IHG Devalues a Generous Traveler-Friendly Policy
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Via Wandering Aramean, IHG’s Best Rate Guarantee has taken a nose dive.
They’ve eliminated the previous policy of giving folks their first night free if you found a better price elsewhere. Instead, you’ll get bonus IHG points, up to a 40,000 point maximum.
This will be less valuable to most folks!
IHG Best Rate Guarantee Negative Policy Change
Link: IHG Best Rate Guarantee
Link: Introduction to Hotel Best Rate Guarantees
Most major hotel chains give travelers a guarantee that you’ll find the lowest price for a room on their website. If you find a lower rate somewhere else, they’ll match or beat the price. And sometimes they’ll give you other things, like a $50 gift card!
IHG used to have the most generous Best Rate Guarantee of any major hotel chain. If you found a lower publicly available room price or total room cost (including all taxes and fees), IHG would give you the first night FREE. And they would match the lower average nightly room price for the rest of your stay.
So folks that only planned to stay 1 night could get a free stay if they found a lower price than the IHG website! It’s not particularly easy to find an IHG hotel that qualified for a Best Rate Guarantee, but it’s certainly possible! Many folks were able to get lots of free nights from it.
Now, IHG has devalued this policy. When you find a lower publicly available price, you’ll no longer get a free night. You’ll instead get 5x IHG points, up to a 40,000 point maximum.
Because you normally earn 10 IHG points per $1 at IHG hotels, you’ll earn 50 points per $1 if you find a room that qualifies for the Best Rate Guarantee.
Note: View From the Wing points out that IHG’s British website still has the old terms.
Bottom Line
IHG has changed their Best Rate Guarantee for the worse! Instead of giving the first night free to anyone who finds a publicly advertised price lower than the IHG website, you’ll now earn bonus IHG points. You’ll get 5X IHG points, up to 40,000 points, for your stay.
What do you think about this policy change?
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