ramlax13

Couple of data points to share -

Was searching availability in Philadelphia in June (weekday if it matters). Saw both Kimpton hotels listed at reduced points rates (35k and 32.5k) on IHG search, typically 50k. If you go to the individual hotels website and search for rewards nights, the rate actually drops to 25k.

Secondly, I was able to book the stay using a Chase free night. Previously this hotel would not be eligible because of the higher points needed for the stay, but it seems the system is now honoring the lower points price as valid for a chase free night qualification.

UAL123

HUGE increases at some hotels this afternoon (at least for the summer months that I checked). Some examples I was looking at:

Holiday Inn Bar Harbor - August weekend went from 50k/night to 79k/night
Kimpton Shorebreak - Saturday night in June went from 55k to 85k
Holiday Inn Express Newport Beach - Saturday night in June went from 25k to 59k!

We are definitely seeing what can happen with dynamic pricing. A Holiday Inn for 79k is crazy.

1353513636

Holiday Inn Express Sequim WA 65k for a couple weekends in August
Holiday Inn Express Zion Springdale 70k in May

Still some super cheap redemptions though; it seems like moving forward the value in this program is solely at hotels that are unlikely to be full (which can still be valuable), but at busy times, Hyatt seems to be to only reasonable program now.

dkc192

Yeah, 79k is obscene and offensive. I was looking at a July weekday that went from 30k to 71k. What happened to the cap of 70k per night? I've also never seen prices that vary in increments of 1k points; I thought it was done in increments in 2.5k.

demue

Those points levels are obscene for the types of properties we are talking about, I'd second that. I'm also surprised that the upper cap seems to be removed here which would be a worrying though not entirely unexpected trend (if they can drop without restrictions as well).

Not sure if it can be controlled at property level, but it could be some sort of experiment too to test it out if it is a kind of floating points amount without any caps.

I checked some properties in Europe and Japan that I usually consider for reward nights and they currently maintain the upper cap in place even though rates are very high, e.g. around Christmas and New Years where nightly rates at a European IC hover around 500€ a night and points (when available) are 50k which is the current max for that property.

Similar in Japan all the typical ICs we visit sit at their respective max points threshold for now. To be seen. YMMV.

Atlantico

Booked IC Maldives yesterday 4x nights at 100k today an additional night is at 120K.

Similar in Europe, IC Davos was at 50K now 79K, IC Porto was 40K now 60K

Very steep increase without notice

GUWonder

If this program wasn't already considered a poor value, this is a pretty clear sign of how poor a value the program is already and how easily it can become an even worse value.

UKtravelbear

Noticed some changes yesterday as well.

But one of the nights I was checking the points rate had gone down so I cancelled and rebooked that night.

And that’s something I suggest others do as well - check your points and refundable cash bookings on a regular basis to see if you can make any savings,

FlyerTalker324193

Wow, IC Porto went up from 40k to 75k per night for a weekend I was looked at in May. (In a matter of days, similar to what others ITT observed.)

agjil

IC London Parklane increased from 70K to over 80K.
Some dates show 82K and some other dates show 85K and so on.
I get the feeling IHG updated the way dynamic pricing is calculated for reward nights and it is being reflected as generally higher number of points for luxury properties.

dkc192

It goes beyond luxury properties too. I doubt anyone calls the HI Bar Harbor or the HIX Springdale a "luxury" property!

craigthemif

Weird. I just ran a quick check on Barcelona because of the thread showing that the CP is now an IC, and the award pricing was much lower than expected...

Maybe an intern was playing with the algorithm and it leaked out?

hopkinsa

I booked the HIX Zion Springdale last week for May, and was thinking 40k was a bit steep. Glad I went ahead and booked since I also noticed it went up to 70k overnight!!!
I booked all my rooms for a cross country road trip, and I am glad I did. All but one of my 14 nights was way higher. I did rebook a night in Ohio for a 1k refund.

swag

Holiday Inn Resort : Pensacola Beach Gulf Front, used to be 40K I think, certainly not more than 50K.

Most of the summer is now 80K.

gbdbld

I was looking at the Kimpton Vero Beach, FL, some of the nights are going over 100k points per night. The cash rates are extremely high as well at well over $1,500, but there seems to be no cap in this.