AaronD23

IHG agent told me on the phone that all points-earning rates are eligible for the Into The Nights promotion.

Points Scrounger

They seem to be a bit backed up in updating the dashboard these days. My first stay (that has been credited for this promo) posted correctly as a valid night towards my required eleven needed; I booked it last summer.

blindman

I asked this Q and another about if the 21 Super Saver rates qualify for ITN to ihgcare () and ihgrewards via email.

No answer so far after 3 days

So I rang the UK centre today 0871 942 9292

The lady there contacted the IHGrewards centre (she had no clue) and they came back with:-

48 hr "Flash" sale--NO -becasue they were heavily discounted rates

21 Supersaver rate YES.

Which TBHO is total bo**ocks IMHO

Both rates earn points.
Both rates "can be heavily discounted" BUT they can also be only marginally cheaper-depends on the property.

e.g
21 day super saver is £38 rather than BF at £69 at one property.
Wheras 48 Flash sale is £78 as opposed to £98 so not exactly heavily discounted.

IHG confusion yet again.

Update
I rang 0871 226 1111 Total waste of space-passed around then hung up on.
Rang UK call centre again and asked for the information given over the phone to be emailed to me.

Once I have it in black and white I will probably book a 21 Super save rate

FlyerTalker688786

Oh well, this issue has been for a long while since very early days of IHG.

Let us say this problem has been for a decade now. But recently it is slowly showing improvement. Let me try my best to explain why.

Before IHG Rewards Club forms today's structure, (i.e. in the old PC days), all rates are given points as long as it is no more than 30% discount of the Best Flexible Rate. But this creates a problem: the Best Flexible Rate is always fluctuate. When someone booked Advance Purchase rate at $80 while the Flexible rate was $100. By the time he checks in the Flexible rate was $130. So the poor customer could not get any points as the discount is more than 30%...Doesn't make sense, right?

So in the new IHG Rewards Club, they made things very clear, as long as you book any public bookable rate on IHG.com in Advance booking rate, members will get points regardless how much discount it is. That is an improvement. In your example, if you have booked 21 days Advance at £38 while the Best Flexible is £69, you would not get any points...But now such rate is guaranteed points.

However, 24 hours flash sale is a trick. Many hotels are selling the room at a huge discount. For example, Holiday Inn Express Bristol, normally at £59 plus, currently for £29 in the sale. IHG decided not to award points. But there is unfairness in this promotion. Your example is £78 VS £98 is a classic sample!

Obviously IHG seems to be confused, and let customer confused too. Here is my suggestion on how to avoid this confusion:

1>, Always book publicly available rate on IHG. By means of publicly available, it means the rate is displayed without clicking on any promotion page or type in any rate code. These rates are all good.
2>, For any promotional rate that customers need to book through a specified page (i.e. Flash Sale), make sure there is following wording available in terms and conditions: IHG Rewards Club points apply. Without this wording, such promotion is 99% likely excluded from awarding member points.

Following above rules one would expect to get points when book on IHG.com. Hope that helps.

blindman

Thanks for the description-Doesn't hold water for the Flash Sale though which can be booked direct on the IHG web-site no need for a special page.

Flash sale earns points •You will earn 460 points for this stay
Its' £29 as opposed to ADV at £44 and BF of £60.99
Neither of whose T&C's differ from the Flash sale (below)They all earn points

T&C's are:

strayersong

Thanks! I'm one night short and booked a stay on Dec 20. If it doesn't count I will be screwed :P

Anyway, on the reservation page it clears states that I will be earning points

NJUPINTHEAIR

Well, I get as well as give and I appreciate you guys punching holes in my theories esp. remark!

Remark, given the additional information, I would try to again contact an IHG account rep with a detailed letter of just what happened, and I also would send the same to the rep(s) on this board, as you truly believed you were qualifying and indeed, you paid the same as you would have qualified.

Now, upon reflection instead of the heat of the moment posting, I would admit that a Thursday & Friday stay under one confirm would satisfy this promotion; so too, would a Friday & Saturday Stay, as would a Saturday & Sunday stay, as well as a Sunday & Monday stay -- all under one confirmation.

In instances where a different result obtained, like remark's, a rationale explanation would seem to permit others to agree with your point of view -- as I have with respect to remark's situation and I hope that IHG personnel would be as open-minded.

With respect to nightmare fantasies and the like, first, I was not the only one to question the narrative upon the bare-bones and still later barely fleshed story.

Second, I admit that I have become jaded with respect to some of the excuses given by FT people over the years with respect to their outright failure to follow commonsense rules, or their unmitigated outright greed and rationalizing to keep same whatever the rules state, and regardless of their moral compass.

I recently encountered the reverse of this when some long time Royal Ambassador and Ambassador posters state that the rules on awards clearly state that one is only to receive a standard room and that is it -- despite the fact that the hotels routinely put up higher room types.

They contended -- with some justification -- that the rules are clear and that is that. However, anyone with a legal background or some sort of training or having taken course on same, would know that is often not the end of the story when it comes to contracts and what is euphemistically known as meeting of the minds, and if there is a mistake, one can' just sit on one's hands and do nothing and not notify the other party of such mistake -- especially if that "mistake" is repeated quite often.

They took the position -- and some even said as much -- that they were sick and tired of people claiming a "mistake" rate would entitle them to the world -- like a $5.00 Presidential suite or a R/T USA - Europe for $10.00 in business class.

Now, I am one who agrees with such views up to a point as there is a continuum where a mistake that is plain to both sides becomes a mistake of only one side and an uneven degree of naked greed as to the other.

In my point of view, putting a better class of room up for any sort of reward, does not rise to ill-gotten gains.

Nor, does a rationale explanation in this case given remark's, well now, more full remarks.

It is not a situation where someone blindly decides not to follow clear rules or decides not to ask believing that they would get a reasonable explanation from IHG for same -- and many of you doubt that could ever happen.

Fortunately, I have had good success getting responses from IHG in writing but I know others have not. That is why I say try again, except with greater detail.

There is a point where too good to be true is too good to be true, and regardless of mistake rates, the company has the option not to honor them and risk the bad press -- but on some mistakes, I would say bad press be damned, as those seeking something for nothing should pound sand and let others see them for what they are -- greedy.

Then one comes to the other side where I just read a story of Hampton telling guests who lost their personal items in a hotel fire that it was an act of God and denying any and all responsibility for the loss.

There is a happy medium and it says a lot about a person if he has made an innocent mistake and others who had initially judged him perhaps too harshly have had the guts to admit their mistake and accept their error.

So too, it demonstrates a great deal of someone who continues to try to get an angle despite a clear reading or intentional mis-reading of the rules so as to try to game the system and get a hard task accomplished by instead trying to cut corners and do an easy task -- for example, stay at 2 Holiday Inns gets converted to 2 stays at the same HI, when a more reasonable interpretation and one that could easily be found out by contacting IHG in writing, would be that it must be at 2 separate HIs.

So, too, was my and others beliefs that there was an effort to game the system that resulted in the downfall of remark and a we told you so, or too smart by half, or a fool and his money are easily parted syndrome taking effect.

Anyway, I will continue to call them as I see them and call others out when they are being greedy IMHO, but I am man enough to admit my mistakes or gracious enough to permit exceptions when the intent was to comply with the rules of the game. I just hope IHG feels likewise in remark's situation and that is why I hope he tries again and reports back with his results.

NJUPINTHEAIR

Does the same header also appear when one books an Entertainment Rate? If so, then you are misleading yourself and more importantly others for it is well established that Entertainment rates do not earn points despite what a heading on the booking page might state and therefore do not qualify for promotions.

If it does state as much, then you are setting yourself up for a potential fight and more importantly setting others up for same who might not have the stomach for a fight -- and therefore, the anecdotal oral reports that Flash sale rates do not earn points and count for promotion purposes may actually be true. Therefore, you would be doing a disservice not only to yourself but more importantly to others who take what you have written above as gospel and are consequentially potentially led astray by same.

Of course, I have written a countervailing argument, that they can choose to believe or not, but they certainly should not complain if at some point in the future these rates are proven to be not qualifying for although you may have reproduced the booking page, nothing in the terms and conditions that you have reproduced above has convinced me that such rates are definitely qualifying rates -- indeed, the terms above are silent on that specific issue.

blindman

Not sure what you're smoking this weekend but all I'm trying to do is to determine by some definite means if the Flash sale and 21 day Saver actually are Qualifying rates.

TBHO I do not think ANYONE knows.
The CS at ihgrewards look like they get paid on every response they "close" so they turn out garbage to achieve this.
UK staff have no clue to this so have to contact said ihgrewards people who give the same garabage answer so they can close the call.

Got this classic "cut and paste" from IHG rewards today:
I have formatted to make it easier to read-but it is straight from the web-site.

My questions was specific about the 48 hour sale rate and the 21 day Super saver rate.

Now where in that cut and paste does it say they are not\ or ARE qualifiying rates.

and WHAT is QUALIFYING ROOM RATE? If you get points is it QUALIFYING?

What is the definition of QUALIFYING??

Total mess.

I'm still waiting for my email from the UK call centre from the oral confirmation that 21 Super saver rates arre "Qualifying"

I notice the IHGCARE rep has not dared to show his\her face again.

I'd be embarrassed to work for this CS too

NJUPINTHEAIR

I hope I have clarified myself to your exactitude above, but I would maintain, although I never said as such, that if one were to book 2 nights but actually stayed 1 weekend night, and therefore, had not extended their weekend, there would be no way in hell that I would consider that as qualifying for the promotion, unless they actually paid for the second night.

So, if they paid for 2 nights and stayed for either 1 or 2 nights, that is enough for me, but if they paid for only one night and sought credit for a second night that they had not paid for and therefore also sought to have been considered as completing the promotion -- regardless of any explanation that they may later put forth, I would be against granting them completion of the requirements, as that smacks me as gross overreaching and contrary to the clear intent of the rules.

NJUPINTHEAIR

Blindman --

Am smoking nothing cause I don't smoke!

However, as an American pol well known the world over once said -- I feel your pain.

I really do!

And, I would wait and hope for an answer and also post to IHG community and their twitter accounts for an explanation.

However, you did not answer me my query -- Did the statement that you posted indicate that the rates were qualifying -- was that taken from the heading of your booking page?

If so, I would copy and paste and point blank ask that question to IHG care and the several other sources I think you should try to contact to get an answer.

Not saying you will get one soon, and therefore, hopefully you won't book same, but hopefully persistence will pay off.

Don't blame me -- IHG is not my primary lodging choice -- and their handling of this promotion seems that they are intent on not changing my mind on that matter -- but I am generally risk averse, and if something is not quite right, I will not look before I leap if there seems a great deal of doubt that my efforts will not be rewarded. May I suggest that you follow a similar set of guidelines, regardless of what you may smoke or drink or eat this weekend?

blindman

It's not just this promotion that's the problem it's the vague T&C's as posted earlier.

chrism20

If it helps I had a 21 day supersaver for £31 and BFR of £73 where the 21DSS qualified and loaded to the dashboard.

Can't help with the flash sale though, however last years £25 promo specifically said they did not qualify - Sad I know but I've still got the email.

blindman

That helps a lot ^

The problem with the "Flash Sale" is that some rates are barely cheaper than BFlex rate, whilstl others are about 50% cheaper.
and there are no specifics about "qualifying"

Anothere marketing c*ck up for IHG.

So IHGCare where the hell are you?

FlyerTalker688786

Oh well. Can not debate any further. Blame IHG.