[Because we initially missed the quantity limits, the correct expected return has been revised downward to 42,000.]
IHG recently launched the Priceless Surprise sweepstakes. By staying multiple times at IHG properties, you can receive various rewards from IHG, including IHG points and a number of very tempting grand prizes. Of course, the odds of winning the big prizes are extremely low, so this is not exactly a path to riches. On the surface, this promotion looks like an ordinary hotel promo, but a close reading of the terms reveals something more interesting: at its core, it is a free sweepstakes. If you enjoy playing these kinds of games, you should not miss this one.
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Priceless Surprise prizes
What exactly can you win from Priceless Surprise? IHG listed the prizes on its website:
| Prize | Approximate retail value | Quantity / odds |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 Paris Tennis Tournament Package | $23,407.22 | 3 |
| Winter in New York City Priceless Surprise | $22,016.50 | 2 |
| Priceless New York | $19,300 | 2 |
| Arnold Palmer Invitational Presented by Mastercard Honorary Observer Priceless Surprise | $19,826 | 3 |
| Gilt gift card | $2,500 | 10 |
| 1 Million IHG Rewards Club Points | $5,000 | 2 |
| BoseSound Touch120 home theater system | $1,099 | 3 |
| Adventure Package | $1,050 | 2 |
| Sony Package | $799 | 3 |
| BoseWave SoundTouch music system IV | $600 | 4 |
| Free Night Stay at IHG Property | $125 | 525 |
| A $50 Mastercard Prepaid Card | $50 | 1050 |
| 5,000 IHG Rewards Club Points | $35 | 1/42.86 |
| 2,000 IHG Rewards Club Points | $14 | 1/28.57 |
| 1,000 IHG Rewards Club Points | $7 | 1/14.29 |
| 500 IHG Rewards Club Points | $3.50 | 1/1.18 |
Rules
- Obtain a Mastercard by November 15, 2015.
- Register for the promotion, and complete an IHG stay using that Mastercard by February 15, 2016.
- Your first stay earns 3,000 IHG Rewards Club points, and each subsequent stay earns one Priceless Surprise.
However, after reading the terms, we found a hidden twist. There is a line in small print on the promotion website:
No Purchase Necessary! Aha! Time to check the official terms:
Mail in Alternate Method of Entry: From November 15, 2015 to February 15, 2016:You can enter the Instant Win Game without completing a Qualifying Stay...
So this turns out to be a free sweepstakes that you can enter without spending any money. Even more interesting, if you enter by mail, each person can enter up to ninety-four times!
How to enter Priceless Surprise by mail
To enter this way, you need to:
- Be an IHG Rewards Club member. If you are not, you can register online for free.
- Use this registration link to sign up for the promotion by 2/15 next year.
- Handwrite your name, mailing address, phone number, email, IHG Rewards Club membership number, the first 6 digits of your Mastercard, and your date of birth on a 3"x5" card, and mail it between 11/15 this year and 2/15 next year to:
- "IHG and Mastercard® Priceless Surprises® Promotion," c/o HelloWorld, Inc.,P.O. Box 5996,
Kalamazoo, MI 49003-5996
- "IHG and Mastercard® Priceless Surprises® Promotion," c/o HelloWorld, Inc.,P.O. Box 5996,
- After that, IHG will mail you a letter containing the website for the drawing and a confirmation code to use for the drawing, so you can go online and see the result immediately.
- Each person can enter up to 94 times, for a total of 94 drawing chances, but each set of personal information must be mailed in a separate envelope to IHG.
The drawing works by first awarding the first 12 fixed-quantity grand prizes. If you do not win one of those, then the final 4 smaller IHG Rewards Club points prizes are awarded based on probability. Each person can win at most 1 grand prize and 5 prizes in the 5,000/2,000/1,000 IHG Rewards Point tiers.
What if you do not have a Mastercard?
No problem. They only ask for the first 6 digits of your Mastercard, and those first 6 digits are not enough to verify whether the card actually belongs to you. So you only need to use this tool to generate one.
Analysis
To play this game, you will need to handwrite your personal information 94 times, use 94 stamps, and prepare paper and envelopes. If you move quickly, you can probably finish the writing in about 2 hours. Since paper is usually easy to get for free, your real cost is just your time plus about $50 in out-of-pocket mailing costs. And do not forget to buy your supplies at a store like Staples and use Apple Pay + Discover for cashback.
Assuming you have normal luck and do not win any grand prize—which would already make this wildly worthwhile—we only need to consider the final 4 IHG points prizes. Running the math shows that if you max out all 94 entries, the expected total is about 42,000 points. That is not as much as you could get from opening a Chase IHG card, but it requires no spending and no hard pull. If you enjoy these kinds of opportunities and do not mind spending a little time, this could be a good play. Are you going to try Priceless Surprise? Share your thoughts with everyone.