Up until the coronavirus arrived, hotel loyalty programs were mostly running on autopilot when it came to promotions. Each program felt it was important to have an offer that rewarded its most loyal customers but the bonuses weren’t lucrative enough to drive incremental business. Instead, they were designed to keep customers from jumping ship to a different program.
For 2019, IHG dusted off its Accelerate promo for another run. To get bonus points, I needed to complete useless tasks like booking a Points & Cash reservation or paying for bonus points with my reservation.
Now it’s 2020 and the old rules don’t apply. Hotel occupancy rates are running from 20% to 40% in the U.S. and all the major chains want is for people to start traveling again.
IHG hotels launched a new promo today that rewards double points to anyone who stays at one of its hotels between now and September. Guests that visit more often can earn 3x points on their third stay and 4x points for the fourth and each subsequent stay.
A flat bonus point structure for IHG promotions is unusual. This is something I’d expect from Hilton, which just extended its winter promotion until September.
Here’s the fine print of IHG’s promotion:
On your first Qualifying Stay (a minimum 1-night stay booked under a Qualifying Rate, with total spend exceeding US $30) after registering for the promotion, you will be awarded double points, up to a maximum of 100,000 points for that stay. On your second qualifying stay, you will be awarded double points, up to a maximum of 100,000 points for that stay. On your third qualifying stay, you will be awarded triple points, up to a maximum of 100,000 points for that stay. On your 4th qualifying stay and for each stay beyond the 4th stay during the Promotion Period, you will be awarded quadruple points, up to a maximum of 100,000 points for each stay. The maximum number of bonus points that a member can earn through this Promotion, for all stays combined, is 400,000.
If you value IHG points at 1/2 cent each, you could possibly earn up to $2,000 worth of bonus points with this promo. Of course, that depends on how often you’ll stay at an IHG branded hotel between now and September 8, 2020.
We’re not planning on making any hotel stays between now and September but for those who have to or choose to travel in the next few months, IHG has officially started the bonus points competition between the hotel chains with this promotion.
#stayhealthy #staysafe #washyourhands
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This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary
