Jun 24, 2014, 2:19 am
Last edit by: soitgoes
IHG Account Termination Fact Summary
1) IHG has been terminating accounts due to abuse since approximately 2010 (#244).
2) IHG account terminations happen suddenly and without warning. If your account is terminated, you will not be able to login. You will have to call customer service, who will either reinstate your account and warn you, or refer your case to another office, in which case your account is probably permamently closed.
3) No one except for IHG knows exactly what the trigger for account cancellation is. The reason given is usually excessive use of promo codes. In the past, it was thought that most of the people who got their accounts canceled was due to either selling points or excessive point break bookings, but it appears that mere registration of promo codes now can sometimes trigger a cancellation.
Who has gotten their account terminated?
(If you, or someone you know has got their account terminated, please list your username here, and reference the post you made on this thread).
bgmike (#1)
lcpteck (#5)
DavidAL - father - (#85)
Dolphinyong - friend - (#155)
Bakkie (#180)
Tim O'Brien (#187) reinstated
chongcao - good summary, esp. of events from flyertea forum (#244)
soitgoes (#262) deactivated temporarily; reactivated after phone call
travelismylife - brother inlaw - (#329)
Also, LoyaltyLobby has a number of data points in the comment thread.
FlyerTea (a Chinese site) also has a number of data points.
What do we know about terminations
1) The usual reason IHG gives is non-targeted promo code usage. We don't know which promo codes IHG considers invalid, although IHG told Bakke (#180), that he used a code that was supposed to be for platinum members when he was not.
2) Status does not matter. Gold members, Platinum members, even RAs have all had their account terminated.
3) Credit card does not matter. Some people terminated did not have the IHG Chase card, some did, for more than 3 years (#329).
4) Stay history does not matter. Some people had their accounts terminated before any stay, some had their accounts terminated after one stay that accrued many points, and some had a history of lot of paid stays.
5) Termination usually doesn't cause a loss of booked nights. Apparently, even though your points are gone, any nights reserved stay booked in the system.
6) Some account terminations are caused by calling customer service on incorrectly credited nights. A number of people who had their accounts terminated called in on a stay that posted as non-qualifying, only to have their account cancelled shortly thereafter.
IHG Terms and Conditions downloadable PDF, including:
1) IHG has been terminating accounts due to abuse since approximately 2010 (#244).
2) IHG account terminations happen suddenly and without warning. If your account is terminated, you will not be able to login. You will have to call customer service, who will either reinstate your account and warn you, or refer your case to another office, in which case your account is probably permamently closed.
3) No one except for IHG knows exactly what the trigger for account cancellation is. The reason given is usually excessive use of promo codes. In the past, it was thought that most of the people who got their accounts canceled was due to either selling points or excessive point break bookings, but it appears that mere registration of promo codes now can sometimes trigger a cancellation.
Who has gotten their account terminated?
(If you, or someone you know has got their account terminated, please list your username here, and reference the post you made on this thread).
bgmike (#1)
lcpteck (#5)
DavidAL - father - (#85)
Dolphinyong - friend - (#155)
Bakkie (#180)
Tim O'Brien (#187) reinstated
chongcao - good summary, esp. of events from flyertea forum (#244)
soitgoes (#262) deactivated temporarily; reactivated after phone call
travelismylife - brother inlaw - (#329)
Also, LoyaltyLobby has a number of data points in the comment thread.
FlyerTea (a Chinese site) also has a number of data points.
What do we know about terminations
1) The usual reason IHG gives is non-targeted promo code usage. We don't know which promo codes IHG considers invalid, although IHG told Bakke (#180), that he used a code that was supposed to be for platinum members when he was not.
2) Status does not matter. Gold members, Platinum members, even RAs have all had their account terminated.
3) Credit card does not matter. Some people terminated did not have the IHG Chase card, some did, for more than 3 years (#329).
4) Stay history does not matter. Some people had their accounts terminated before any stay, some had their accounts terminated after one stay that accrued many points, and some had a history of lot of paid stays.
5) Termination usually doesn't cause a loss of booked nights. Apparently, even though your points are gone, any nights reserved stay booked in the system.
6) Some account terminations are caused by calling customer service on incorrectly credited nights. A number of people who had their accounts terminated called in on a stay that posted as non-qualifying, only to have their account cancelled shortly thereafter.
IHG Terms and Conditions downloadable PDF, including:
4. Membership Cancellation. SCH reserves the right to cancel any IHG®Rewards Club membership and revoke any and all unredeemed IHG® Rewards Club points collected by any member for reasons that include, but are not limited to: 1) violation of these Terms and Conditions; 2) misrepresentation of any information or any misuse of this Program; 3) violation of any national, state or local law or regulation in connection with the use of membership privileges; 4) failure to pay for hotel charges; 5) a check to a participating hotel brand that is returned for insufficient funds or is invalid for any reason; 6) commission of fraud or abuse involving any portion of this Program; 7) more than one active account per member; or 8) physical, verbal, or written abuse of hotel or IHG personnel; or 9) action, in any other way, to the detriment of the Program or any of its alliances; all as may be determined by SCH in its sole discretion.
IHG Account Terminated (after registering for several promotion codes)
Jul 21, 2014, 9:25 am
#556
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Victoria, BC
Programs: UA 1k, AA Exec Plt 2MM, HH Diamond, *wood Gold, disgruntled Amex Ex-Centurion
Posts: 584
Wow. After going through about half the thread, I do not feel encouraged in investing any more money and nights into IHG. There are alternatives. My personal situation: I am Platinum, have not received a single promotion email since 2011 and not entered any Promo codes. Since I do not show any of the other "high risk" behaviors, I should be fairly safe.
But why should I do business with a company that acts as capriciously and unfairly as IHG?
I currently hold Hilton Diamond, Best Western Diamond, IHG Platinum, Accor Platinum (to expire), Starwood Gold and Choice Gold. IHG used to be number 2 on my booking preference list - it will certainly go towards the end of that list now.
But why should I do business with a company that acts as capriciously and unfairly as IHG?
I currently hold Hilton Diamond, Best Western Diamond, IHG Platinum, Accor Platinum (to expire), Starwood Gold and Choice Gold. IHG used to be number 2 on my booking preference list - it will certainly go towards the end of that list now.
Jul 21, 2014, 2:41 pm
#558
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: NYC
Programs: IHG, RC, HH, AA, QF, UA, Aeroplan
Posts: 2,690
Jul 21, 2014, 3:20 pm
#560
Join Date: May 2011
Posts: 47
About to start many points stays, hope it all works out.
My rural US work travel only suits IHG, Carlson, Best Western and Choice. Don't want to switch, IHG works best.
Last edited by short_black; Jul 21, 2014 at 3:26 pm
Jul 21, 2014, 5:30 pm
#561
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Charleston, SC, USA
Programs: Avis Pref+, Hyatt Explorist, Marriott Life Gold, Honors Silver, IHG Plat via MC.
Posts: 6,786
+1 SEAfarer #541 & Tim O'Brien #543! It is idiotically contradictory to sell points for cash while the T&Cs state that they have no cash value AND that "earning" points is a figure of speech where we do not "earn" them in the Standard English meaning of the word "earn!"
Jul 22, 2014, 3:53 am
#562
Join Date: Sep 2013
Programs: SPG,HH,IHG
Posts: 786
IMO, I will not make account at risk and terminate.
I am always worried when entering promo code is not funny.
Poor customer service and Poor BRG system have always been a weak point of IHG while promo code is strong point.
Now the good thing has gone, only the bad thing is available for us.
Choosing IHG is totally illogical.
Jul 22, 2014, 3:57 am
#563
Join Date: Sep 2013
Programs: SPG,HH,IHG
Posts: 786
But why should I do business with a company that acts as capriciously and unfairly as IHG?
I currently hold Hilton Diamond, Best Western Diamond, IHG Platinum, Accor Platinum (to expire), Starwood Gold and Choice Gold. IHG used to be number 2 on my booking preference list - it will certainly go towards the end of that list now.
Jul 22, 2014, 10:18 am
#564
Join Date: Jun 2000
Location: East Orange, NJ
Posts: 326
It depends on how 'clean' your are and how many points you have in your account IMO. If you haven't done any BRG, booked PB excessively, stack/used promo code that you are not entitled to, and that you don't have many points in your account, then you have the 'ground' to ask for your missing points.
Plus using them is not "illegal" or even as questionable as using non-targeted codes. So why are accounts being cancelled for excessive PointBreaks use? I don't get it!
Jul 22, 2014, 10:32 am
#565
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: VPS
Programs: IHG Diamond, Delta PM, Hilton Gold, Accor Gold, Marriott Silver
Posts: 7,264
The PointBreak problem seems to have largely been in China where some people were allegedly using scripts to book out the whole PB inventory at a property when the list went live and then reselling those rooms to others.
So PB list before last, a whole bunch of people, including some innocent bystanders, got banned for trying to book PB hotels in China because IHG assumed they were going to resell the rooms after booking.
So PB list before last, a whole bunch of people, including some innocent bystanders, got banned for trying to book PB hotels in China because IHG assumed they were going to resell the rooms after booking.
Jul 22, 2014, 10:34 am
#566
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: MSP
Programs: DL PM, MM, NR; HH Diamond, Bonvoy LT Gold, Hyatt Explorist, IHG Diamond, others
Posts: 12,159
I'd demand a refund, on the grounds that I pre-paid for a reservation that included the benefits of my IHG status, and they weren't going to provide those.
Last edited by FLYGVA; Jul 22, 2014 at 11:20 pm Reason: not need for two posts
Jul 22, 2014, 12:56 pm
#567
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: NYC
Programs: IHG, RC, HH, AA, QF, UA, Aeroplan
Posts: 2,690
What exactly does "booked PB excessively" mean? I book a lot of PointBreaks because they are a tremendous value and really my main reason for participating in IHG Rewards.
Plus using them is not "illegal" or even as questionable as using non-targeted codes. So why are accounts being cancelled for excessive PointBreaks use? I don't get it!
Plus using them is not "illegal" or even as questionable as using non-targeted codes. So why are accounts being cancelled for excessive PointBreaks use? I don't get it!
The PointBreak problem seems to have largely been in China where some people were allegedly using scripts to book out the whole PB inventory at a property when the list went live and then reselling those rooms to others.
So PB list before last, a whole bunch of people, including some innocent bystanders, got banned for trying to book PB hotels in China because IHG assumed they were going to resell the rooms after booking.
So PB list before last, a whole bunch of people, including some innocent bystanders, got banned for trying to book PB hotels in China because IHG assumed they were going to resell the rooms after booking.
and they punish customers because of the decisions their properties make, and are in control of.
Last edited by Tim O'Brien; Jul 22, 2014 at 11:34 pm Reason: no need for two posts, we have multiquote
Jul 22, 2014, 2:19 pm
#568
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Lincoln, UK
Programs: BAEC Gold, IHG Spire Ambassador, Hilton Diamond, Starbucks Gold
Posts: 1,266
The inconsistencies in reward club benefits is matched only by the inconsistencies of their customer service department.
Jul 22, 2014, 2:34 pm
#569
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: NYC
Programs: IHG, RC, HH, AA, QF, UA, Aeroplan
Posts: 2,690
I beg to disagree, but IHG Rewards club have no control over the franchised properties they operate. That they cannot even get the hotel operators to agree a basic level of commitment to honouring published benefits is testament to that.
The inconsistencies in reward club benefits is matched only by the inconsistencies of their customer service department.
The inconsistencies in reward club benefits is matched only by the inconsistencies of their customer service department.
+1^
Jul 22, 2014, 5:41 pm
#570
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: MSP
Programs: DL PM, MM, NR; HH Diamond, Bonvoy LT Gold, Hyatt Explorist, IHG Diamond, others
Posts: 12,159
My point is that your doubts about other people's future behavior, which even they have not yet decided on (and, in some cases, not yet seen any basis on which to act) are completely irrelevant to the reality of their actions.