New York City is probably the location most impacted by the 2013 reward changes in Priority Club Rewards. InterContinental Hotels Group had a major redesign of its hotel rewards in January 2013 with the change to a 9-category system from 10,000 points to 50,000 points per reward night. New York was one of the best places around the globe to spend points with hotel rewards when the cost of a free night was based on the hotel brand.

Candlewood Suites was capped at 20,000 points per night in 2012. Candlewood Suites NYC Times Square is now 35,000 points per night.

Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express were capped at 25,000 points per night in 2012 under the former reward nights system. The new 9-category system places all Manhattan location Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express hotels in the category 6 tier at 35,000 points per night.

Hotel Indigo formerly capped at 35,000 points in 2012 are now 45,000 points for Hotel Indigo Chelsea and 40,000 points for Hotel Indigo Brooklyn.

Needless to say, IHG Rewards Club bookings using points in New York in August 2013 will require significantly more points at most hotels in Manhattan than were needed with Priority Club Rewards in August 2012 for the same hotels.

Survey of New York City

This survey of IHG hotels looks at two dates in June 2013, a weekday night, Tuesday, June 11 and a weekend night, Friday. June 14, 2013.

The chart below shows the published BAR room rates, hotel reward night rates and a snapshot of the value of IHG points in New York. BAR room rates are non-discounted best available rates. These rates can generally be lowered by 10% with a group membership like AAA or senior discount rates.

Loyalty Traveler Survey of IHG Rewards Club points value in New York City.

Observations:

IHG has more hotels globally with over 4,500 than either Hilton Worldwide 3,900 or Marriott 3,700. This looks like IHG has more hotels in New York Manhattan than any other chain. There are 27 hotels in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island and JFK/LGA airports. There are another 25 hotel properties in New Jersey, Long Island and other locations listed for the New York area in a search on IHG websites.

New York City IHG-Brand Hotels (27 hotels)

• InterContinental Hotels = 2
• Hotel Indigo = 2
• Crowne Plaza = 1
• Holiday Inn Express = 12
• Holiday Inn = 8
• Staybridge Suites = 1
• Candlewood Suites = 1

IHG Rewards Club Hotel Reward Category 1-9 Distribution

26 hotels in New York City currently open.

• 50,000 points category 9 = 2 hotels
• 45,000 points category 8 = 2 hotels
• 40,000 points category 7 = 1 hotel
• 35,000 points category 6 = 14 hotels
• 30,000 points category 5 = 2 hotels
• 25,000 points category 4 = 3 hotels
• 20,000 points category 3 = 1 hotel
• 15,000 points category 2 = 1 hotel

New York Manhattan average room rate Tuesday June 11, 2013 = $267. Tax is 15% additional to these rates.

New York Manhattan average room rate Friday June 14, 2013 = $228 or 15% less than weeknight rate.

Manhattan Room Rate Range = IC Times Square $473 to Holiday Inn Lower East Side $198. This city is expensive.

• Average Reward Rate = 34,231 points.
• Average spend for a free night = $3,423 if earning 10 points/$.  Staybridge and Candlewood Suites only earn 5 points/$1. 
• Redemption Value Range = $4.30 to $10.80 per 1,000 points.
• Weeknight Average redemption value = $7.96 per 1,000 points for Tuesday, June 11, 2013.
• Weekend Average redemption value = $6.84 per 1,000 points for Friday, June 14, 2013.

Buying Priority Club points with Points & Cash Reward Nights

The ability to buy IHG points for reward nights at the rate of $70 per 10,000 points gives a fixed value for Priority Club points. Whenever the redemption value is over $7.00 per 1,000 points, then you can consider booking a Points & Cash reward stay for better value.

Example: Crowne Plaza Times Square

• Tuesday, June 11 = $378 rate or 45,000 points. Redemption value = $8.40. [378/45].
• Book with Points & Cash for 35,000 + $70. Redemption value = $308/35 = $8.80. The redemption value of your points improves buying 10,000 points for $70 when booking Priority Club Rewards Points & Cash night.

This same hotel drops in rate for Friday, June 14 down to $256 or 45,000 points. Redemption value 256/45 drops to $5.69 per 1,000 points. In this case, do not buy 10,000 Priority Club points for $70 to book a Points & Money reward night since you are redeeming 10,000 points for $56.90 in value.

Final thoughts:

New York is the most expensive city in the US for hotel stays. IHG has more options than most hotel chains for NYC. The past was great for IHG Priority Club Rewards members who could leverage the program features for low cost reward nights at the numerous Holiday Inn and HI Express hotels in the city. Now most everything is up to 35,000 points or more; increases of 40% or more for many of these hotels in 2013.

I still seek $10 per 1,000 points value when I redeem IHG points. Looks like that value is hard to find in New York City these days with redemption value in the $7 to $8 range. Prices are high in New York City and the redemption value is reasonable with IHG points.

There are many IHG hotel options and points can save quite a bit of cash on a New York getaway.

New York Hotel Reward Value Surveys:

HHonors Reward Analysis New York 2013

Hyatt Reward Analysis New York area

Choice Privileges reward analysis in New York metro area

Best Western Rewards Analysis New York and Atlanta

Priority Club PointBreaks hotels at 5,000 points per award night were released today. Bookings available for award stays through June 30, 2013.

PointBreaks Hotel List

United States

ALASKA Read More…

IHG 2-for-1 rates

One of the best discounts I know on paid rates for London and many places in Europe is 2-for-1 rates with InterContinental Hotels Group.

This is an ongoing promotion around for more than five years that provides great discounts for London.

IHG 2-for-1 discounts are prepaid, nonrefundable rates,so it best to book close to your stay dates when you are more assured of being in London for your travel.

One of the best features of the 2-for-1 rate is the ability to book higher category rooms, even suites. Also, the discount is often restricted to weekends in many locations. London usually has IHG hotels offering 2-for-1 rates any two days of the week.

Availability of the IHG 2-for-1 rates at hotels across London is not as widespread in my searches today compared to past checks. Read More…

Priority Club Last Minute Reward Nights are 50% discount rewards available at 64 USA hotels and 21 other IHG international hotels for this weekend only Friday, March 1; Saturday, March 2; and Sunday, March 3.

Two InterContinental Hotels are on this month’s list:

• IC Santiago, Chile = 12,500 points
• IC Athens, Greece = 15,000 points

Since Priority Club does not include geographic descriptors on the listings the best way to check your state or country is use the filter on the Priority Club page to sort hotels by location. Read More…

New members of Priority Club Dining can earn 2,013 bonus points after a $40 single dine charge to a registered credit card within 30 days of registering a new member profile. Member must fill out online restaurant review within 30 days of being sent the restaurant review email link following the qualifying dining experience in order to receive the 2,013 bonus points.

Priority Club Dining 2013 New Member 2,013 Bonus Points offer

2013 New Member Bonus Details

*This bonus offer is open to new Priority Club^® Dining members or existing members without a dining profile at the time of registration. A dining profile includes creating a web login and opting in and remaining opted in to receive emails from Priority Club^® Dining with a valid, deliverable email address. To qualify, your profile must originate through one of the links on this page and be completed by February 28, 2013. You must continue to satisfy other Online and/or Elite Member level criteria to earn this bonus.

To earn this bonus, you must spend a total of $40 or more (including tax and tip) in one dine at a participating restaurant, bar or club within 30 days from the day of your registration. You must also submit a dining review within 30 days of dining. Please note that activity that occurred prior to registration will not be eligible for this bonus. In addition, the dine must occur during a valid reward period and be paid for with a credit or debit card registered in Priority Club^® Dining. A maximum of 2,013 bonus points may be earned with this bonus. Offer is not combinable with other Priority Club^® Dining bonuses. Please allow 4–6 weeks from the date of the qualifying dine for any bonus points to post to your Priority Club^® Rewards account. All account inquiries related to this bonus must be received by May 31, 2013.

Please note that some restaurants offer rewards only on certain days of the week or up to a maximum spending amount per month. For complete program Terms and Conditions, guidelines and restrictions, and the latest rewards calendar, visit priorityclub.rewardsnetwork.com. Other limitations may apply.

There are more than 10,000 restaurants and bars nationwide participating in Priority Club Dining and Priority Club online members earn 5 points per $1. Dine 12 times in a calendar year and your earning increases to 8 points per $1.

Priority Club Dining Elite Member earns 8 points/$1.

Priority Club points are widely considered to be worth about $7 per 1,000 points based on the rate a member can buy points for Points & Money award nights at $70 for 10,000 points.

The 2,013 bonus points + 200 dining points can be considered a $15 rebate on your $40 eligible dining purchase.

This is a decent rebate bonus in Priority Club points if you are planning to eat in a restaurant anyway.

Link: Priority Club Dining

Priority Club Dining 2013 New Member Bonus

Conde Nast Traveler Gold List 2013 is the annual list of best ranked hotels by CN Traveler readers. 47,000 participants in the Readers Choice survey selected about 500 of the world’s best hotels for the 2013 list. Hotels making the Gold List five consecutive years are designated Platinum Circle status. The Platinum Circle list has 182 slides of hotels.

The 2013 CN Traveler Gold List grabbed my attention when I saw Marriott had published the list on the Rewards-Insiders.Marriott.com forum site.

Dromoland Castle in County Clare, Ireland is a Platinum Circle member of the 2013 CN Traveler Gold List. Read More…

Priority Club Rewards has posted new category assignments at 4,500+ InterContinental Hotels Group properties worldwide. Supposedly 30% of hotels went down. Those hotels apparently are not in my neighborhood and much of California has seen a deleterious devaluation of Priority Club points with numerous hotels rising by 40% in reward night cost.

I primarily travel the coastal corridor of California along Highways 1 and 101 in central coast and north coast California, and Interstate 405 and 5 in southern California. Looks to me like any IHG hotel within 10 miles of the Pacific Ocean coast went up in points required for a reward night. Holiday Inn Express and Holiday Inn hotels in California seem to be the biggest devaluation with many hotels rising from 25,000 points to 35,000 points per reward night.  Read More…

Finally Priority Club gets in line with other hotel loyalty programs by organizing its hotel awards by categories rather than brands. The new Priority Club Reward night chart will parse out the 4,500+ InterContinental Hotels Group properties in nine categories from 1-9.

Changes will take effect Friday, January 18, 2013.

Members can book hotels at the current brand award category points cost until March 18, 2013 for properties that increase in point cost January 18, 2013.  Read More…

Priority Club Rewards has amended its program terms to define “Elite Qualifying Points” and “Non-Elite Qualifying Points”.  This is a significant change that will make reaching elite tiers more difficult for Priority Club members who earn elite status with IHG hotel stays.

Beginning January 1, 2013, for purposes of determining Elite Status, Priority Club points are classified as either Elite Qualifying Points or Non-Elite Qualifying Points.

PriorityClub.com

Priority Club Rewards is the loyalty program for InterContinental Hotels Group including the hotel brands Holiday Inn, Holiday Day Inn Express, Crowne Plaza, Hotel Indigo, Staybridge Suites, Candlewood Suites and InterContinental Hotels. InterContinental Hotels also has a separate paid membership for Ambassador elite membership and an invitation only Royal Ambassador elite program for privileged top-tier Ambassador members.

Priority Club offers two levels of elite status with Gold at 15 nights or 20,000 Priority Club points and Platinum at 50 nights or 60,000 Priority Club points in a calendar year.

The unique aspect of Priority Club Rewards has been that virtually all points posted to your account were eligible for elite status. This meant a Priority Club credit card enrollment with 60,000 bonus points or the purchase of 60,000 points instantly conferred Platinum elite status with its 50% bonus points and occasional upgrade on hotel stays. The only points that did not count for elite status were points purchased when making a Points & Cash reservation.

Priority Club Elite Qualifying Points

• Base points earned from Qualifying Rates paid for hotel stays
• points collected from partner transactions [Update Jan 18: according to LoyaltyLobby, Priority Club points purchase appears to be a Points.com partner transaction and count as elite points. You can buy 50,000 Priority Club points per calendar year as low as $11.50 per 1,000 points.]
• PCR Bonus Points Packages
• Meeting Rewards

All other point earning transactions, including promotional points, points vouchers, points purchase, points transfers, and points deposits, will be considered Non-Elite Qualifying Points and will not be counted towards elite status.

Elite bonus points accrued on Base points from qualifying stays are Non-Elite Qualifying points and do not count towards elite qualification.

Priority Club Non-Elite Qualifying Points

• Promotional points
• Points Vouchers
• Points Purchases (Loyalty Traveler update 1/18/13: LoyaltyLobby reports a points purchase posted as elite points so this may apply to Points & Cash Reward stay points purchases, but it is reported that Priority Club points purchases, up to 50,000 points per year, are considered a Points.com partner transaction and elite qualifying points. ) Update March 21, 2013 – Apparently the crediting of purchased points counting as elite qualifying was an anomaly. Purchased points do not count as elite qualifying points.
• Points Transfers
• Points Deposits

PRIORITY CLUB^® REWARDS GOLD, PLATINUM (“ELITE”) MEMBERSHIPS

1. Points for Elite Status – For purposes of determining Elite Status, Priority Club points are classified as either Elite Qualifying Points or Non-Elite Qualifying Points. Base points earned from Qualifying Rates paid for hotel stays, points collected from partner transactions, PCR Bonus Points Packages and Meeting Rewards are considered Elite Qualifying Points and counted towards membership elite status. A Qualifying Rate includes the following: non-discounted rate, standard corporate rate, worldwide sales negotiated rate, national/regional/local government rate and specified leisure rates as confirmed by the IHG HOLIDEX^®Plus reservation system. All other point earning transactions, including promotional points, points vouchers, points purchase, points transfers, and points deposits, will be considered Non-Elite Qualifying Points and will not be counted towards elite status.
2. Priority Club Rewards Gold membership will be awarded to you if you have a minimum of 15 nights at Qualifying Rates or if you earn at least 20,000 Elite Qualifying points during a calendar year. Priority Club Rewards Platinum membership will be awarded to you if you have a minimum of 50 nights at Qualifying Rates or if you earn at least 60,000 Elite Qualifying points during a calendar year. Once you have earned elite membership status in any calendar year, you will maintain such status through the end of the following calendar year. Members may also purchase a Gold membership for a fee of $50 USD which can only be paid for by an accepted credit card. Gold memberships that are purchased are only valid for the duration of the calendar year in which they are purchased. Follow the instructions at www.priorityclub.com/purchasegoldor contact your nearest Priority Club Service Center for assistance. No cancellations or refunds are permitted.
3. Priority Club Rewards Gold members will receive a 10% elite bonus on all base points earned during the period in which they are Priority Club Rewards Gold members. Priority Club Rewards Platinum members will receive a 50% elite bonus on all base points earned during the period in which they are Priority Club Rewards Platinum members. Elite bonus points accrued on Base points from qualifying stays are Non-Elite Qualifying points and do not count towards elite qualification.Future bonus/benefits for Gold and Platinum members may vary. Gold and Platinum level bonus points are credited only to members who choose to collect Priority Club points. Bonus points for Gold and Platinum members apply only on the base points collected by a member and not on any additional points received due to a special offer or promotion.
4. Hotel Room Upgrades for Platinum Members:Platinum level members will be offered a complimentary upgrade, as determined by the hotel, which might include rooms on higher floors, corner rooms, newly renovated rooms, or rooms with preferred views. The upgrade will be offered at time of check-in, based on availability, and will only apply to the member’s personal guest room. The hotel is not required to upgrade members to suites or specialty rooms. Upgrade benefit will not apply to rooms booked as a Reward Night reservation.
5. Guaranteed Room Availability for Platinum Members: When contacting the Priority Club Service Center directly and guaranteeing the reservation with a valid credit card, each Platinum level member will be guaranteed one room for personal use, for reservations made at least 72 hours prior to the date of arrival, except during special events that result in extraordinary room demand, as determined solely by the hotel. The member will not be charged more than the prevailing rate for the accommodation requested, and the member is not entitled to a rate less than the prevailing rate. Once made, Platinum Guarantees may not be dishonored for any reason. If the member does not arrive and has not obtained a cancellation number prior to 6 p.m. (4 p.m. in Europe), the credit card may be billed for one night’s room and tax. Platinum Guarantees do not apply to Reward Nights. A minimum stay duration requirement may apply at select Holiday Inn Club Vacations locations.

Priority Club Rewards Program Terms & Conditions

Analysis

Looks like the banks win again with their credit card enrollment bonus offers and complimentary Platinum elite status for certain co-branded Priority Club credit cards. And other partner transactions will offer elite qualifying bonus points incentives.

It seems that buying shit is more important in the new loyalty world order than staying at hotels.

Even more disconcerting is the change that bonus points like the 50% bonus Platinum members earn as an elite member staying at IHG hotels and bonus points from hotel stay promotions are not elite qualifying points.

These changes eliminate earning Priority Club Platinum elite status quickly on far fewer than 50 nights from stackable promotions.

The 60,000 bonus points earned from Priority Club credit card enrollment will still confer Platinum elite, but buying 60,000 points during a Priority Club 50% bonus points on a points purchase will no longer count as qualifying points.

Basically Priority Club is steering hotel guests to purchase Bonus Points Packages at higher hotel rates for your stay. Priority Club commonly has higher rates that include bonus points of 1,000 to 10,000 points. These packages will be the quickest way to Platinum elite on far fewer than 50 nights for members who earn elite status by staying at IHG hotels.

PCR Bonus Points Package at Holiday Inn Express Las Vegas South offers 1,000 bonus points per night at rate $10 higher than $99 Best Flexible rate Jan 3, 2013.

All in all though, aside from the 50% bonus points and the occasional one category upgrade to high floor, preferred view and maybe even a larger room, the benefits of Priority Club Platinum are weak compared to other loyalty programs.

Hopefully the change to elite status qualification will also be accompanied by improved hotel stay benefits.

There are apparently improved benefits for elite members in the greater China region hotels for 2013. We will need to see if these changes will be rolled out globally?

Brian Cohen of The Gate, a FlyerTalk blog states changes will happen for elite benefits at hotels in Greater China including Macau and Hong Kong.

•Club Member
◦Welcome drink

•Gold Member
◦Welcome drink
◦15 percent off difference in room rates to upgrade to Club Floor or suites, or Club Lounge access when upgrading to Club Floor
◦Free in-room Internet access

•Platinum Member
◦Welcome drink
◦Free upgrade to next room category
◦30 percent off difference in room rates to upgrade to Club Floor or suites, or Club Lounge access when upgrading to Club Floor
◦In-room amenity
◦Free in-room Internet access

The Gate Dec 3, 2012

Follow this FlyerTalk thread for updates on how these Priority Club elite points changes are implemented.

Ric Garrido, writer and owner of Loyalty Traveler, shares news and views on hotels, hotel loyalty programs and vacation destinations for frequent guests. You can follow Loyalty Traveler on Twitter and Facebook and RSS feed.

This next weekend is the first full weekend of December and that means Priority Club Last Minute Reward Nights for 50% points. There are only 36 participating hotels this month with 28 of these in the USA. These hotels are only available for 50% points for stays on any of three nights for Friday, Dec 7, Saturday Dec 8 and Sunday Dec 9.

And you thought the PointBreaks list released yesterday for stays through January 31, 2013 was weak!

InterContinental Dallas is available for 15,000 points.

The list below is not ordered geographically for the USA. You can sort by state on the Priority Club website.

InterContinental DALLAS 15,000 pts.

Crowne Plaza Hotel CHICAGO OHARE HOTEL & CONF CTR 12,500 pts.

Crowne Plaza Hotel DETROIT- NOVI 12,500 pts.

Crowne Plaza Hotel OLD TOWN ALEXANDRIA 12,500 pts.

Holiday Inn DUBUQUE/GALENA 12,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express ELMIRA-HORSEHEADS 12,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express and Suites KINGSPORT-MEADOWVIEW I-26 12,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express and Suites RICHMOND NORTH ASHLAND 12,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express and Suites SCOTTSDALE – OLD TOWN 12,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express and Suites WEATHERFORD 12,500 pts.

Staybridge Suites CHATTANOOGA-HAMILTON PLACE 12,500 pts.

Holiday Inn CHARLOTTE-AIRPORT CONF CTR 10,000 pts.

Holiday Inn Express DURHAM 10,000 pts.

Holiday Inn Express and Suites PHENIX CITY-FT.BENNING AREA 10,000 pts.

Holiday Inn Hotel and Suites ALBUQUERQUE-NORTH I-25 10,000 pts.

Holiday Inn Hotel and Suites GRAND JUNCTION-AIRPORT 10,000 pts.

Holiday Inn TIMONIUM 10,000 pts.

Holiday Inn ALLENTOWN-I-78 (LEHIGH VALLEY) 7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express ADRIAN 7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express GAS CITY 7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express and Suites GREENVILLE 7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express and Suites LEVELLAND 7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn FLINT 7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Hotel and Suites RALEIGH-CARY (I-40 @WALNUT ST) 7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn WINCHESTER SE-HISTORIC GATEWAY 7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express and Suites CANYON 5,000 pts.

Holiday Inn Express and Suites LOGANSPORT 5,000 pts.

Holiday Inn GREENVILLE-I-85 @ AUGUSTA RD 5,000 pts.

CHINA

InterContinental RESORT JIUZHAI PARADISE 15,000 pts.

Crowne Plaza Hotel INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT BEIJING 12,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express SHANGHAI ZHABEI 5,000 pts.

Holiday Inn HANGZHOU XIAOSHAN 5,000 pts.

EGYPT

InterContinental TABA HEIGHTS 15,000 pts.

PANAMA

InterContinental MIRAMAR PANAMA 15,000 pts.

PORTUGAL

Holiday Inn LISBON – CONTINENTAL 10,000 pts.

SCOTLAND

Holiday Inn Express GLASGOW AIRPORT 12,500 pts.