Have you actually read post #1? He admits he used codes that were listed in a blog. IHG sent him an email explaining why his account had been terminated. What else is there to know? How did fraud come into it? It's a simple matter of T&C being violated.

Really? I'm not going to name any names, but the second post blatantly accuses the op of fraud, and various posts on and off in this thread use this accusation.

Do we need to get into this argument again? The T&Cs aren't the issue here. The T&Cs get to be defined and redefined in whatever way IHG wants to define them. If it was such a simple matter of the T&Cs being violated, why have we had such a long discussion about it :confused::confused::confused: Obviously there is some mismatch between customer expectations and whatever IHG is doing.

^

For the posters who are accusing the OP of fraud, there's an old saying you can't understand someone's plight unless you are in his shoes. Very easy to say the OP violated terms, as if they have always been kosher.

If I can't help someone, I think better to stay quiet than state rhetoric of program terms and morals.

For some customers, clearly. That doesn't make them right.

Re below I'm referring to IHG closing accounts for the 'trick' as highlighted above and buying in points at $70 for 10,000 points.


Further to this, T&C's clearly state that you can purchase up to $280 a day, see below, so no way should they be terminating customers accounts for this reason only (unless of course they were 'buying' more than this in a day')

IHG® Rewards Club "Points & Cash" is an option for obtaining a Reward Night. You may choose to redeem IHG® Rewards Club points for a Reward Night in three ways: using your existing points for all required points for the desired Reward Night; using your existing points and 5,000 points purchased for $40USD to total the required points; or using your existing points and 10,000 points purchased for $70USD to total the required points. The total purchase on any single day may not exceed $280USD. Points & Cash Reward Nights may only be redeemed online at www.ihgrewardsclub.com. Point purchase amounts are subject to change by IHG® Rewards Club. You must use a valid credit card for points purchase. Upon completion of the points purchase, you agree that the total dollar amount will be immediately charged to the credit card you specified. The cost for the points purchased is non-refundable. If the Reward Night is cancelled in accordance with Reward Nights terms and conditions and with each hotel's cancellation policy, the purchased IHG® Rewards Club points will be re-deposited into your IHG® Rewards Club account. Cash components of this award that are paid in currencies other than U.S. dollars will be adjusted by IHG® Rewards Club, as needed, to reflect the USD equivalent of the non-USD payment at that time. All other Reward Night terms and conditions apply.

All this talk about closing accounts has gotten me a little worried.

Fortunately, I have never registered for any promotions or codes other than what I've been targeted for.

However, about 2-3 times per year I do the Points+Cash "trick" and buy 10,000 points for $70.

I'm curious, what in your opinions would be a good ratio of paid regular stays per use of the trick in order to "stay in good standing?"

Or should I stop while I'm ahead of the game?

Wow. That doesn't make you or IHG right either. If you read my complaint, it was that this arguments about right/wrong are not productive and a waste of everyone's time.

This is an excellent point re: 'the points trick'. It seems to be direct evidence that it is not a loophole...

Now we're in agreement. Time to close the thread?

Does anyone know whether it's possible to un-register for promotions? I entered several promo codes a few weeks ago (including, as I just discovered, a platinum offer that I wasn't targeted for) and have a stay coming up in a few weeks. I'd rather not have my account closed afterwards...

I think they have the standard "fair use" clause thrown in there somewhere, in the general Rewards Program T&C. I would imagine that doing this too many times would be considered abuse by them. I do it 2-3 times a year and haven't run into any problems yet. I have the Chase card/Platinum, but very few paid stays (unfortunately!!!!)

No, we're not in agreement, since apparently you think the whole point of this thread is to argue about whether people are right/wrong. It's not. You're free to leave this thread alone and let us be productive about understanding the problem, how to best deal with IHG, and what protections, if any, consumers have under the law.

No unfortunately, there's not a way to unregister for a promotion. Even worse, you can register anyone for a promotion if you know their member number. So someone evil could write a script which registers every single member for every single promotion... @:-)?

The points trick in my opinion isn't so bad, as your still paying in cash for the points and not earning them free as a byproduct of a stay.

The answer's obvious : stay within the T&C, and then there won't be a problem, nor any need to deal with IHG, nor any need for protection under the law. Anyway, good luck being "productive".

All these discussions for a thread posted by someone having posted only 5 messages with absolutely no clear explanation and even no evidence that the story is true... :rolleyes::rolleyes:

The OP's history on FT is not the issue.

Others with extensive histories in this area have seen evidence of -- or even themselves hit by -- account terminations that beg for a clear and complete explanation but aren't always provided one by IHG.

Situations like this invite discussion because people want to understand what is going on and what may go on, and that can be done without being prejudiced against the OP on the basis of limited FT posting history.