New IHG Promo for 2015: Q&A

IHG has announced a new version of the Big Win or the Into The Nights promotion for Jan 1 to April 30 and this time it’s basically the same thing as the Big Win but it’s called the “Set Your Nights” promotion (register here).

All these promotions are built on the same broken technology, but the good news is that I know what to expect. So I’m going to handle this post as a Q&A style for this promotion, that I’ll refer back to. If you have questions, please let me know.

The Basics

Each person gets a customized promotion including small tasks to complete which give bonuses. Then there is a big bonus for completing a set number of tasks.

For me, I have to complete 6 of 7 tasks to get the big bonus. But from both completing the individual tasks and the big bonus (from completing a set number of tasks) I can get 60,000 points.

For Carrie, she has to complete 5 of 5 tasks. When she completes everything she’ll have received a total of 50,000 points from all the bonuses.

 

What does this promo look like? How is it different?

“Each Offer must be completed between 1 January 2015 and 30 April 2015 (both dates inclusive).”

It’s not much different than the Big Win, and the only real differences from the current Into The Nights promotion is that the you don’t get the option of two Free Nights. So, it’s still good, but the Into The Nights (ending Dec 31) is by far the best promotion, and infact I’ve declared it the best promotion ever.

This promotion also defaults to 50,000+ for 3 nights. For a new account, the details are: 3 nights, app booking, 1 weekend stay (two nights), 2 Holiday Inn stays. To complete them all in three nights you need to do 1 Holiday Inn that’s two nights over weekend nights (Fri/Sat/Sun), and 1 other Holiday Inn stay.

This is a possible option for new accounts, and low activity accounts, but certainly there is a wide range. Many well-used accounts can have 11 nights, or 17 nights as one of the possible options. But if you’re lucky you’ll only have to complete “6 of 7 tasks”, for example, and leave the hardest one alone.

Usually half of the total bonus is from the tasks, and the other half from completing the set number of tasks. For example, I’ll earn 25,000 points from completing little tasks, then another 25,000 for completing 6 or 7 tasks.

Registration is required before booking. You will get an email once you’re registered. Last time IHG screwed a few people out of their points because registration wasn’t sucessful on the first day of the promotion. But I doubt this will be an issue this time because the platform is identical. (Again, you can register here).

 

Can a stay count toward two different tasks?

YES! This is the key to doing the entire thing as efficiently as possible. If your goal says to “stay at two Holiday Inn hotels”, and “book two stays with the app”, well, if you book both Holiday Inn stays on the app, you’ll be completing both tasks with each stay.

This is still basic, but you need to know that there is a big difference between a stay and a night. A stay can be multiple nights on one account.

 

Can I book two nights separately to get two stays?

Not two nights in a row with the same account,. As dumb as IHG is, you can not just book two different reservations back to back. The computer will recognize that you just stayed two nights in a row and count it as one stay.

However, if you have a gap in paid stays, that will be two stays.

Also, if you and another person/account have two different reservations, those will indeed be two different stays; one on each account. For example, if I check in one night, and Carrie checks in the next night with her account, it will be two different stays.

Note that in my experience IHG (remember they ain’t too bright) will count both stays on one account and make the other person’s stay non-qualifying. You simply have to fill out a missing points form. Not a big deal, just look out for it.

 

How does the weekend stay work?

It needs to be a two night stay on the weekend nights. For example, a stay with Friday and Saturday, or Saturday and Sunday night. This will only count towards 1 stay no matter how you do it, but it will count as two nights. And it could still count as a specific brand, like the Holiday Inn stay.

 

If I don’t have to complete all my tasks, which one do I skip?

Well, the obvious answer would be the one that adds the most nights. Although each task has a different bonus. So if the difference in nights isn’t huge, you could choose to keep the task that’s easier, or the one that gives more points. In general, I try to keep earning 5,000 points under $25.

 

Which rates complete promotions? Does “Cash + Points” count?

Paid rates only, and the “cash + points” does not count. In general, corporate codes should work, but the terms and conditions officially say “most” corporate rates count. Guess you would have to inquire with your company or IHG for more details. But otherwise, paid nights work.

The one exception is that I did get a task that says to redeem points.

 

Why the International/Globetrotter task is misleading:

The tasks that says “stay at three hotels outside your country” technically only counts each country once. This is dumb because the last/current promo didn’t explain this in the terms and conditions when I signed up. And yet, IHG didn’t seem to care. So know from my mistake:

1) Each country counts once.

and 2) click through to the terms and conditions. Last time I did and it didn’t help. But this time it actually gives relevant info.

 

Does a Holiday Inn Express count towards my Holiday Inn goal?

NO. Holiday Inn Express and Holiday Inn are two different brands. But what’s confusing is the following…

If the tasks says “Holiday Inn”, then Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Resorts, and Holiday Inn Vacation Club hotels all count as Holiday Inn. Basically, every “Holiday Inn” except “Express” hotels.

However, there is a task that specifically requires Holiday Inn Vacation Clubs. In this case, regular “Holiday Inn” hotels and “Holiday Inn Resorts” do not count. This is terrible because that limits you to the following hotels:

• Holiday Inn Club Vacations Orlando – Orange Lake Resort
• Holiday Inn Club Vacations Las Vegas – Desert Club Resort
• Holiday Inn Club Vacations Myrtle Beach – South Beach
• Holiday Inn Club Vacations Gatlinburg – Smoky Mountain Resort
• Holiday Inn Club Vacations Cape Canaveral – Beach Resort
• Holiday Inn Club Vacations Williamsburg Resort

 

Is this promotion a good deal?

In terms of hotel promotions, it’s one of the best. The only reason it’s overshadowed is because the Into The Nights is somehow better. Earning 50,000+ points from 3 paid nights is incredible. You can get Holiday Inn hotels for very cheap. The last Europe sale had many hotels in Spain for $36 (including taxes). If played right, this can be an incredible deal.

The last year of IHG promos has shown some of the best hotel promotions we’ve ever seen. Plus, the 50,000 points is a bonus on top of regular points earned. Plus, the credit card gives 10% of redeemed points back.

50,000 points is enough for 10 nights on IHG’s PointBreaks or enough for one night at the InterContinental Bora Bora. Doesn’t matter what range you are on the frugal redemption scale, this is surely a good deal.

This is assuming that you need more hotel points. Like I say, if your hotels are covered with points already, why pay?

That being said, these promotions are targetted and some require a lot more stays than other. Again, the default one is at least 50,000 points, but for those going for status or what not, the hoops required can be quite high. From my experience, there is quite a range in the promotion.

 

Conclusion

Surely I haven’t answered all questions, so feel free to comment below regarding this promotion. I’ll try to update this post as I learn more.