IHG do love their custom promos, with every recent promotion being a “tailored to the customers need”.
So when the latest round of The Big Win Set Your Sights came out, I had a look for mild amusement as the past few promotions have been pretty unachievable for me, my travel pattern
So, the usual IHG gloss on the top, but what’s happening underneath with my offer?
Well, it’s 6 out of 7 – that’s a good thing… because I have a real bee in my bonnet about having to sign up to a credit card to take part in a promotion. I hate to tell airlines and hotels, but not everyone wants another lump of branded plastic nor do they wish to expose themselves to more debt than they like.
The breakdown for my offer is as follows (my comments in italics):
- Book 2 stay(s) with the IHG® App and earn 8,000 bonus points. This one isn’t too impossible to do.
- Get closer to the rewards you want when you stay 7 nights and earn 9,200 bonus points. Tough, as my pattern will take me more to Hyatt than IHG, but I’m open to this
- Stay 2 weekend(s), including a Saturday night and another night, and earn 4,800 bonus point. Hmm. This is mattress run material only, with the destinations I’m going and the routes I’m targeting.
- Earn 9,600 bonus points for staying at 2 IHG hotel(s) outside of your country of residence. You’ll earn for one hotel stay per country. Not going to happen with my current travel pattern.
- Spend USD $39 on food or beverages at IHG hotels and earn 600 bonus points. Rhiiighhht. Actually dine in for some bizarre reason at a hotel when 9 out of 10 times there are better options nearby. Me thinks not.
- Apply for the IHG® Rewards Club Premimum (sic) Visa and earn 2,000 bonus points. WHY? A very feeble excuse to upsell the credit card. Even with a 60,000 point bonus for £99 – it’s a fair chunk of cash.
- Earn 2,000 bonus points when you book 1 Bonus Points Package stays and get to your next reward faster. Not impossible, but compared to cheapest rates, this is a knock-on cost.
- Bonus: 14,000. Wow. Watch me completely not get excited over that.
To be honest, my targets aren’t impossible – but requires an effort to do. There are annoyances in this:
- That dratted credit card
- The 2 country requirement
- And the absolutely bizarre “buy drinks and food in-hotel”.
Let just say I’m not hell-bent on this promotion, and for 14,000 bonus points – I’m not going to head out of my way to get them.
I’m a great believer of “value is where you find it”, and I can’t see the value of this promotion to me sadly.
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The credit card requirement might be really easy to fulfill, if all you have to do is apply (and not necessarily get approved for the card). Just freeze your reports.
You could buy 50,000 points for $350 or less, so I’m not sure I see how a 4 day mattress run would ever be worth it.
I have to do 13 nights or the time-share thing the get the extra bonus (6 out of 7). Forget about it.
They should have named the promo “set yourself free” instead, as that is what I’m doing with my 20 night stay offer on the heels of the 19 night offer I just had in this 4th quarter. No longer going to be loyal with IHG.