travelkid

For reference- HH luckiest looser

http://www.ihgplc.com/index.asp?PageID=116&NewsID=2421


PCs excuse last year mentioned here;
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/17737532-post41.html

List of hotels (probably pre 2012)
http://www.chonetsao.co.uk/iccensor.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/inter...11-2012-a.html

This log has had lots on PC hotels
http://boardingarea.com/blogs/loyaltytraveler/

Last year deval thread;
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/inter...ry-2012-a.html

travelkid

Ding ding!

http://loyaltylobby.com/2013/01/08/p...ing/#more-4687

gmax58

It's also worth noting that since during the last devaluation in 2012, additional properties were moved to higher points values. An example of this was the IC Willard, which went from 40K to 50K, so that a $300/night stay was a marginal value on points just became a lousy one.

Just because the number of hotels moving up and down might be the same on 18 January doesn't mean that further devaluations during the year are off the table.

holtju2

FYI it is practically ready and only has some cleaning up to do.

travelkid

^ Request mods or OP to include link in OP.

jimthehorsegod

Not quite correct though, the site will show a list of properties that have gone up or down, but only after March 18th when the changes have actually happened.

Still, commendable effort all the same and will be very useful.

SomeGuy

The only thing that keeps me using IHG is all-inclusive hotels. I have more Marriott points than IHG points, but I don't know of an all-inclusive in the Marriott system.

Big_Foot

IC Monterey is 50K, with rates around $170 right now
which is beyond ridiculous.

But IC Berchtesgaden is 30K and I'm sure it will move up to 50K as well.

holtju2

Nope. They will just update the hotel categories and will NOT provide a list of properties that have moved up/down.

mooper

What precisely would be the basis for a *legal* claim here?

Exactly. If I had to put money on it, I think net redemption costs will increase, too. But given that there will be both ups and downs, combined with the fact that redemptions are *dynamic* (we have choice to reallocate based upon new pricing), I suspect that a large swath of members will actually be able to use fewer points for equal or better properties. Will this result in a net benefit, given that the more sophisticated users, especially ones who focus on high-value international redemptions common here on FT, will likely wind up behind? I don't think so. But we need to wait and see. What we know with certainty is that it is absurd to proclaim definitive "devaluation" before actually running the numbers. People don't get that... they prefer mass-hysteria.

If a property that asked 20K or $130 in 2012 (making it more appealing by cash for most members) becomes 15K or $140 in 2013 (remember, paid rates tend to rise as well), many would stop paying cash and use points. This is just an example.

Correct, but by the same token, neither are changes to the cost of point acquisition or changes in paid rates. Both of those variables affect the value you can extract from points as well. For example, if IHG launches another promo where it is a breeze to accumulate 50K points free (as they've had in the past, but not the last couple of years), you should weigh that in the equation. Similarly, if hotel rates increase 15% during the year but point requirements (on average) increase 10%, you're actually getting more value on that basis as well.

travelkid

Im not taking the bait for further off topic. Its clearly in any case not relevant for you as you have no wish of any such, presumably being happy about the situation.

Reality check. What award level changes of any program do you know that have not been a devaluation? Not naming one tells tons.

mooper

I quoted you directly regarding "legal remedies". I'm curious what legal basis there might be for such action.

Value, as exhaustively explained above, is not merely a matter of points required. For example, a room in a property in 2012 with a paid rate of $200 or 20K points is giving you a *greater* CPP value if it is 25K points or $260 in 2013. This holds true when price inflation outpaces points inflation. Also, the cost of acquisition of points matters. If I acquired 50K points in 2012 for .7 CPP and redeemed them for .9 CPP in value, I've ended up ahead. If in 2013 I acquire 50K points for .5 CPP and redeem them for .8 CPP in value, I've fared even better. Most hotels and airlines have inflated points required through the years (though there are many areas where they've remained remarkably flat), but many have done so at a pace that has *increased* the value extracted by members. You're looking at just the absolute point value and ignoring the rest of the equation.

mareh

Last year, the phone reps were telling people that they only had ONE phone call in which to book at the old rates. You could do multiple reservations, but only within that one call. I though this was a terrible policy. Will it be the same this time?

GUWonder

Indeed that seems to be their position even as they have a list of properties whose price they have decided to change as part of this devaluation of PC points. Priority Club's lack of willingness to share the list ought to invite question about the company's approach to its customers.

ElmhurstNick

I redeem a lot of my points in the 15-25k band for weeknight stays or stays in rural areas, as when I start to get above 30k there's ususally a Hyatt, Hilton, or Starwood property there instead. If that band goes up even 5k, it's a significant devaluation - 20-33%.

After Luckiest Loser, I had moved a lot of my Hampton business to HIX both on price and on redemption opportunities, and I found that I liked many newer HIX and even some CP properties. With IHG's moves in the last four months, however, IHG is falling back to my #4 program.

I sincerely hope that most of my 15k properties will stay at 15k, since HIX and HI already had both 15k and 20k options. I have no doubt, however, that may of the 25k properties are going to become 30k or maybe even 35k.

I had bought the $200 Ambassador renewal in September because I was planning on doing about 160-200k of redemptions this year. That looks like a bad move now.