tkeppers

I skimmed the T&Cs and didn't see anything obvious that the member has to actually be staying there (although I'm sure that's the general intent). I did book the room in my name with friend as an additional guest. When he checked in, they rebooked the room in his name (even though it had been paid for using my card). I'm not sure if he told the desk clerk I wouldn't be showing up (friend says he didn't) and - not understand what was going on - the desk clerk rebooked the room. Doesn't make sense. When dealing with IHG customer support, I just figured honesty was the best policy and told them the truth about what I was doing. I'm still arguing with them about it - asking for either a refund of the $$ spent on the room, or a credit of the 60,000+ bonus points I would have earned. Been Platinum with IHG for several years so maybe that will provide some clout (not holding breath on that).

Sort of unrelated, I just did a check-in for my Mom (yes, I converted her...so proud ) at a Candlewood Suites to complete her Big Win. The desk clerk there would not let me check in without charging the room to my credit card (the actual room itself, not just incidentals) - it was originally booked under my Mom's card. Since it was my mother, no big deal, I just used my own card to charge the room. Explained to the desk clerk what I was doing - to make sure my Mom would be the one to get the stay credit instead of me. Desk clerk acted like she'd seen people doing that before and advised me that in the future it would be best to do a prepaid stay for these sorts of things - so the person checking in wouldn't be charged for the room.

So I don't know if IHG is really cracking down or if I just have lousy luck. But wanted to share my experiences just so you all will be aware.

serfty

When booking, before you commit, if you are logged om you should see something like this at the top of the "Guest Information" page:

If not logged in:That should be an indicator of whether a rate is "qualifying" or not. I take screen print .pdf's of this as I have had issue over the years with "qualifying rates".

mooper

The card doesn't matter except for ID purposes. It almost certainly has to be related to what your friend did or didn't say. Had they been checking in under the premise that they were a listed guest but the room was under your name and you were arriving later, then it would have been fine. But as they changed it to his name and you've admitted you weren't there, you're fighting a losing battle. When you say "rebooked", are you saying you received a completely new confirmation number and they cancelled the old reservation, or merely that they swapped out the primary guest info with his name but kept the rest the same?

Who pays is unrelated to earning points. It's perfectly valid for you to pay the bill for someone else or vice versa and the member still earns the point if they're staying. However, the desk might require a matching card or other identification for security purposes, unrelated to the points/perks themselves.

NickB

Point 12 of the program's T&Cs states that "You must have stayed in the room and paid for it in full to receive IHG® Rewards Club points."

tkeppers

The guy at IHG customer service said the original reservation was cancelled. I'm guessing that when it was rebooked, it was with only the friend's name on the reservation (but even if I had been listed as a guest, it wouldn't change the outcome since my IHG# would no longer be on the room). Although, now that I think about it, it is odd that I never got a cancellation notice.

Yeah, it's probably a losing battle. And since I wasn't there, I have no proof of what was/wasn't said at check-in. But I'm not OK with being out the money for an unnecessary room AND having no points to show for it. So I'm going to try to fight it with IHG for a little while longer. Maybe they'll float me a few points just to shut me up.

mooper

It's unlikely they cancelled, as the additional guest doesn't have the right to do that. Had it been cancelled and if your email is tied to the account, you should have received notice of cancellation. If they really did cancel and rebook, then you might be able to argue on the basis that your friend wasn't entitled to cancel your reservation.

Barring that, any attempt to fight them might do more harm than good, as you're arguing that they owe you for something that you aren't entitled to.

blindman

Well I have to say (I think) I'm impressed ^

All the missing points for my Big Win have been posted as of 2nd Jan

So that's been sorted quickly. Pity they didn't get it right in the first place


Big Win completed 97,000 points + promo points of about 60,000 for £70 of my spend ^

Petrus

I completed my last requirement and the stay posted on the 17th of December. Still no update. Previously the promos posted about a week after the triggering stays.

I heard they do have issues at the moment?

Flyfromscratch

Finally my points posted yesterday.. 50100 BIG Win, at an additional out of pocket cost of $54.. good investment I think..

mikeef

My last stay was 12/27-28 and just posted, although the posting date is 1/2/14. I don't use ICH too often, but can one of the experts let me know if they'll catch on that the stay was for 2013 so I eventually get the 2013 BW bonus?

Thanks,
Mike

chrism20

It should post towards your 2013 totals. The date you see is when it posted to your account, if you go into the account section on the website and click on the qualifying stay that has appeared today it will list the details of the booking which include location along with arrival and departure dates.

TAWS

Did the rebooked reservation have your friend's IHG number? Also, is there a way to check if a reservation was cancelled by the hotel desk?

TravelinSperry

I have a similar issue. My last stay was 12/19. Still no Big Win credit. Annoyed

tkeppers

Friend is not a member of IHG, so he doesn't have a number - it would have been blank on his reservation.

I couldn't find anything digging around my account on IHG's website about my reservation actually being cancelled. It's just...gone (doesn't show up under my recent stays). The only way I know the original reservation was cancelled is because the IHG customer service guy told me that when I emailed asking why the points for my stay hadn't posted.

mooper

Why not call, reference the original confirmation number you received via email, and ask if it was cancelled? If it was, ask who authorized the cancelation, as your guest shouldn't have been able to, nor should have the front desk without your authorization or proper reason.