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 15, 2018, 12:34 pm
#61
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2002
Location: Montreux CH
Programs: FB Platinum, M&M FTL, BA Blue
Posts: 11,619
If you can make it work for you, then that’s wonderful. I find that, with the increased devaluation, less interesting accelerate bonuses and the increase in the points required to redeem at many properties, the motivation to chase accelerate targets has greatly diminished. I will certainly do some stays but I will not attempt to religiously complete all the tasks that the current promo requires.
Having said that, being able to redeem the points for a couple of Pointbreaks stays has meant that I have got fantastic value out of the points as recently as last year (I’m just thinking that Pointbreaks are due to come up again soon).
Having said that, being able to redeem the points for a couple of Pointbreaks stays has meant that I have got fantastic value out of the points as recently as last year (I’m just thinking that Pointbreaks are due to come up again soon).
Apr 15, 2018, 7:28 pm
#62
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
Posts: 2,732
100,100 points. That's lower than usual, and consists of more petty tasks than usual. The one plus is the stay target is no longer a single target, but rather an easy stage and then a stretch goal. I will hit 41 nights for the Q1 Accelerate, so this target may be easy, but last year I had a lighter than usual summer.
Points ValueOffer DescriptionStatus2,000Stay Once Get 2,000 Bonus Points
Thank you for being a loyal IHG® Rewards Club member. Stay once and earn 2,000 bonus points.
Terms
BOOK NOW27,000Stay More, Earn More
Stay 14 nights and earn 27,000 bonus points.
Terms
BOOK NOW27,000Stay More, Earn Even More
Get an additional 27,000 bonus points after night 27.
Terms
BOOK NOW3,400Travel with the IHG® App
Book 2 stay(s) with the IHG® App and earn 3,400 bonus points.
Terms18,000Explore 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.
Terms
BOOK NOW1,500Spend on Your IHG® Rewards Club Credit Card
Book and pay for one stay with your IHG® Rewards Club Credit Card and earn 1,500 bonus points.
Terms
BOOK NOW1,000Earn When You Redeem
You earned your points, now use them! Redeem your points for anything, from a digital download to a Reward Night, and you’ll earn 1,000 bonus points.
Terms
REDEEM NOW2,500Explore IHG® Trip Extras
Book a Hertz® rental car or find a fun activity, tour, and attraction for your trip or near home and earn 2,500 bonus points.
Terms
BOOK NOW14,200Your Achievement Bonus
Complete 7 of the 8 offers and earn (an additional) 14,200 bonus points.
Terms2,000May Bonus Offer
Stay once in May and get 2,000 bonus points.
Terms
BOOK NOW1,500Exclusive Brand Bonus
Stay once at an InterContinental®, Hotel Indigo® or Even® hotel and earn 1,500 bonus points.
Terms
Points ValueOffer DescriptionStatus2,000Stay Once Get 2,000 Bonus Points
Thank you for being a loyal IHG® Rewards Club member. Stay once and earn 2,000 bonus points.
Terms
BOOK NOW27,000Stay More, Earn More
Stay 14 nights and earn 27,000 bonus points.
Terms
BOOK NOW27,000Stay More, Earn Even More
Get an additional 27,000 bonus points after night 27.
Terms
BOOK NOW3,400Travel with the IHG® App
Book 2 stay(s) with the IHG® App and earn 3,400 bonus points.
Terms18,000Explore 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.
Terms
BOOK NOW1,500Spend on Your IHG® Rewards Club Credit Card
Book and pay for one stay with your IHG® Rewards Club Credit Card and earn 1,500 bonus points.
Terms
BOOK NOW1,000Earn When You Redeem
You earned your points, now use them! Redeem your points for anything, from a digital download to a Reward Night, and you’ll earn 1,000 bonus points.
Terms
REDEEM NOW2,500Explore IHG® Trip Extras
Book a Hertz® rental car or find a fun activity, tour, and attraction for your trip or near home and earn 2,500 bonus points.
Terms
BOOK NOW14,200Your Achievement Bonus
Complete 7 of the 8 offers and earn (an additional) 14,200 bonus points.
Terms2,000May Bonus Offer
Stay once in May and get 2,000 bonus points.
Terms
BOOK NOW1,500Exclusive Brand Bonus
Stay once at an InterContinental®, Hotel Indigo® or Even® hotel and earn 1,500 bonus points.
Terms
Apr 15, 2018, 11:38 pm
#64
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Barcelona, London, on a plane
Programs: BA Silver, TK E+, AA PP, Hyatt Globalist, Marriott LT Plat, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 13,040
I also made the mistake of staying at a few CPs in autumn 2017 so, surprise surprise, I now have a target of 3 CP stays.
Apr 16, 2018, 9:04 am
#65
Join Date: Aug 2017
Programs: Hilton Diamond, IHG Spire Ambassador, Global Entry
Posts: 2,840
IHG isn't giving bonus points out of the goodness of their hearts. It is a marketing strategy designed to keep you coming back, and with some growth in certain initiatives. I had a goal of 11 stays in Q1, and did 12. My Q2 goal is 6, and that is probably where I will stay. If you did 30, they're going to want higher business again.
Apr 16, 2018, 11:49 am
#67
Join Date: Mar 2016
Posts: 398
Not sure that IHG would want to discourage people from making bookings for May 1 and on right now just for this task. If prices go up because you are waiting to book a stay for early May, there's a good chance that someone might look elsewhere instead.
Apr 16, 2018, 12:16 pm
#68
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Paris,FR
Programs: AF/KL FBPFL Ultimate, IHG Spire, HERTZ 5 stars
Posts: 82
Q2 accelerate vs Q1 performance
IHG isn't giving bonus points out of the goodness of their hearts. It is a marketing strategy designed to keep you coming back, and with some growth in certain initiatives. I had a goal of 11 stays in Q1, and did 12. My Q2 goal is 6, and that is probably where I will stay. If you did 30, they're going to want higher business again.
- Q118 with 15 nights @ 69.5 Kpoints in total (I'm so far at 6/7)
- Q218 with 10 nights @ 52.5 Kpoints wiht holidays inn stays mandatory as in Q1
Either IHG accelerate algorithm is not logical or they take other periods in consideration
Rgds
Apr 16, 2018, 12:42 pm
#69
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: HAG
Programs: Der 5* FTL
Posts: 8,017
Pretty decent this quarter
1,000 Happy Anniversary Bonus
Thank you for being a loyal IHG® Rewards Club member. Stay once and earn 1,000 bonus points. Terms
5,000 Stay More, Earn More
Get closer to the rewards you want when you stay 5 night(s) and earn 5,000 bonus points. Terms
8,400 Stay at Holiday Inn®
Stay at 2 Holiday Inn® hotel(s)—including Holiday Inn Resort® and Holiday Inn Club Vacations®—and earn 8,400 bonus points. Terms
28,800 Saturday Stays Bonus
Stay 2 weekend(s), including a Saturday night and another night, and earn 28,800 bonus points. Terms
19,100 Your Achievement Bonus
Complete 3 of the 4 offers and earn (an additional) 19,100 bonus points. Terms
1,000 May Bonus Offer
Stay once in May and get 1,000 bonus points. Terms
63.300 in total.
A bit more than in the last quarters, and not that much harder to do. Basically I need two weekends in an HI.
Too bad it seems I won't be travelling as much for pleasure in this quarter - especially the almost 29k for 2 weekends is very tempting. Well, we'll see what work travel brings, if I can bag a week or even a short week in an HI, means I'm well on my way to score 3/4, if I get to stay somewhere over the weekend, then 4/4 is possible.
1,000 Happy Anniversary Bonus
Thank you for being a loyal IHG® Rewards Club member. Stay once and earn 1,000 bonus points. Terms
5,000 Stay More, Earn More
Get closer to the rewards you want when you stay 5 night(s) and earn 5,000 bonus points. Terms
8,400 Stay at Holiday Inn®
Stay at 2 Holiday Inn® hotel(s)—including Holiday Inn Resort® and Holiday Inn Club Vacations®—and earn 8,400 bonus points. Terms
28,800 Saturday Stays Bonus
Stay 2 weekend(s), including a Saturday night and another night, and earn 28,800 bonus points. Terms
19,100 Your Achievement Bonus
Complete 3 of the 4 offers and earn (an additional) 19,100 bonus points. Terms
1,000 May Bonus Offer
Stay once in May and get 1,000 bonus points. Terms
63.300 in total.
A bit more than in the last quarters, and not that much harder to do. Basically I need two weekends in an HI.
Too bad it seems I won't be travelling as much for pleasure in this quarter - especially the almost 29k for 2 weekends is very tempting. Well, we'll see what work travel brings, if I can bag a week or even a short week in an HI, means I'm well on my way to score 3/4, if I get to stay somewhere over the weekend, then 4/4 is possible.
Apr 16, 2018, 1:34 pm
#70
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Somewhere in Europe
Posts: 3,362
For me it didn't worked like that :
- Q118 with 15 nights @ 69.5 Kpoints in total (I'm so far at 6/7)
- Q218 with 10 nights @ 52.5 Kpoints wiht holidays inn stays mandatory as in Q1
Either IHG accelerate algorithm is not logical or they take other periods in consideration
Rgds
- Q118 with 15 nights @ 69.5 Kpoints in total (I'm so far at 6/7)
- Q218 with 10 nights @ 52.5 Kpoints wiht holidays inn stays mandatory as in Q1
Either IHG accelerate algorithm is not logical or they take other periods in consideration
Rgds
Q1 last year for me had very high requirements. They year before I had spent fifteen nights in the one property.
They are definitely basing it on more than recent (ie current quarter) stays imo. I don’t think it’s a case of their system just looking at last year and basing it on that. There’s more to their algorithm but I can’t fathom out how they arrive at the targets.
Apr 16, 2018, 2:39 pm
#71
Join Date: Jul 2010
Programs: Flying Blue Platinum, BAEC Silver, Hilton Honors Diamond, IHG Diamond, Marriott Tit, Accor Plat
Posts: 246
A couple of tasks I haven't seen before. And the arithmetic seems to be wrong. There must be a missing secret task...
Earn 49,200 total bonus points.
2,000 Happy Birthday Bonus
14,000 Stay More, Earn More - 7 nights
9,600 Travel with the IHG® App - Book 3 stay(s)
3,000 Germany Getaway - Stay 1 nights at participating IHG® hotels in Germany
1,000 Earn When You Redeem - Redeem your points for anything
5,000 Become an InterContinental® Ambassador
11,100 Your Achievement Bonus - Complete 6 of the 7 offers
2,000 May Bonus Offer - Stay once in May
I'll stay 7 nights in 3 stays, but I've no plans to go to Germany. So my decision boils down to whether it's worth becoming an InterContinental Ambassador to earn 16,100 points. It seems a bit marginal to me. Any thoughts?
Earn 49,200 total bonus points.
2,000 Happy Birthday Bonus
14,000 Stay More, Earn More - 7 nights
9,600 Travel with the IHG® App - Book 3 stay(s)
3,000 Germany Getaway - Stay 1 nights at participating IHG® hotels in Germany
1,000 Earn When You Redeem - Redeem your points for anything
5,000 Become an InterContinental® Ambassador
11,100 Your Achievement Bonus - Complete 6 of the 7 offers
2,000 May Bonus Offer - Stay once in May
I'll stay 7 nights in 3 stays, but I've no plans to go to Germany. So my decision boils down to whether it's worth becoming an InterContinental Ambassador to earn 16,100 points. It seems a bit marginal to me. Any thoughts?
Apr 16, 2018, 3:35 pm
#72
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Perth, WA, Australia
Programs: QF Gold, VA Plat, IHG Plat Amb, LCAH Gold, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 3,846
A couple of tasks I haven't seen before. And the arithmetic seems to be wrong. There must be a missing secret task...
Earn 49,200 total bonus points.
2,000 Happy Birthday Bonus
14,000 Stay More, Earn More - 7 nights
9,600 Travel with the IHG® App - Book 3 stay(s)
3,000 Germany Getaway - Stay 1 nights at participating IHG® hotels in Germany
1,000 Earn When You Redeem - Redeem your points for anything
5,000 Become an InterContinental® Ambassador
11,100 Your Achievement Bonus - Complete 6 of the 7 offers
2,000 May Bonus Offer - Stay once in May
Earn 49,200 total bonus points.
2,000 Happy Birthday Bonus
14,000 Stay More, Earn More - 7 nights
9,600 Travel with the IHG® App - Book 3 stay(s)
3,000 Germany Getaway - Stay 1 nights at participating IHG® hotels in Germany
1,000 Earn When You Redeem - Redeem your points for anything
5,000 Become an InterContinental® Ambassador
11,100 Your Achievement Bonus - Complete 6 of the 7 offers
2,000 May Bonus Offer - Stay once in May
Apr 16, 2018, 4:31 pm
#73
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
Apr 16, 2018, 7:06 pm
#74
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: home = LAX
Posts: 25,933
No, using the cert doesn't count as redeeming points. However you won't have make an award stay, you can instead redeem just a small handful of points for a download of a song or a book. Even if you don't need that download, it may be more sensible to redeem a few points for an unneeded download rather than redeeming thousands of points for an award stay you don't actually need.
Apr 16, 2018, 9:22 pm
#75
Join Date: May 2010
Location: LAN/DTW
Programs: IHG Diamond, HH Diamond, Avis Pref, DL Silver, National EE
Posts: 188
I'm at 28 nights now and at Platinum. I did not achieve the last quarter tasks. The only one I missed was stay two weekend nights, and that is unlikely to happen. I was very surprised the tasks given me were really challenging. I will not be able to meet the required night stays for this segment either.
Does anyone know how they determine these tasks?