Old Jan 26, 2018, 10:51 am
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Special preview: All new IHG Rewards Club PointBreaks: January 29, 2018 April 30, 2018

You asked for more, and we heard you. For the first time, IHG Rewards Club is changing the popular PointBreaks promotion to offer more variety and more locations.

The PointBreaks promotion will now offer Reward Nights at three different point values: 5,000; 10,000 and 15,000 points. And, for the first time, members can book participating PointBreaks hotels using a combination of points and cash. The new PointBreaks will include some of the best IHG hotels around the world, including upscale brands InterContinental, Hotel Indigo and Crowne Plaza.

Heres a special preview at the next IHG Rewards Club PointBreaks, one of the many advantages of being an IHG Rewards Club member. This is a partial preview of the properties that will be available for bookings and stays from January 29, 2018 through April 30, 2018. Bookmark this page so you can return at noon on January 29, 2018 to book the discounted rate and see the full list of more than 200 participating hotels around the world.

Offers and participating hotels are subject to change at any time. As PointBreaks sell out at participating hotels, they will be removed from the final list on ihg.com.
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Point breaks now 5k and 10 or 15k

Old Jan 27, 2018, 3:00 pm
  #16  
 
Join Date: Jul 2012
Programs: Delta Gold, Alaska Gold 75K, LATAM Black
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Guys, even when we got a super nice property on the pointbreak list for 5K points, how long were they ever on the list? 5-10-20 minutes max! It was a big cluster f and only ever ended up pissing people off.

If they are now allowing cash and points, I see this as an attempted cash grab for IHG. IHG only ever pays about $25 or so (depending on occupancy) to the property. If there is a decent 10k property, I could see myself paying 5K points + $30-40 for multiple nights.
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Mauibaby2008 is offline  
Old Jan 28, 2018, 12:21 am
  #17  
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Originally Posted by Friarboy
Call me cynical, but I also read it as the death of PointBreaks.

Meh, there hadn't been anything usable for me in a few years anyway.
Amen. Selection shrinks quarterly.
philemer is offline  
Old Jan 28, 2018, 7:39 am
  #18  
 
Join Date: Nov 2013
Location: HEL
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Originally Posted by harryhv

b) Booming economy and high occupancy-rates allowing hotels to ignore and lose their loyal members without penalty
m
While off-topic, but rather generic thought, I do wonder these days how much this factor affects the loyalty game (for us negatively of course). It IS a factor for sure, but I am not working in hospitality industry to know about how much they plan on this on purpose. Just curious.
FFlash is offline  
Old Jan 28, 2018, 10:21 am
  #19  
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The economy definitely has something to do with it, so does reduced competition. The sad thing is they jack up the levels during good times and cut benefits during bad. So, this game is no win to us nowadays.
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Old Jan 29, 2018, 1:01 am
  #20  
 
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Princeton, NJ; Lviv Ukraine
Programs: UA 3.6MM, AF/KL Lifetime Plat, BA Gold, AA 1MM, IC Spire RA, Kimpton IC, Marriott Plat, et alia
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I think the 15K level is great -- if you get good hotels. The problem with the 5K pointsbreaks is that these were largely low-end junk hotels; Candlewood Suites or HXes in second-tier locations. So for example, on the most recent list -- no CP, no Indigo, no Even, no Staybridge -- much less an IC.

On the preview, we can already see some good options at 15K ... you have the IC Kiev (best flexible rate is 330 Euro, or about $400). Or the IC Sao Paolo (about $275).
You have a few Indigos (such as Newark, $180, adjacent to the Prudential Center), CPs (CP Suites at Arlington Ballpark Stadium), etc.
There's a lot more "meat" on this bone already, just on the preview.
Here's hoping that the list that comes out later today has many more ICs, CPs and Indigos.

Oh, and why not some Kimptons? It would be a great way for IHG to introduce this chain -- which has historically had a very specific customer base -- to its IHG Rewards membership.
vsevolod4 is offline  
Old Jan 29, 2018, 4:19 am
  #21  
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: London, UK
Posts: 277
I've got 30k of points, but looking to make a few pointbreak bookings, so not sure I'll have enough points in total.

I saw that there's going to be a points+cash option? Is this true? And would this be good value?

Also is there a way to instantly buy points to use, if I need a top-up a few thousand?
boonkoh is offline  
Old Jan 29, 2018, 2:58 pm
  #22  
 
Join Date: May 2015
Posts: 88
Originally Posted by Friarboy
Call me cynical, but I also read it as the death of PointBreaks.

Meh, there hadn't been anything usable for me in a few years anyway.
Well... if you couldn't find anything usable, then it was already dead, wasn't it? I have found PointBreaks profoundly useless outside of North America, and never considered it in the value of points - because I know there's never anything I find interesting in it.
Now there are better options (just a few), so I see this as the revival, not the death.
Romain_ is offline  
Old Jan 29, 2018, 3:35 pm
  #23  
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The perks are dwindling no point being an Ambassador. You have to fight to get an upgrade, come on, just book the club room by paying for it.
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