How to Redeem the Free Night from the Chase IHG Credit Card [2020.5 Update: Some Dynamically Priced Hotels Cannot Be Booked]

【2020.5 Update】A few days ago, we shared the news that IHG had introduced dynamic pricing for award nights, and found that the upscale InterContinental New York Times Square could be booked for only 40,000 points. That also puts it within the annual Free Night certificate range issued by the Chase IHG Primier co-branded card. However, an error appears during actual booking. It is still unclear whether this is a technical issue or whether IHG Free Night certificates are limited by a hotel’s fixed category rather than dynamic pricing.

You can find the rooms normally when searching, because both hotels price at 40,000 points for award bookings.

But if you actually try to book, you get an error. It may be worth contacting customer service to see whether they can book it manually.

To rule out other factors, I ran the following tests:

• Booking with 40,000 points worked, which shows the point price itself is correct.
• Booking other lower-end hotels with a Free Night certificate worked, which shows the certificate itself is functioning normally.
• Booking other more upscale IHG hotels with a Free Night certificate, such as Kimpton (priced at 30,000), failed, which suggests this is not a problem with this particular hotel. My guess is that a whole group of hotels that previously required 40,000+ points cannot be booked.

About the IHG Free Nigh

The Chase IHG credit card is arguably one of the best-value credit cards out there. After you pay the annual fee each year, a Free Night certificate appears in your account and can be redeemed at IHG hotels costing up to 40,000 points per night. IHG has quite a few upscale properties, such as InterContinental, which often cost around $150 per night and can go as high as $1,800 per night at certain times. That is why this is an easy long-term keeper among hotel co-branded cards. Today, let’s go over one of its key benefits: the annual Free Night.

If you have the older version of the Chase IHG card, my suggestion is not to upgrade and to keep paying $49 for the Free Night certificate.

Besides the credit card benefit, IHG Free Night certificates can also come from IHG’s Accelerate promotion, but we will not go into that here.

How to Book

You can book an IHG Free Night by calling IHG at 877 424 2449. You can also search and book online directly. Here are the steps:

• Log in to your IHG account and find Free Night in the menu on the left.

• You will then be taken automatically to the booking page. Enter the destination and dates you want, and you can start searching. Below I will use booking a hotel in New York as an example.

• The search results will show a list of hotels in New York, and by default all IHG hotels are included. To get the best value, the ideal strategy is to book IHG’s higher-end brands, so we select InterContinental and Crowne Plaza.

• Also make sure that Chase Anniversary Rewards Nights is checked under Rate.

• As you can see, hotels in New York are fairly expensive. If you are fine with these locations, of course you should pick the most expensive option that also fits your needs.

• Once you have decided, click check rates to enter the booking page. Free Night bookings are actually quite good, because they come with Free Cancellation until the day before check-in. Just book it.

Free Night Terms and Conditions

• You can only book hotels that require 40,000 points or less.
• Generally speaking, IHG has fairly good award availability. As long as a hotel is bookable with points, most of the time it can also be booked with a Free Night certificate.
• The Free Night must be booked within one year of issuance, and according to the terms, the stay must also take place before expiration. In practice, though, you can still stay after expiration; it is just that if you cancel or change the booking after the certificate has expired, the FN is automatically forfeited.
• A Free Night can be combined with a Paid Night. You just need to ask the hotel to keep you in the same room. Presumably, two Free Night certificates from spouses could also be used together.
• In principle, Free Night certificates are not transferable. However, you can book first and then add a second guest, allowing that person to check in themselves and stay, using their own card at check-in.

How to Maximize the Value

InterContinental Hotels in Major City Downtowns

Last year I booked one night at the InterContinental in Boston for my parents, and the location was quite good. Now that the cap is only 40,000 points, it is harder to find this kind of IC in the U.S. There are still quite a few in Asia-Pacific.

Hotels During Special Dates

Back when FN had no cap, if you used it well, one Free Night could be worth $1,900! New Year’s Eve in Times Square, New York—you know it is tempting. Now the limit is 40,000 points, so you can try looking for lower-tier hotels instead.

Combine Two Years of Free Nights

Although the Free Night must be booked within one year of issuance, and the terms say the stay must also occur before expiration, in practice you can still stay after the FN expires. That gives us an opportunity to use two years of Free Nights together. For example:

• In September 2016, you receive your first Free Night, which expires in September 2017. Before September, you use that FN to book New Year’s Eve, December 31, 2017, at the InterContinental London Park Lane. (Even though the FN expires in September, it does not affect a December stay, as long as you do not change or cancel the booking during that period.)
• In September 2017, you receive your second Free Night, which expires in September 2018. Before it expires, you book the same London IC for January 1, 2018.
• Call the hotel and ask to stay in the same room for both nights, and that is effectively combining them.

Of course, this kind of booking requires your travel plans to be fairly certain. If you cannot make the trip, the first FN may go to waste after expiration. But if your dates are set, and both spouses each have an IHG card, this approach can turn into a 4-night stay, which works very well for travel.

Summary

Overall, this IHG co-branded card still offers excellent value. If you keep it for the long term, it should come out ahead every year.