Ridiculous. Of course they have value. T&C are not statements of fact.

I guarantee you that IHG accounts for the points as a liability on their balance sheet. Why? Because they are required to do so by law. Why are they required to do so by law? Because the points have value.

All this term is really saying is that IHG won't give you cash for your points. But they still have value.

Why do you assume that he was fully aware that he was not allowed to register for all promo codes under the sun? Most companies allow you to do this, so it doesn't follow that he was aware that he was not allowed to do so.

From post http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/22975475-post76.html

Be careful what you wish for. They have value on IHG's books as a liability. But, they are not assets to the individual member and the member accordingly does not report their accumulation as taxable income when he earns those points for stays paid for by a third party, e.g. an employer.

There are a thousand posts about this issue on FT and maybe there really is somebody out there who wants to report the value of miles/points and the like as income. Just haven't met that person yet.

Nowhere in that post does he say that he was aware that he wasn't allowed to register for them.

In fact, in a different post, he said that he tried lots of codes, and some worked, and some didn't, so he assumed that if the code worked, he was allowed. This would be a very reasonable assumption.

At the time that he was doing this, it probably was allowed. There was nothing in the T&C sayibg that it wasn't (this is a recent addition) and people from IHG were on record saying that it was allowed.

What really happened here is that IHG changed their minds and are applying their new rules retroactively.

Crazy question, but since points have no value and you pay IHG Rewards when you purchase points which have no value then aren't you giving IHG a charitable donation which should be tax deductible. After all, when you donate to charities you receive nothing of value, and with IHG you give them money for points which have no value according to them and can be confiscated at anytime if they so desire. As such, this should be considered a charitable donation and should be tax deductible by the IRS, should it not.

Folks, I do not believe it !

Do we have to get down to this personal and off topic level over and over?

Several off topic and personal posts in this thread have been deleted.

FLYGVA
co-moderator IHG Forum

Time to close down this thread as it serves no useful purpose except to exacerbate arguments.

i agree....they are many here who feel they were wronged by igh & a few who believe the members wronged ihg....its pretty much useless trying to convince one of the others argument....just close down the thread & avoid the same points being discussed over & over again....

I think the answer is somewhere squarely in the middle.

Signing up for the promo codes in the past was in a grey area. Some IHG Rep said it was allowed, the registration website accepted input as to the origin of the code from "friends" or other sources, etc... Yet, people that got codes were finding them on websites and it was never black or white whether this was really permitted, i.e. signing up for a "welcome back" code when you have been staying non-stop for years.

At some point IHG cinched up the rules specifically stating in the T&C that using codes you were not targeted with is not allowed and your account can be subject to forfeiture. Fair enough. But, I think IHG is overstepping when it cancels accounts from when the practice was clearly in the grey area. Once those T&C were modified, it is fair game now for them to close accounts for those that are abusing this practice from now on.

Now, having said all this, if IHG is using all of this to thin the herds of members that are clearly just abusing the system, I can't fault them for that. Such as going after accounts that have a loss to IHG and never a profit center, i.e. accounts that exist to just BRG, point-breaks, and earn tons of stack promo points for a cheap $50 one-nighter. IHG doesn't need or want such customers and getting rid of them is understandable. But, canceling accounts of people that have stayed 100's of nights for using promo codes from a year ago seems a bit odd. However, reports of that happened is very far and few between, and one has to wonder if there is more to it than meets the eye.

Whimike's post is the most level-headed thought on this unfortunate affair.
Totally agree except for the last sentence. More likely the infamous "Mr Lawyer" or some other IHG minor manager went on a power-tripping binge.

It is hard to trust IHG when they act this way. Doesn't make me feel bad that the vast majority of my stays have shifted back to Hilton for no other reason than Hilton is better than IHG in the cities I visit.

Total agree - I don't even dare to do the ITTN promo - 1. they could just not post the nights that I stayed; 2. Points posted and then shut down my account with 6 digits of points without a reason. I'm trying to avoid IHG as much as possible, and I won't recommend this company to anyone.

so relatively recent closure?

Our accounts are "active" because we are not doing anything wrong (and perhaps they haven't found a good excuse to close our accounts) - but we had bad experience with IHG CS a couple of months ago. We stayed at a SB in the US on points and we were supposed to get 500 welcome gift points (the hotel told us at check-in). They didn't show up, so I wrote to IHG CS, and they immediately 'thought' that we are trying to abuse the system by asking for illegitimate points.

I explained to them in the very first email that it's a award stay and that I'm only asking for the missing gift points bla bla bla. Then I explained once again in the second email declaring that 'I fully understand that I'm not entitled to base points - I'm barely asking for the 500 points that the hotel promised me.'

Then they gave me the points that I asked for - I found this ridiculous.

This never happens in Marriott - that's why I stay with them whenever I can.

I have found the easiest way to get errors amended is simply to phone and have had the corrections made with no issues. If the agent misunderstands what the request is , it is much easier to explain in person rather than sending emails