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A couple of years ago I wrote an article about why the IHG Partner Rate is my favourite ‘regular’ hotel discount. Simply by booking from the right page on the IHG website, you can save up to 30% on hotel stays!
Historically, there have been a number of different versions of the IHG Partner Rate available (British Swimming, Mastercard, Hertz, etc), but they all worked in the same way. I used to recommend that people use the Mastercard one, because the only eligibility requirement was to have a Mastercard (in the very unlikely event that you might be asked to prove eligibility!).
It now seems though that although the Mastercard link still goes to the relevant page and still lists the terms and conditions, it’s not actually pulling up the discounted rates when you click through.
Solution
The good news is that you can still access the discounted partner rates, you just need to use different links.
You can use the generic partner rate link here, although there a couple of issued with that one – it doesn’t have any terms and conditions attached to the booking page; and the search results sometimes state that the rate is unavailable, even when the discount has actually been applied to the results:
You can also use the Hertz partner rate booking page here. As far as I know, the only eligibility requirement is to be a member of Hertz Gold Plus (which is free and takes 60 seconds!).
Things to be aware of…
IHG Partner Rate bookings are non-refundable, so only use it when your travel plans are firm.
Bookings must be made at least 21 days in advance of first night of stay
Discounts apply to stays on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights (with some limited midweek availability).
The partner Rate only applies to participating hotels in Europe.
Cashback doesn’t usually track on Partner Rate bookings, although I have had some success in the past using the American Airlines AAdvantage shopping portal.
If you don’t have proof of Hertz membership with you, fill in one of the forms here, just in case you’re asked at check in.
These rates do usually earn IHG Rewards Club Points and count towards elite status. The only time they don’t is on the rare occasion you come across a hotel that is offering a discount higher than the headline 30% rate. According to the terms, discounts can be as high as 45% and I think the cutoff for earning points is a discount of ~33%.
Bottom line
The IHG Partner Rate is a quick and simple way to save money when booking hotel stays. Over the years it’s saved me £1,000s!
Did you know about the IHG Partner Rate?
Thanks Joe – I noticed last week that my old link didn’t work and was hoping that InsideFlyer would come up with a solution. As always, I was not disappointed. Apart from Amex and Curve. Still disappointed about that.
I think we’re all still upset about Amex and Curve! 🙂
Is the 30% off the best available rate or one of the higher rates to start with ?!
The IHG Shareholder rate is good as well – worth buying 1 share for!
Interesting!- what sort of discount does that get you? Also, do you still earn points and qualifying nights? Cheers!
The email I received when I signed up says “There is no standard rate of discount – it varies from hotel to hotel, location to location and time to time.” When you login and search it just comes up with ‘Shareholder Rate 3’ next to the discounted rooms. It seems to be pretty good, not sure if it is the same as the one you mentioned above.
You do earn points, but they are non-qualifying stays.
One share costs an awful lot though…
How much?
Around £50 at the moment
Thanks for the info James! – I think I’ll take a closer look and see what I can find out.
How does one go about this James…?
@Joe 🙂
I tried the general partner rate + Hertz and compared it to the standard rate for my dates the system is showing me absolutely the same price.
I think I followed the requirements: at least 21 days in advance, only weekend nights.
In terms of cashback – how can you use a portal like AA and still use the partner rates?
Normally you just click on the link provided be the CB page.
Cheers
What region is the hotel you are trying to book in? – I’ve just realised I forgot to state in the article that the rate only applies to Europe! (will amend now).
Re portals, basically click through from the portal to the normal site, then using the same browser window navigate to the partner rate page. The same process applies to quite a few similar things (like some people report being able to get cashback and the higher referred sign up bonus on amex applications), but whether it actually tracks and pays out is pretty much a lottery.
I tried severals dates for Munich in October and November, but I only compared the prices of two hotels (out of 6-(8)
Ah I see – yep, not every hotel participates. Most seem to, but there’s usually a few that don’t in a city.
I just clicked on the AA link you provided and got the following result.
AAdvantage eShopping℠ is not available for residents of the European Union, United Kingdom, Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway.
Should I just have answered the question “Are you a resident of …..” with a “No” ?
Yep!