Apr 12, 2018, 8:50 pm
Last edit by: beachmouse
Another quarter, 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)
For a task that says 'Stay X number of times at a Holiday Inn Express' (or Holiday Inn, Intercontinental, etc.) each stay must be at a different property for it to fully credit rather than staying at the same property multiple times.
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)
'Redeem points' award nights only count for the 'redeem points' task and no other tasks. (example- an award night does not count toward 'Stay X number of nights')
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/offers/q2accelerate2018
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)
For a task that says 'Stay X number of times at a Holiday Inn Express' (or Holiday Inn, Intercontinental, etc.) each stay must be at a different property for it to fully credit rather than staying at the same property multiple times.
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)
'Redeem points' award nights only count for the 'redeem points' task and no other tasks. (example- an award night does not count toward 'Stay X number of nights')
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/offers/q2accelerate2018
Accelerate 1 May 2018 - 31 July 2018
Apr 28, 2018, 2:51 am
#107
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Paris,FR
Programs: AF/KL FBPFL Ultimate, IHG Spire, HERTZ 5 stars
Posts: 82
I'm some kind doubtful per the logic of the promotion incentives, thus I completed 100% of Q1 (15 nights) @ 69500 points and received for Q2 @ 52500 for 10 nights (detail below).
Is the promotion algorithm for Q2 not considering Q1 perfomrance & criteria ?
Thus i can't consider that in term of marketing we can reduce the incentive to a customer (15 to 10 nights).....
Tks
Rgds
My Q2 details
2,000 Stay Once Get 2,000 Bonus Points
20,000 Stay More, Earn More, 10 nights
7,200 Stay at Holiday Inn®, 3 holiday inn
8,400 Saturday Stays Bonus, 2 saturday nights
2,500 Corporate Account Bonus, 3 stay corporate rate
10,100 Your Achievement Bonus, 4 out of 5 offers
2,000 May Bonus Offer
Is the promotion algorithm for Q2 not considering Q1 perfomrance & criteria ?
Thus i can't consider that in term of marketing we can reduce the incentive to a customer (15 to 10 nights).....
Tks
Rgds
My Q2 details
2,000 Stay Once Get 2,000 Bonus Points
20,000 Stay More, Earn More, 10 nights
7,200 Stay at Holiday Inn®, 3 holiday inn
8,400 Saturday Stays Bonus, 2 saturday nights
2,500 Corporate Account Bonus, 3 stay corporate rate
10,100 Your Achievement Bonus, 4 out of 5 offers
2,000 May Bonus Offer
Apr 29, 2018, 8:20 am
#110
Join Date: Sep 2015
Location: London
Programs: IHG Spire Amb, BA Gold, Hyatt
Posts: 131
I think I only completed one task in the Q1 Accelerate promo since I didn't travel at all, so this one is really easy but it is also only for 43,500 points (much less than the last few). The good news for me is that I have a trip already booked that will get me an extra 25,500 thanks to this highly achievable Accelerate promo. I should probably be able to get all the points this time too with just one long weekend stay somewhere. Nice to have an easy one for a change.
My Q2 Accelerate Promo:
2,000 Stay Once Get 2,000 Bonus Points
18,000 Stay More, Earn More, 9 nights
6,000 Stay a Little Longer, 4 or more consecutive nights in a single stay
1,000 Earn When You Redeem Points
13,000 Your Achievement Bonus, 3 out of 4 offers
2,000 May Bonus Offer
1,500 Exclusive Brand Bonus, Stay at Intercontinental, Indigo or Even.
My Q2 Accelerate Promo:
2,000 Stay Once Get 2,000 Bonus Points
18,000 Stay More, Earn More, 9 nights
6,000 Stay a Little Longer, 4 or more consecutive nights in a single stay
1,000 Earn When You Redeem Points
13,000 Your Achievement Bonus, 3 out of 4 offers
2,000 May Bonus Offer
1,500 Exclusive Brand Bonus, Stay at Intercontinental, Indigo or Even.
Apr 29, 2018, 8:53 pm
#112
Join Date: Sep 2015
Location: Buenos Aires, Argentina
Programs: LA, AA
Posts: 7
I always register but only stayed 3 nights in nov/2017, usually I always get the "3 nights + 3 nights + 3 nights..." and so on promo.
I did not achieve anything on Q1.
I got this great set of tasks !! For me, at least. I have a trip to Florida and I have 3 nights to book, if I do it correctly I can get over 50,000 points ! Very excited:
Earn 55,500 bonus points.
1,000 Happy Birthday bonus. Stay once. (OK !)
5,000 Stay More, Earn More. Stay 5 nights (this is the only one I'm not doing)
21,200 Discover Our Brands. Stay at 3 brands (Holiday Inn, HIX, and some other... one night each)
3,200 Travel with the IHG App. Book 2 stays (OK ! Will miss the AA portal bonus but I'm ok because of Achievement bonus)
6,600 Earn More, Faster. Book 1 bonus Points Package stay (some hotels offer 1,000 points for +$5, so why not?)
16,000 Achievement Bonus. Complete 4 of 5 previous offers (Check !)
1,000 May Bonus Offer. Stay once in May (will stay in June, but this is the one that updates each month)
1,500 Exclusive Brand Bonus. Stay once at IC, Indigo or Even (not sure about this, I do have to stay on a different brand the 3rd night, but might as well be a Courtyard / Staybridge / Candlewood and avoid the $80-$100 price difference).
I was planning on staying 2+1 nights, but I can easily change to 1+1+1 nighs and change hotels every night.
I will wait until 05/01 to book these 3 nights, so I fully comply with booking & staying within promo dates.
It gives me time to analyze the best options.
49,000 or 50,500 points (depending I do the last task or not) for some nights / stays I had to book anyway ? YESSSSS
I did not achieve anything on Q1.
I got this great set of tasks !! For me, at least. I have a trip to Florida and I have 3 nights to book, if I do it correctly I can get over 50,000 points ! Very excited:
Earn 55,500 bonus points.
1,000 Happy Birthday bonus. Stay once. (OK !)
5,000 Stay More, Earn More. Stay 5 nights (this is the only one I'm not doing)
21,200 Discover Our Brands. Stay at 3 brands (Holiday Inn, HIX, and some other... one night each)
3,200 Travel with the IHG App. Book 2 stays (OK ! Will miss the AA portal bonus but I'm ok because of Achievement bonus)
6,600 Earn More, Faster. Book 1 bonus Points Package stay (some hotels offer 1,000 points for +$5, so why not?)
16,000 Achievement Bonus. Complete 4 of 5 previous offers (Check !)
1,000 May Bonus Offer. Stay once in May (will stay in June, but this is the one that updates each month)
1,500 Exclusive Brand Bonus. Stay once at IC, Indigo or Even (not sure about this, I do have to stay on a different brand the 3rd night, but might as well be a Courtyard / Staybridge / Candlewood and avoid the $80-$100 price difference).
I was planning on staying 2+1 nights, but I can easily change to 1+1+1 nighs and change hotels every night.
I will wait until 05/01 to book these 3 nights, so I fully comply with booking & staying within promo dates.
It gives me time to analyze the best options.
49,000 or 50,500 points (depending I do the last task or not) for some nights / stays I had to book anyway ? YESSSSS
The ones I see in the IHG app are +$3/$4 for 1.000 bonus Points, starting from the "Free Cancellation" base rate. This rate is more expensive than the "non-refundable" rate (+$28 in tthe case I'm looking at).
But I cannot find Bonus Points Package for non-refundable rates.
Is this normal? Is there a way to find that rate?
If I want to complete the "Bonus Points Package" stay I'm forced to book a Flex rate?
Thanks!
Apr 29, 2018, 9:12 pm
#113
Join Date: Dec 2016
Posts: 78
Last year there were only three "quarters" of Accelerate each 4 months long (jan-april, may-august, sept-december). I suspect they might either leave the month of August out from Accelerate since I think it's peak hotel period? Or they might run a 1-month promotion in August separately.
Apr 29, 2018, 11:28 pm
#114
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Somewhere in Europe
Posts: 3,362
That is indeed quite strange!
Last year there were only three "quarters" of Accelerate each 4 months long (jan-april, may-august, sept-december). I suspect they might either leave the month of August out from Accelerate since I think it's peak hotel period? Or they might run a 1-month promotion in August separately.
Last year there were only three "quarters" of Accelerate each 4 months long (jan-april, may-august, sept-december). I suspect they might either leave the month of August out from Accelerate since I think it's peak hotel period? Or they might run a 1-month promotion in August separately.
May 1, 2018, 6:43 am
#115
Join Date: Jun 1999
Location: NYC/LA
Programs: DL Plat, AA Plat Pro, Marriott Titanium, IHG Diamond Amb
Posts: 7,487
Well that was fast. One of my tasks is to redeem points. I made an award reservation this morning, and the dashboard was updated, and the points deposited, almost immediately.
May 1, 2018, 10:07 am
#116
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Amsterdam&Stuttgart& Edinburgh
Programs: IC Amb.,FB,Hertz,Sixt
Posts: 776
I just registered today ,I need to redeem points stay a second Sat. night and use another IC, if I do a Sat night on points at an IC where I don't usually stay will this work ? or do I have to have a paid night as well ? As points have doubled from last accelerate I'm interested 
The last one I missed by €5 F&B spend lol
The last one I missed by €5 F&B spend lol
May 1, 2018, 11:42 am
#117
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: VPS
Programs: IHG Diamond, Delta PM, Hilton Gold, Accor Gold, Marriott Silver
Posts: 7,266
I just registered today ,I need to redeem points stay a second Sat. night and use another IC, if I do a Sat night on points at an IC where I don't usually stay will this work ? or do I have to have a paid night as well ? As points have doubled from last accelerate I'm interested The last one I missed by €5 F&B spend lol
The last one I missed by €5 F&B spend lolMy 'purchase points' task credited and updated the Accelerate dashboard immediately today. Only four more tasks to go...
May 1, 2018, 5:04 pm
#118
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Earth. Residency:HKG formerly:YYZ
Programs: CX, DL, Nexus/GE, APEC
Posts: 10,688
Earn 84,900 total bonus points.
Complete all of your Accelerate offers and earn 84,900 total bonus points.
2,000 Stay Once Get 2,000 Bonus Points
10,000 Stay More, Earn More
Get closer to the rewards you want when you stay 5 night(s) and earn 10,000 bonus points.
12,000 Stay at Holiday Inn®
Stay at 2 Holiday Inn® hotel(s)—including Holiday Inn Resort® and Holiday Inn Club Vacations®—and earn 12,000 bonus points.
9,600 Travel with the IHG® App
Book 2 stay(s) with the IHG® App and earn 9,600 bonus points.
6,000 A Bonus Weekend Stay
Stay with us for the weekend and earn 6,000 bonus points. A Friday and Saturday or Saturday and Sunday night stay required.
18,000 Explore with Confidence
Have 2 stays in any country in Europe, Greater China (China Mainland, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan), Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa and earn 18,000 bonus points.
23,800 Your Achievement Bonus
Complete 5 of the 6 offers and earn (an additional) 23,800 bonus points.
2,000 May Bonus Offer
Stay once in May and get 2,000 bonus points.
1,500 Exclusive Brand Bonus
Stay once at an InterContinental®, Hotel Indigo® or Even® hotel and earn 1,500 bonus points.
This time it is easy, potentially with planning I can score bonus with three stays.
The last round was difficult and not worth it for me so I did not have any IHG stay.
Looks like for me it is an easy cycle following a difficult cycle where I did not do any stays since I track this in 2016.
Complete all of your Accelerate offers and earn 84,900 total bonus points.
2,000 Stay Once Get 2,000 Bonus Points
10,000 Stay More, Earn More
Get closer to the rewards you want when you stay 5 night(s) and earn 10,000 bonus points.
12,000 Stay at Holiday Inn®
Stay at 2 Holiday Inn® hotel(s)—including Holiday Inn Resort® and Holiday Inn Club Vacations®—and earn 12,000 bonus points.
9,600 Travel with the IHG® App
Book 2 stay(s) with the IHG® App and earn 9,600 bonus points.
6,000 A Bonus Weekend Stay
Stay with us for the weekend and earn 6,000 bonus points. A Friday and Saturday or Saturday and Sunday night stay required.
18,000 Explore with Confidence
Have 2 stays in any country in Europe, Greater China (China Mainland, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan), Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa and earn 18,000 bonus points.
23,800 Your Achievement Bonus
Complete 5 of the 6 offers and earn (an additional) 23,800 bonus points.
2,000 May Bonus Offer
Stay once in May and get 2,000 bonus points.
1,500 Exclusive Brand Bonus
Stay once at an InterContinental®, Hotel Indigo® or Even® hotel and earn 1,500 bonus points.
This time it is easy, potentially with planning I can score bonus with three stays.
The last round was difficult and not worth it for me so I did not have any IHG stay.
Looks like for me it is an easy cycle following a difficult cycle where I did not do any stays since I track this in 2016.
June stay booked, Sat/Sun stay at HI in the Philippines for NGO meeting.
One more night in Europe, Greater China (China Mainland, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan), Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa will put me into the bonus of 23,800. One more on top of this night will net the 10,000 stay five night.
May 3, 2018, 1:36 am
#119
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Netherlands
Programs: SQ S, IHG Diamond/Amb, Accor S
Posts: 703
So the question is: besides the reward night reservation that you made on the 1st of May, did you already have any existing reward night bookings? Then these may have triggered the completion of the task....
May 3, 2018, 10:47 am
#120
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Gold Country, California
Programs: Hilton Gold, IHG Diamond Ambassador, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 1,199
I had booked a points night in April. Then I booked another points night on May 2 (for a Kimpton) and, as of yesterday, my Earn When You Redeem task is marked completed. So I think it needs to be done on or after May 1. On my account activity I have an "Offer Win" line, but no points; I assume it will be the 1,000 Accelerate Redeem task.