On the back of the good news that Kimpton properties are bookable with IHG points and free night certificates IHG has made some negative changes to the Best Rate Guarantee. The changes are follows:
- Previously if you found a better rate on the same room the first night of your stay was free and they would match the price for the remaining nights
- Now they will match the price you were able to find and give you five times the base points you’d normally earn, with a cap of 40,000 points.
Old Terms
We guarantee that the IHG Websites will have our lowest room price (room rate) or total room cost (including all taxes and fees) available on the internet. Therefore, if you find a room price (room rate) and total room cost (including all taxes and fees) publicly available on the internet on a non-IHG Website (as defined below) within 24 hours of booking, that is either the same as or lower than “Your Rate” for a Matching Room on Matching Terms (as defined below) on an IHG Website, IHG will provide your first night’s room price free and, if the rate found is lower, match the lower average nightly room price found for that stay for the remaining nights of that stay, subject to the following terms and conditions:
New Terms
Under the Program (as further described below), if you book a hotel room at an IHG branded hotel using any IHG direct channel (such as a branded website, call center or the mobile app), and within 24 hours of making your reservation you find a lower rate online for the same hotel room, number of guests, and reservation dates, and submit a qualified guarantee claim form, we’ll match the lower rate and give you 5X the IHG® Rewards Club points, up to a 40,000-point maximum, for the room rate for that hotel stay.
Our Verdict
Pretty terrible change, nobody would prefer the new system to the old. I generally don’t even bother trying to file a best rate guarantee as there is usually some type of loophole for them to deny my claim. My hope would be that this policy change will make IHG more lax on what best rate gaurantees to actually honor, but I’d say the realistic chance of that happening is close to zero.
Hat tip to View From The Wing
