Points are so easy to earn with the IHG Rewards (formerly Priority Club) program.
I don’t love IHG Rewards. Their terms and conditions exclude most elite benefits when staying on points (though some hotels will still give you benefits). There is also no option to spend more points or a better than base room on an award night. So at many properties no matter your status or points balance you can be stuck in a base room when claiming your reward for loyalty.
But piling on the points is something you can really do because they run many concurrent promotions, ostensibly targeted but that are often in practice open to everyone and can often be stacked on top of each other.
You don’t always know which promotions will post and which will not with this program, but in advance of a stay at one of their hotels (eg Intercontinental, Holiday Inn, Crowne Plaza) it’s wise to sign up for as many promotions as possible that you think you might be able to meet the qualifications for.
Back in September I shared a list of current promotions. Now Bart Lapers has begun an updated list.
New Stay Bonus – 4040
Elite Member Next Stay Bonus – 4047
Book With Us – 5147
Weekend Stay Bonus – 6796
Anniversary Bonus – 8000
1000 Point Gold Bonus – 8301
5000 Point Platinum Bonus – 8317
Welcome Back Bonus – 8994
New Member Bonus – 9944
2000 Bonus Points for 60 Days – 9990
Many of the previous offers disappeared, or were updated, so more are being discovered.
And of course these are on top of your customized ‘Big Win’ promotion offer.
Just go to the promo registration page and enter your account number and the code number of the promotion you want to register for.
Normally I advise signing up for promotions right away, in order to not have to remember to do it when you have a stay or unexpectedly stumble into a stay. In this case I advise otherwise — many of these promotions are time-limited, not by a specific date range but by a number of days from the time you register to earn the bonus. So wait until you’re about to have a stay and then register.
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Do award stays count for these promotions?
@Carl they generally do not
Gary,
THANK YOU!!!
There were a few that I didn’t have yet
Where are the time restrictions specified?
On my last trip to Europe on all award stays as a platinum member, I was upgraded to a Junior suite in at the Crown Plaza in Brugge and an executive room at the Holiday Inn Notre Dame. I was also provided with a complimentary welcome drink or 500 point bonus.
I actually really like the IHG program. They have more reasonable redemption rates than Hilton with easier to earn points/
I just tried registering for all of those. When I logged into my IHG account, they’re not showing up in my account. I received email confirmations that I’ve registered properly. Anyone else having this problem?
Your title got me excited, but it’s not accurate. You can’t stack bonuses on reward stays, only on paid stays, AFAIK.
I’ve got an upcoming stay on cash and points at the Palazzo with IHG points. I’m considering signing up for Ambassador status. Will Ambassador benefits apply for this stay if it’s on points?
@ Lee: Yes, everyone is having that problem. It is a crap shoot whether or not the points will post. For many people, the points are posting but we don’t know from here on out.
@ Eric: I don’t know, since it is an upcoming stay booked when you were not Ambassador. Here is the email you get right after signing up, for what it’s worth:
Dear _________,
InterContinental Ambassador is designed to deliver the most rewarding guest experience, make every trip that little bit more comfortable and a good deal more satisfying.
Your membership entitles you to rewards and benefits when you stay at InterContinental Hotels & Resorts properties.* Plus, as an Ambassador, you can also enjoy the privileges that being an Elite member in IHG® Rewards Club affords. A summary of your membership information is to the right and a new member kit will be sent to your address in the next 6 to 8 weeks. In the meantime, be sure to visit InterContinental.com/Ambassador for exclusive offers available to you.
*Valid on the second night of a minimum two-night weekend stay.
Fair enough. There are still rooms available for the same price. I could cancel, become an ambassador, and then rebook. However, I was offered the upgrade through ambassador by e-mail. Makes sense to me then that it would work the same. I guess my question more had to do with IHG and how benefits during award stays work. I am wondering if you get ambassador benefits if you are staying on points instead of paying.
Excellent! Thanks.
After racking up a lot of promo pointsI was on a long draught of “wrong membership type” or “already registered” on every code I tried. I was very glad to see eight of these registered for me. Now to see how many get points. I’ll find out soon enough since I have a stay this Monday night.
Thanks!
@Lee – Same for me. Hopefully just a timing issue.
The title is accurate but apologies if it was confusing — IHG Rewards is the name of the program, it wasn’t meant to suggest that bonuses would be earned on reward (singular) stays.
Less confusing if the full name of the program, IHG Rewards Club, were used in the title.
I earned 25,000 bonus points on three stays October 31 to December 31, 2013 using arbitrary bonus codes like these on top of the Big Win bonuses for another 30,000 bonus points on $180 in hotel spend.
I just registered for all of them. Thanks for the codes! I have 3 stays booked for next week!
They are not showing up in my offer status. I only show 2: The Big Win and a Venetian/Palazzo Offer.
@BMATT – They didn’t show up for me either, but I still got confirmation emails. It’ll be interesting to see what happens after my next stay.
Offers didn’t show up for me either, but I received the confirmation emails. Anyway, here is what did get credited for my hotel stay 2-4 Jan:
NEW MEMBER BONUS PROMOTION 3,000 pts.
2,000 BONUS POINTS FOR 60 DAYS 2,000 pts.
WELCOME BACK BONUS – Test Market Offer 3,000 pts.
ANNIVERSARY BONUS OFFER 1,000 pts.
New Stay Bonus 1,500 pts.
ELITE MEMBER NEXT STAY BONUS 5,000 pts.
Thank you!!! This was a great post – wish I saw it the day you posted, already missed two stays. But have another coming up this week… so I’ll get something 🙂