Charitable deductions have to go to registered charities, I couldn't just give you $30 and claim that on my taxes.

Can anyone comment as to whether BRG claims may result in an agent take a close look at one's account? As someone who signed up for non-targetted promotions when this seemed to be entirely allowed and still has a hefty number of points, I wonder whether my other half should do the BRG claims when we travel together. Is anyone doing this?

I no longer stay regularly with IHG (was RA for several years) but would love to use the accumulated points in the future!

has anyone recently have their account closed? within the last month.

For promo registrations?

It seems counterintuitive for IHG to do this. If the promotion code is accepted, then it is their system that is to blame. Why punish the customer and lose them? Especially if they are top end customers.

If you scrounge a promo code number off a website/blog , rather than have provided to direct to you personally by IHG, either by Hotel or Corporate communications, then you were not targetted and know you were not.

No codes are prevented on a simple "unless you have a certain member-number you can not use", although some promo codes are regionalised and some basic address/continent type check is done and if USA only code you can not input if eg a UK membership address is your account address.

When you think about it, IHG corporate can not block codes to individual member-number, as hotels, who can not add such member/promo tie-ups give out voucher/promo codes to guests too.

The problem is that you may not know that it's a targeted code. Not all codes are targeted.

Well, it would be easy for them to do. Everyone else who has targeted promos does it. Whether IHG can do it is a question of competence though, so, you may be correct in saying that they can't.

Hi scubaccr, i wasn't personally affected by the promo code issue, but with all respect, how do people defend IHG, when they marketed the codes on their own website, that they have recently closed, they made them public, and encouraged members to utilise them, with their own reps posting them, and posting discussions about them, they overtly used them as a marketing tool, and never suggested otherwise, the problem became, when without warning, they changed their strategy, and instead of just communicating a shift in their marketing strategy, and subsequent change in the game rules, they started unilaterally closing loyal customer's accounts, i really don't think there is any serious contention that they have made a mess of it, not unlike their mismanaged IT systems, just not their strengths.

:D^

I guess they would rather lose their RA's over a small matter. Im my personal opinion, if the system accepts it, then it should be fine. IHG could handle this better.

Before the terms were change to make it explicitly clear that it is not permitted, there was some greyness. If someone is prepared to gamble the benefits of RA for breaching the terms of membership, that is their choice

The terms have been in place now for long enough that anyone now impacted has, I suspect, little grounds to feel aggrieved

I would contend that in many cases they were weeding out the non-loyal accounts where IHG wasn't making money. Some loyal accounts got caught in the mix, but if I was a betting man I would say the majority that got cancelled were the customers that IHG didn't want.

Am I guessing that given the latest circumstances, the promo codes have dried up? Or are there any new ones? Even if yes, I think this is not much worth a stress, since the ITN type megapromos bring much more points.

i don't disagree Dave, the issue i believe that has been problematic was they started closing accounts unilaterally with no consultation, no notice, no press release to communicate a 180 degree shift from their previous marketing strategy (that had been in place for years), remember, they had their own site marketing and discussing these promo codes, by their own representatives, they've subsequently closed the site, but they used it as a marketing channel, i contend that they got the communication incredibly wrong, they have a history of doing this also with their competitions, and also from an IT perspective, and i believe have annoyed a lot of their loyal members, i've been a RA for five consecutive years (earned) other than the initial year that i was referred. Last year i paid for 404 all suite IC nights (125 for an employee), previous years averaged c 200 all suite at IC, this year i burnt points for c 28 PB nights and a handful of paid, thks IHG for the Presidential Suite in Costa Rica for eight nights on PB:) i wasn't impacted by the promo codes, they said nothing to me, notwithstanding signing up for every code i ever read of on here, their own web site, Milepoint, and other spots. I had a lot of nights, in excess of 2.2m points in the account, they've never said a word, so how do you reconcile that with them closing accounts here, there, and everywhere, they closed mine for BOGO use for about a week (i'm not going to go over the fact that their employee varied the T&C with respect to the BOGOs , as a customer, clearly i couldn't force them to accept them, they made an offer, that i then accepted, and they are the party responsible for processing them, not the customer), and then reopened it, and put the 2.2m points back in, when i told them i would sue, i post in my real name, and i'm still a RA. I've moved nearly all our business elsewhere, and now just burning points for PB, i anticipate enjoying 452 PB nights, i paid for all of those over the past five years. I've really enjoyed IC, for the value, the RA upgrades, and benefits, i believe the net value has been excellent, and i've been incredibly loyal, so much so, i'm in the process of writing to the Directors, and senior management, as i don't believe it's in the interest of IHG shareholders to be sending their customers to their competitors, when they pay for four hundred suite nights a year, start calculating that en mass, it is strategically wrong for IHG management, and its shareholders, i believe it's a cultural issue for the organisation, and one that clearly needs to be addressed, and i can't believe they knowingly support that detrimental lower management decision making, the type you encounter in their Salt Lake Executive Office with people like Michael Lawyer, who btw is a great asset for all of IHG's competitors, Hyatt, Starwood, Hilton et al must absolutely love Michael Lawyer, i'd say he's one of their most beneficial strategic assets, they, i expect, don't have to pay for, although, i have thought it's a possibility, that he's on someone else's payroll. Lets hope IHG gets it going for their owners sake, the shareholders, and subsequently their customers.

i don't know whimike, they've been making money from me, i know some of their senior people very well, some in their UK admin, and some out in the field, a senior cluster manager that was previously responsible for four IC's in Shanghai, who has been promoted to be their cluster manager in Dubai, has worked for IHG for years, was previously employed by a director of my family's hospitality business, at Crown Casino group, he has been candid with me, and they have made money from the business i've given them, no question. I think it's just been a cultural issue, and helped along by lower paid officious telephone representatives like Michael Lawyer.