IHG is fixing the free night problem on the IHG Rewards Premium credit card

Here is an example of how commenting on HfP can (occasionally) get a problem solved.

A few days ago, multiple commented about problems with the free night voucher issued with the IHG Rewards Premium (‘black’) credit card.

This is an excellent credit card, possibly too good given that IHG and Creation, the issuer, pulled it from the market a couple of years ago.

For an annual fee of £99, you received:

• 2 IHG Rewards points per £1 spent, which I’d value at 0.8p per £1 spent
• Platinum Elite status in IHG Rewards
• a free night voucher each year when you spend £10,000

It was a package we liked so much that it won an ‘Editor’s Choice’ prize at the 2019 Head for Points Travel & Loyalty Awards. I can only imagine that the card economics didn’t stack up, leading to it being withdrawn soon after.

The problem which emerged earlier this month was with the free night voucher.

The voucher came with a one year expiry date. This was always a ‘book by’ and not a ‘stay by’ expiry, so in reality you had almost two years to use it as long as you could make your booking within 12 months.

This is a change from how IHG credit card vouchers are issued in the United States. Over there, the vouchers come with a ‘stay by’ and NOT a ‘book by’ expiry date.

I contacted IHG and, whilst it was news to them, they agreed to take a look. Late last week I got a note saying:

“We have investigated the anniversary night booking query and have identified that certificates issued from April 2020 when we extended certificates to 18 months were deposited with book and stay by expiry date rules.

We will update all impacted active anniversary night certificates to remove the stay date rule and ensure that all certificates awarded going forward will not have the book and stay date rule.”

If you had trouble booking your free night in recent days, it will be hopefully be resolved soon.

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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.

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