How I maximised the value of an IHG reward night, including free lounge access

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• Tom says:

  27 Jul27 July 06:33

  Can you use the Ambassador free night voucher at the Venetian/Palazzo in Las Vegas? (Wknd nights are typically twice the price of weekday nights)

  • anon says:

    27 Jul27 July 06:41

    Yes but to use the certificate you must book the other night at a specific rate which is usually much more expensive, somewhat negating the benefit.

  • barrycutters says:

    27 Jul27 July 07:56

    And the palazzo/venitian are so cheap anyway its not really a good use . I always stay at the palazzo, even the small rooms are massive!! Infact I normally pay about the same as what I’m paying in holiday inn express Lincoln tonight.

    • Tom says:

      27 Jul27 July 09:20

      I wish that was the case – the dates we are going in Sep are average $270

      At the moment there is only one rate available – no advance payment ones so it might just work out better

• Melvin says:

  27 Jul27 July 07:08

  I am currently finding no value to the visa reward night because as you say, I cannot book a room large enough for my whole family. Are you therefore saying that on the second night I can book a standard room for two peole and not diclose that I have children?

  • Jason says:

    27 Jul27 July 07:46

    Some hotels will change it to a room for 4 after booking, just email and ask if they refused it can be cancelled

  • Raffles says:

    27 Jul27 July 07:57

    Yes, would be fine usually. Use common sense though – if a hotel only has one room that sleeps 4, there is nothing to be done if someone books that for cash on your 2nd night.

    If a hotel has 300 rooms and 50 would take 4 people then you’re fine.

  • Jonty says:

    27 Jul27 July 08:35

    Used mine at the HI Maidstone/Sevenoaks for a room for up to six…it may not sound that glamorous but our 6 y.o said the patio was like being in Italy or Spain (full disclosure: He’s never been to Italy or Spain).

    • Rob says:

      27 Jul27 July 08:54

      Is that the one near Cliveden? Been there – after a party at Cliveden.

      • Jonty says:

        27 Jul27 July 09:02

        It’s just off the M26 in West Kent, on the way to/from Dover, near Brands Hatch

        • Gavin says:

          27 Jul27 July 09:32

          Thinking of Maidenhead not Maidstone Raffles?

          I proposed at Cliveden

        • Rob says:

          27 Jul27 July 11:47

          Ah yes, sorry! Need to revisit Cliveden now that Chewton Glen run it.

        • Gavin says:

          27 Jul27 July 13:20

          I’ve been for afternoon tea a few times and it’s pretty good.

• Gavin says:

  27 Jul27 July 07:12

  Raffles, on the subject of the IHG Premium Visa free night voucher. I’m I correct in thinking that as long as I book a room before the voucher expires, I can use it past the voucher expiry date?

  • Yuff says:

    27 Jul27 July 07:39

    That’s correct, I’ve just done it 😉

  • Raffles says:

    27 Jul27 July 07:57

    Yes, I did it myself – but the booking cannot be changed at all, not even the date.

• Raffles says:

  27 Jul27 July 07:53

  Standard Best Flex

  Which, of course, is now more £ than ‘Your Rate’ Best Flex ……

• LostAntipod says:

  27 Jul27 July 08:26

  IC Sydney are very strict on this topic. I have done the same booking as Raffles did in Paris several times. They generally will charge you $50/night to stay in your next-higher higher status room instead of moving to a standard room for that reward night, and, you don’t get club status for that night (having said that, I did not try to blag my way into their club room to test that idea). On the third time I did it, they waived the fee, on the basis that I was a “regular”. And similar to the IC Park Lane, they have a couple of layers of room category that are almost identical in reality, so their upgrade from a standard room is nothing to shout about

• Alan C says:

  27 Jul27 July 08:42

  I’m in Dubai for a week.No Wyndham status but Ramada JBR let us book a Club Room for the same 15,000 points as a Standard room. Upgraded to a huge 2 Bedroom Suite. Well impressed.
  Last 2 nights we were booked using the AMB certificate at IC Dubai Marina. Noticed the hotel is selling a 2 for 1 rate on the website at DHS 950 ++ for a Clubroom so going for that and keeping certificate.

  • Jason says:

    27 Jul27 July 09:41

    Alan you lounge is excellent you will not be disappointed!!

• JoshBosh says:

  27 Jul27 July 08:43

  Do you get an upgrade with the AMB weekend cert? I’ve booked a club room under the AMB weekend rate for this friday and saturday, and currently its showing the room a booked. In Hong Kong and Tokyo on normal stays it showed an upgrade within a day or two of booking.

  • Rob says:

    27 Jul27 July 08:52

    I had trouble with this at LeG because there is no club floor (well, obviously there are rooms on the floor where the club is, but they are not demarcated). A Club room is basically whatever decent normal room they can find with lounge access added to your profile.

    So … an Ambassador upgrade from a Club Room is not a junior suite, despite the room hierarchy shown online. It is a nicer bigger club room. I rejected the first two I was given, and it is very rare I reject two rooms (fairly common I reject one room!).

    As per the Instagram feed, I ended up with a south facing top floor room with a balcony and Eiffel Tower view. This is after I rejected a tiny twin room (didn’t need 2 beds and they filled literally all the space) and a standard King (very dark, internal view). I ended up getting the lounge staff to allocate my 3rd room as the reception staff didn’t care less.

• Martin says:

  27 Jul27 July 08:58

  When I stayed here for just two nights on a free-weekend-night certificate (Fri-Sun), what I did was to pay the Club upgrade at 10am on the Saturday morning, which meant I only paid for one night’s use.

  This gave us the opportunity to have a nice meal out in Paris on Friday evening as we had no lounge access then, but got full use of the lounge all day Saturday and all day Sunday, covering all our food/drink needs on those days.

  • Rob says:

    27 Jul27 July 09:24

    Good thinking. It only really works if you are around in the evening, if not you might as well splurge the cash on the far bigger breakfast downstairs.

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