I recently stayed at a Crowne Plaza hotel, and as a Platinum Elite, I was offered a "welcome gift": either 600 points or a goody back. I asked what was in the goody bag, and they said two bottles of water and a snack bar, so I obviously went with the points. They gave me the goody bag anyway, and when I opened it all it had was two bottles of water - not even a snack bar.

I did some calculations, and if 2 bottles of water are worth 600 points, and a room at this hotel is 20,000 points, then that pretty much prices the room at 68 bottles of water. So can I pay for my room with 68 bottles of water + taxes and fees? (Obviously not, but to me it just highlights the bizarre way in which they pretend to treat elite members in a "special" way, and then...don't).

Now, to me, this is just bizarre. This is my first time being an Elite with IHG (or any hotel chain, really) but is this the norm for welcome gifts? Are they usually actually something nice, or is a paper bag with two bottles of water the norm?

Funnily enough, when my points for this stay posted, the 600 point bonus didn't post - I had to e-mail them and point out that I was promised it, at which point they credited me 500 points. I"m not going to make a fuss over 100 points but, really? I mean, I am essentially paying for the status for $49/year (the credit card annual fee), so I'm not too bothered, but the entire experience to me is just weird.