Dec 7, 2017, 5:28 pm
Last edit by: beachmouse
Another year, another Accelerate. 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)
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)
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.
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/us/en/of...accelerate2018
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)
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)
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.
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/us/en/of...accelerate2018
IHG Accelerate Q1 2018 (1st January to 30th April)
Mar 20, 2018, 5:47 am
#301
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: HAG
Programs: Der 5* FTL
Posts: 8,038
Within about a week after staying, my tasks show completed. Still waiting for the 35k points to actually show up in my account. At over 80k, almost good enough to do something useful. Let's hope next points break is good to me.
Mar 20, 2018, 12:03 pm
#302
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: RSW
Programs: Delta - Silver; UA - Silver; HHonors - Diamond; IHG - Spire Ambassador; Marriott Bonvoy - Titanium
Posts: 14,185
How long has it been since your dashboard shows all completed? I have found that this time the accelerate programming has gone through fairly quickly, astonishingly so!
Mar 20, 2018, 1:39 pm
#304
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: RSW
Programs: Delta - Silver; UA - Silver; HHonors - Diamond; IHG - Spire Ambassador; Marriott Bonvoy - Titanium
Posts: 14,185
It's possible that due to bad timing you just missed that batch's points transfer, so I'd give it another week.
Mar 20, 2018, 1:43 pm
#305
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: home = LAX
Posts: 25,933
I know that IHG doesn't have to offer us any bonus points but I think their promotions are to long! I have completed everything on my dashboard except refer a friend/sign up for the credit card. I completed it before March so that is 2 months without anything. I know some people on this board even finished it before me. Just seems like they need to add more tasks or something. Do they only offer 3 accelerate a year? Jan-April, May-August, September-December? Maybe they should do 4!
Yes, they only offer at most 3 accelerate (or similar with another name) a year for those who live in the USA. Some people who live in other parts of the world get other promos but OTOH don't necessarily get all 3 accelerate-type promos.
(Your profile doesn't explain which country you're based in, thus my hazy answer.)
Mar 20, 2018, 11:28 pm
#306
Join Date: Sep 2017
Posts: 575
Gosh, I completed mine in early February.
Yes, they only offer at most 3 accelerate (or similar with another name) a year for those who live in the USA. Some people who live in other parts of the world get other promos but OTOH don't necessarily get all 3 accelerate-type promos.
(Your profile doesn't explain which country you're based in, thus my hazy answer.)
Yes, they only offer at most 3 accelerate (or similar with another name) a year for those who live in the USA. Some people who live in other parts of the world get other promos but OTOH don't necessarily get all 3 accelerate-type promos.
(Your profile doesn't explain which country you're based in, thus my hazy answer.)
Mar 21, 2018, 8:51 am
#307
Join Date: Jun 1999
Location: NYC/LA
Programs: DL Plat, AA Plat Pro, Marriott Titanium, IHG Diamond Amb
Posts: 7,486
Considering Kimpton only joined IHG Rewards at the beginning of the year, there certainly isn't any historical data on promotions. However, I expect that the fairly generous offerings this quarter (both the 10k for Accelerate and the perhaps targeted 5k/10k for one/two stays) was a one time thing to incentivize IHG Rewards members to try out the new flag. Though I wouldn't be surprised to see one of the tasks in future Accelerate promotions to be one stay at a Kimpton property.
Mar 21, 2018, 3:27 pm
#308
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: home = LAX
Posts: 25,933
The Kimpton 10k didn't show up in anyone's task list, and you had to know which page to go to to even find out about it (for most people, that page either never displays or displays only for a second or two when to go view their Accelerate progress).
I am not aware of any other promotion being "semi-hidden" like that in any previous Accelerate cycle. You either had it as one of your tasks on your list, or you didn't.
Furthermore, while some people got tasks to stay at this or that brand for N points, there was never a task other than "stay in January" which everyone seemed to get, the way that everyone got this Kimpton task (if they knew where to look).
I can't remember the last time before this that IHG acquired a brand and promoted that, so that aspect of the Kimpton task has nothing to compare to. (Marriott is constantly acquiring brands -- Gaylord, Delta, Protea, whole Starwood brand family, etc, all in the last few years -- but IHG hasn't been acquiring brands that much.)
Mar 21, 2018, 11:24 pm
#309
Join Date: Sep 2017
Posts: 575
I depends on what exactly you mean by "things like", since there was more than one thing unusual about this Kimpton 10k promo.
The Kimpton 10k didn't show up in anyone's task list, and you had to know which page to go to to even find out about it (for most people, that page either never displays or displays only for a second or two when to go view their Accelerate progress).
I am not aware of any other promotion being "semi-hidden" like that in any previous Accelerate cycle. You either had it as one of your tasks on your list, or you didn't.
Furthermore, while some people got tasks to stay at this or that brand for N points, there was never a task other than "stay in January" which everyone seemed to get, the way that everyone got this Kimpton task (if they knew where to look).
I can't remember the last time before this that IHG acquired a brand and promoted that, so that aspect of the Kimpton task has nothing to compare to. (Marriott is constantly acquiring brands -- Gaylord, Delta, Protea, whole Starwood brand family, etc, all in the last few years -- but IHG hasn't been acquiring brands that much.)
The Kimpton 10k didn't show up in anyone's task list, and you had to know which page to go to to even find out about it (for most people, that page either never displays or displays only for a second or two when to go view their Accelerate progress).
I am not aware of any other promotion being "semi-hidden" like that in any previous Accelerate cycle. You either had it as one of your tasks on your list, or you didn't.
Furthermore, while some people got tasks to stay at this or that brand for N points, there was never a task other than "stay in January" which everyone seemed to get, the way that everyone got this Kimpton task (if they knew where to look).
I can't remember the last time before this that IHG acquired a brand and promoted that, so that aspect of the Kimpton task has nothing to compare to. (Marriott is constantly acquiring brands -- Gaylord, Delta, Protea, whole Starwood brand family, etc, all in the last few years -- but IHG hasn't been acquiring brands that much.)
Mar 26, 2018, 5:38 am
#310
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: HAG
Programs: Der 5* FTL
Posts: 8,038
FWIW my points posted later the same night.
Besides Accelerate, there are occasionally other offers, I got a "Book with the app" offer for 1000 points separate from Accelerate last fall. US members get good credit cards (hotel, airline...), which is something not common to the same level in Europe.
Besides Accelerate, there are occasionally other offers, I got a "Book with the app" offer for 1000 points separate from Accelerate last fall. US members get good credit cards (hotel, airline...), which is something not common to the same level in Europe.
Mar 27, 2018, 2:05 pm
#311
Join Date: Nov 2005
Posts: 526
I'm kind of new to the IHG program and the Accelerate offers and would appreciate some guidance from the experts
Can different offers be satisfied with a single stay ?
I have
2000 Stay once
12000 Explore with Confidence ( 1 stay- Europe, China, Hong Kong, Macau)
1500 Spend on IHG credit card.
2400 Stay for Less and Earn ( cash + points )
12100 Your achievement bonus ( complete 4 of 5 offers)
If I stay one night in Hong Kong on a Cash and points rate and charge it to my IHG CC , do I get the all 19200 pts for this stay .
Thanks
Can different offers be satisfied with a single stay ?
I have
2000 Stay once
12000 Explore with Confidence ( 1 stay- Europe, China, Hong Kong, Macau)
1500 Spend on IHG credit card.
2400 Stay for Less and Earn ( cash + points )
12100 Your achievement bonus ( complete 4 of 5 offers)
If I stay one night in Hong Kong on a Cash and points rate and charge it to my IHG CC , do I get the all 19200 pts for this stay .
Thanks
Mar 27, 2018, 3:25 pm
#312
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Somewhere in Europe
Posts: 3,362
I got a good reply from beachmouse back in Dec. as to what is stackable but I left out one 1 of my 5 offers to qualify for my acheivement bonus. I can get 10k for staying 5 nights. I will have four 1 night stays. If i do another 1 night stay with CASH and Points will it qualify as a 5 th night for the 10k plus the 2.4k for the cask and points.
The cash element is you actually buying the points to top up to the full amount of points required for the reward night so you would need a pure cash night I’m afraid.
Mar 27, 2018, 4:16 pm
#313
Join Date: Nov 2005
Posts: 526
Thanks. That is what I was afraid of. No big deal as i will just probably stay at an IHG property one more time before the promotion ends.
Mar 28, 2018, 2:51 am
#314
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: North West UK
Programs: IHG Plat Visa IHG Plat Mastercard
Posts: 87
Still, the task "pay for a stay with an IHG credit card and earn 1,500 points" is not happening for me. As last year, the generous time scale IHG that allow themselves (6-8 weeks ) for the Dashboard to update, thus showing a completed task, is not being reached.
9 weeks after paying for a stay with the card, I emailed the head Office in Atlanta. They replied saying they were "working on this issue and were having to deposit the points manually for certain sub offers". They "submitted a request to mark (my) dashboard complete for the specific sub offer (EUR- Spend on your IHG Rewards club credit card) which may take a couple of days".
Five days later, even their intervention has done nothing, except for depositing the missing 1,500 points in my account. I would rather the dashboard be updated and show that I have completed all the necessary sub-offers!
I saw in last years Accelerate forum, someone saying you had to be patient and wait. Having just paid another £99 per annum, I should not have to be patient. I expect Terms and Conditions and timescales to met.
Has anyone else had issues with the 'pay with card' task?
9 weeks after paying for a stay with the card, I emailed the head Office in Atlanta. They replied saying they were "working on this issue and were having to deposit the points manually for certain sub offers". They "submitted a request to mark (my) dashboard complete for the specific sub offer (EUR- Spend on your IHG Rewards club credit card) which may take a couple of days".
Five days later, even their intervention has done nothing, except for depositing the missing 1,500 points in my account. I would rather the dashboard be updated and show that I have completed all the necessary sub-offers!
I saw in last years Accelerate forum, someone saying you had to be patient and wait. Having just paid another £99 per annum, I should not have to be patient. I expect Terms and Conditions and timescales to met.
Has anyone else had issues with the 'pay with card' task?