IHG

Tag Archives for IHG.

*Gay gasp!* IHG says I can stay local for Set Your Sights promo

Pardon me if this post sounds incredibly naïve.

But I was under the impression that for the IHG Set Your Sights promo that I would have to go to a different state to complete it.

Now it seems I have a choice. 

This morning, I got an email:

They know

They know

What the hee-haw?

I’d assumed that my recent acquisition of the IHG Rewards Select credit card would not count toward this promo because I used a targeted email from IHG and not the link that was on the promo page – which I assumed was coded with a tracker that would link back to the promo. Well, you know what they say about assumptions…

Resigned to completing the other 3 out of 4 requirements, I quickly saw that I’d have to trek to Connecticut to play this round.

But now I have the choice.

CT vs NY

Ha, I will in no way debate the pros and cons of those two places, don’t worry.

But now I could simply check into the Holiday Inn Express here in Brooklyn – with a daily rate of ~$85 a night – and save myself a whole heap of cash… but lose out on 12,000 IHG points.

Screenshot 2015-02-14 11.21.20

Tempting

~$405 total

~$405 total

The only hitch right now is that my upgrade to Platinum hasn’t been applied yet, and I don’t even have the card in hand. If those two things were in place, I think I’d just go ahead and pull the trigger on this… and the rates when those two things coincide with each other might be very different than $85/night.

The other thing is that I will miss out on 12,000 IHG points by staying local. But then again, I just got 2,000 points for opening the card (that I wasn’t expecting) and my bonus was 10,000 points higher than the offer in the promo… so there’s my extra 12,000 points right there.

Now it’s just a matter of how crazy for points I want/can afford (with money and time) to get, how the rates change, and when my upgrade will be applied.

I was also kinda sorta curious about experiencing the EVEN brand but I think I can wait until they launch their NYC flagship location. If I had to. 😉

Bottom line

IHG is watching! And now I can choose whether to go to Connecticut and get 12,000 extra points or stay in NYC, get less points, and save money.

I’ll wait until 1). I have the card in hand so I can meet minimum spend and earn 5 points per dollar and 2). my Platinum status upgrade is applied. I want that 50% bonus!

I’m having fun with this promo and getting more familiar with a new (to me) program. And, in a bigger picture kind of way, it seems like mattress running is becoming the new mileage running (going after segments as opposed to miles flown if that makes any sense). Until hotels go revenue based too, of course.

Has anyone else been mattress running with the new IHG Set Your Sights promo? Worth it or nah? 

Should I go to a different state for my IHG Set Your Sights Promo?

A new (to me) program

A new (to me) program

AKA how crazy should I be to get some points? 

IHG is rather new to me, so I’m really open to pretty much anything with regard to the Rewards Club program.

I know the Set Your Sights promo is personalized, and, given that I have no paid stays for the past couple of years, or status, or anything, mine is pretty dismal:

My IHG Set Your Sights promo offer

My IHG Set Your Sights promo offer

But I gotta start somewhere. I am hoping that the next one will be a little more… favorable, but when I break this down, I can complete 3 out of 4 in one fell swoop… it just involves going to Connecticut.

Running the numbers on the promo

Read More

I broke down and got the Chase IHG Rewards Club credit card

a beach with palm trees and a pool

Update: The version of the Chase IHG card described below is NO LONGER AVAILABLE. Check here for the latest card deals

Yes, I fell in a moment of weakness.

Chase has been targeting me relentlessly for months about opening up a dang IHG credit card with them.

With regularity, I get these emails:

Chase IHG targeted email

Chase IHG targeted email

They interested me for a number of reasons:

  • I have no status with IHG
  • I don’t have any paid stays within the past 2 years
  • My only stays have been reward stays
  • I only had 550 “orphan points” that have been sitting there forever
  • I already have 5 open credit cards with Chase – why are they trying to push a 6th one so hard?
The emails from Chase

The emails from Chase

I got this email in September, October, November, December, and January. I probably would’ve gotten one in February too – six months in a row – had I not pulled the trigger.

Why I got the IHG credit card

Read More

Hotel Review: InterContinental Sydney, Australia

From the way overdue files…

This time last year, I celebrated the start of 2014 in Sydney at the InterContinental.

I got in on the annual Daily Getaways promo to buy 150,000 IHG points – and promptly redeemed them for three nights in a “King Standard City Side Room.”

Now, I expected the area downtown to be crazy for New Years Eve. The location was amazing.

Location of the InterContinental Sydney

Location of the InterContinental Sydney

I don’t remember how, but I was somehow Gold with IHG at the time. This was with zero stays – maybe I status matched? Whatever the case, I am still Gold with them today despite not having any paid stays in 2013 or 2014. Mysteries of the universe.

I thought maybe, just maybe, I’d get some sort of upgrade for being Gold during a time where there would be a lot of tourists with no status. I didn’t expect it, but thought I had a ghost of a chance.

Check-in

Read More

Hotel Review: Holiday Inn @ SCL

Approaching the hotel

Outside the hotel

After flying LGA-ORD on American and MEX-LIM-EZE-SCL on LAN, I pretty much felt like a pile of garbage. I had a day-long layover to look forward to at SCL and booked a room at the Holiday Inn by redeeming a free night from hotels.com, who has a buy 10, get one free program – effectively 10% off all bookings made through the website. Anyway, I cleared immigration, already had my Chilean reciprocity from another trip earlier in the year (which is now a moot point since it is now free to visit Chile!) and made it through customs in about thirty minutes. I was so exhausted, my eyes were just about crossing trying to read the signs.

Read More