaycard RewardsBoost site, you can earn 4 points per dollar.
Or you can earn 6% cash back when you book an IHG hotel through the Mr. Rebates site.
Sure, it’s not a lot of cash, but hey…it’s probably just enough for a drink at the bar, once you check into the fabulous property you’ll where you’ll be staying in a few months…as a result of this promo.
Cheers!
NOTE: Some readers (see comments below) have booked stays through cash back portals that ended up not counting towards a promo! This has never happened to me, but I read the terms and conditions carefully, and it appears that the decision about what constitutes a “qualifying room rate” can be made at IHG’s sole discretion. Here are the terms (bolding mine):
Points are not issued for Stays at the following reduced room rates (Non-Qualifying Room Rates or Non-Qualifying Stay): net wholesale individual and group rate, certain package rates, employee discount rate, friends and family rate, crew rate, special discounted contract rates, seasonal worker/crew rate, 50% travel club discount rate, travel industry discount rate, 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 a Qualifying Room Rate at IHG’s discretion.
This creates just enough doubt in my mind that it might not be worth it to go through a portal.
What has been your experience?
I wish “Into the Nights” didn’t have so much coverage. I admit t’s strictly a case of sours grapes as I have to have to do 20 nights, 18 stays with bonus point breakfast package, 3 Saturday stays, etc. to get 50K points total. It seems like the rest of the world gets more with two or three nights.
Carl P – I agree, that is a frustrating feeling! And your offer sounds crazy!!
BEWARE — using a cash back portal may cause your stay to post as non-qualifying. I completely stopped using cash bacsk portals for IHG stays about 4-5 months ago.
Gene – Thanks for the heads-up. I’ll edit my post to include your warning.
My offer was for 8 nights,:( it’s not that great for me and won’t be doing it.
Scott – Yeah, that doesn’t seem to be worth it.
Thanks for the Mr Rebate tip! 🙂
Mark – Note that a couple of people here in the comments have reported that cash back portals did not work for them Personally I have never had a problem, but just something to be aware of!
I second that on cash back portals. I had a couple of stays through Mr Rebates that posted as non-qualifying and Priority Club customer service wouldn’t budge and reverse it. They reversed it one time but not after that. I’ve made hundreds of dollars through cash back portals so maybe I was flagged or something, but use it as a caution.
Dale – Thank you!
Anyone experience issues using Upromise? I believe they offer 6% as well.
non-specific to this but I stayed in a lot of club carlson properties last year and used Mr Rebates every time, never had a problem. This sounds like an IHG thing so don’t let it detract you from using these portals on other hotels.
Clicking through these sites brings you to the IHG site and you’re booking regular rates, Government, AARP, AAA, etc. Should be no issues.