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John over at LoyaltyLobby noticed a couple of weeks ago that IHG Rewards Club had started using variable award pricing (i.e charging different amounts of points for different dates) at a number of hotels in China.
IHG has now confirmed things and explained that the new policy will be expanded beyond Greater China this year:
“On 23 April, IHG® Rewards Club began introducing Reward Night redemption flexibility to a select number of hotels in Greater China. This program will roll out more widely through the course of the year as appropriate.
With this program update, the amount of points required for members to redeem a Reward Night will now flex up and down, just like cash rates for room bookings.
This new way for members to make the most of their points complements the existing IHG Rewards Club benefits our members enjoy at more than 5,900 IHG Hotels & Resorts around the world, including exclusive member rates, no blackout dates for Reward Nights, and free Wi-Fi—making every stay as rewarding as possible.
Announced last year, we are taking a measured approach to introducing Reward Night price flexibility so that when our members are ready to travel again, they’ll be able to enjoy the benefits.”
Conclusion
These sort of changes are rarely good news for ‘travel hackers’ because most savvy travellers would normally use cash when cash rates are low and points when cash rates are high. Dynamic pricing means that the opportunity to get truly spectacular value from points is diminished – but certainly not eliminated altogether.
We’ll be keeping a close eye on how the new pricing develops over the coming months – let us know in the comments if you spot anything interesting!
Well that’s just massively devalued the points 🙁
Not just yet (unless you were travelling in China), but yeah clear sign that it’s a good time to get stuff booked (even if exact dates can only be speculative given COVID)
@IHGNowSucks… IHG has sucked for about 5-7 years now… 😀
Makes me wish I had the legacy Hilton Barclaycard to use in Curve. HH points are scarcely better than Venezuelan peso but I think IHG is now even worse. And at least Hilton guarantees status recognition on points bookings.
Also, I don’t really like any of the brands in IHG, even though I have Ambassador with Intercontinental. IC is the only one I can stomach but many of their properties are outdated.
Hilton has WA and Curio, and HGI are often very good for budget stays.
I’m a relative IHG fan, but can’t really argue much against those points. The key problem with IHG is how variable hotels can be within the same brands. New HIXs are basic but fine, others are genuinely grim. HI is a complete lottery. CP isn’t any better from a consistency perspective, but some of them really are decent (and offer lounge access to Spires). IC are generally fine, but overpriced – especially when you factor in the lack of elite benefits compared to the competition.
Kimpton’s can be nice, but obviously very limited outside USA.
What I do like about IHG though is the number of hotels and historically the bonus point promotions. Of course, having a variety of different points across as many programmes as practical is also useful just in case there is an occasional sweet spot, so I’ll carry on earning IHG Points, despite Hilton being my preference for stays most of the time.