boekel

Boraxo

Question: Do you receive A/RA benefit on Chase free night stays, or are they treated as award stays (i.e. no benefits)?

In practice this is not the case as the term "upgrade" is rather vaguely defined. In some hotels it simply means a room on a higher floor, or something slightly better than the ROH basement room. If in fact this meant a suite on every visit (like the old SPG Plat program) then yes, you would be correct. But in practice I get "upgraded" almost every time I check in at almost every chain, status notwithstanding. The only exception was the horrid Hilton Aberdeen Treetops where everyone is treated like dirt regardless of status.

Pseudo Nim

IAN-UK

To be honest, I really don't know what it means - I'm guessing the limit is a room that would cost 70K points. Not many of those around ..... currently

So would there need to be reward night availability?

Might be easier, less fussy and more realistic to credit accounts with 70K points to spend as one wishes.

But this is IHG

Pseudo Nim

No.... this reads to me as they're going to introduce an 80K category (Bora Bora, anyone?) and the free night won't be valid for those.

Luxuryloyalty

Yes It is a Free Night and you will be able to redeem 1 night at an IHG hotel up to 70,000 points as long as there is IHG Reward night availability, excluding Alliance Resorts.

Pseudo Nim

Yeah it's explicitly limiting it to "70,000 points" that's scaring the bejesus out of me. It reads to me that a new category will be introduced and more hotels will move into it, making them ineligible for this reward. Otherwise why would they put this? And more, why would they put it this year? If they had no plans to devalue this year, they could've just made us feel good for a few months by saying "at ANY property except Alliance and Military" - but noooooo, they have to mention 70K.

I bet you a deval is coming sometime after the new benefits announcement. Maybe April/May timeframe.

IAN-UK

seems to be a nonsense manufactured benefit. Be sure we'll be the ones to pay for it as redemption rates get inflated.


wouldn't it be simpler, more transparent, more useful, just to credit accounts with points to book the rooms we want?

Pseudo Nim

Well no, because there will be some people who just use it on a nearby property out of convenience, and not for the whole 70K amount.

sharps1337

I like it that there is a new benefit A additional free night is not a bad thing, even though it reads like this in this threat.

Mr. Chan

vsevolod4

Hopefully no more devals ... the max has gone from 40 to 50 to 60 to 70K.

But I recall that Regent Hotels are being integrated and some of those are a step up from InterContinental hotels, so they may introduce a higher redemption level. And perhaps Bora Bora and a few will go into that. But at 70K, Willard and Times Square and others are overpriced.

FlyerTalker688786

Don't hold your breath. Once IC Hong Kong is changed to Regent, the points requirement for free rooms will be either up to 100,000 or will be in flexible redemption rate (i.e. every 500-1500 points per dollar value like most of the expensive Hilton properties, *** points per dollar value figures are made-up, does not present any factual indication). The reason I say this is because Regent would be a different animal, IHG might be considering abandon the normal room redemption method for its flagship luxury properties. Thus get rid of cheap redemption option but take on the points per value flexible redemption method. Am I making any sense here? I hope so. Because this is the future trend.

But again that is my personal speculation (just like the three level of point breaks, the leak of this document ...etc...). Please take it as a pinch of salt.

Lionheart

The points devaluation of 2019 is here! I'll post the official scoop shortly in a new thread.

IAN-UK

sure, I can't see many people going to Bora Bora, or wherever, just to max out on the benefit. So the average take-up will probably be signficantly less than 70K.

I'd be happy is IHG handed out, say, 50,000 extra points to RA's to spend as they will. OK, the Bora Bora die hards will miss out, but the rest of us could eek out a couple of Holiday Inn, HIX stays or splurge on an IC.