Chase hotel credit cards / IHG Anniversary Free Night

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rjbraun
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Chase hotel credit cards / IHG Anniversary Free Night

Post by rjbraun »

I am assessing whether any of these make sense for me (and SO). There seem to be four options, though I have pretty much eliminated their Ritz card with its $450 annual fee. That leaves Marriott, IHG, and Hyatt.

Background: SO and I do very little business travel, it's almost all leisure and will typically be to cities, primarily internationally but, on occasion, domestically. Chicago and Boston are two US destinations we have in mind in the next year or two, for example. Places like LA, San Fran or maybe Seattle are other possibilities. Internationally, we generally stay in smaller, locally-owned hotels, i.e., not chains, though if we can find a good "deal" at a chain we wouldn't rule it out.

Marriott: when I searched on eligible "free night" hotels (1- to 4-stars) located in the city-center in Chicago or Boston, just as a test case, I couldn't find any hotels. On this basis, I figured the Marriott card would probably be a pass for SO and me.

Hyatt: the two free nights, as a part of the sign-on bonus, seem to be available at any Hyatt hotel, including the higher-end Park Hyatts. That is amazing, and SO and I will probably each want to apply for cards at the same time when we have a trip planned to some place where we can maximize the bonus as much as possible. In that case, we'll wait to apply the next time we go to Tokyo and stay at the Park Hyatt :greedy (fully realizing Hyatt may change card terms by then).

IHG: I can't determine how attractive the hotel / room options are for the "Anniversary Free Night". When I called IHG the rep said that I can only see them if I'm an IHG member. I didn't think to possibly join (until now) just to check them out, but based on others' experience, [here's the question ...] how easy is it to book an IHG Anniversary Free Night room? Again, we would typically be looking for a room in a major city. Most likely, we would have and want some advance notice, probably anywhere from several weeks to several months, to have a confirmed booking.
jfave33
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Re: Chase hotel credit cards / IHG Anniversary Free Night

Post by jfave33 »

rjbraun wrote:IHG: I can't determine how attractive the hotel / room options are for the "Anniversary Free Night". When I called IHG the rep said that I can only see them if I'm an IHG member. I didn't think to possibly join (until now) just to check them out, but based on others' experience, [here's the question ...] how easy is it to book an IHG Anniversary Free Night room? Again, we would typically be looking for a room in a major city. Most likely, we would have and want some advance notice, probably anywhere from several weeks to several months, to have a confirmed booking.
I like the IHG card and the free room night. For $49 it is a steal if you travel at all. Even if you stay at a holiday inn express en route to somewhere else you will save a decent amount. Never had an issue booking the room - you can use it anywhere that has availability and you can book online. If you book the week before the card anniversary date you can book two nights (current and next year) as there is a slight overlap but otherwise if you do not use your free night each year it expires. We've stayed in the Paris Intercontinental and a few others. You can book as far in advance as you like but I am not sure about the cancelation policy ( I think you can and it just gets credit back as a free night). The card gives you platinum status which is decent. Free nights are usually standard rooms but the platinum status gives you potential upgrades. I haven't had many complimentary room upgrades but the ones I had were nice. Late check out is nice too.

Make sure you get a big bonus to sign up - like 60k+ points. That is good for several free nights. Also they have points breaks deals where you can stay at select hotels for 5000 points. These change each quarter. They used to be a bit better in the past but you can still find some decent ones. I've stayed at some really nice hotels for next to nothing - Crowne plaza in Brussels and Rome were some highlights.

The Starwoods card is decent too but not sure how long that will last with the mariott merger.
jodydavis
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Re: Chase hotel credit cards / IHG Anniversary Free Night

Post by jodydavis »

Re: IHG card - I agree that it is very easy to book the free night, and there are no restrictions as far as I can tell, in terms of which hotels, so long as they have a basic room available. So for $49 you can book a free night at any Intercontinental hotel in the world (see, e.g., Bora Bora), which is a great deal. Since it's only one night, I typically use it for shorter domestic trips in expensive cities, and have booked rooms at the Intercontinentals in Boston and NYC. Very easy to use, and a no-brainer. Plus, you get automatic Platinum status, which is actually pretty useful.

Re: Hyatt card - the signup bonus (2 free nights at any Hyatt) is a fantastic deal if you use it at one of the more expensive Hyatt hotels. My wife and I used this to get four free nights at the Park Hyatt Tokyo, which was amazing. You also get a yearly free room, though it's limited to category 1-4 hotels. This isn't so useful in expensive cities, but there are still some really good values (e.g. Andaz Papagayo in Costa Rica).
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Doom&Gloom
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Re: Chase hotel credit cards / IHG Anniversary Free Night

Post by Doom&Gloom »

Minor correction: Marriott card award is one night at a Category 1-5.

Probably won't make a difference in your comparisons.
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rjbraun
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Re: Chase hotel credit cards / IHG Anniversary Free Night

Post by rjbraun »

jjface wrote:I like the IHG card and the free room night. For $49 it is a steal if you travel at all. Even if you stay at a holiday inn express en route to somewhere else you will save a decent amount. Never had an issue booking the room - you can use it anywhere that has availability and you can book online. If you book the week before the card anniversary date you can book two nights (current and next year) as there is a slight overlap but otherwise if you do not use your free night each year it expires. We've stayed in the Paris Intercontinental and a few others. You can book as far in advance as you like but I am not sure about the cancelation policy ( I think you can and it just gets credit back as a free night). The card gives you platinum status which is decent. Free nights are usually standard rooms but the platinum status gives you potential upgrades. I haven't had many complimentary room upgrades but the ones I had were nice. Late check out is nice too.

Make sure you get a big bonus to sign up - like 60k+ points. That is good for several free nights. Also they have points breaks deals where you can stay at select hotels for 5000 points. These change each quarter. They used to be a bit better in the past but you can still find some decent ones. I've stayed at some really nice hotels for next to nothing - Crowne plaza in Brussels and Rome were some highlights.

The Starwoods card is decent too but not sure how long that will last with the mariott merger.
Thanks, that's helpful. As long as we stand to get a room in a decent location in the target city, it seems to be worth it. I just want to avoid situations where we would also have to pay extra money or points to get the *free* room. In those cases, I feel like we could be paying almost the price of a regular hotel room but one that we would never be inclined to pay for to begin with.

Good point about the cancellation policy [note to self: check that!]

Chase is offering 60k points now. My understanding is that one needs to be below 5/24 but that, once approved, the card won't count towards 5/24. Hope that's true?

https://creditcards.chase.com/credit-ca ... ?CELL=603Z

SO recently got Starwoods card. We have about 60k points there (when combined with my prior balance). I doubt we will renew his card (and I canceled mine years ago), so we will probably want to make a point to draw down the reward in the next year or two.
jodydavis wrote:Re: IHG card - I agree that it is very easy to book the free night, and there are no restrictions as far as I can tell, in terms of which hotels, so long as they have a basic room available. So for $49 you can book a free night at any Intercontinental hotel in the world (see, e.g., Bora Bora), which is a great deal. Since it's only one night, I typically use it for shorter domestic trips in expensive cities, and have booked rooms at the Intercontinentals in Boston and NYC. Very easy to use, and a no-brainer. Plus, you get automatic Platinum status, which is actually pretty useful.

Re: Hyatt card - the signup bonus (2 free nights at any Hyatt) is a fantastic deal if you use it at one of the more expensive Hyatt hotels. My wife and I used this to get four free nights at the Park Hyatt Tokyo, which was amazing. You also get a yearly free room, though it's limited to category 1-4 hotels. This isn't so useful in expensive cities, but there are still some really good values (e.g. Andaz Papagayo in Costa Rica).
Great, sounds as if you've booked some free rooms in nice locales! Do hope to stay at the Park Hyatt one day. If SO also gets card, that would be an unbelievable four nights. For free! I did have drinks there, but staying overnight would be something else entirely. In the meantime, I guess I'll just watch "Lost In Translation", again. Sigh.
Doom&Gloom wrote:Minor correction: Marriott card award is one night at a Category 1-5.

Probably won't make a difference in your comparisons.
Good catch, thanks. I actually searched on Category 1-5 but miswrote in my post. Would have been nice if the added category would have opened up some good hotels for me!
Coato
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Re: Chase hotel credit cards / IHG Anniversary Free Night

Post by Coato »

Not sure why you were told you needed to be a member to see the available redemptions.

I just go to awardmapper.com and search by chain and area. Plenty of really nice category 4 Hyatts out there and we get really good value out of the IHG card too. Just glancing at the West Coast there are Cat. 4 Hyatts in Seattle, San Francisco, Santa Barbara, La Jolla, Mission Bay... So plenty of nice places to go. The La Jolla property is about $230/night so that's definitely a nice weekend for 2 $75 annual fees. The Santa Barbara Cat 4 Hyatt is showing rates of $550 this weekend...

IHG is even easier to redeem since you can do it all online.
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rjbraun
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Re: Chase hotel credit cards / IHG Anniversary Free Night

Post by rjbraun »

Coato wrote:Not sure why you were told you needed to be a member to see the available redemptions.

I just go to awardmapper.com and search by chain and area. Plenty of really nice category 4 Hyatts out there and we get really good value out of the IHG card too. Just glancing at the West Coast there are Cat. 4 Hyatts in Seattle, San Francisco, Santa Barbara, La Jolla, Mission Bay... So plenty of nice places to go. The La Jolla property is about $230/night so that's definitely a nice weekend for 2 $75 annual fees. The Santa Barbara Cat 4 Hyatt is showing rates of $550 this weekend...

IHG is even easier to redeem since you can do it all online.
Thanks, interesting map. How can I see the IHG hotels that qualify for Anniversary Free Night stays?
mageedge
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Re: Chase hotel credit cards / IHG Anniversary Free Night

Post by mageedge »

For IHG anniversary night - any IHG property qualifies - makes it an easy 'keeper' for $49 a year.
We've used the free night in London at a $300/night hotel and at numerous Crowne Plaza properties in Europe and Asia. Platinum status has got us upgrades to club level at the Crown Plazas meaning free lounge meals/drinks and, usually, upgraded rooms.
Not a great points earner although IHG often runs pretty lucrative promotions - usually only use it if paying at an IHG property - and the 500 point "points break" is a great deal if it happens to include a hotel in an area of interest. Also very large inventory of IHG properties around the globe.
I have the Hyatt card as well - used the 2 free nights in San Francisco at $250/night property. The annual free night is worth the $75 fee. Points are much more valuable than IHG however inventory is a lot smaller, but properties are usually around the big cities internationally.

Used to have the Marriott card but, after points devaluation, decided not worth it - may be a different equation with the SPG merger.
9liner
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Re: Chase hotel credit cards / IHG Anniversary Free Night

Post by 9liner »

As an IHG Rewards Club member going on 3 years now, I finally pulled the trigger on the rewards card. The offer was too good to pass up. 80,000 bonus points for spending $2000 in the first 90 days plus 5,000 bonus points to add a second authorized user. In addition, I get 5x bonus points on every dollar spent at IHG properties amongst other points benefits.

I've found that rooms go from as low as 20,000 points to as high as 50,000 points per night at their top tier hotels valuing the 80,000 point somewhere in the neighborhood of $600+. Add the free stay on top of that, and this bonus could be worth upwards of $1000. This is my first foray into a hotel rewards card. I normally employ my USAA Limitless Cashback Card which provides me with 2.5% on all purchases but to me, this was a no-brainer.
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rjbraun
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Re: Chase hotel credit cards / IHG Anniversary Free Night

Post by rjbraun »

mageedge and 9liner, thanks very much for the valuable input. I plan to apply for the card and will suggest that SO does as well. That should ensure that our two anniversary rewards will coincide over the same time frame (as much as possible).

Now, the only two main issues to resolve are ...

1) Will the card count towards Chase's "5/24" constraint? So far, my online research seems to indicate that one can obtain the card even if they exceed the 5/24 parameters, but my issue is more if it will count towards 5/24. Not necessarily a deal-breaker for me if it does, but I would just like to know beforehand, if possible.

2) The best offer I could find is 60k bonus with $1000 spend and no annual fee. Would love to try for 80k bonus even if it means higher min spend (but still no AF). SO and I don't have an immediate need for an IHG stay, so we can wait. I guess the question is the likelihood of the terms worsening rather than improving, going forward.

Appreciate any insights from fellow BHs :wink:

https://creditcards.chase.com/credit-ca ... wards-club
mageedge
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Re: Chase hotel credit cards / IHG Anniversary Free Night

Post by mageedge »

on your questions -
1) all my reading indicates IHG application consideration is not subject to 5/24 but it will count under 5/24 for future apps if successful.
2) simple answer - who knows?! The 60k is unlikely to go away so probably safe to wait until you need to get the card and see if any promo surfaces.
Best current offer I see is 50k points + $100 statement credit, $2k spend requirement in 3 months. Using the IHG point and cash "trick" (google it!) $100 can get you 15-20k points so its a bit better than 60k offer but you do have to spend an extra $1k on the card.
Additionally adding an authorized user gets 5k points. Each of you gets a card and adds the other as an AU -easy 10k points.
2cents2
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Re: Chase hotel credit cards / IHG Anniversary Free Night

Post by 2cents2 »

deleted my IHG info.

I am on the fence with Marriott. The anniversary night (the one that is earned after a year) is cat 5 or below. But, I have found most of my preferred properties where we have used our free night in the past have been upgraded to cat 6. :oops: So, we struggle to use the "free" night (actually free night= $85 when considering the membership fee).
Last edited by 2cents2 on Thu Jul 06, 2017 1:23 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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rjbraun
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Re: Chase hotel credit cards / IHG Anniversary Free Night

Post by rjbraun »

mageedge wrote:on your questions -
1) all my reading indicates IHG application consideration is not subject to 5/24 but it will count under 5/24 for future apps if successful.
In that case, I guess I should hold off until I finish my 5/24 activity and then apply for the IHG card. Of course, I realize that Chase could make the card subject to 5/24 in the interim, before I get my IHG card. Oh well. :(
2) simple answer - who knows?! The 60k is unlikely to go away so probably safe to wait until you need to get the card and see if any promo surfaces.
Best current offer I see is 50k points + $100 statement credit, $2k spend requirement in 3 months. Using the IHG point and cash "trick" (google it!) $100 can get you 15-20k points so its a bit better than 60k offer but you do have to spend an extra $1k on the card.
Interesting. Thanks, will definitely try for the boost when I get the card.
Additionally adding an authorized user gets 5k points. Each of you gets a card and adds the other as an AU -easy 10k points.
Another interesting point. I've been reluctant to add SO as AU (as a general matter), as I thought I read that would count as another card for 5/24 purposes.
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rjbraun
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Re: Chase hotel credit cards / IHG Anniversary Free Night

Post by rjbraun »

2cents2 wrote:I used to love this IHG annual free night award, but lately I have had some trouble booking some of my preferred choices for no additional cost (besides the annual fee).
Here are some examples (I just plugged in Saturday night):
Crown Plaza Times Square Manhattan
Chase Anniversary Free Night
65.00 USD per room, per night
TAXES AND SERVICE CHARGES:
Service Charge: 30.00 USD per night not included in rate effective 10 June, 2017 thru 11 June, 2017

Intercontinental Times Square
Chase Anniversary Free Night
165.00 USD per room, per night


Miami Beach Holiday Inn
Chase Anniversary Free Night
100.00 USD per room, per night

Savannah Historic District
Chase Anniversary Free Night
40.00 USD per room, per night
TAXES AND SERVICE CHARGES:
Service Charge: 5.00 USD per night not included in rate effective 10 June, 2017 thru 11 June, 2017

So, the "free" reward night is not as favorable as it once was.

I am on the fence with Marriott. The anniversary night (the one that is earned after a year) is cat 5 or below. But, I have found most of my preferred properties where we have used our free night in the past have been upgraded to cat 6. :oops: So, we struggle to use the "free" night (actually free night= $85 when considering the membership fee).
Ugh. That's exactly what I was trying to avoid with the IHG card: the need to pay additional charges when using the Anniversary Free Night. Hardly seems "free" anymore, in the examples you gave. I guess this is a recent change by IHG?

Marriott: Yeah, the Marriott cat 5 or lower limitation didn't work so well for me, either. I didn't look closely at the terms, but maybe if you can pay extra to use the Reward Night at a cat 6 hotel it could be worth staying with the card another year, just to see if it's worth it. Tough call, especially at $85 annual fee.
jfave33
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Re: Chase hotel credit cards / IHG Anniversary Free Night

Post by jfave33 »

Maybe a recent change as I've never had to pay for the reward...
Perhaps these are upgraded room charges?
I've used mine for the year so cannot verify.
jlcnuke
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Re: Chase hotel credit cards / IHG Anniversary Free Night

Post by jlcnuke »

I just looked to see if there were charges showing up to book free nights and don't see any for the Intercontinental Times Square, Crown Plaza Times Square etc for July 10-11. Everything still showing "Free" for me...
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rjbraun
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Re: Chase hotel credit cards / IHG Anniversary Free Night

Post by rjbraun »

jlcnuke wrote:I just looked to see if there were charges showing up to book free nights and don't see any for the Intercontinental Times Square, Crown Plaza Times Square etc for July 10-11. Everything still showing "Free" for me...
I think 2cents2's post referenced charges for June 10-11.

Edit: I'm not familiar with how IHG's free nights show up, so maybe my comments about 2cents2's post isn't applicable. I don't know but figured I would note that the month cited is June and not July
Last edited by rjbraun on Thu Jun 08, 2017 4:59 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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gunn_show
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Re: Chase hotel credit cards / IHG Anniversary Free Night

Post by gunn_show »

rjbraun wrote:
Marriott: Yeah, the Marriott cat 5 or lower limitation didn't work so well for me, either. I didn't look closely at the terms, but maybe if you can pay extra to use the Reward Night at a cat 6 hotel it could be worth staying with the card another year, just to see if it's worth it. Tough call, especially at $85 annual fee.
Not sure if I can add much since I am just about 100% a Marriott / SPG / Ritz guy, because I travel for work and stack points with these vendors. I also have all 3 branded cards. But will throw out some ideas anyway to see if anything piques your interest.

I will likely be dumping the Marriott Chase card when it comes up for the fee again in the fall, no longer worth it for the Cat 1-5 free night as you all have pointed out, there are pretty much no prime hotels in those buckets anymore, and I have searched far and wide. Last year we went to visit a friend in Denver to hit Red Rocks for a concert and found a nice Renaissance with a C-lounge, but that was really a stretch to use the cert. Nothing in Socal or bay area of much value in the 1-5 range. Makes it a waste. And you -cannot- pay to upgrade that cert from 1-5 to a 6 or above, unfortunately they are not keen on that game. It is all or nothing. Ideally they would give you the Cat 1-5 cert or equivalent points as an option towards a higher cat.

Now the Ritz Chase card can be of value to you if any of the 1-4 properties tilt your wheel - Maui, Cancun, Aruba, Barcelona, Berlin, Battery Park NYC, Lake Tahoe, Amelia Island, probably a couple others but that's the list I saved. Some REALLY nice properties there. DW and I just returned from a fantastic 4-night vacation at the Ritz Kapalua in Maui, 3 of the nights using the free certs that came with the bonus sign up (used to be 3, now 2 I believe) which was probably worth around $2000 for the 3 nights. I used points for the 4th night. So roughly $2500-2700 in value all on free sign-up certs and some points and the $450 annual fee. (yes did have lovely $30 resort fee and $27 parking per day.. ridiculous). I highly recommend this card, especially for long term Marriott users. Along with the free nights, you get $300 per year in travel credit (towards flight upgrades, in flight meals, etc), $100 hotel credit per Ritz stay, 10% annual points premium at end of year for all points earned, and the big one for Marriott users - automatic Gold Elite status for the first year - giving you access to concierge lounges, free breakfast for 2, free wifi, free parking, etc. Very key for business users (and couples/families on vacation if at a full service Marriott). And you can re-qualify for the Gold status every year by spending $10k which is not bad for business users. I will be keeping this card and dumping the Marriott card easily. And I say that knowing that I will probably never stay at a Ritz again, barring the unknown. But those free nights were amazing and worth it alone. And the Marriott Gold status matches over to SPG as well for SPG Gold. (Ritz does not recognize status much). You also get a free annual Priority Pass Select membership for access to like 500 airport lounges.

As an example - if the Ritz Kapalua floated your boat, you could use some of those SPG points to make a combo trip and stay another couple nights at the Westin Kaanapali or something nice in that area, and get a free trip out of it very similarly. Or you can convert SPG to Marriott points 1:3 and come out with 180000 Marriott points and use one of their properties. SPG and Marriott have a lot of properties on Maui. You could use this plan for any combo city with a Ritz and SPG/Marriott - Barcelona for sure, NYC, etc.

* To really get a great cheap package to Maui, sign up for the BofA Alaska Visa and use the $99 companion pass - we did that and saved $600 on DW ticket to Maui. Huge savings.

I just completed the same SPG Amex signup run and will likely convert my 50k points over to Marriott in the near future for a European trip.

Obviously I am pretty loyal to these brands and recommend them. I always get consistent service, great Marriott beds (in fact got the Marquis bed for my home, wife thanks me every day), and there are now 1000s of Marriott / SPG brands to stay at around the world.

Here is a really handy hotel map for all Marriott - SPG - Ritz hotels in the US - which is very handy for searching by category or points or price:
http://www.starwoodmap.com/
"The best life hack of all is to just put the work in and never give up." Bas Rutten
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Re: Chase hotel credit cards / IHG Anniversary Free Night

Post by alaskantraveler »

If you are still under 5/24 you should make sure to apply for the sapphire, sapphire reserve, ink preferred etc before signing up for the hotel ccs. If you are new to churning, best to start with the chase UR cards first, then move on to others because once you are over 5/24 you are excluded for a while.

As for the cards hotel cards... My wife and I are on the 2nd Marriott personal card. We cancel after one year. You still get to keep the free night cert. Wait another year then apply again. The most aspirational category 5 marriot hotel out there right now is the JW Marriot Pho Quoc in Vietnam. Goes for $500/night.

The IHG card I keep. The annual fee is low. I've used the free nights at the IC Timesquare, IC Cancun, Crown Plaza Miami Beach, and other places.
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Eagle
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Re: Chase hotel credit cards / IHG Anniversary Free Night

Post by Eagle »

When I travelled a lot for work a couple years ago I used Hyatt. I just had their rewards program and enjoyed staying with my wife 1-2 nights a year. I don't travel nearly as much though. Maybe once or twice a year. I considered their card but decided on a cash back card instead.
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rjbraun
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Re: Chase hotel credit cards / IHG Anniversary Free Night

Post by rjbraun »

gunn_show: Those Hawaiian vacations of yours sound great! As lovely as Hawaii was in my brief stay in Honolulu years ago, admittedly a different proposition from the places you stayed, it's not a *priority* relative to other destinations on SO's and my list. Maybe one day, but for now we haven't done so many beach-type trips. We should and will, I hope, at some point. So, Ritz card probably doesn't make sense for us now, especially as we typically don't stay at Marriotts. But, will definitely keep in mind if a trip to Barcelona materializes.

I hope Marriott reacts to the dissatisfaction people have expressed here with the cat 1-5 options for the Anniversary Free Night :annoyed

alaskatraveler: Thanks. Already have Sapphire Reserve (SO and I, both) and Sapphire Preferred (SO yes, and I need to wait a few months to apply for another one - "round 2"). I also got Ink Business Preferred, but I still have some 5/24 capacity to draw down, before I move on to non-Chase cards.

I will consider applying for the IHG card but only if I can confirm that the annual free night is likely to offer hotels in locations that I can use -- and without additional charge.

Eagle: Yeah, I think the Hyatt card only makes sense for SO and me if we have near-term plans to stay at a top-end Hyatt, so we can benefit from the two free sign-up bonus nights. Otherwise, I'm concerned about "earning" the annual free night that I will either need to go to some effort and / or cost to use or have expire worthless.

Edit: formatting
alaskantraveler
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Re: Chase hotel credit cards / IHG Anniversary Free Night

Post by alaskantraveler »

rjbraun wrote:gunn_show: Those Hawaiian vacations of yours sound great! As lovely as Hawaii was in my brief stay in Honolulu years ago, admittedly a different proposition from the places you stayed, it's not a *priority* relative to other destinations on SO's and my list. Maybe one day, but for now we haven't done so many beach-type trips. We should and will, I hope, at some point. So, Ritz card probably doesn't make sense for us now, especially as we typically don't stay at Marriotts. But, will definitely keep in mind if a trip to Barcelona materializes.

I hope Marriott reacts to the dissatisfaction people have expressed here with the cat 1-5 options for the Anniversary Free Night :annoyed

alaskatraveler: Thanks. Already have Sapphire Reserve (SO and I, both) and Sapphire Preferred (SO yes, and I need to wait a few months to apply for another one - "round 2"). I also got Ink Business Preferred, but I still have some 5/24 capacity to draw down, before I move on to non-Chase cards.

I will consider applying for the IHG card but only if I can confirm that the annual free night is likely to offer hotels in locations that I can use -- and without additional charge.

Eagle: Yeah, I think the Hyatt card only makes sense for SO and me if we have near-term plans to stay at a top-end Hyatt, so we can benefit from the two free sign-up bonus nights. Otherwise, I'm concerned about "earning" the annual free night that I will either need to go to some effort and / or cost to use or have expire worthless.

Edit: formatting
Consider the Southwest cards for the companion pass if you can make use of it. The companion pass can also status match to MVP gold 75K status with Alaska Airlines.
DiMAn0684
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Re: Chase hotel credit cards / IHG Anniversary Free Night

Post by DiMAn0684 »

IHG is a very nice card to keep around for a $49/yr hotel stay and Platinum Elite status, but when it comes to spending $ on it there's no value in doing that unless you're booking a IHG property AND getting a bonus of some sort. Without the bonus I'd prefer 3x Citi or Chase pts per dollar over 5x IHG pts per dollar. With that said, looking forward to my 'free' stay in IC Le Grand in Paris in a couple of weeks!
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Re: Chase hotel credit cards / IHG Anniversary Free Night

Post by TravelGeek »

DiMAn0684 wrote:IHG is a very nice card to keep around for a $49/yr hotel stay and Platinum Elite status, but when it comes to spending $ on it there's no value in doing that unless you're booking a IHG property AND getting a bonus of some sort. Without the bonus I'd prefer 3x Citi or Chase pts per dollar over 5x IHG pts per dollar. With that said, looking forward to my 'free' stay in IC Le Grand in Paris in a couple of weeks!
Agree wholehearted. I have both the IHG and the Marriott Visas and basically put no spend on them other than an occasional hotel stay at those chains (and even that is somewhat questionable use in many cases given the CSR would give me 3X UR points on travel). The value of the free nights exceeds the annual fee cost, and combined with some other benefits (e.g., 10% rebate on award stays and Plat status for IHG) make it worth keeping them.
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rjbraun
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Re: Chase hotel credit cards / IHG Anniversary Free Night

Post by rjbraun »

I am still trying to figure out whether the IHG Anniversary Free Night can be applied to any IHG or whether at times you need to top off the "free" night with cash (or maybe points).

Based on the link below, it seems that the Anniversary Free Night may only get you so far. I'm assuming that if you stay at a lower-cost hotel / destination you can maybe get a free night. Otherwise, you should be prepared to pay cash, thereby making the free night not quite free.

Is this correct or am I missing something?

https://www.ihg.com/content/ihg/hotels/ ... EarnRedeem
mageedge
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Re: Chase hotel credit cards / IHG Anniversary Free Night

Post by mageedge »

Between my wife and I we've had a dozen "anniversary free night" stays over the past few years including Crowne Plaza Singapore, Copenhagen, Seattle; and a $400/night London hotel twice. Never had any additional costs attached to the "free" night but have been upgraded because of card elite status at each property - a nice benefit at Crowne Plazas where the upgrade gave us entry into the lounge for free drinks and food.
I'm not sure what you are reading into the "points and cash" page that you referenced but that is a separate arrangement to free nights - it allows you to use some points along with a cash differential if that works for you. People will generally use this option to get some low priced points to use at a different hotel.
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rjbraun
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Re: Chase hotel credit cards / IHG Anniversary Free Night

Post by rjbraun »

mageedge wrote:Between my wife and I we've had a dozen "anniversary free night" stays over the past few years including Crowne Plaza Singapore, Copenhagen, Seattle; and a $400/night London hotel twice. Never had any additional costs attached to the "free" night but have been upgraded because of card elite status at each property - a nice benefit at Crowne Plazas where the upgrade gave us entry into the lounge for free drinks and food.
I'm not sure what you are reading into the "points and cash" page that you referenced but that is a separate arrangement to free nights - it allows you to use some points along with a cash differential if that works for you. People will generally use this option to get some low priced points to use at a different hotel.
You're right. Sorry, I either inadvertently attached the wrong link or blanked out when I originally read the material in the link I provided.

Anyway, based on your and others' experiences SO and I should probably just apply for the card. Especially as now we may have an actual trip planned where we might want to stay at an IHG hotel and could apply the signup bonus points to the room. If that plays out getting the card would be worth it even if the anniversary free night doesn't quite work out as planned (though I hope it will).

Thanks for the input
TravelGeek
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Re: Chase hotel credit cards / IHG Anniversary Free Night

Post by TravelGeek »

I have used the free night three or four times now. Never paid extra. But note that award nights aren't always available (per T&C; but I have personally not had this happen for my trips).
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rjbraun
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Re: Chase hotel credit cards / IHG Anniversary Free Night

Post by rjbraun »

TravelGeek wrote:I have used the free night three or four times now. Never paid extra. But note that award nights aren't always available (per T&C; but I have personally not had this happen for my trips).
Thank you. Good to know.

About ready for SO and me to apply separately for the card. I made a refundable booking at an IHG hotel today and joined IHG Rewards Club in the process. Was kind of hoping that might trigger the targeted 80k points offer, but so far nothing. Best offer I saw was 50k with $100 statement credit (don't recall required min spend but presumably $2k). Will probably bite in next day or so
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Will do good
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Re: Chase hotel credit cards / IHG Anniversary Free Night

Post by Will do good »

mageedge wrote:Between my wife and I we've had a dozen "anniversary free night" stays over the past few years including Crowne Plaza Singapore, Copenhagen, Seattle; and a $400/night London hotel twice. Never had any additional costs attached to the "free" night but have been upgraded because of card elite status at each property - a nice benefit at Crowne Plazas where the upgrade gave us entry into the lounge for free drinks and food.
I'm not sure what you are reading into the "points and cash" page that you referenced but that is a separate arrangement to free nights - it allows you to use some points along with a cash differential if that works for you. People will generally use this option to get some low priced points to use at a different hotel.
Agreed. We just booked 2 nights InterContinental Hong Kong (with 2 IHG CC) $375/night w/no additional fees.
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rjbraun
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Re: Chase hotel credit cards / IHG Anniversary Free Night

Post by rjbraun »

Will do good wrote:
mageedge wrote:Between my wife and I we've had a dozen "anniversary free night" stays over the past few years including Crowne Plaza Singapore, Copenhagen, Seattle; and a $400/night London hotel twice. Never had any additional costs attached to the "free" night but have been upgraded because of card elite status at each property - a nice benefit at Crowne Plazas where the upgrade gave us entry into the lounge for free drinks and food.
I'm not sure what you are reading into the "points and cash" page that you referenced but that is a separate arrangement to free nights - it allows you to use some points along with a cash differential if that works for you. People will generally use this option to get some low priced points to use at a different hotel.
Agreed. We just booked 2 nights InterContinental Hong Kong (with 2 IHG CC) $375/night w/no additional fees.
Nice, and thanks for sharing.

My Chase IHG card got approved today, and SO just submitted his online application now. He got the same 30 day pending review language as I did, so it looks as if we will be calling the recon line again tomorrow. At least it seems to be time well spent given the card benefits

We were in HK in April and had a great time. Envious of your upcoming trip. Enjoy
2cents2
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Re: Chase hotel credit cards / IHG Anniversary Free Night

Post by 2cents2 »

I deleted what I had posted ref the IHG free night above. I mentioned that I had trouble using it in the past (it may be ahem "operator error"). So, here is my latest experience.

We tried to use it for a Holiday Inn in Fayetteville, NC for the night of the 1st of July. The free night for the Holiday Inn that we wanted to use wasn't available, but they did have cash rooms available, so the hotel was not sold out. (I know, separate inventory.) There were other IHG properties that had the free night availability that were about 30mins away, but we had a 4am get up the next morning and we wanted to be as close to our venue as possible. (We booked another hotel chain)

The expiration date was 14 July, so we were running out of options. So, I tried the Willard Hotel in Washington DC on 4 Jul. At first I could only get points, points and cash, but when I selected free night only--voila! I was able to book it. We live close to DC, but even so I've always wanted to stay overnight at the Willard in general and on the 4th of July specifically because traffic coming out of DC after the fireworks show is usually gridlock. We had a really nice stay. The only extra charge we had was for parking which isn't covered by the free night.
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rjbraun
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Re: Chase hotel credit cards / IHG Anniversary Free Night

Post by rjbraun »

Chase IHG terms have apparently improved, as reported today by "Doctor of Credit": 80k bonus with $1k min spend in first 3 months, or a "targeted offer" of 100k bonus with $2k spend.

So, anyone thinking about getting a Chase IHG card, now may be a good time!

http://www.doctorofcredit.com/chase-mat ... t-90-days/

I actually saw the improved terms (80k offer, $1k min) when I happened to access the IHG late yesterday. I e-mailed Chase to request a match and received a reply this morning, indicating that they would match the 80k bonus but would still require a $2k min spend. Note: my original offer was 50k bonus and $100 statement credit with $2k min spend.

When I read about the improved 100k offer this morning, I contacted Chase again to inform them of the better terms. I am still waiting to hear back.

Comments:
- I received the card two days ago and used it for the first time yesterday.
- When Chase said that they would match the 80k offer, they didn't say anything about the $100 statement credit. I guess I had assumed that I would not receive it, but now I wonder. To require me to meet a higher min spend than the current offer is a little surprising (fwiw, I have been a Chase Private Client customer for probably at least 10 years now), so maybe they also plan to issue a $100 statement credit? That sounds a bit too awesome, but i will try to inquire.
- SO applied a few days after I did. Once he receives his card, I guess we will contact Chase again to request a match. Anyone with experience with a similar situation? Appreciate any input to improve our chances.
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rjbraun
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Re: Chase hotel credit cards / IHG Anniversary Free Night

Post by rjbraun »

2cents2 wrote:I deleted what I had posted ref the IHG free night above. I mentioned that I had trouble using it in the past (it may be ahem "operator error"). So, here is my latest experience.

We tried to use it for a Holiday Inn in Fayetteville, NC for the night of the 1st of July. The free night for the Holiday Inn that we wanted to use wasn't available, but they did have cash rooms available, so the hotel was not sold out. (I know, separate inventory.) There were other IHG properties that had the free night availability that were about 30mins away, but we had a 4am get up the next morning and we wanted to be as close to our venue as possible. (We booked another hotel chain)

The expiration date was 14 July, so we were running out of options. So, I tried the Willard Hotel in Washington DC on 4 Jul. At first I could only get points, points and cash, but when I selected free night only--voila! I was able to book it. We live close to DC, but even so I've always wanted to stay overnight at the Willard in general and on the 4th of July specifically because traffic coming out of DC after the fireworks show is usually gridlock. We had a really nice stay. The only extra charge we had was for parking which isn't covered by the free night.
Thanks for posting the update.
Nice that you found a good way to use your free night before expiration, and at The Willard no less. I stayed there years ago and just walked by last month when we were heading to The Hamilton for their 1/2-price sushi deal :sharebeer
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rjbraun
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Re: Chase hotel credit cards / IHG Anniversary Free Night

Post by rjbraun »

TravelGeek wrote: Sat Jun 24, 2017 6:25 pm I have used the free night three or four times now. Never paid extra. But note that award nights aren't always available (per T&C; but I have personally not had this happen for my trips).
Aargh, the IHG hotel I have been targeting just went from offering rooms for 50k IHG points to now having no reward nights! :twisted:

Unbelievable. I literally just got my signup bonus deposited in my account. I needed the points in order to book, and now there are no rooms available to book with points.

The trip is about six weeks away at this point. Any idea whether rooms may become available again for points? I can try calling IHG, but I haven't found their "phone presence" so helpful in the past.

I already have Plan B in place, thankfully (booked another hotel with SPG points I happen to have), but I had already convinced myself that we would want to stay at the IHG location. Also, already told a family member who will meet us that we planned to stay at the IHG hotel. :(
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Re: Chase hotel credit cards / IHG Anniversary Free Night

Post by TravelGeek »

I assume the hotel still has rooms available for sale, just not award rooms?

I would book the backup room and keep watching availability for the IHG hotel. I think it is quite likely that within the next six weeks someone will cancel their reservation or the hotel will decide to open up additional award inventory.
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Re: Chase hotel credit cards / IHG Anniversary Free Night

Post by VictoriaF »

I used my IHG anniversary night to book a Holiday Inn at the CDG airport. It worked well and the room was adequate for my needs.

I also used 15k IHG points to book a night at the Holiday Inn at the Prague airport earlier this year, and will do it again next year. Holiday Inn at the Prague airport is nicer and more convenient than the one at CDG, but for my purpose it does not really matter. My purpose for these reservations is as follows:
I don't like early morning flights and bridging different legs of my trips is not always easy. These one-night airport stays give me the convenience of arriving to Prague or CDG at any time the day before and leaving home at any time the next day. 15k IHG points/night is a small price for this convenience.

Victoria

P.S. I cancelled the Chase card at the time of its anniversary and have not paid the $49 annual fee. I may get this card again in a couple years, when I run out of points for my airport stays.
P.P.S. For an inexplicable reason Holiday Inn at CDG gave me a welcome bonus of 500 points.
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rjbraun
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Re: Chase hotel credit cards / IHG Anniversary Free Night

Post by rjbraun »

TravelGeek wrote: Mon Aug 21, 2017 7:50 pm I assume the hotel still has rooms available for sale, just not award rooms?

I would book the backup room and keep watching availability for the IHG hotel. I think it is quite likely that within the next six weeks someone will cancel their reservation or the hotel will decide to open up additional award inventory.
Correct - available rooms to book with cash, just not using award points.

Phone rep said that only a limited number of rooms are available for award booking, and once those are gone that's it. She made it seem that if an award reservation gets canceled, that room would then become available for award booking.

I actually booked a room for cash earlier, thinking that, while unlikely, I might be allowed to convert it from cash to an award booking once I received my sign-up bonus. She said that won't be possible but indicated she would note my interest in an award room if one became available. I'm a bit dubious the hotel will actually call me, especially before someone else nabs the room, and the rep herself also said I should just monitor things online. I probably will (given my compulsive personality :( ), but it seems kind of crazy.

The hotel is located in Asheville, NC. I know that has become an increasingly popular destination and it will be about the time leaves on trees may change color (not the reason I picked the dates), but $400 or so for a hotel room there seems ridiculous. I would have a hard time paying that in "real money" and it was really nice to think that I could use my new IHG signup bonus for the room. Anyway, the next night, a Sunday, IHG was also charging 50k for an award room, but the cash price was only about $200. Kind of surprised to see such a big disconnect between cash price and points. If I manage to get an award room the first night (a Saturday) I will certainly not use IHG points to cover Sunday night. Most likely, I will book with Chase UR points, though I may use the IHG card to rack up 5x points.
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rjbraun
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Re: Chase hotel credit cards / IHG Anniversary Free Night

Post by rjbraun »

VictoriaF wrote: Mon Aug 21, 2017 8:21 pm I used my IHG anniversary night to book a Holiday Inn at the CDG airport. It worked well and the room was adequate for my needs.

I also used 15k IHG points to book a night at the Holiday Inn at the Prague airport earlier this year, and will do it again next year. Holiday Inn at the Prague airport is nicer and more convenient than the one at CDG, but for my purpose it does not really matter. My purpose for these reservations is as follows:
I don't like early morning flights and bridging different legs of my trips is not always easy. These one-night airport stays give me the convenience of arriving to Prague or CDG at any time the day before and leaving home at any time the next day. 15k IHG points/night is a small price for this convenience.

Victoria

P.S. I cancelled the Chase card at the time of its anniversary and have not paid the $49 annual fee. I may get this card again in a couple years, when I run out of points for my airport stays.
P.P.S. For an inexplicable reason Holiday Inn at CDG gave me a welcome bonus of 500 points.
Even though this latest IHG card effort has been more involved than I would have expected and would like, I do like the idea of having a "portfolio" of different hotel award options to tap. So, if IHG doesn't work out for my latest pricey hotel room, I will just use some SPG points I have, especially as I want to draw them down at some point anyway as I no longer have the card and with not a huge balance tracking them and keeping the account active is a bit of a nuisance.
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Re: Chase hotel credit cards / IHG Anniversary Free Night

Post by BashDash »

Keeping this old thread alive.....my wife and I each have the select and premier ihg cards which each give a free night. Has anyone noticed when attempting to book a free night that the premiere card allows more availability than the select? I just booked two free nights that also required extra points with the premiere but the select card free nights don't seem as helpful in getting availability. Not sure if I am explaining this properly.
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Re: Chase hotel credit cards / IHG Anniversary Free Night

Post by Fly Guy »

They made that change about a year ago? Both cards have a free night up to 40,000 points, but with the more expensive Premier card, you can "top off" the award with additional points to get a free night at a higher amount. For example, if an award costs 50,000 points, you can use the 40K free night award from the Premier and add 10K from your account to obtain the award. Unfortunately, they won't let you do that with the cheaper ($49?) Select card. With the select card you have a 40K free night award, but you'll only be able to use that on a hotel night that costs 40,000 points or less - you can't "top off" with additional points on the select card.
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Re: Chase hotel credit cards / IHG Anniversary Free Night

Post by BashDash »

Thank you!!!!
I'm wondering if there is value to us anymore in keeping that card. Have not been able to use that free night this year but every year is different.
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rjbraun
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Re: Chase hotel credit cards / IHG Anniversary Free Night

Post by rjbraun »

BashDash wrote: Tue Aug 09, 2022 11:13 am Thank you!!!!
I'm wondering if there is value to us anymore in keeping that card. Have not been able to use that free night this year but every year is different.
OP here. Ha, I was just wondering the same thing yesterday, literally. I thought I might have the opportunity to use the free night certificate for an upcoming trip. But, nope, it doesn't look as if the desired hotel will qualify. Very frustrating. While I accept that our normal travel destinations (prior to the pandemic) are less likely to have a free night stay option, I was hopeful this time I would be successful.

In my case, I don't think it's worth upgrading the card. At least for now, the free DoorDash access has justified keeping the card another year, but I think we may let it go when it's up for annual renewal (especially as we have two cards).
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Re: Chase hotel credit cards / IHG Anniversary Free Night

Post by BashDash »

What door dash access does the select card have?
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rjbraun
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Re: Chase hotel credit cards / IHG Anniversary Free Night

Post by rjbraun »

BashDash wrote: Tue Aug 09, 2022 2:48 pm What door dash access does the select card have?
I happened to come across details several months ago. I just figured I would try to get free access and was pleasantly surprised when it worked. As I had recently made the decision to not renew my Chase Sapphire Reserve card and would lose my Door Dash free access, I was particularly pleased. I even was receiving a $5 credit monthly on up to to two orders, but it seems that has been reduced to only one credit per month. Still, if I were to order on DD at least monthly (which I don't always) that would cover the cost of the Select card.

The link below provides details, though I didn't read the fine print for the particular terms. Good luck - hope you can get free access if you want!

https://www.chase.com/digital/resources ... d-doordash
DiMAn0684
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Re: Chase hotel credit cards / IHG Anniversary Free Night

Post by DiMAn0684 »

I have both Select & Premier cards, and contemplating adding IHG business card to the lineup as well. There's a number of hotels in the places that we enjoy doing weekend trips to that are generally available for ~40k pts and have a cash rate of ~$250 before taxes and fees. Getting those stays for under $100 is an easy win for me. I also save some money via Chase offers, at least $50 per card/yr.
BashDash
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Re: Chase hotel credit cards / IHG Anniversary Free Night

Post by BashDash »

I am finding it frustrating that I am seeing availability for a night for 33k points but unavailability for using the Select free night. There is obviously only a certain amount of nights per month the hotel wants a free night to be used.
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Re: Chase hotel credit cards / IHG Anniversary Free Night

Post by JazzTime »

Fly Guy wrote: Tue Aug 09, 2022 10:35 am They made that change about a year ago? Both cards have a free night up to 40,000 points, but with the more expensive Premier card, you can "top off" the award with additional points to get a free night at a higher amount. For example, if an award costs 50,000 points, you can use the 40K free night award from the Premier and add 10K from your account to obtain the award. Unfortunately, they won't let you do that with the cheaper ($49?) Select card. With the select card you have a 40K free night award, but you'll only be able to use that on a hotel night that costs 40,000 points or less - you can't "top off" with additional points on the select card.
That's interesting. I didn't know the Select free night was treated differently than the Premier free night even though they are both limited to 40,000 pts. I used to have both, then dropped the Premier since the Select was only $49. I hate the 40,000 pt limitation because any of the decent IHG hotels require more than 40K pts. My wife and I often stay at the InterContinental in Boston for a weekend getaway. It was a great way to make use of the free night. Then, they capped it at 40K pts and the Boston IC never has nights that cheap. I've always felt it would be great if you could use the free nt on an expensive hotel and just top off the difference with points. I may have to reconsider getting the Premier card for that purpose if, in fact, that is actually permitted.

I had the same issue with Hyatt. There's a nice Hyatt in downtown Boston. We would use our free Hyatt night there occasionally. Then they limited it to a cat. 1-4 hotel. Well the downtown Hyatt is cat 5, so can't stay there any more. We're not going to stay at the airport Hyatt since it's too far from the city to be practical.

I recently signed up for the Marriott Bonvoy card with the understanding that they will allow you to top off the necessary points. That's the most sensible process.

A free night is useless if you can't use it the way you want.
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Re: Chase hotel credit cards / IHG Anniversary Free Night

Post by BashDash »

Data point: I had luck convincing customer service to give me 40k points since I was unable to use a free night. Took a little haggling.
BashDash
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Re: Chase hotel credit cards / IHG Anniversary Free Night

Post by BashDash »

Was hoping to possibly turn this thread into a possible ihg travel experience using points and or free nights. Between my wife and I we have two premier and two select free nights but struggling to use.
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