IHG One Rewards Discussion

[exceladdict]

Did you work out the reason why you were ineligible

It just said something like promotion invalid and then had a space to add a promo code.
I had recently signed up to the bonus nights promo (stay 10 get 20) so perhaps they prohibited stacking?

 

[VPS]

It just said something like promotion invalid and then had a space to add a promo code.
I had recently signed up to the bonus nights promo (stay 10 get 20) so perhaps they prohibited stacking?

I just tried to apply as well and said I wasn’t eligible

 

[Gold Member]

Did you work out the reason why you were ineligible

I think it’s targetted to Diamonds who have fallen to Platinum. Lower status levels will be considered ineligible.

 

[Gold Member]

15% off award stays of 3 nights or less for stays until April 7th. Booking window opens in the coming days and must be completed by February 12th.

 

[Aeryn]

I am trying to book a room at either the Voco in Brisbane via the IGH website, the price shown is AUD$215.

If I proceed to check-out using paid option, I'm told will be charged AUD$215.

But if I choose to use points + pay the website says I will be charged in the hotels currency which is USD very odd for an Aussie hotel. Between the poor DCC exchange rate and foreign transaction fees it will be more expensive to book using points plus pay than paying for the room outright.

Is this a random glitch or some new change in policy where cash component of points redemption has to be made in USD?

Does anyone know if it is possible to call the hotel and book using points + pay directly over the phone in AUD? Is there a help desk to email?

 

[Zero]

I am trying to book a room at either the Voco in Brisbane via the IGH website, the price shown is AUD$215.

If I proceed to check-out using paid option, I'm told will be charged AUD$215.

But if I choose to use points + pay the website says I will be charged in the hotels currency which is USD very odd for an Aussie hotel. Between the poor DCC exchange rate and foreign transaction fees it will be more expensive to book using points plus pay than paying for the room outright.

Is this a random glitch or some new change in policy where cash component of points redemption has to be made in USD?

Does anyone know if it is possible to call the hotel and book using points + pay directly over the phone in AUD? Is there a help desk to email?

In the IHG program, "points & cash" is exactly the same as a full points booking, but you just purchase a multiple of 5000 points at the time of booking and then immediately redeem them.

This is always charged in USD regardless of the location of the hotel. The hotel is not involved in this and will see your booking to be exactly the same as a normal award stay.

After purchasing the points and making the booking, you can immediately cancel and get the points into your account (unless you stupidly chose a date where the hotel has made award bookings non-refundable). The points purchase is final and refund of the cash is not possible.

The price of points sold through the "points & cash" method is typically 0.6 US cents but varies by hotel. If you need to buy points in this way, and the hotel you want to use them at is priced at more than 0.6c, you should just find another hotel which is priced at 0.6c or less, buy the points and cancel the booking then book at your desired hotel.

As IHG has frequent points sales where you can directly buy points at 0.5 US cents, you should only buy points through "points & cash" if you are desperate (once in a while, a discount may be offered for "points & cash" which drops the price to below 0.5c).

 

[SYD]

Between the poor DCC exchange rate and foreign transaction fees it will be more expensive to book using points plus pay than paying for the room outright.

Further to the previous comment, there should be no “DCC” (if you’re referring to Dynamic Currency Conversion). You just pay in USD. Preferably with a CC or DC that doesn’t charge an international tx fee.

When AUD is healthier and you need a couple of extra points to make up an award stay, P+P can make sense.

 

[Aeryn]

Thanks for the explanations.

We have been burning our IHG points accumulated solely from stays as our travel plans for the next 2 years will see few if any IHG stays and we wanted to use points up rather than see them expire.

This booking was the first time our points balance points has been unable to cover the cost for an entire stay.

After a bit of trial and error and an unhelpful call to IHG support my partner worked out a way to avoid paying anything in USD, pay less overall and get double the welcome drinks.

Firstly we decided to book the Indigo Brisbane instead of Voco. A more expensive hotel but quieter from experience.

The trip is for 2 nights and there were points rooms available for both nights at 31k points per night for either a king or a queen room however we only had 32.5k points left to burn.

Paying cash for a King room Friday night was $230 and Saturday was $320.

Points + pay was quoted as 15.5k points plus AU $160 per night charged in USD. Total being 31k points + USD $207 indicating a 3% margin converting AUD to USD over the actual exchange rate before any card surcharges. It was clear IHG was using points for the cheaper night and splitting the points and cost of the more expensive night across the stay.

So we ended up making two bookings Friday night in cash, and a separate booking for the Saturday night only in points. Total came out as 31k points plus AUD $230 saving $90 which will pay for a lovely dinner.

We could have saved a little more by booking queen for both nights, but didn’t want an issue where they might have upgraded one booking and not the other therefore King for nights both seemed sensible and it was better value for the points night.

Google also seems to suggest we likely wont have to move rooms if we call and have the hotel link the bookings. Not an issue if we do need to change rooms, as reception can store bags and we will be out most of Saturday anyway and checking back in means a second round of welcome drinks

Until such time as we have a lot of nights away in the one year where IHG is suitable for most of them, we will be free of loyalty shackles and looking solely at location, amenities and price over earning status with one hotel group.