IHG Rewards Refresh
They are dropping like dominoes. I have to admit Hilton was way ahead of the curve in torpedoing their program around a decade ago, but now, they sit there at the bottom, surrounded by company. Marriott gave some more details on their upcoming changes, and by changes I mean you will be paying a crap ton more points for any hotel with a pulse. This comes a few weeks after Hyatt introduced peak pricing. Shortly after that they rolled their most aspirational hotels into a newer, uber expensive, category 8 level. IHG didn’t miss their chance to get in the dynamic pricing game either, then backed down after huge pushback, and then kind of did it again anyway. But their upcoming IHG rewards refresh could be just what the doctor ordered.
Loyalty Programs Aren’t Loyal To You
What have these last few months shown us? That loyalty programs are not loyal to you in anyway, they are a marketing gimmick. Also that loyalty programs are looking more and more to get to a fixed rate valuation. When award pricing becomes dynamic it is more tied to the cost of the room, or flight etc., and the points required varies as the price goes up and down. That eliminates much of the outsized value that a static award chart offers. In the past, when prices go sky high the award rate would stay the same. This has opened the door to cash back looking more and more like the best option out there. I’ll get into that more another day with an upcoming post.
Is IHG Ready For Prime Time?
In this post I want to discuss how IHG may actually be setting itself up for prime time. Has IHG kind of fallen into the perfect situation the last month or two? There is no denying that they went to dynamic pricing like everyone else and ditched their static award chart. It is also true that they have devalued their points from around a penny a piece down to around $0.006 each over the last few years. But, what they have also done is added back a way to earn more points with their upcoming credit card refresh. Sure, everyone has been devaluing their programs but has anyone also added back a way to earn more points? I guess you could throw Wyndham in there with the Business Earner card and the gas bonus category. If they would ever let me actually get it! Does the increase of points offset free nights costing more?
Lower Values Are Okay If Points Are Easier To Earn
I have never complained about Hilton points being worth so little, like some others have, because they have always made them easy to earn in bunches. Whether it is from their generous 6X earning categories on the Surpass card, or racking up close to 40 points per dollar on a regular basis for paid stays, you can pile them up pretty quickly. The base earning is 3X on their cards as well which is better than everyone else too.
That is a big reason I haven’t been excited by Marriott, Wyndham or IHG for years. They didn’t have a meaningful transfer rate with outside partners, usually a measly 1 to 1 ratio. I conveniently left Hyatt out of this even though their transfer rate is also at a 1 to 1 ration. That is because their points are worth 2X-3X more than everyone else’s so it is already kind of built in. With these lackluster earn rates via spend, or transfer partners, there wasn’t much of a reason for me to give the programs listed a second look. Throw in the fact that their co-branded credit card welcome offers are not the easiest to get (especially Marriott), or most plentiful, and you have a trifecta of reasons that I ignored these programs.
IHG Refresh At The Perfect Time
Having said all of that, it seems like IHG kind of fell into perfect timing. I already talked about how they piqued my interest with their new credit card earning rates rolling out next month. They are also set to rework their elite loyalty perks. Could there be a property credit type system coming similar to what Hilton now has?
If you combined those two things would that be enough to get people looking to jump from these other program’s sinking ships? I know people are tired of dwindling returns and lackluster earning from IHG’s competitors. With the fact that many of them have just done some substantial devaluations, would that open people up to giving IHG another look?
I have to think it just may. The amount of people willing to consider it could be more than it would have been otherwise, thanks to IHG’s perfect timing. Or, simply the fact that Hyatt and Marriott just double whammied their loyalists right as IHG is rising from their own, self made, ashes.
Will The IHG Rewards Refresh Change Anything For Me?
I still plan on Hyatt and Hilton to be my number one and two programs. But, I plan on giving IHG another look when everything rolls out. Especially if my Platinum status from their soon to be greatly improved IHG Premier card gives me something of actual value on my stays. Their footprint is solid and they have started to roll out some interesting brands. Heck, I even like their newer Holiday Inn Express hotel designs (move over Hyatt Place?). IHG may have finally fulfilled my quest of finding that third hotel program option.
With the latest devaluations from their competitors are you considering giving IHG another look?
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To sort of echo what Dwondermeant said, the main reason why I’ve had a tough time making IHG my “go-to” chain is that their quality, especially in the mid-tier with Crowne Plaza and full service Holiday Inns, is such a crapshoot…some are very good, many are just plain awful. Plus, there’s the lack of aspirational properties, and what seems to me like a lack of locations in sought-after destinations; for example, the only IHG property in all of Hawaii is a lone HI Express located way off the beach in Waikiki. And on the subject of HI Express…in my experience they’re generally very good, probably my favorite limited-service brand, and there are tons of them…they just don’t represent a very good use of points. Looks like I’ll be sticking with Hilton and Hyatt for the foreseeable future.
The consistency is what I love most about Hyatt for sure. They do struggle in prime time locations for sure but I think they are trying to work at both with new brands and new properties but that would still be years away. Why they are my 3rd wheel for the time being.
Interesting Post
One of the biggest problems with IHg a gazillion poor quality cheap dated hotels and their horrible oversea call centers that are robotic scripted and do little or nothing to assist guests with issues. Clueless and slow
On the other hand temporarily I’ve seen excellent point values at select Intercontinental hotels since the New Year and been staying with them more frequently
Just avoid the Venetian in Vegas.Resorts World blew them out of the water.Historically and going forward I don’t have much faith in IHG to be consistent as they typically are a greedy company
The last 3 stays they haven’t delivered the promised welcome amenity to Ambassador’s.Kimpton has been another bright spot but ruined with amenity & resort fees and little to no late check outs
Great points. I think it is something they are working on but they have a long road ahead for sure to get where they would need to be for it to be a primary program for me.
Hilton is still my #1 program but IHG has been my strong #2 for several years now. At this point in 2022 I’m pretty much split with future bookings between the 2 and then a few Marriott stays. I average almost 1cent per point on redemptions with IHG but again I’m not booking HI Express rather I’m using my points as Kimpton, Indigo and IC. My wife and I each have the IHG premier card and the old select card so we get 4 FNC’s per year and the pay for 3 stay 4 on points bookings. Also with the old select card we still get 10% back on points redemptions.
Stacking up the perks of the two cards can be a big savings on stays for sure.
Mark, THANK YOU for calling a spade a spade.
(To be certain, the phrase does not relate to race. A spade was a derogatory term used in ancient Roman times. Openly calling someone this derogatory term was a sign of speaking the unvarnished truth. The phrase has lasted all these years.)
Mark, I still don’t put any significant spend on IHG cards (even with the improved earnings structure) because I can do much better BUYING IHG points with the earnings from cash back cards. I consistently get a value of .0075 on IHG points, so when I can buy them for .005 during their 100% bonus sales, that’s a much better value proposition. On 5% cash back categories (Citi Custom Cash, US Bank Cash+, etc.), I can parlay the 5% cashback into a 7.5% return by purchasing IHG points at .5 cents and redeeming them for .75 cents. I do the same thing with Hilton points when they have their half-price points sales, but IHG points offer a better value proposition overall than Hilton points.
That is an interesting idea James and if you are normally getting that rate on IHG points I think it makes a ton of sense. I agree, Hilton is a bit tougher to average over that $0.005 average. I get most of my points from them from my Surpass $15K free night spend but I am gonna have to dig into this deeper.
Thanks
Love what they are doing to IHG!
Until they offer consistent and worthwhile elite benefits for an attainable status, it’s tough to see IHG as more than a third choice. If they did the above and merged Intercontinental hotels into the program they might have a more compelling program.
Having the different IC and Kimpton statuses is annoying for sure. The status refresh will be interesting for sure. If they bring something of value I think they have a chance to steal some people but if it isn’t much more than window dressing they will be a 3rd option for sure, even with the better earning rates.