Originally Posted by
cfischer
You might laugh, but I am comparing a 346k 5-night stay at the W Maldives to the respective cash rate of $12200. This is not an uncommon value you can get with Marriott and Hilton at their aspirational properties. Compare that to your numbers … not a laughing matter is it? IHG completely sucks at such redemptions… they wants millions of points for comparable properties.
not to be judgmental here, but very few would rate the properties you list above as ‘exceptional/aspirational’.
I am not saying IHG is a ‘bad’ program. It has its place and I am using it. The purpose of this thread is to compare and contrast where each program shines and I am pointing out a downside if the IHG program, which of course you can disagree with
Aspirational properties (Maldives, Vail/Aspen in Ski Season, etc.) are their own animal. For some folks using points to stay at these aspirational properties is very important to them. For other folks who don't have a desire to stay at those properties, the cpp (cents per point) you can achieve for those redemptions is irrelevant. The metrics folks use for rating the programs and the potential redemption value will need to be calibrated to the types of properties they want to stay at. This is why there isn't a universal answer on what is the best hotel loyalty program. Everyone needs to use their own metrics to determine which program(s) work best for them. Finally for many folks they may desire to stay at different property types for vacation versus general leisure stays. So, they may wind up using more than one program to meet the collective needs for all of their stays. Off Soapbox....
--Jon