Nov 2, 2015, 8:31 am
Last edit by: Suite Disposition
ALL THE URLS AND LINKS IN YOUR EMAILS ARE THE SAME. IT IS NOT POSSIBLE TO "REPLAY" A GIVEN EMAIL.
Plays are linked to your IHG account number and your IHG link you receive in the email. The links contained are unique to each IHG account number and cannot be "shared".
If you didn't receive all your plays and think that HW might have gotten your email address incorrect, then simply click the link again in your email.
Their email is [email protected].
Quantity of emails received does not always equal quantity of plays available. Emails received does imply that you have plays available.
If you click on your email links and receive a screen with the below message then you do not have plays available.
We love your enthusiasm!
However, you do not have any instant win chances to use.
Complete a qualified stay before February 15 to earn another chance to win.
Prizes:
Chances of winning:
500 pts 1:1.18 or 84.75% (This does not mean you will be guaranteed 500 pts per play)
1000 Pts 1:14.29 or 6.7%
2000 Pts 1:28.57 or 3.5%
5000 Pts 1:42.86 or 2.33%
Other prizes or no prizes: depends on number of entries
5B Prizes= 1,000, 2000, 5,000, $50 GC & Free night
BE SURE TO REGISTER BEFORE SENDING IN ENTRIES!
Leave Surprises here:
500 points (x1098)
1000 points (x42)
2000 points (x26)
5000 points (x17)
$50 Prepaid MasterCard (x13)
1 free night at any IHG hotel (x6)
$2500 Gilt.com GC (x1)
Sony Package (x1)
No Win (x7)
Official Rules
Logistics of the Mail-In Option:
Index Cards Okay? YES (I used 3x5 blank index cards and they were accepted)
Lined Index Cards Okay? Yes, of course, enough with the index cards!
OK to mail cards not inside an envelope? Not according to the rules, which state they must be inside envelopes, one card per envelope
Need to write title before each line? NO
Need second phone number? NO
Middle name required? NO (Left mine out, still got emails. If it's part of your account info, maybe leave it.)
Printed Destination Address Okay? YES (I used printed a bunch of sticker labels and put them on envelopes, accepted)
Printed Return Address Okay? YES (I used an ink stamp)
No Return Address Okay? Yes
Envelope size? Doesn't seem to matter
Non-IHG MasterCard Okay? YES
Debit MasterCard Okay? YES (I used an Ally Bank issued Debit MasterCard)
Use somebody else's MasterCard first 6 digits? YES
There have been reports of mail-in entry emails being sent out on 12/4 and 12/11, and the emails came in rapid succession. This is indicative of HelloWorld batching these out.
Initially batches of emails sent out was on Fridays but as of of 1/6/16 appears to be Wednesdays
#1 Batch=12/4
#2 Batch= 12/11
#3 Batch= 12/18
#4 Batch(xmas)= 12/23
#5 Batch(New Years Day)=12/30
#6 Batch= 1/6
#7 Batch= 1/13
#8 Batch= 1/18-1/24 (emails appear to be arriving daily)
#9 Batch= 2/3-2/5
As of 1/5, points have been posting within a week(ish) of playing and getting confirmation that you've won points.
Points will be paid out without additional email
Some points have been distributed (probably in batches on either Monday or Tuesday)
Points Payout Batches:
#1 12/28 & 12/29--500 pts, 1000pts, 2,000 & 5,000pts (plays before 12/25)
#2 1/4 & 1/5 (plays 12/25-12/30?)
#3 1/11(free nights & pts) & 1/12 (plays from 12/31-1/8)
#4 1/15 (limited due to MLK holiday on 1/18) (for plays from until 1/14)
#5 1/19 (plays from 1/15 til?)
#6 1/29 (plays until 1/24)
#7 2/3 (plays until 1/29)
#8 2/5 (plays until 1/31?)
Has anyone received email with instructions on how to redeem prize? YES ($50 MC redemption instructions received 12/28)
STATUS:
--As of 1/19/16 10:00 am et(estimated) all plays were showing up as no wins. . The play site seems to be undergoing maintenance. Best not to use up the majority of your plays until things smooth out.
--As of 2:45 pm ET on 1/19 play site appears to be back up.
--as of 4:17pm ET on 1/19 500 point plays seems to be working again. No 5B prizes seem to be won at this time
--As of 6pm ET on 1/19 emails being received for wins during the morning hours of 1/19 where it stated no win after select elevator.
--As of 2:30pm EST on 1/20 still reports of nearly 100% 500 pt wins only. Best not to play alot of plays unless you only want 500 pt wins
--As of 8:00 pm EST on 1/20 multiple reports of 5B prizes being won again. Seems to be back to normal.
--As of 2:00 pm EST on 1/21 reports of $50, 2k, 5k, 1k pt wins (unsure of free night wins)
--As of 6:00 pm est on 1/22 everything seems to be working as usual(although very few mentions of free night)
--As of 2:00 pm EST on 1/25 seems like daily emails have been sent out since 1/18 until now.
--As of 6pm EST on 1/29 reports of emails being received from mailed in entries from around mid January. So turnaround for new mailings appear to be about 1 week.
--As of 5pm EST on 2/2 appears that emails have stopped arriving daily with many reporting last email received on 1/29.
Plays are linked to your IHG account number and your IHG link you receive in the email. The links contained are unique to each IHG account number and cannot be "shared".
If you didn't receive all your plays and think that HW might have gotten your email address incorrect, then simply click the link again in your email.
Their email is [email protected].
Quantity of emails received does not always equal quantity of plays available. Emails received does imply that you have plays available.
If you click on your email links and receive a screen with the below message then you do not have plays available.
We love your enthusiasm!
However, you do not have any instant win chances to use.
Complete a qualified stay before February 15 to earn another chance to win.
Prizes:
Chances of winning:
500 pts 1:1.18 or 84.75% (This does not mean you will be guaranteed 500 pts per play)
1000 Pts 1:14.29 or 6.7%
2000 Pts 1:28.57 or 3.5%
5000 Pts 1:42.86 or 2.33%
Other prizes or no prizes: depends on number of entries
5B Prizes= 1,000, 2000, 5,000, $50 GC & Free night
BE SURE TO REGISTER BEFORE SENDING IN ENTRIES!
Leave Surprises here:
500 points (x1098)
1000 points (x42)
2000 points (x26)
5000 points (x17)
$50 Prepaid MasterCard (x13)
1 free night at any IHG hotel (x6)
$2500 Gilt.com GC (x1)
Sony Package (x1)
No Win (x7)
Official Rules
Logistics of the Mail-In Option:
Index Cards Okay? YES (I used 3x5 blank index cards and they were accepted)
Lined Index Cards Okay? Yes, of course, enough with the index cards!
OK to mail cards not inside an envelope? Not according to the rules, which state they must be inside envelopes, one card per envelope
Need to write title before each line? NO
Need second phone number? NO
Middle name required? NO (Left mine out, still got emails. If it's part of your account info, maybe leave it.)
Printed Destination Address Okay? YES (I used printed a bunch of sticker labels and put them on envelopes, accepted)
Printed Return Address Okay? YES (I used an ink stamp)
No Return Address Okay? Yes
Envelope size? Doesn't seem to matter
Non-IHG MasterCard Okay? YES
Debit MasterCard Okay? YES (I used an Ally Bank issued Debit MasterCard)
Use somebody else's MasterCard first 6 digits? YES
There have been reports of mail-in entry emails being sent out on 12/4 and 12/11, and the emails came in rapid succession. This is indicative of HelloWorld batching these out.
Initially batches of emails sent out was on Fridays but as of of 1/6/16 appears to be Wednesdays
#1 Batch=12/4
#2 Batch= 12/11
#3 Batch= 12/18
#4 Batch(xmas)= 12/23
#5 Batch(New Years Day)=12/30
#6 Batch= 1/6
#7 Batch= 1/13
#8 Batch= 1/18-1/24 (emails appear to be arriving daily)
#9 Batch= 2/3-2/5
As of 1/5, points have been posting within a week(ish) of playing and getting confirmation that you've won points.
Points will be paid out without additional email
Some points have been distributed (probably in batches on either Monday or Tuesday)
Points Payout Batches:
#1 12/28 & 12/29--500 pts, 1000pts, 2,000 & 5,000pts (plays before 12/25)
#2 1/4 & 1/5 (plays 12/25-12/30?)
#3 1/11(free nights & pts) & 1/12 (plays from 12/31-1/8)
#4 1/15 (limited due to MLK holiday on 1/18) (for plays from until 1/14)
#5 1/19 (plays from 1/15 til?)
#6 1/29 (plays until 1/24)
#7 2/3 (plays until 1/29)
#8 2/5 (plays until 1/31?)
Has anyone received email with instructions on how to redeem prize? YES ($50 MC redemption instructions received 12/28)
STATUS:
--As of 1/19/16 10:00 am et(estimated) all plays were showing up as no wins. . The play site seems to be undergoing maintenance. Best not to use up the majority of your plays until things smooth out.
--As of 2:45 pm ET on 1/19 play site appears to be back up.
--as of 4:17pm ET on 1/19 500 point plays seems to be working again. No 5B prizes seem to be won at this time
--As of 6pm ET on 1/19 emails being received for wins during the morning hours of 1/19 where it stated no win after select elevator.
--As of 2:30pm EST on 1/20 still reports of nearly 100% 500 pt wins only. Best not to play alot of plays unless you only want 500 pt wins
--As of 8:00 pm EST on 1/20 multiple reports of 5B prizes being won again. Seems to be back to normal.
--As of 2:00 pm EST on 1/21 reports of $50, 2k, 5k, 1k pt wins (unsure of free night wins)
--As of 6:00 pm est on 1/22 everything seems to be working as usual(although very few mentions of free night)
--As of 2:00 pm EST on 1/25 seems like daily emails have been sent out since 1/18 until now.
--As of 6pm EST on 1/29 reports of emails being received from mailed in entries from around mid January. So turnaround for new mailings appear to be about 1 week.
--As of 5pm EST on 2/2 appears that emails have stopped arriving daily with many reporting last email received on 1/29.
Priceless Surprises Promotion
Jan 6, 2016, 7:44 am
#947
Join Date: Jul 2014
Posts: 286
Interesting datapoint... At this point I've received 18 emails so far this morning. I own my own domain name and my email address is fairly simple, and involves the word "the", so my email is "the_____@the_____.com" .
I also have a catch all email on my domain, so that if any email gets sent to a box that does not have a mailbox setup, it gets forwarded to a specific mailbox, and doesn't get returned to sender.
This morning, 17 of my 18 emails were sent to "teh_____@the______.com. instead of the_____@the_____.com
I know my handwriting might have been a little sloppy, but the point is that if they bork one card, it might have an impact on the others in your batch.
I also have a catch all email on my domain, so that if any email gets sent to a box that does not have a mailbox setup, it gets forwarded to a specific mailbox, and doesn't get returned to sender.
This morning, 17 of my 18 emails were sent to "teh_____@the______.com. instead of the_____@the_____.com
I know my handwriting might have been a little sloppy, but the point is that if they bork one card, it might have an impact on the others in your batch.
Jan 6, 2016, 7:46 am
#948
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: CLE -> BNA
Programs: IHG Spire Ambassador, Hyatt Explorist, Hilton Gold, Bonvoy Titanium, UA Silver, RR A-List
Posts: 312
1 email this morning (17/94 now in; all entries sent 11/26)
/edit: clicked the link again and it let me keep playing - got 6 plays on 1 email (no others arrived to my inbox). All 500 point wins. So 22/94 played.
/edit: clicked the link again and it let me keep playing - got 6 plays on 1 email (no others arrived to my inbox). All 500 point wins. So 22/94 played.
Last edited by kerrigjl; Jan 6, 2016 at 8:29 am
Jan 6, 2016, 8:25 am
#949
Join Date: Jul 2014
Posts: 483
I finally got my 5 plays at around 9:30am ET. I sent my 5 test entries out on November 17, 2015. So for those of you still waiting, don't give up hope. All 5 entries were 500 points.
Jan 6, 2016, 8:31 am
#950
Join Date: Jul 2014
Posts: 483
I sure hope this isn't a trend and all the people flooding HelloWorld are causing more loser entries. On the bright side, I finally got emails for 5 test entries sent on 11/17 and they were all 500 points .
Jan 6, 2016, 8:50 am
#951
Original Member
Join Date: May 1998
Location: NJ
Posts: 3,335
Actually, the odds are 1:1.18 of just getting the 500 points. So, 100 out of every 118 entries will get 500 points.
Add to that, that approximately 1 out of 14 will get 1000 points. So, for those hypothetical 118 entries, 8 more will get 1000 points.
Add to that, that approximately 1 out of 28 will get 2000 points, so out of that 118, approximately 4 more 2000 point wins.
And Add to that , that approximately 1 out of 43 will get 5000 points. So, out of that 118, "approximately" 3 more are likely to get 5000 points.
So, overall, out of the 118 entries, the odds are that approximately 115 out of 118 will win one of these prizes (500 to 5000 points).
remainder are possible non-winners, or winners of the large prizes.
Statistically, that's the odds.
Add to that, that approximately 1 out of 14 will get 1000 points. So, for those hypothetical 118 entries, 8 more will get 1000 points.
Add to that, that approximately 1 out of 28 will get 2000 points, so out of that 118, approximately 4 more 2000 point wins.
And Add to that , that approximately 1 out of 43 will get 5000 points. So, out of that 118, "approximately" 3 more are likely to get 5000 points.
So, overall, out of the 118 entries, the odds are that approximately 115 out of 118 will win one of these prizes (500 to 5000 points).
remainder are possible non-winners, or winners of the large prizes.
Statistically, that's the odds.
So, using our 94 entries, the average is likely to be about 10 entries which get nothing.
Jan 6, 2016, 9:35 am
#952
Join Date: Dec 2015
Posts: 8
Just got 42 today. Sent most of mine in near the start of the promotion. Total received is 56/94
Jan 6, 2016, 9:40 am
#953
Join Date: Dec 2010
Posts: 28
Good to know that emails are being sent out not just on Fridays. Sent my entries in mid December so guess I still have some time to wait!
Jan 6, 2016, 9:45 am
#954
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: Rio & Boston
Programs: AA Platinum, HH Diamond, Hertz President
Posts: 83
just received my first 46 entries which I mailed out on 12/2
41 x 500
3 x 1000
1 x 2000
1 x 5000
I was getting nervous for a bit there!
41 x 500
3 x 1000
1 x 2000
1 x 5000
I was getting nervous for a bit there!
Jan 6, 2016, 10:07 am
#955
Join Date: Oct 2014
Programs: IHG AMB/Spire, Hilton Diamond, SPG Gold
Posts: 204
I sent 30 in on Dec 28th and another 10 on Jan 2nd. 40 total entries. Just got 2 email plays about an hour ago.
2 down
38 more to go
But this at least gets me interested in filling out more.
That said, I have 2 stays (3 total nights) at various IHG properties during this promotion. So should I send in 92 cards and not 94 cards considering my two stays are 2 of the 94 plays?
2 down
38 more to go
But this at least gets me interested in filling out more.
That said, I have 2 stays (3 total nights) at various IHG properties during this promotion. So should I send in 92 cards and not 94 cards considering my two stays are 2 of the 94 plays?
Jan 6, 2016, 10:08 am
#956
Join Date: Nov 2015
Location: FL, USA
Programs: AA Plat, Hyatt Explorist, Hilton Diamond, IHG Plat, Marriot Gold
Posts: 1,669
one email today = 500 points
Jan 6, 2016, 10:09 am
#957
Join Date: Nov 2015
Location: FL, USA
Programs: AA Plat, Hyatt Explorist, Hilton Diamond, IHG Plat, Marriot Gold
Posts: 1,669
I sent 30 in on Dec 28th and another 10 on Jan 2nd. 40 total entries. Just got 2 email plays about an hour ago.
2 down
38 more to go
But this at least gets me interested in filling out more.
That said, I have 2 stays (3 total nights) at various IHG properties during this promotion. So should I send in 92 cards and not 94 cards considering my two stays are 2 of the 94 plays?
2 down
38 more to go
But this at least gets me interested in filling out more.
That said, I have 2 stays (3 total nights) at various IHG properties during this promotion. So should I send in 92 cards and not 94 cards considering my two stays are 2 of the 94 plays?
Jan 6, 2016, 10:13 am
#958
Join Date: Nov 2015
Location: FL, USA
Programs: AA Plat, Hyatt Explorist, Hilton Diamond, IHG Plat, Marriot Gold
Posts: 1,669
I know this has been asked before but do you all play the same elevator number each time? I have only had 2 emails but have played the same floor and plan to do so until all 94 are done.
Jan 6, 2016, 10:17 am
#959
Join Date: Aug 2015
Posts: 214
Sent 94 all throughout the second half of November
Got one email today
500 points
I can die happy
Got one email today
500 points
I can die happy
Jan 6, 2016, 10:42 am
#960
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Georgia, USA
Posts: 194
Just received 84 emails. I sent batches of 50, 10, 24, leading up to Thanksgiving (Mon Tues and Wed). My last 10 entries were mailed the day after Thanksgiving.
79 x 500
1 x 5000
3 x 2000
1 x 1000
79 x 500
1 x 5000
3 x 2000
1 x 1000
Last edited by animalj7; Jan 6, 2016 at 12:32 pm