Apologies for bringing up an old thread, but was curious if anything has changed at all as far as when credit cards are charged for Advance Purchase rates? Is it still pretty uncertain about when the charges happen (anytime between booking & check-out)?

Reason is because the deadline is coming up for a spending bonus offer on my IHG MC that I'm close to reaching, and I was considering booking an Advance Purchase rate for a stay that occurs just after that deadline. But I don't want to do that if the card isn't going to be charged until around the time of the stay.