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IHG One Rewards now live with breakfast benefit and milestone rewards
Back in June IHG announced the details of its new One Rewards program and it’s coming soon in “early June”. They didn’t further clarify the starting date, but it looks like the new program is already rolling out.
The biggest concern of many is the free breakfast for Diamond Elites. From the discussions on Flyertalk it’s pretty clear that most, if not all IHG hotels have opted to offer it as a welcome amenity since either June 1st or June 8th. If any hotel is still playing the game and refusing to offer it, I suggest you file a complaint.
On the other hand, you can now check and select the Milestone Rewards.
Provided that you’ve stayed at least 20 nights this year, you can choose your first reward between bonus points, F&B voucher and the suite upgrade voucher.
From what we’ve gathered so far, you have three months to choose it after qualification, and then the F&B voucher or suite upgrade voucher are valid for 365 days. Note that the F&B voucher isn’t redeemable yet, and the suite upgrade voucher is quite restricted, as it can’t be applied to reward or prepaid bookings.
If you’ve hit 40 nights this year already, you’ll soon be able to select the annual lounge membership, which entitles you to lounge access at all IHG brands including Regent and InterContinental hotels.
My review of Cliveden House, A Mr & Mrs Smith Hotel
Its partnership with Mr and Mrs Smith adds a lot of excellent hotels to IHG’s portfolio. IHG members enjoy Smith Extras when staying with them, which usually means a bottle of Champagne, a box of chocolate or sometimes free breakfast. Ambassador members are also entitled to GoldSmith benefits, which includes space-available room upgrade and potentially enhanced Smith Extras.
You can redeem IHG points on reward stays at Mr & Mrs Smith hotels too, at a rate of $6.2 per 1K points roughly. Even better, the free night voucher issued by the UK Creation credit card is valid on them as well, although I’m not sure if it’s a bug.
One of the best redemptions in Europe is probably The Retreat at Blue Lagoon in Iceland.
There are many outstanding choices in the UK too, and my decision went with the Cliveden House in the end simply because it’s closest to London. There are a few properties in the same league, such as Lucknam Park, Chewton Glen and Heckfield Place.
IHG paid £1,200 for the night.
Cliveden House is at the centre of the Cliveden National Trust, which is about one hour’s drive from central London. Hotel guests need to pay £18 per person as a result, unless you have a valid National Trust membership.
The only other similar property that I’ve ever stayed at is the Langley, a Luxury Collection hotel. In terms of the neighbourhood Cliveden House wins hands down. Langley is only a local park which isn’t well taken care of, whereas Cliveden is a very well maintained National Trust site and probably one of the nicest parks you can find near London.
A beautiful boulevard leads you to the house.
There are a huge lawn and mazes at the back of the house. You can follow the steps down to River Thames.
Cliveden House was built in the 17th century by Duke of Buckingham as a hunting lodge for his mistress and guests. It was bought by William Waldorf Astor in the 19th century, and you can still see the name Astor in many places.
Meghan Markle stayed here in 2018 the night before the Royal Wedding.
The house was last renovated in 2015. It doesn’t look as new as The Langley, but ages well.
IHG’s IT system is a mystery, and I don’t know how they decide what room type you can redeem vouchers for. I was able to use mine on Deluxe Room with Hot Tub, which is only one level below the suites and almost doubles the cost of a standard room.
The room is located at the same wing as the spa centre.
Cliveden House has no room numbers, and instead rooms are named after titles. I’m Load Lothian obviously, which doesn’t sound bad at all 😉
There’s a wardrobe once I enter the room, with the bathroom to the right and bedroom to the left.
The room is nothing much to write about, except for the bed which is quite comfy. There’s a nice tub in the bathroom, but trust me you won’t need it!
Best feature of this room is a small terrace:
Plus a private hot tub:
The terrace is connected right to the swimming pool. I don’t even need to check in at the spa centre!
The facilities are great. The swimming pool is quite deep though (1.83m) and too scary for an amateur like me.
According to my observations, there are a total of four rooms with a terrace, and mine is the only one that has direct access to the swimming pool. Privacy may be one concern though.
My friend who visited the following week told me there’s actually an indoor swimming pool, and took a photo for me.
Smith Extras are a small bottle of Laurent Perrier and some chocolate / snacks. No room upgrade is offered, but to be honest I don’t really want to sacrifice my terrace for a suite 😛
For breakfast there are two options:
- Continental only: £20
- Continental + hot breakfast: £25
They’ve put some good thoughts in furnishing the restaurant, however the continental selection is very limited.
I ordered eggs benedict and porridge for my breakfast. Honestly they are mediocre at best, although £25 is a fair price for an expensive hotel like Cliveden House.
Besides the main restaurant, you can also dine at the Aston Grill or the bar.
Cliveden’s visitor centre is a short walk away, where you can get some simple food and refreshment.
Check-out time is 11am, and you can probably request a one-hour extension but no further. You are still invited to use the pool after check-out which is a nice gesture.
There’s a problem with my door, and they can only unlock the room with a special device which causes a lot of inconvenience to me. The staff are very apologetic though. Not sure if it’s related, but they didn’t charge me for the breakfast in the end.
It is truthfully a very unique experience for me and no doubt Cliveden House is the best hotel I’ve stayed at so far in the United Kingdom – although according to the staff they usually refer to is as a House rather than Hotel. I’m not sure if it’s worth paying cash here via IHG (as prices may be lower elsewhere), but if you have sufficient points or some free night vouchers to burn, I highly recommend staying here for a couple of nights.
Don’t forget to claim your IHG Spire Choice Benefit
When I wrote about IHG’s status challenge offer, I mentioned that I registered to that offer and then got downgraded to Platinum…
I complained to their customer service and my Diamond status was finally resumed after two days. The expiry date is still end of 2022, but to my surprise I’m able to choose the Spire Choice Benefit again:
Obviously it’s just a glitch, and IHG is already onto the downgrade bug – if you sign up to the status challenge offer now your status won’t change immediately anymore.
Anyway, if you are a Diamond Elite it’s worth checking whether you have claimed the Spire Choice Benefit or not. It seems that the option is hidden for at least some people, but you can use this link directly. You can choose between 25,000 points or gifting Platinum Elite to a friend.
IHG Platinum & Diamond fast track offer
Although their Platinum status had been quite attainable at a low cost, IHG has rarely provided official status match or fast track opportunities. To celebrate the launch of their One Rewards program, IHG has now opened the flood gate.
You can view the offer here. Although you must select a hotel scheme and membership tier to proceed, there’s no level requirement or proof of membership needed, so it’s more of a survey than status match initiative.
In short:
- Register by July 31
- Enjoy instant Platinum trial for 120 days
- Stay 5 paid nights during the trial to keep Platinum status, or
- Stay 15 paid nights to upgrade to Diamond
- Mr & Mrs Smith hotel stays are included
The offer is open to everyone except residents of Greater China, and stays in Greater China don’t count.
WARNING: don’t register if you are a Diamond member already, otherwise you’d be downgraded to Platinum. I learned it the hard way…
It’s a very good promotion. In the worst case scenario you’d be granted a free Platinum trial for 120 days, which is literally available to everyone.
Should you be interested in the Diamond challenge, 15 nights within 90 days is quite achievable and much easier than the regular 70-night requirement. Considering that Diamond benefits will receive a significant refresh in June, the challenge may well be worth it.
My review of InterContinental Paris Le Grand
My IHG free night voucher from the Creation card was expiring in December, and there was no high-end hotel left in the UK for me to try. For practical reasons I redeemed it at the InterContinental Paris Le Grand, although at hindsight I probably should have chosen the Kimpton instead, which is a new hotel with a swimming pool.
The hotel is next to the Opera metro station, and just five minutes’ walk to the La Fayette department store. The proximity to the Opera is one selling point of the hotel.
The moment I entered the hotel, I was stunned by its beauty.
I’ve seen other properties of the same genres, e.g. Hotel Bristol in Vienna, but it’s the very first time I find one that demonstrates its abundant history and elegance, but doesn’t show a single sign of age.
The hotel is so huge that you can barely see the end of the corridor.
I’m upgraded to a King Premium Room, which is the largest non-suite rooms. However there are so many rooms at this hotel, and they vary a lot in shape and size even when belonging to the same category.
Entering the room, the first thing I see is the waldrobe.
Bathroom is on the right, with both a shower and a tub.
Bedroom is on the left.
The room is neat, but unfortunately after seeing the other areas of the hotel my expectations were very high. Although probably quite big in size, it feels like a lot of the space is just wasted.
As an Ambassador welcome gift, I’m offered a box of biscuits and some strawberries. There are three large bottles of mineral water to keep me hydrated!
There’s no espresso machine and I was just going to make peace with instant coffee, but then I couldn’t find anywhere a kettle…
I finished my toothpaste so requested one in the afternoon. It wasn’t in the room when I came back in the evening so I asked again, and still nothing arrived after one hour. I called again, and this time they finally sent someone.
At €45 per person, the breakfast price is very steep so I gave it a pass. For Ambassador members, Club Lounge access is sold at €120 per room (2pp) which I think is more than reasonable, as it includes breakfast, afternoon tea and happy hour (they’ve been serving oysters and prawns recently :)).
Spire members can choose between 600 points and a drink voucher. I asked for the latter and had a beer at the bar of Cafe de la Paix, which is the hotel restaurant.
Ambassador members also have €15 credit to use towards the bill. Before check-out I came again for a cup of coffee and a coke zero, which worked out perfectly at €15.
The hotel doesn’t have a swimming pool, and shockingly its gym is simply two interconnecting rooms put together…
Besides the toothpaste incident mentioned above, the front desk agent also made no mention of welcome drink, €15 credit or late check-out, and they very often had to confirm with colleagues to know how to do something. The staff don’t seem properly trained to me, at least not for the IHG program.
Quality of the guest room also doesn’t reflect the hotel rate. I do admire the beauty of InterContinental Paris Le Grand, but purely from an accommodation perspective I like the Renaissance Republique hotel more, evening before factoring in the price difference.
IHG Q2 offer: earn up to quadruple points
(Registration is now live)
IHG has revealed its new global promotion, although the registration link doesn’t work yet and will go live on May 4.
You can access the offer page here.
- Pre-register by May 17
- Stay between May 18 and August 31
- The following bonus structure applies:
- 1st night – no bonus
- 2rd – 5th night – 2x points
- 6th – 14th night – 3x points
- 15th night onwards – 4x points
- Total bonus points is capped at 100,000
Only paid nights count, and stays at Six Senses / Mr & Mrs Smith hotels are eligible too.
Staircasing the bonus points by number of nights stayed isn’t rare, and makes particular sense as IHG is introducing the milestone rewards in June.
Note that you must register before the promotion starts, so don’t forget to come back to the offer page in two days.
Request (cheap) eStandby room upgrade with IHG
Nor1 eStandby Upgrade is a popular service provided by Oracle to help hotels sell upgrades. If you’ve been in the game long enough, you shouldn’t be a stranger to the name – Hilton is their most proactive taker, and you can see the options with virtually every stay on their website or in the app.
IHG has also been an eStandby customer for a while, but in a stealthier way. I don’t think you can ever see it in the app, so if you are interested head to the IHG website to view the stay details.
The rate you have booked doesn’t seem relevant, as you could potentially see eStandby whether you are on a prepaid, flexible or redemption rate. However, it’s not available on all stays, and I’m not sure if it’s up to the individual hotel or whatnot.
There are anecdotal reports where logging out of the account on the reservation page makes eStandby appear.
Click Show My Custom Upgrade and you’ll see the familiar request page:
Possible upgrade requests include room upgrade, early check-in, late check-out and discounted food credit. Hilton has it better integrated so that some room upgrade options are shown as free for elite members, but I don’t think it’s the case with IHG.
For room upgrade, eStandby is usually cheaper than the price difference, and possibly what the reservation team or front desk can offer too. Note that however, eStandby is subject to availability on your check-in day: requesting it doesn’t guarantee your upgrade at all, and you won’t pay unless the upgrade is confirmed.
One thing that bothers me is how it works with elite upgrade perks – since my status (for example, IHG Diamond) already comes with similar privileges, shall I still request a paid upgrade? There’s no definite answer, but for premium suites, club lounge access or discounted food credit, I believe eStandby does represent great value.
IHG unveils its One Rewards program with breakfast and club lounge benefits
IHG has finally published more details about its new program, which is called One Rewards. Your new membership tier should show up in the account by April 17, however all benefits (excluding tier earning bonus) will only come into effect in June.
You could read more about the benefits here.
[Membership Tiers]
One Rewards has the following four elite tiers:
- Silver
- Gold
- Platinum
- Diamond
Silver is the newly-added tier. Existing Gold, Platinum and Spire elites will be ported over to the parallel status level in the upcoming days.
Diamond members no longer receive the choice benefits (25,000 points or gifting Platinum status to a friend). Diamond and Platinum members should, in theory, receive more proactive suite upgrades, although it’s still subject to availability and at the discretion of the hotel.
[New Benefits]
One of the most impressive change is the introduction of free breakfast for Diamond elites. In terms of welcome amenity, Diamond elites could choose free breakfast for two in lieu of points or snacks, at most properties including Six Senses and InterContinental hotels.
Candlewood Suites, Holiday Inn Club Vacations, InterContinental Alliance hotels, Mr & Mrs Smith hotels and select Kimpton hotels are excluded, which is understandable. Note that unlike Marriott and Hilton, hot breakfast is specified so the hotel can’t just fob you off with a simple continental breakfast, which is critical in North America.
There’s a dedicated support line for Diamond elites.
Diamond and Platinum elites enjoy special redemption discounts, which is presumably similar to the two 20%-off offers that IHG has run this year.
Gold elites and above will also benefit from rollover night credits.
[Milestone Rewards]
IHG has finally implemented Milestone Rewards like its competitors, and in a even more aggressive way. Starting at 20 nights you’ll have a milestone reward choice, which may include:
- Bonus points
- F&B voucher
- Suite upgrade voucher
- Annual lounge membership
Bonus points vary from 5,000 to 10,000 points, which is probably the least attractive option.
Each F&B voucher is worth $20, and you can redeem one or more vouchers per transaction. They are valid for 12 months.
You can choose the suite upgrade voucher at 20 nights already, which can be used on a stay of up to five nights. It’s a great way to secure a (standard) suite upgrade and probably club benefits, however also quite restricted as you can only use it on non-prepaid rates (not reward nights).
Annual lounge membership is the most interesting reward, which can be chosen once after either 40 or 70 nights. The membership allows you plus one guest (who doesn’t need to be a staying guest) into the club lounge for the current and next calendar year. It doesn’t mention any brand exclusions, which means Regent and InterContinental hotels are included, however Mr & Mrs Smiths is probably an exception.
Note that all benefits, barring the suite upgrade voucher, are applicable on redemption stays.