InterContinental Hotels: Priority Club & Inter-Continental Ambassador - PC Platinum through 2013 without staying a night in 2012..

Thought this may interest a few...
After a conversation and rant last week with a GM, Platinum status like confetti 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...

Well done !!!!
Hows that for utilising the points system....

I must admit that I did stay 5 or 6 nights this year before I renewed in February for 2013...

Thought this may interest a few...
After a conversation and rant last week with a GM, Platinum status like confetti 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...

Well done !!!!
Hows that for utilising the points system....

I must admit that I did stay 5 or 6 nights this year before I renewed in February for 2013...

And that is why PC Platinum status does not mean that you are important to IHG as a guest.

mxm135 :)

But if she never stays at hotels, or only stays at HIX, who cares whether she is Platinum or not ? Still, it does make me wonder about the sensibility of a points based threshold. I would be happy with Platinum being only available on points, at (say) 100 nights.

I have platinum by just having the credit card so I dont have to stay one night ever as long as I have the card

But if she never stays at hotels, or only stays at HIX, who cares whether she is Platinum or not ? Still, it does make me wonder about the sensibility of a points based threshold. I would be happy with Platinum being only available on points, at (say) 100 nights.
The difference is that officially Priority Club does not count award nights toward status. But if you earn points, redeem them for rewards nights, and then get rebates on that, you can earn status solely on rewards nights.

Also, HIX is not all-incluisve in the UK (where the OP is and is presumably referreing to) as it is in the US. (I find the HIX brand overseas confusing because of that, it was created to mean all-inclusive, and then when it isn't, what is it???) So perhaps tatus may mean more there. (I think I've gotten free internet scratch cards at HIXs overseas only because of my status, where otherwise I'd have to pay for internet. Internet is free at HIXs only in North America, generally not in Europe and beyond.)

This might be slightly off topic but it seems that virtually all programs are devaluing their elite status.

I can remember as a kid when my dad got his AMEX Gold Card. It was a big deal. Now I think all you have to do to get a gold card is have good credit and a heartbeat.

In some ways it builds loyalty, I guess, with the "They gave me a gold/platinum/whatever card. They think I'm special and that means I must be" attitude but it devalues the system. Afterall, if EVERYONE is elite it really means NOBODY is.