reviving this old thread to give related DP.

i booked pts stay at holiday inn. i checked in early. 11AM local time. then i saw my exact same stay was cheaper now vs wat i booked. argh. obviously i messed up and shouldve checked much earlier. i was pissed at myself.

but given i checked in so early, i took the chance and rebooked. then went to front desk, ask them to switch booking for exact same stay. essentially its as if i booked 2 rooms and now didnt need 1. i knew this was totally YMMV given its check in day and i actually checked in early already.

FD staff said nope. as expected cuz i already checked in. then i kindly and respectfully asked manager. they handled it for me successfully. and the pts transaction reversal was real time and immediate. i was totally shocked how easily mgr handled it.

both booking points got taken immediately by IHG. but the original checked in booking got reversed pts in real time. no need to wait for 24hrs etc.

obviously above is totally YMMV. i was lucky. but now we know its technically possible by the IHG system even when ur already checked in. it just depends if FD willing and able. i would imagine very low success rate.