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Don’t forget IHG Rewards Club ‘Friends & Family’ rates for cheap hotels

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Back in 2009, when the hotel business was in real trouble, IHG Rewards Club launched a special deal for stays at Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Crowne Plaza, Indigo, InterContinental, Staybridge Suites and Candlewood Suites hotels.

It was called ‘Friends & Family’ and was nominally aimed at people who were friends or relatives of hotel employees.

IHG Friends Family rate

However, the company made no secret of the fact that they were happy for anyone to use it, and even posted links on forums that could be used.

After some pushback, people claiming to be friends of Steve Sickel, the head of the programme, found that hotels would occasionally not let them use the rate. Other links, such as this ‘Friends and Family’ link that I use, continue to work just fine.

The Friends & Family deals are usually priced below the ‘Advance Saver’ rate for the same dates. They carry the same conditions, ie no changes and no refunds.

The only difference is that these rates do NOT earn IHG Rewards Club points. Hotels do a VERY good job of enforcing this rule. You won’t earn stay credit either. Bear this in mind when booking, especially if you are taking part in the ‘Accelerate’ promotion.

Availability under this programme is worse than it used to be but you can still find the odd deal.

In London on Saturday 12th March, the Friends & Family link gives:

  • InterContinental Park Lane at £231 vs £265
  • Staybridge Suites Vauxhall at £96 vs £114
  • Holiday Inn Bloomsbury at £132 vs £156

Various other properties were available as well. This rate is valid worldwide, not just in the UK.

You have absolutely nothing to worry about by booking this rate using the link above. You will not be asked for any special ID or proof of your friendship with Jennifer.  Just be very clear that you will NOT receive any points or stay credit.

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IHG One Rewards news

IHG One Rewards update – April 2025:

Get bonus points: IHG is not currently running a global promotion.

New to IHG One Rewards?  Read our overview of IHG One Rewards here and our article on points expiry rules here. Our article on ‘What are IHG One Rewards points worth?’ is here.

Buy points: If you need additional IHG One Rewards points, you can buy them here.

Want to earn more hotel points?  Click here to see our complete list of promotions from IHG and the other major hotel chains or use the ‘Hotel Offers’ link in the menu bar at the top of the page.

Category

IHG One Rewards

Comments (300)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • AndyS says:
    17 Feb17 February 22:00

    Why is everyone going on about some curve thing on an IHG post?
    Sticking to IHG, I’ve been waiting nearly 4 weeks for first accelerate points to post. booked room with points and cash via the ap at the start of Jan for a stay on the 23rd. Nothing shows up. The terms for the p&c challenge do say book via (some web address) so I wonder if booking via the app doesn’t count – anyone else had this? if so i’ll have to book a mattress run so as not to miss out!

    • Rob says:
      17 Feb17 February 22:09

      Because there is no forum on here! If I’d forseen this (or could move comments around) I would have created a holding post for the comments today!

      I was forced to delay my Curve article by 24 hours because I didn’t have all of the details in advance.

      • AndyS says:
        17 Feb17 February 22:12

        Fair enough.
        Any ideas on the Accelerate question please?

      • James67 says:
        17 Feb17 February 22:46

        After all your experience with the 3V and supercard posts Rob it is diffiult to believe you got caught napping on this 🙂 I find it odd that comments on shopperpoints are so low in comparison to HFPs. I would have thought the SP audience was potetially and comparatively huge, it will be interesting to see how it develops.

        • Callum says:
          17 Feb17 February 23:08

          I don’t. The audience may be bigger but there are already established blogs available and there’s not much chance of them stumbling across it yet given it’s so new. I can’t imagine that many people on HFP are particularly interested in the likes of Nectar point contests when donating to Oxfam either.

          • harry says:
            17 Feb17 February 23:28

            Raffles could have got a few more £10 referrals, possibly small beer but it keeps the site going

      • Callum says:
        17 Feb17 February 23:09

        Foreseen it – you’ve been teasing us for a week that something was going to happen today!

  • Robin says:
    17 Feb17 February 22:16

    Please help newbie – What does “MS”stand for in all the posts above?

  • Aliks says:
    18 Feb18 February 00:19

    AndyS

    A data point for you – I stayed in the Holiday Inn Alte Oper in Frankfurt last Tue and Wed – the points were visible on my Accelerate tracker page today (maybe earlier – I didnt check)

  • OverTheHorizon says:
    18 Feb18 February 08:58

    On Accelerate – my points are typically taking about 5 working days to show up on the dashboard. 100% accurate so far…

    On Curve – am I missing the point on AA fully flex book & cancel ? If you spend £1000 at the start of the statement cycle on LHR-JFK-LHR then get a credit for £1000 when you cancel again, the net spend is £0 = 0 points surely ?

    • AndyR says:
      18 Feb18 February 09:44

      The points post within a couple of days of hitting the spend target not at the end of the statement cycle.

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

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