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A couple of years ago, I wrote about one of my favourite hotel booking ‘tricks’: the IHG Partner Rate. Essentially, the Partner Rates are open to everyone and offer discounts of up to 30% on IHG hotels in Europe, when you book 21+ days in advance.

I still use the rate quite frequently and have noticed that the integration of Principal Hotels onto the IHG Rewards Club booking system means they can often be booked at bargain prices. I previously flagged the remarkable rates available at The Met in Leeds, but deals are actually available all over the country and the savings can be substantial.

Here’s a list of the new hotels:

The Principal London

The Principal Edinburgh Charlotte Square

The Principal Edinburgh George Street

The Principal Met Hotel (Leeds)

The Principal York

De Vere Oxford Thames

The Grand Birmingham (pipeline)

The Principal Manchester

The Principal Blythswood Square (Glasgow)

The Principal Grand Central (Glasgow)

The Principal St David’s (Cardiff)

The Principal Oxford Spires

De Vere Wotton House

Examples

Fancy a Friday night in Manchester? – Let’s use 22nd February 2019 as a random example date for the (very nice looking!) Principal Manchester.

IHG Partner Rate:

Standard Rate:

If you click through to take a look at the specific rooms, you’ll see the discount even applies to Suites:

Sticking with the same date, let’s take a look at the two Principal hotels in Edinburgh:

Versus Standard rate:

How to book using the IHG Partner Rate

It’s extremely simple – just head to the IHG website via this link (bookmark the page!) and book as normal.

To be safe, you should also then print off one of these vouchers here and fill it in. Just write ‘Mastercard’ for the company/organisation asked for on it.

I’ve only ever been asked to show the voucher once or twice, despite using the rate countless times, but better safe than sorry!

There are a few other booking conditions/limitations too, so I’d recommend having a read of the main article on the Partner Rate here.

Bottom line

The IHG Partner Rate really is a superb addition to your ‘travel hacking’ arsenal. I’ve focused on the new UK hotels here, as a lot of readers are interested in trying them out, but the rate works for hundreds of existing hotels throughout Europe too.

I should also make clear that you do still earn IHG Points on these bookings, which means they should count as eligible nights towards IHG’s current generous free night certificate promotion for stays at the new hotels.