IHG summer promotion: Share Forever
Earlier this week I wrote about the latest hotel promotions from Starwood and Hilton. At that point, I had not seen the new promotion from IHG since I had been so swamped with my new job. A few days ago, I was going through my Feedly travel blog feed and learned of the IHG's summer offering called "Share Forever."
The new promotion is in the same vein of recent IHG quarterly bonus programs. If you complete certain thresholds of stays, you earn lump sum bonus points. This is very different than the usual double or triple points offered from competitors. However, the increasing size of the bonuses certainly incents you to focus your stays with IHG, and isn't that the point of a loyalty program? The program runs from May 1 through September 5 so there is approximately four months to accumulate stays. You can register here.
My IHG "Share Forever" offer (click to enlarge)
My offer seems to be pretty typical as it matches closely to what One Mile at a Time reported being offered.
- 8,000 bonus points for my first stay if by May 31, dropping to 1,000 if my first stay is after
- 1,400 bonus points when staying a total of two nights
- 3,000 bonus points when staying a total of four nights
- 20,000 bonus points when staying a total of nine nights
- 40,000 bonus points when staying a total of 24 nights
In addition, there are two awards that can be shared with someone else:
- 1,000 bonus points after the first stay
- One free night when staying a total of 15 nights
There is virtually no chance I will achieve even nine nights, much less 24, but I already have one paid reservation booked for late August. That is a two-night reservation so I should receive at least 2,400 bonus points via "Share Forever." According to One Mile at a Time, I can keep the shareable awards for my account. If this is correct - I did not see language to this effect in the terms - I could bump my total bonus points to 3,400. There is a chance I will be able to stay an additional two nights in order to achieve the four-night threshold. This would give me realistic maximum bonus potential of 6,400 points.
While I prefer simple point multiplication promotions, "Share Forever" could provide a nice total if I can get to that fourth night. With IHG offering quarterly PointBreaks awards for just 5,000 points per night at selected properties, the 6,400 points I could earn could net a free night somewhere. Regardless, even if this is not my favorite promotion, I always register to be sure I do not miss any bonus opportunities.