Originally Posted by
downinit
Just hope they don't do the same thing as they did for Hyatt and merge everyone into the new card with no bonus offer at all. I will be keeping both cards until that inevitable day comes, but getting value out of the cert is definitely becoming much more of a challenge as variable pricing and the end of the COVID slump are making the list of 40k properties to get worse by the day. It seems like $200 is about the best I value I can get right now. At least they have made booking the Chase nights easier and now allow combining multiple certs on one reservation.
Keep in mind that the combination of the (apparently) imminent lifting of pandemic restrictions combined with the summer tourist season means that there will probably be poor value out of the IHG Rewards program for redemptions this summer. On the other hand, if you could time your third and later stays before August 16 to be multiple night stays, there could be an excellent points earning opportunities this summer.
Sometimes you gotta earn, sometimes you gotta burn. I suspect this summer is a better time to earn in the IHG program with the hope that in the fall and winter, there will excellent redemption values. That is the strategy I've decided to pursue for the remainder of 2021.