InterContinental Hotels: Priority Club & Inter-Continental Ambassador - Stay 50+ Nights, Earn Platinum, Why T&C's state benefits not on reward nights...

This may have been covered elsewhere, and I have no problem with the points scheme and think PC is great for 'earning and burning' points.

A few things that would be good to introduce is an option to book executive rooms at a points premium, say +50% on standard room? Like Club Carlson offer. (maybe)

I earn my points with work and then use the points for holidays or weekends away.

I work away sunday to friday or monday to thursday and like most people book and pay for the rooms during the week, so when I arrive at the CP having booked a standard room, get the upgrade to executive, lounge access and breakfast.. All great, but its just me, 1 person and I am working normally from 8 - 7 everyday. But not knocking anything... :p

I have had a lot of recent experiences - CP Estapona (before point break), HI Lancaster, CP London City, Hotel Indigo Birmingham, CP Chester.
All reward nights, all welcomed as Platinum and booked reward nights and explained by the check in staff that upgrades etc not valid on reward nights.

I have now decided that I am going to start burning the points on the 15K HIX at locations during the week and pay the price for the leisure breaks, but wouldn't it be nice if they all recognised the status and the fact that you are staying 50+ nights a year and offer the benefits on reward nights???

Don't get me wrong some hotels, CP Birmingham, CP London Ealing, HI Milton Keynes East have all gave upgrades and benefits on Reward Nights.

It just seems another IHG Lottery....

... but wouldn't it be nice if they all recognised the status and the fact that you are staying 50+ nights a year and offer the benefits on reward nights???

Yes, it would be nice. I don't think you'll find a differing opinion here.

It almost makes you feel guilty for being a loyal guest using your earned points. That's also a reason why I prefer to redeem for HIX...

HTB.

I earn my points with work and then use the points for holidays or weekends away.

I work away sunday to friday or monday to thursday and like most people book and pay for the rooms during the week, so when I arrive at the CP having booked a standard room, get the upgrade to executive, lounge access and breakfast.. All great, but its just me, 1 person and I am working normally from 8 - 7 everyday. But not knocking anything... :p

I have had a lot of recent experiences - CP Estapona (before point break), HI Lancaster, CP London City, Hotel Indigo Birmingham, CP Chester.
All reward nights, all welcomed as Platinum and booked reward nights and explained by the check in staff that upgrades etc not valid on reward nights.

I have now decided that I am going to start burning the points on the 15K HIX at locations during the week and pay the price for the leisure breaks, but wouldn't it be nice if they all recognised the status and the fact that you are staying 50+ nights a year and offer the benefits on reward nights???

Don't get me wrong some hotels, CP Birmingham, CP London Ealing, HI Milton Keynes East have all gave upgrades and benefits on Reward Nights.
Before you start switching which hotels you earn at and which hotels you burn at, do a bit more research.

Some Priority Club hotels give upgrades and/or other benefits (like free breakfast and/or free inrenet) on both paid and award, but many give neither on pay nor reward. If you didn't do paid stays at those hotels, how do you know they weren't "lying" about the reason, and the fact is that they simply don't give upgrades to Platinum? There are plenty of hotels that don't.

Furthmore, a lot of hotels are willing to give upgrades when you don't care what type of room you get (because you're staying solo), and/or when you're just checking in for one night on a night they're lightly booked, but won't give you an upgrade when you need a specific type of room (which you might when you're traevling with family) and/or when you book multiple nights (because they dont' have one upgrade room available for all those nights) or when they're more highly booked (and some hotels are more highly booked on weekends, while others more highly booked on weekdays).

So I suggest you research the particular hotels as to what benefits they give to Plat (there's awhole thread about this here:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/intercontinental-hotels-priority-club-inter-continental-ambassador/650386-please-post-your-priority-club-elite-experiences.html

plus reviews at:

www.tripadvisor.com

sometimes mention it too), before thinking that it only has to do with paid vs reward stays and that flipping around which you do paid vs which you do reward will solve all your problems.

It is indeed very much a random IHG Lottery unless you do the research upfront, and only stay at IHG hotels where you've cofinrmed ahead of time that Plats get the benefits (on the type of stay you're doing) that you're looking for.

(Me, I've not yet run into a hotel where my research showed plat benefits and they denied me simply because it was an award stay. But OTOH it's been years since I've stayed at a property which my reserach didn't show gave the Plat benefits I wanted. I have plenty other hotel programs I belong to, and I don't need grief from randoim policies at random Priorirty Club hotels, so I pick and choose when to use Priority Club and when to use other hotel programs.)

but wouldn't it be nice if they all recognised the status and the fact that you are staying 50+ nights a year and offer the benefits on reward nights???

I'd say that it would be nice if Platinum with 50+ nights would get real recognition on paid stays...

Before you start switching which hotels you earn at and which hotels you burn at, do a bit more research.

Some Priority Club hotels give upgrades and/or other benefits (like free breakfast and/or free inrenet) on both paid and award, but many give neither on pay nor reward. If you didn't do paid stays at those hotels, how do you know they weren't "lying" about the reason, and the fact is that they simply don't give upgrades to Platinum? There are plenty of hotels that don't.


Many thanks for the advice, I normally do try and do research but after a telephone conversation with a GM last week, it prompted me to start this thread.

I have stayed at most of the hotels that I mentioned on PAID stays before the rewards nights.

CP Estapona (before point break) - Never stayed on PAID but paid 50euros on top of points for an upgrade on reward night.

HI Lancaster - 3 paid stays on Full Flexible Rate - Standard room upgrade to Executive. Reward NIght - No Upgrade.

CP London City - about a dozen paid stays when working in fleet street, 75% upgrade from standard to executive. 1 Saturday Rewards Night - Not even the room type I booked let alone an upgrade.

Hotel Indigo Birmingham - 7 Stays including New Years Eve on PAID stays - Everyone upgraded to Executive or Balcony Suite - Reward Night - No Upgrade.

CP Chester - I have not stayed on a PAID night so no comparison.

I just going back to the original post, feel that as I spoke to the GM last Friday on the telephone they hide behind the T&C I think he quoted no.10 and that benefits are not valid on reward nights.

He also stated that at his hotel he gets a lot of Platinum Members especially on a Saturday that book reward nights due to the location and nights out, either his duty managers or him are always asked for between 13:00 and 15:00 on a Saturday afternoon with Platinum embers asking about upgrades.

I was lucky last week, :) - He upgraded me to executive room (on reward night) and also put a note on the local system, this was due to the fact that the company I own works with one of the main companies that place 5-6 people a week in his hotel from monday to thursday.

Hence when I got the call, he must have noticed the email address it came from. This is an exception and he also would welcome the option to book executive rooms on points as it would save him a lot of questions on a saturday etc...

Many thanks for the advice, I now have 6 months in scotland staying sunday to friday(or thursday if lucky) and have worked it out it will be at least 70-80 nights, wondering what to do with the points...

I think I will do some research on a couple of nice HOT IC and maybe book the first week on paid followed by a week on rewards, see if they move me the second week...

I'd say that it would be nice if Platinum with 50+ nights would get real recognition on paid stays...

Yes, too true, but this post was started as I spoke to a GM in a busy City Centre CP, who as stated they have seen an increase beyond levels ever before of Platinum members since February this year...

A PC Member was Platinum without even staying a night.
She had 37,000 points in her account as of Dec 2011. She was a promotions person doing Xmas Parties during end of Nov and Dec 2011. She had stayed at 4 brands during the 2x3x4 promotion.
Got credited for 11 nights bonus in January. So 11x500 = 6500 x3 = 19,500

So 19,500 already credited towards platinum status.

She then moved to a company that use Hilton doing corporate positions, so burnt her points at a HI near Heathrow (or HIX) for 4 days on a conference gig. This HI(x) had changed from 10K to 25K a night. She rang CS and booked 4 nights on the guaranteed old rate, with some jiggery pockery as she did not have the 100K points in her account.
2 nights at 50k with 30K Good will.
1 night at 25k with 15k good will.
1 night at 25k with 15k good will.

So having not stayed a night in 2012 she had 4 nights booked in Heathrow area, 16,500 points left in her account and Platinum through 2013....

the 60K Goodwill points and the 19,500 bonus all counted toward the 2012 platinum status...

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No surprise that there are more Plats about, given the way PC were throwing points around on Crack the Case last year.

There are plenty of UK properties (including some that you have mentioned) where you will get an upgrade on one stay but not the next - whether paid or on points. It mainly depends on how busy the hotel is, but also sometimes on who checks you in - i've seen room upgrades on-line before I arrive which I don't get because they have given that room to someone else before I check-in.

OP, issue is that you are in WE, more specifically in the UK. Benefits IMO are the stingiest there.

I think I will do some research on a couple of nice HOT IC and maybe book the first week on paid followed by a week on rewards, see if they move me the second week...
Save your money. Research already done by others. ICs have a separate (paid) status program called Ambassador, and generally care little about Priority Club Platinum status (even on paid stays) as a result.