Apr 30, 2019, 12:23 pm
Last edit by: craigthemif
A new season and a new IHG Accelerate promotion. Answers to some Frequently Asked Questions below:
For newcomers to IHG promotions, note that Holiday Inn Express and Holiday Inn (including Holiday Inn Resorts) are two different brand categories for these things. If your dashboard says 'stay at a Holiday Inn Express' as one of the tasks and you stay at a Holiday Inn, it will NOT credit for the Holiday Inn Express task. (and vice versa)
For a task that says 'Stay X number of times at a Holiday Inn Express' (or Holiday Inn, Intercontinental, etc.) each stay must be at a different property for it to fully credit rather than staying at the same property multiple times.
An award stay only counts toward a task that specifically requires an award stay and will not count toward other tasks and night requirements for the purposes of the promotion. (Award stays do count toward general elite qualification, but that's outside this promotion)
'Redeem points' award nights only count for the 'redeem points' task and no other tasks. (example- an award night does not count toward 'Stay X number of nights')
At IHG, points + cash stays are simply points stays where you bought some of the points at the time of the reservation. Once you finish the reservation, a points + cash stay shows as a points stay. Thus points + cash stays only count for tasks where they are specified, and not other tasks.
Other than the tasks for redeeming points and point + cash reservations, tasks are generally very stackable. Enjoy the game of figuring out how to get the most out of the least amount of nights and money.
Doing a points + cash booking and then cancelling it does NOT trigger a 'buy points' task completion. A 'buy points' task is a points transaction that is processed through points.com
The 'pay with your IHG credit card' task has typically been very slow to post. If it does within about two weeks of completing a stay, that's relatively quick, and it will often be several weeks beyond that, depending on when your statement closing date is and how IHG's system sweep is timed.
Some offers require booking within the promotion period in addition to staying during the promotion period.
Registration & dashboard link:
https://www.ihg.com/content/gb/en/offers/accelerate2019
For newcomers to IHG promotions, note that Holiday Inn Express and Holiday Inn (including Holiday Inn Resorts) are two different brand categories for these things. If your dashboard says 'stay at a Holiday Inn Express' as one of the tasks and you stay at a Holiday Inn, it will NOT credit for the Holiday Inn Express task. (and vice versa)
For a task that says 'Stay X number of times at a Holiday Inn Express' (or Holiday Inn, Intercontinental, etc.) each stay must be at a different property for it to fully credit rather than staying at the same property multiple times.
An award stay only counts toward a task that specifically requires an award stay and will not count toward other tasks and night requirements for the purposes of the promotion. (Award stays do count toward general elite qualification, but that's outside this promotion)
'Redeem points' award nights only count for the 'redeem points' task and no other tasks. (example- an award night does not count toward 'Stay X number of nights')
At IHG, points + cash stays are simply points stays where you bought some of the points at the time of the reservation. Once you finish the reservation, a points + cash stay shows as a points stay. Thus points + cash stays only count for tasks where they are specified, and not other tasks.
Other than the tasks for redeeming points and point + cash reservations, tasks are generally very stackable. Enjoy the game of figuring out how to get the most out of the least amount of nights and money.
Doing a points + cash booking and then cancelling it does NOT trigger a 'buy points' task completion. A 'buy points' task is a points transaction that is processed through points.com
The 'pay with your IHG credit card' task has typically been very slow to post. If it does within about two weeks of completing a stay, that's relatively quick, and it will often be several weeks beyond that, depending on when your statement closing date is and how IHG's system sweep is timed.
Some offers require booking within the promotion period in addition to staying during the promotion period.
Registration & dashboard link:
https://www.ihg.com/content/gb/en/offers/accelerate2019
New Accelerate Promotion (May 01, 2019 - August 31, 2019
May 9, 2019, 1:04 pm
#136
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Barcelona, London, on a plane
Programs: BA Silver, TK E+, AA PP, Hyatt Globalist, Marriott LT Plat, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 13,048
Mine posted instantaneously as 9,500 points purchased. (5k bought + 4,5k bonus) Double check your account...
May 9, 2019, 2:18 pm
#137
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: TPA
Programs: BA Silver; Hilton Gold; IHG Diamond Ambassador; Marriott Gold
Posts: 2,811
The last promo was my first, so I'm new to this. I wasn't sure whether the points earned through it would count toward status qualification. it looks like some of them did, and the criteria for which did seemed unclear; it wasn't simply the extra bonuses for completing multiple tasks which did not, as far as I can tell. Can anyone clarify those rules for me?
I just received the May-Aug promo and it would be nice to know what effect any earn there will have.
Thanks.
I just received the May-Aug promo and it would be nice to know what effect any earn there will have.
Thanks.
May 9, 2019, 9:31 pm
#138
Join Date: Apr 2008
Posts: 227
One of my tasks is to book a Bonus Points Package stay.
Some hotels optionally offer to purchase bonus points per night.
Does this bonus point offer per night also count towards the promotion?
Or does it have to be xxxx points per stay rate?
The hotel I am looking at is Holiday Inn & Suites : Jakarta Gajah Mada
Booking confirmation says "Rate Type: YOUR RATE by IHG® Rewards Club BONUS POINTS + breakfast: 1,000 Points & breakfast daily"
Rate description is as follows: INCLUDES ROOM AND BREAKFAST FOR ONE OR TWO ADULTS SHARING A ROOM AND 1000 IHG REWARDS CLUB POINTS PER NIGHT. BONUS WILL BE FULFILLED ELECTRONICALLY.
Some hotels optionally offer to purchase bonus points per night.
Does this bonus point offer per night also count towards the promotion?
Or does it have to be xxxx points per stay rate?
The hotel I am looking at is Holiday Inn & Suites : Jakarta Gajah Mada
Booking confirmation says "Rate Type: YOUR RATE by IHG® Rewards Club BONUS POINTS + breakfast: 1,000 Points & breakfast daily"
Rate description is as follows: INCLUDES ROOM AND BREAKFAST FOR ONE OR TWO ADULTS SHARING A ROOM AND 1000 IHG REWARDS CLUB POINTS PER NIGHT. BONUS WILL BE FULFILLED ELECTRONICALLY.
May 10, 2019, 1:37 am
#139
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Barcelona, London, on a plane
Programs: BA Silver, TK E+, AA PP, Hyatt Globalist, Marriott LT Plat, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 13,048
One of my tasks is to book a Bonus Points Package stay.
Some hotels optionally offer to purchase bonus points per night.
Does this bonus point offer per night also count towards the promotion?
Or does it have to be xxxx points per stay rate?
The hotel I am looking at is Holiday Inn & Suites : Jakarta Gajah Mada
Booking confirmation says "Rate Type: YOUR RATE by IHG® Rewards Club BONUS POINTS + breakfast: 1,000 Points & breakfast daily"
Rate description is as follows: INCLUDES ROOM AND BREAKFAST FOR ONE OR TWO ADULTS SHARING A ROOM AND 1000 IHG REWARDS CLUB POINTS PER NIGHT. BONUS WILL BE FULFILLED ELECTRONICALLY.
Some hotels optionally offer to purchase bonus points per night.
Does this bonus point offer per night also count towards the promotion?
Or does it have to be xxxx points per stay rate?
The hotel I am looking at is Holiday Inn & Suites : Jakarta Gajah Mada
Booking confirmation says "Rate Type: YOUR RATE by IHG® Rewards Club BONUS POINTS + breakfast: 1,000 Points & breakfast daily"
Rate description is as follows: INCLUDES ROOM AND BREAKFAST FOR ONE OR TWO ADULTS SHARING A ROOM AND 1000 IHG REWARDS CLUB POINTS PER NIGHT. BONUS WILL BE FULFILLED ELECTRONICALLY.
May 10, 2019, 8:37 am
#140
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: Singapore
Programs: SIA Solitaire PPS, IHG Royal Amb, Hyatt Globalist, Bonvoy Gold, Hilton Hhonor Gold
Posts: 2,208
May 10, 2019, 11:32 am
#141
Join Date: Jul 2009
Programs: BAEC Silver, IHG Diamond
Posts: 7,770
Has no-one got a "complete 5/6 tasks and earn 20k bonus points" sort of thing this time round?
I've got 1 task that involves 2 x 4 night stays yet I only stay a couple of nights, on average, a time. Not got any real holiday plans until after the promo finishes and for 12k points, it's probably not worth adding the extra nights.
Anyway, will complete my 3 brands this weekend and 1 out of 2 weekend stays.
If I can pick up a cheap CP stay at the weekend, that mops up another 2.
Just leaves the 2 x 4 night stays, and points + cash package to complete. The second doesn't seem worth it seeing as I get offered 3k points for just under £15 and I would have to spend something like £50 + 5k points in order to earn 4500 points (I suppose if the hotel was wanting say £250 for a room Vs. 20k points, then the reward night would definitely be better value)
I've got 1 task that involves 2 x 4 night stays yet I only stay a couple of nights, on average, a time. Not got any real holiday plans until after the promo finishes and for 12k points, it's probably not worth adding the extra nights.
Anyway, will complete my 3 brands this weekend and 1 out of 2 weekend stays.
If I can pick up a cheap CP stay at the weekend, that mops up another 2.
Just leaves the 2 x 4 night stays, and points + cash package to complete. The second doesn't seem worth it seeing as I get offered 3k points for just under £15 and I would have to spend something like £50 + 5k points in order to earn 4500 points (I suppose if the hotel was wanting say £250 for a room Vs. 20k points, then the reward night would definitely be better value)
May 10, 2019, 11:58 am
#142
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: TPA
Programs: BA Silver; Hilton Gold; IHG Diamond Ambassador; Marriott Gold
Posts: 2,811
Earn 49,800 total bonus points.
8,400 Discover Our Brands
Stay at 2 brands and get 8,400 bonus points.
4,500 Stay for Less and Earn
Book 1 stay(s) using Points & Cash and earn 4,500 bonus points.
12,000 Stay a Little Longer
Earn 12,000 bonus points when you book 2 stay(s) of 4 or more consecutive nights.
24,900 Your Achievement Bonus
Complete 3 of the 3 offers and earn (an additional) 24,900 bonus points.
My already-booked stays will meet the first, and 1 4 night stay; no other trips are planned. I am assuming the points will count toward qualification, except maybe the "Achievement Bonus"?
I am planning a Sep/Oct trip. Is it safe to assume there will be a similar promo then, which includes "2 brands" and "2 4 night stays" as this and my previous offer did?
Sorry for the newbie questions. Yes, for those trying to correlate offers to poster's particulars, I am new to IHG status.
8,400 Discover Our Brands
Stay at 2 brands and get 8,400 bonus points.
4,500 Stay for Less and Earn
Book 1 stay(s) using Points & Cash and earn 4,500 bonus points.
12,000 Stay a Little Longer
Earn 12,000 bonus points when you book 2 stay(s) of 4 or more consecutive nights.
24,900 Your Achievement Bonus
Complete 3 of the 3 offers and earn (an additional) 24,900 bonus points.
My already-booked stays will meet the first, and 1 4 night stay; no other trips are planned. I am assuming the points will count toward qualification, except maybe the "Achievement Bonus"?
I am planning a Sep/Oct trip. Is it safe to assume there will be a similar promo then, which includes "2 brands" and "2 4 night stays" as this and my previous offer did?
Sorry for the newbie questions. Yes, for those trying to correlate offers to poster's particulars, I am new to IHG status.
May 10, 2019, 1:58 pm
#143
Join Date: Jan 2017
Programs: IHG - spire amb, Marriot - tit, Radisson - plat, Hilton - gold, Accor -gold, GHA - plat
Posts: 282
Earn 49,800 total bonus points.
8,400 Discover Our Brands
Stay at 2 brands and get 8,400 bonus points.
4,500 Stay for Less and Earn
Book 1 stay(s) using Points & Cash and earn 4,500 bonus points.
12,000 Stay a Little Longer
Earn 12,000 bonus points when you book 2 stay(s) of 4 or more consecutive nights.
24,900 Your Achievement Bonus
Complete 3 of the 3 offers and earn (an additional) 24,900 bonus points.
My already-booked stays will meet the first, and 1 4 night stay; no other trips are planned. I am assuming the points will count toward qualification, except maybe the "Achievement Bonus"?
I am planning a Sep/Oct trip. Is it safe to assume there will be a similar promo then, which includes "2 brands" and "2 4 night stays" as this and my previous offer did?
Sorry for the newbie questions. Yes, for those trying to correlate offers to poster's particulars, I am new to IHG status.
8,400 Discover Our Brands
Stay at 2 brands and get 8,400 bonus points.
4,500 Stay for Less and Earn
Book 1 stay(s) using Points & Cash and earn 4,500 bonus points.
12,000 Stay a Little Longer
Earn 12,000 bonus points when you book 2 stay(s) of 4 or more consecutive nights.
24,900 Your Achievement Bonus
Complete 3 of the 3 offers and earn (an additional) 24,900 bonus points.
My already-booked stays will meet the first, and 1 4 night stay; no other trips are planned. I am assuming the points will count toward qualification, except maybe the "Achievement Bonus"?
I am planning a Sep/Oct trip. Is it safe to assume there will be a similar promo then, which includes "2 brands" and "2 4 night stays" as this and my previous offer did?
Sorry for the newbie questions. Yes, for those trying to correlate offers to poster's particulars, I am new to IHG status.
May 10, 2019, 5:42 pm
#144
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: BKK
Programs: QR-G, TK-E , WY-G
Posts: 142
I made another booking points & cash for end of May - Accellerate book 1 stay(s) using Points & Cash and earn 4,500 bonus points - no dashboard update.
When I registered, I received the confirmation email immediately, but the tasks were visible in my dashboard only after 2-3 days.
May 10, 2019, 9:57 pm
#145
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: VPS
Programs: IHG Diamond, Delta PM, Hilton Gold, Accor Gold, Marriott Silver
Posts: 7,268
For anyone in the USA who needs to book a Holiday Inn Express in the next day or two, ebates is 15% back right now as part of their anniversary promotion, and click through sites like that play nice in terms of IHG points and promotions crediting properly when you use one about 99% of the time. If you don't have an ebates account or have an account you've never used and also have an Amex card that earns MR points, you can set things up to get ME points instead of cash back.
May 11, 2019, 1:29 am
#146
Join Date: Oct 2018
Programs: BAEC Gold, IHG Platinum, ALL Gold, Bonvoy Gold Elite, HHonors Gold
Posts: 384
I wasn't sure whether the points earned through it would count toward status qualification. it looks like some of them did, and the criteria for which did seemed unclear; it wasn't simply the extra bonuses for completing multiple tasks which did not, as far as I can tell. Can anyone clarify those rules for me?
May 11, 2019, 11:30 am
#148
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: ORF
Programs: Amex Plat, AA, BA Silver, Marriott Plat, Choice Gold, HHonors Gold, IHG Diamond
Posts: 3,749
Has no-one got a "complete 5/6 tasks and earn 20k bonus points" sort of thing this time round?
I've got 1 task that involves 2 x 4 night stays yet I only stay a couple of nights, on average, a time. Not got any real holiday plans until after the promo finishes and for 12k points, it's probably not worth adding the extra nights.
Anyway, will complete my 3 brands this weekend and 1 out of 2 weekend stays.
If I can pick up a cheap CP stay at the weekend, that mops up another 2.
Just leaves the 2 x 4 night stays, and points + cash package to complete. The second doesn't seem worth it seeing as I get offered 3k points for just under £15 and I would have to spend something like £50 + 5k points in order to earn 4500 points (I suppose if the hotel was wanting say £250 for a room Vs. 20k points, then the reward night would definitely be better value)
I've got 1 task that involves 2 x 4 night stays yet I only stay a couple of nights, on average, a time. Not got any real holiday plans until after the promo finishes and for 12k points, it's probably not worth adding the extra nights.
Anyway, will complete my 3 brands this weekend and 1 out of 2 weekend stays.
If I can pick up a cheap CP stay at the weekend, that mops up another 2.
Just leaves the 2 x 4 night stays, and points + cash package to complete. The second doesn't seem worth it seeing as I get offered 3k points for just under £15 and I would have to spend something like £50 + 5k points in order to earn 4500 points (I suppose if the hotel was wanting say £250 for a room Vs. 20k points, then the reward night would definitely be better value)
If you don't think you're going to do a points stay anyway, then the very worst you do under the example I've noted is keep your current points and gain 5K more for a small cash price--assuming that IHG denies that you've completed the task. And if IHG doesn't do that, you're getting the 4500 bonus points for completing the task plus if your plans change so that you could complete all the other tasks, the full Accelerate bonus. So although through your reservation you are purchasing points at a higher rate than during IHG sales, you've got to add the 4500 points for completing the task into the equation. That could almost halve the cost of purchasing the points--bringing the rate well below any other avenue for purchasing points.
Even with the risk that IHG might later contest that you completed the task, I think that's a risk worth taking.
May 11, 2019, 11:59 am
#149
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: TPA
Programs: BA Silver; Hilton Gold; IHG Diamond Ambassador; Marriott Gold
Posts: 2,811
I'm new to this as well, but I don't believe any of the task points would count towards status. Although if you have a task for booking bonus point stays, obviously the purchased bonus points (in addition to the base points for the stay itself) would count towards status as normal.
May 12, 2019, 12:17 am
#150
Join Date: May 2014
Location: Toronto-YYZ
Programs: Aeroplan, BA Executive- Blue, Lifemiles, AA Advantage, VIA Rail Preference, Iberia Plus
Posts: 565
A bit late but here's my offer:
Earn 56,700 total bonus points.
Complete all your offers to get 56,700 total bonus points.
Point Value Offer DescriptionStatus
Nothing has shown up yet, but I've cancelled 2 bookings and rebooked it via the android program with the "pay now" option although I already had it installed (not sure if that makes a difference but hope not!). It showed that I would be getting points for each booking so I presume that will trigger it?
2 of the hotels are holiday inn and holiday inn express so that should knock off the 2 8400 points and If I'm able to travel for work in Aug, I'll hit the 2nd points bonus as I'm already doing 1 on my holiday.
Def not going to earn/do all the options, but "free" points for little to no extra work is always a nice bonus. Assuming it goes through of course.
Earn 56,700 total bonus points.
Complete all your offers to get 56,700 total bonus points.Point Value
Offer DescriptionStatus- 2,800Go Places with the IHG® App 0 Earn 2,800 bonus points when you download, sign in and book 2 stay(s) with the IHG® App. Get mobile-exclusive rates and view member offers and benefits.
- 6,600 Earn More, FasterEarn 6,600 bonus points when you book 2 Bonus Points Package stay(s) and get to your next reward faster.
- 8,400 Discover Our BrandsStay at 2 brands and get 8,400 bonus points.
- 8,000 Stay at Holiday Inn®Stay at 2 Holiday Inn® hotel(s)—including Holiday Inn Resort® and Holiday Inn Club Vacations®—and earn 8,000 bonus points.1
- 12,000Stay a Little LongerEarn 12,000 bonus points when you book 2 stay(s) of 4 or more consecutive nights.
- 18,900Your Achievement Bonus Complete 5 of the 5 offers and earn (an additional) 18,900 bonus points.
Nothing has shown up yet, but I've cancelled 2 bookings and rebooked it via the android program with the "pay now" option although I already had it installed (not sure if that makes a difference but hope not!). It showed that I would be getting points for each booking so I presume that will trigger it?
2 of the hotels are holiday inn and holiday inn express so that should knock off the 2 8400 points and If I'm able to travel for work in Aug, I'll hit the 2nd points bonus as I'm already doing 1 on my holiday.
Def not going to earn/do all the options, but "free" points for little to no extra work is always a nice bonus. Assuming it goes through of course.