IHG Accelerate promotion for Q3 launched. Here's my offer, what's yours? And possible hacks

IHG Rewards Club has been offering "Accelerate" as an almost patented sort of promotion these last few months. I've actually been able to complete one of these already (Accelerate for Q1 of 2016), which earned me 55,000 points. And I'm on my way to completing the Q2 2016 offer as well, though I'll only earn 47,500 of my eligible 55,000 points.

Now, IHG has announced the Accelerate 2016 promotion for Q3 of 2016, which runs for the period between 6 September and 15 December 2016. Here's my offer, along with what some others have received, as well as my take on the promotion.


To recap, Accelerate promotions provide individual "goals", and you earn a certain number of IHG Rewards Club points when you achieve each goal. Plus if you achieve the overall goal set out for you, there's an additional bonus. And the goals are customised for each member, based on their travel patterns.

Here's the promotion landing page, where you need to login and register for the promotion and find out what your offers are. You can find the detailed T&Cs here.

Firstly, here's my offer.



To summarise, I am eligible for a total of 45,000 bonus points, as follows:
  • 2,000 points for one stay
  • 12,000 points after 8 nights
  • 6,400 points for 2 stays, each covering a Saturday night plus another night
  • 2,500 points for 2 stays using my corporate rate
  • 500 points for spending $40 at IHG hotels
  • 16,600 points for completing 4 of the 5 offers above
  • 5,000 points for one stay in September

Technically, I can achieve these by booking the following stays using my corporate rate (at least one of them in September 2016), and spending $40 over these stays (not really difficult):
  • 2 stays of 2 nights (including a Saturday night) each, plus
  • 4 more nights' stay in any manner.
Holiday Inn Express Dublin Airport - here's my review

However, the extent of my official travel is not what it used to be, so discretionary hotel stays have been fewer of late. Also, there's a requirement to have 2 stays of 2 nights each including a Saturday night (which minimises personal and family time).

For both these reasons, and even though I only need to meet 4 of my 5 offers for the overall bonus, I'm not really confident of achieving those goals this time around. So I think I'll this one a pass. No mattress running, unlike last time!

What are the other offers?

Here's what Sam, our fellow blogger here on MAEM, has received:


Clearly, a better and - importantly - a more achievable offer.

What new members get

New members or those with few stays typically get an offer that earns a fixed number of points (3,000 to 5,000) after every 3 nights, and a larger bonus (we've seen 15,000 points) after 18 nights. I don't see this as a spectacular opportunity in and of itself.

Hacking opportunities

Here are two hacks that could potentially help maximise your earnings from the Accelerate Q3 2016 promotion.
  • The original Book Direct promotion has recently been extended till 31 December 2016. This earns a total of 30,000 bonus points as
    • 1,000 points on registration, 
    • 5,000 points after the first stay,
    • 9,000 points after the second stay, and
    • 15,000 points after the third stay.
  • The new Book Direct promotion announced earlier this week, is valid for stays between 15 August and 31 December 2016. This promotion earns 30,000 bonus points after 2 stays of 2 nights each (no partial credit after 1 stay). While I'm not sure how this could be combined with the original book direct promotion (I said so in my post on the new promo), this certainly seems stackable with Accelerate Q3. 

In the context of my personal Accelerate Q3 offer, the 2 weekend stays of 2 nights each that I need to have, will qualify for the new Book Direct promotion, so I stand to earn 30,000 bonus points in addition to Accelerate, but that still doesn't cut it, for reasons I've explained above.

Using IHG Rewards Club points in India

IHG operates 26 hotels in India. The average award night requirement is just over 20,500 points, with the median being 20,000 points a night. So, my 45,000 bonus points (if I were inclined to earn them) would get me 2 nights' free stay at a typical IHG property in India.

Crowne Plaza Adyar Park, Chennai - here's my review

Conclusion

Your offer will be based on your past stay history with IHG hotels - that's quite clear. Depending on your travel plans, this may be worth scheduling your stays to match the promo's requirements. Or if you're me, then you'll probably think hard, and then give it a pass.

Readers: What's your personal offer in the Accelerate Q3 promotion? Do let us know in the comments below, and also any other thoughts you have on this promotion.

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