i have a Chase credit card free night which technically had an April 2018 expiration, which is attached to a reservation in Europe later this month.

Having had a medical problem two days ago (serious, documented) I know that I will be unable to travel.

some questions:

1. is there any chance that ihg will allow the certificate to go back into my account, or even allow me to use it locally .?- even for that exact date next to the hospital where I am now would be of use to me.

2. If that is out of the question, If I am a no show, having informed the hotel that I will be a no show, and having not cancelled the reservation or the certificate, will I be charged for a night on my (chase ihg) credit card that guarantees the reservation? Or will I merely forfeit the certificate?

My thought with respect to this is, if there would be no credit card charge, and the hotel has the income from the certificate, they might be inclined to give me some consideration in the future. That consideration might even be a free night on a last minute stay in the future, on a day that they would otherwise be empty. They usually have low rates and high vacancies on the weekends, so that is when I would request it , for next year, on the actual date of stay or the day before. I have been their customer for several years.


or if someone could suggest any other options, greatly appreciated. Being sick sucks, as everyone knows. Losing on penalties and no refund policies on hotels and flights is an additional annoyance, even if it is understandable.

thank you

I have no way of knowing how accommodating IHG will be, but perhaps
you could ask for the free night certificate to be extended for another year, or ask them if you can swap it for a certain number of points that will be of use on a more flexible basis.

I wouldn’t go into what happens if no-show etc... just try to get a solution that leaves you with something you can still use in future.

In the past Hyatt was very accommodating years ago as Gold Passport, and would make exceptions for Diamonds. That’s less the case now. However if you can bring your request to someone at IHG who has the power to make exceptions, it could be worth asking.

Thank you Mike for taking the time to answer.

My questions do however remain, and I am hoping that someone with Ihg experience, can answer.

key questions are for a certificate no show do they just keep the certificate or do they take money from the credit card
providing the guarantee, As well as whether there is any chance that Ihg will extend it, or allow me to stay at a different hotel in a different country on the same day, perhaps due to documentable serious recent medical event, or the platinum status that comes with the chase card and the certificate. If it is a question of possibly getting Ihg to extend it or substitute a different location, any tips of who to call or perhaps when to call to avoid Philippine service center appreciated.

thank you

thank you Scubaccr and Richard1148 for clearly letting me know that my credit card would be charged.

my best remaining option is to call Ihg and request that they either extend the certificate or allow me to use it in a different country near the hospital on the same day. I realize that the odds are against me as the certificate technically expired in April.

however, perhaps I have a small chance as I can document a recent serious hospitalization, and have some elite status. Any suggestion of who to speak to or email — perhaps it is a question of calling a special number or calling during US business hours (to avoid Manila script readers) — or even what to say would be appreciated.

It would be great to have one minor victory, to salvage something amongst the ruins .

thank you

Current and final request on this — is there a way to reach Ihg customer service in the United States , perhaps a different time or number ?

i called the general customer service number from google, don’t have a platinum number, prior to 5 pm eastern time.
i got Manila. They were not able to extend the certificate nor to allow me to stay that night in America instead. I suspect that the us office will give me the same answer, but at least they might have the authority to respond yes if they so choose.


(I also emailed the hotel about marking me as having stayed and giving me some concession next year, but I am aware that that plan has numerous weaknesses and is probably not viable. Also my first email bounced back, all the people that I knew at the hotel no longer work there)

If you’re talking about the free night expiring rather than the card itself then that wasn’t the case for me. My free night certificate expired in February but in mid-May I successfully modified a booking I’d already made with it from end of May to end of July.