krazykanuck

I'd make that 1-2 years. Many of the properties I'd consider using the cert are barely bookable, as in they're already at 40k or just below. My AF is due next month and I'll be getting 1 more unrestricted cert since it will post this month. I'll probably keep it one more year and then see what the lay of the land looks like. Also gives me a year to burn off my IHG points.

africansky

Not sure if this has been discussed before, but IHG's new free night page also has the following restriction on the free night certificate "...must be redeemed, and stay must be completed, within 12 months from date of issue." It used to be that you will just need to redeem the free night before the expiration date and it was often easy to pool two free nights together with some careful planing. Oh well...

mikesyr18

I understand people may be upset, but everyone who signed up for this card knew this was coming sooner or later. IHG was (and still will be) paying good money to their cardholders in terms of a free night. There's no more $700/night rooms for $49 a year, but the card is still a good value, although I still prefer Hyatt over IHG.

Unfortunately shareholders rule the world, so companies will continue to find ways to cut a penny here and a penny there in an attempt to keep inflating the stock value, which includes reducing the cost of loyalty perks -- we've seen it with airlines, and now we see it with hotels.

Happy

deleted as info already posted upthread.

downinit

I definitely would not pay $49 for any of the category 1-4 hotels available with the Marriott annual free night, which is why I cancelled it after one year. They are dreadful lot of suburban roadside inns, a long way from any where one would ever venture to on a holiday. Given the torrential devaluation at IHG over the last couple years, the prospect of decent 40k options is likely to go the same route. Hyatt still has a few decent options for their free night, which is why I keep that card instead of the Marriott card.

Status and sporadic free nights are the sole reason that I transitioned from booking whatever looked best in OTA's to booking almost exclusively with the big chains. If they eliminate the incentive, I will take my paltry 20-something annual nights back to the OTA world. The reality is that there is almost always a nicer and cheaper option in a better location in all major cities that I am missing out on by being loyal to the big brands. There are so many nice new properties out there right now and AirBnB continues to drive rates down even further. The big chain hotels are often overpriced and more impersonal, so I would not even consider them if there was not some reward for loyalty for the non-road warrior leisure travelers. My loyalty may not be nearly as profitable as the ubiquitous lifetime diamonds lurking around FT, but there are a lot more losers like me than there are expense account divas in this world, especially as technology continues to make traveling for work increasingly obsolete.

dw

diesteldorf

As it stands, I'll probably keep my current IHG Mastercard, since I can find enough 40,000 point hotels to justify the $49 fee. Chase certainly doesn't owe me anything and isn't required to tailor a card for my personal needs, but I would have a tough time justifying the $89 fee for the new premium card.

I already have the Chase Sapphire Reserve, so the TSA/Global Entry Credit won't directly benefit me, unless I decide to use the credit to pay for a friend or relative.
Granted, the CSR has a much higher annual fee of $450, but after the $300 annual travel credit is deducted, and other benefits are factored in, the CSR has enough value to justify keeping it.

10X IGH points at IGH hotels is only worth slightly more than 3 CSR Points, and you are giving up travel flexibility and potential transfer partners.

4th Night free benefit could potentially be valuable, but only until I exhaust by IHG points balance.

Both cards offer Platinum Elite Status, so that is a wash.

The primary benefit has always been the anniversary night, and it'll be easier to redeem, knowing that it is only costing me $49 vs. $89. I am sure that once you upgrade, you will prohibited from going back to the $49 card.

If they wanted to make it more tempting, they should offer 5000 bonus points and/or the opportunity to use the anniversary night at hotels up to 50,000 points.

Realistically, I am sure Chase doesn't care if you are one that barely puts any spend on the card.

I also have the Radisson Card from US Bank, and, while it has also been devalued recently, for $20,000 spend, I can get 2 free nights at any USA property, in addition to the substantial points I would earn. For anyone that is willing to put $20,000 spend spend on the new IGH card, 10,000 bonus points seems pretty paltry.

jmd001

My records show I opened my account on April 6th. So I hopefully will get one more year without the 40k point cap.

Super Mario

I signed up in June of last year, so I'm one of those. I'm also one of the last people to makes complaints about a business that you see all of the time like "greed, bait and switch, never going there again". This one rubs me the wrong way though if this is how it plays out. Let me be clear, I think it makes complete business sense lowering the value of the free night. How many people are using it for a ridiculous room like $500+ a night, then not doing any other business with IHG? Is a 40,000 point room, platinum status, and 10% rebate for $49 a good deal? Sure is. However, I never got what I signed up for. I already was planning on how to use it, and I can't now. No, I wasn't going to Bora Bora. I hope there is some sort of transition period or options for previous members.

uastarflyer

This explains why I stopped seeing balance transfer options on my current IHG card - the card is likely fading away.

355F1

Yep!

I got the letter today in the mail from Chase informing me of this change!

flyer4512

You should be good to go for another year.

it's still a decent card but now the incentive to hold it for more than say 18 months is less, Cancel @ 18 months, churn it at 25 months

Boraxo

Goodbye Chase. I am pretty sure they won’t miss me as I never use the card except to collect the free night. I have no use for a 40k property ( none left where I need them) so that will be $49 saved. Glad I got one more unrestricted night just Deposited.

Keyser

seems like a better value than the current card for another $30 a year....i'm going to hold on till they officially announce it before considering a switch....

evergrn

Does this mean the certificate use is limited to a room that's going for 40,000 pts or less?
In other words, if you find a property where the standard room is 60,000 all points with some points + cash option, you cannot use the certificate towards points + cash?

I suppose there're plenty of properties in US going for 40,000 pts or less. But I really don't travel for leisure in the US, and there's really no IHG property abroad that I'd stay at where you'd find anything for 40,000 pts or less. Only exception is Jpn, where I sometimes stay at ANA CP. But, for some reason, ANA CP's don't seem to like to put their rooms up for reward stay most of the time. All in all, this becomes a useless card, unless 40,000 pts can be used towards points + cash.