jhoffmansf

Hello,

I have had a CHASE IHG Rewards Club card for several years. The card comes with a "Free Anniversary Night" at IHG hotels that renews every year. In the past, the free night has included pretty much all hotels and brands within the IHG family (Intercontinental, Kimpton, Indigo and others).This year on renewal, IHG changed their free night to only include Staybridge, Holiday Inn, and Crowne Plaza. This is pretty ridiculous. Of course, I'm cancelling my card.

robnc35

i have the IHG chase card the old one.. i thought it was for hotels that were 40.000 points or less? my free night comes in December so i haven't seen anything yet

baroqen

This is also the first I've heard of a change like this. I'm surprised that more people aren't all over it on these boards.

My anniversary is October, so we will see. I'll be a bit disappointed if this is a real change.

wharvey

Where have you seen this information announced? That is not the current expectation of that annual certificate.

MD/DC Flyer

The certificates from this year are limited to 40,000 points. Trying to redeem in a big city would effectively limit your options to the lower brands in the family. Try and book in less demand area (where the price is less than 40,000) and you should not have any brand limitations.

christianj

There's a big difference to a 40k limit not getting you an IC in most cities and being stuck in a Holiday Inn in Brooklyn (if you want to go to NYC) with the free night and the claim the OP is making. I agree with you that there is evidently some confusion on @jhoffmansf part. So far no one has posted a limitation that doesn't or does only allow certain brands. I just applied for the Premier card and in the T&C it clearly states 40k limitation and mentions NO brand limitation.

downinit

It has been discussed to death in this forum since the very first announcement over a year ago. But as a new member, I guess you missed out on all of that fun. The limitation is indeed 40k points, with no brand limits at all. Of course, there are only a couple IC's and probably zero Kimptons at that level. Even getting a CP in a good location has become a challenge.

The biggest problem is the massive devaluations in the past few years, especially now that they have appeared to remove the max cap entirely (100k/night rooms are now a thing). Oh well, you will still be able to get your annual fee's worth in a free room, along with value as a Platinum, including upgrades and limited freebies (drinks, rarely even free breakfast and parking). It is still the most value you will get from a sub $100/year hotel CC (unless you are scoring a lot of free breakfasts as a Hilton Gold, but HH points are complete garbage and there is no free night at all with that card).

Steven NH/BOS

I thought I was screwed as well but I was able to book another stay at the Washington DC Willard IC for the end of the month. This was for my expiring free night which I received in 2018 and expires on 8/31.

baroqen

OP did mention this was for the OLD Rewards card (not the Premier). However, no one else has mentioned anything yet and with OP's low post count, I am going to assume he is a troll until it comes from a more reliable source.

My renewal isn't till October, but if we haven't had confirmation before that I will confirm.

Bowgie

I soured on Hilton for the exact reasons quoted. I have BOTH the $45 Chase IHG Select card (no longer open to new customers) and the $89 Chase IHG Premier. Each gets a free 40k night stay (few CP's, but HI's and HIX's) per year. Credit card spend on Intercontinental Hotel bookings made earning Spire doable this year. Ambassador membership on top also good for Intercontinentals.