IHG Premium Visa card [UK] (was PC Rewards Black Visa Card)
Apr 20, 2017, 10:42 am
#1561
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Somewhere in Europe
Posts: 3,362
I emailed executive office 4th April, as i had just passed through the 10k barrier and wanted to ensure that the free night posted.
I received a telephone call on 8th about the same.
I was advised that the free night would not now post. I explained what I intended to use it for and the cost of the room per night. Without hesitation I was advised that I would be credited with that cash amount and asked if I wanted it paid to a bank account, a cheque sent or a credit on my statement. I thought that the latter was likely to be the easiest to process and asked for a statement credit. It was in my account a couple of days later.
(for reference - I had a genuine need for a room at IC HK, and the room was quite expensive!)
I was also advised that my account would be credited on a pro rata basis for the annual fee, after the account had been closed for transactions.
n.b. the person I spoke to seemed a bit unsure about most things, but delivered what he said he would.
I received a telephone call on 8th about the same.
I was advised that the free night would not now post. I explained what I intended to use it for and the cost of the room per night. Without hesitation I was advised that I would be credited with that cash amount and asked if I wanted it paid to a bank account, a cheque sent or a credit on my statement. I thought that the latter was likely to be the easiest to process and asked for a statement credit. It was in my account a couple of days later.
(for reference - I had a genuine need for a room at IC HK, and the room was quite expensive!)
I was also advised that my account would be credited on a pro rata basis for the annual fee, after the account had been closed for transactions.
n.b. the person I spoke to seemed a bit unsure about most things, but delivered what he said he would.
I'll be very surprised if the free night doesn't post to your account if you meet the criteria.
Apr 21, 2017, 12:03 am
#1563
Community Director
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Norwich, UK
Programs: A3*G, BA Gold, BD Gold (in memoriam), IHG Diamond Ambassador
Posts: 8,468
A further data point. I called last night once I knew my spend to the end date, which was just under £7k since my last annual fee.
I argued on the basis of tangible loss for the value of the hotel night, rather than on a 60k points value for an IC redemption because I felt that was easier to show on an actual monetary value, plus a total refund of the annual fee which I would not have paid had I known that the card would be withdrawn before I could meet the free night requirement.
I ended up speaking to a "Customer Relationship Manager". The conversation took about 20 minutes, it was professional and polite on both sides once we got past the obfuscation about points earned so far, and at the end I was offered a total refund of the card fee (which was never disputed) and an additional £201 in compensation for the lost night.
That compared to my request for £280 for the free night, based on 70% of the average £400 value for the IC Park Lane - which I felt was a viable option to choose given I've redeemed my night there before.
I think what helped is that I was absolutely clear what I wanted, I used the right legal language, I totally ruled out the first offer, and I talked about the lack of notice and how that was likely to be viewed by the Ombudsman.
Had I just accepted a pro-rate refund of the fee, I'd have got about £60 back, so certainly well worth the conversation!
I think I'll probably settle for this rather than complain further, given if Barclaycard decide to dispute this at the Ombudsman stage they could equally reasonably argue that 60k points for an IC redemption would be worth £330 at current exchange rates if I bought them (so 70% would be worth £231), plus I've probably already earned an additional 8k or so points compared to holding the non-fee card - value £44. On that basis I'm slightly up in compensation terms.
I argued on the basis of tangible loss for the value of the hotel night, rather than on a 60k points value for an IC redemption because I felt that was easier to show on an actual monetary value, plus a total refund of the annual fee which I would not have paid had I known that the card would be withdrawn before I could meet the free night requirement.
I ended up speaking to a "Customer Relationship Manager". The conversation took about 20 minutes, it was professional and polite on both sides once we got past the obfuscation about points earned so far, and at the end I was offered a total refund of the card fee (which was never disputed) and an additional £201 in compensation for the lost night.
That compared to my request for £280 for the free night, based on 70% of the average £400 value for the IC Park Lane - which I felt was a viable option to choose given I've redeemed my night there before.
I think what helped is that I was absolutely clear what I wanted, I used the right legal language, I totally ruled out the first offer, and I talked about the lack of notice and how that was likely to be viewed by the Ombudsman.
Had I just accepted a pro-rate refund of the fee, I'd have got about £60 back, so certainly well worth the conversation!
I think I'll probably settle for this rather than complain further, given if Barclaycard decide to dispute this at the Ombudsman stage they could equally reasonably argue that 60k points for an IC redemption would be worth £330 at current exchange rates if I bought them (so 70% would be worth £231), plus I've probably already earned an additional 8k or so points compared to holding the non-fee card - value £44. On that basis I'm slightly up in compensation terms.
Apr 21, 2017, 4:18 am
#1564
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: North West UK
Programs: IHG Plat Visa IHG Plat Mastercard
Posts: 87
I am still waiting for my statement dated 18 April 2017 to appear online - a cut and paste secure message from Barclaycard is the usual drivel - in fact, they "attempted to telephone me" after I specifically asked them not to!
Cue: a further complaint about the complaint.
Of course, I can see the balance, the points, the latest transactions, but that's not the point.
Anyone else had problems ( assuming your statement date is around now)?
Cue: a further complaint about the complaint.
Of course, I can see the balance, the points, the latest transactions, but that's not the point.
Anyone else had problems ( assuming your statement date is around now)?
Apr 21, 2017, 4:34 am
#1565
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: UK
Programs: BAEC GGL, HHonors Diamond, IHG Uninspired, Marriott Bonvoy Titanium, UK AMEX Plat
Posts: 2,151
According to the "Activity Summary" near the bottom, I've had my April statement, but there's no PDF of it shown when I click to expand. According to the "Last Statement" part near the top, and the "Last Statement" menu item, my last statement was just over a month ago in March...
Apr 22, 2017, 4:27 am
#1566
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: UK
Programs: BAEC GGL, HHonors Diamond, IHG Uninspired, Marriott Bonvoy Titanium, UK AMEX Plat
Posts: 2,151
According to the "Activity Summary" near the bottom, I've had my April statement, but there's no PDF of it shown when I click to expand. According to the "Last Statement" part near the top, and the "Last Statement" menu item, my last statement was just over a month ago in March...
Apr 22, 2017, 11:04 am
#1567
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: UK
Programs: BAEC GGL, HHonors Diamond, IHG Uninspired, Marriott Bonvoy Titanium, UK AMEX Plat
Posts: 2,151
Without meaning to turn this thread into a monologue...
I emailed Barclaycard just after this post, and asked them if they could confirm if I'd hit the 10k or not. I got some nonsense reply back from them, as we've somewhat come to expect. Pushed back on that, and got this reply today:
So, I now have it in writing that I've spent the 10k in time and should get the free night voucher, in case they later decide they're not giving them out any more. Also free 25 quid for them being typically useless!
In reference to your email, I have checked your account and confirm that you have qualified for free night voucher as you have spent more than £10,000.00 required to qualify for the voucher.
In view of the circumstances, I will be able to credit your Barclaycard account with £25.00 as a token of apology for the inconvenience caused to you and wrong information provided by my previous colleague.
In view of the circumstances, I will be able to credit your Barclaycard account with £25.00 as a token of apology for the inconvenience caused to you and wrong information provided by my previous colleague.
Apr 22, 2017, 3:09 pm
#1568
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Somewhere in Europe
Posts: 3,362
Im sure you will probably already have done it but if you have messaged them via the secure messaging service on the Barclaycard website make sure that you screenshot it as they automatically delete after a set period of time and conveniently about six months ago they reduced that set period of time so they now disappear quicker than they used to.
Apr 24, 2017, 5:45 am
#1569
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: not far from MUC
Posts: 6,620
Im sure you will probably already have done it but if you have messaged them via the secure messaging service on the Barclaycard website make sure that you screenshot it as they automatically delete after a set period of time and conveniently about six months ago they reduced that set period of time so they now disappear quicker than they used to.
Apr 24, 2017, 5:57 am
#1570
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Somewhere in Europe
Posts: 3,362
The SM team are actually pretty good, they can also phone you if they need a bit more information about your posts and start of an investigation before passing it on to the correct team. They seem to have some autonomy which is good.
Barclays social media team (different lot of staff) are also pretty good tbh. They can sort out some stuff for you and can also phone out.
Apr 24, 2017, 4:05 pm
#1571
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: London, UK
Programs: Nandos Chillis
Posts: 196
Earned the free night ages ago. Rang up, got a £100 credit compensation in addition to the pro rata fee refund and a credit transfer over to the 0% Platinum I already hold. They were keen to push me onto the Freedom card but it's not my cup of tea.
The cashback card is also an option if you persist, but it's Visa only at 0.5%.
The cashback card is also an option if you persist, but it's Visa only at 0.5%.
Apr 25, 2017, 2:52 am
#1572
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: North West UK
Programs: IHG Plat Visa IHG Plat Mastercard
Posts: 87
My black creation mastercard has now transferred 20k activation points plus my initial spend points to my IHG account. Indeed, they appeared the day before my 22 April statement was issued, so that's an improvement on Barclaycard.
However, my white creation card has not yet transferred the 10k bonus points from the 22 March statement. Obviously, I queried this in March and received a cut and paste reply which looked as if I had to wait until the next month's statement appeared.
This was not the case with the black card as the qualifying £200 spend was on the April statement. I have sent a complaint by secure message but wondered has anyone else had a similar experience ?
However, my white creation card has not yet transferred the 10k bonus points from the 22 March statement. Obviously, I queried this in March and received a cut and paste reply which looked as if I had to wait until the next month's statement appeared.
This was not the case with the black card as the qualifying £200 spend was on the April statement. I have sent a complaint by secure message but wondered has anyone else had a similar experience ?
Last edited by igc324; Apr 25, 2017 at 2:59 am
Apr 25, 2017, 3:17 am
#1573
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: UK
Programs: BAEC GGL, HHonors Diamond, IHG Uninspired, Marriott Bonvoy Titanium, UK AMEX Plat
Posts: 2,151
Logging into my IHG account today, I was pleasantly surprised to spot this transaction entry:
25-Apr-2017 | Other | Barclaycard Free Night
Checking https://www.ihg.com/rewardsclub/gb/e...e-night-status also shows one free night with Booking Dates of 25-Apr-2017 - 05-May-2018.
So, anyone else who hit the 10k spend just before the cut-off should check their IHG accounts, and hopefully be pleasantly surprised. Especially the person who got the 300 quid for the fact the free night wasn't supposedly happening any more!
25-Apr-2017 | Other | Barclaycard Free Night
Checking https://www.ihg.com/rewardsclub/gb/e...e-night-status also shows one free night with Booking Dates of 25-Apr-2017 - 05-May-2018.
So, anyone else who hit the 10k spend just before the cut-off should check their IHG accounts, and hopefully be pleasantly surprised. Especially the person who got the 300 quid for the fact the free night wasn't supposedly happening any more!
Apr 25, 2017, 6:41 am
#1574
Join Date: May 2011
Programs: BA Gold
Posts: 794
Logging into my IHG account today, I was pleasantly surprised to spot this transaction entry:
25-Apr-2017 | Other | Barclaycard Free Night
Checking https://www.ihg.com/rewardsclub/gb/e...e-night-status also shows one free night with Booking Dates of 25-Apr-2017 - 05-May-2018.
So, anyone else who hit the 10k spend just before the cut-off should check their IHG accounts, and hopefully be pleasantly surprised. Especially the person who got the 300 quid for the fact the free night wasn't supposedly happening any more!
25-Apr-2017 | Other | Barclaycard Free Night
Checking https://www.ihg.com/rewardsclub/gb/e...e-night-status also shows one free night with Booking Dates of 25-Apr-2017 - 05-May-2018.
So, anyone else who hit the 10k spend just before the cut-off should check their IHG accounts, and hopefully be pleasantly surprised. Especially the person who got the 300 quid for the fact the free night wasn't supposedly happening any more!
The amount was a little bit more than that, and enabled me to book some nights taking the benefit of the 20% discount for cash + points offer, effectively doubling my benefit!
Apr 25, 2017, 11:15 am
#1575
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: not far from MUC
Posts: 6,620
