Holiday Inn Park View, Singapore
Priority Club VISA Signature Card
25,000 points after 1st purchase
25th Anniversary Priority Club Visa Signature Bonus: 15 points per $1 spending at IHG hotels through July 31, 2008 (12 points Bonus + 3 points regularly earned with IHG hotel spending).
Promotion: InterContinental Hotels Group Priority Club Visa Signature Bonus
Dates: May 1, 2008 through July 31, 2008
Bonus: 25,000 Bonus points for Visa Signature card, after first purchase. Other card offers award 30,000 points after first purchase, but depending on your hotel stay plans for the next 90 days, the added bonus below can make this card offer a better deal.
Added bonus: 15 Priority Club points for purchases at IHG hotels through July 31, 2008 charged to Visa Signature Card holder. Only new account members are eligible for this offer.
I received a VISA offer from Priority Club today. A 25,000 points bonus is given after the first purchase. In addition, VISA will award 15 points per $1.00 spent at IHG hotels.
Add the VISA bonus offers to the 10 base Priority Club points regularly earned for hotel stay spending + any bonus points for elite status.
Another card offer I saw on the Priority Club website gives you 30,000 points and the regular 3 points per $1 IHG hotel spending, but not the 12 bonus points with this Visa Signature card offer through July 31. This is a great opportunity to earn lots of Priority Club points with summer travel. If you are making business or vacation plans, this offer may be a large enough rebate to steer you to Priority Club loyalty.
By the numbers:
Spend $1,000 with VISA at IHG and get 12,000 extra points. $1,000 should buy 3 to 12 hotel nights, depending on location. 12,000 Priority Club points has a base value of $120 which is the purchase price through Priority Club.
Redemption value for a free hotel night is 30,000 points at a Crowne Plaza hotel or at some InterContinental Hotels. 30,000 points may be worth as little as $125 or as much as $400 at most upscale hotels in the 30,000 points redemption bracket.
The best redemption value is Priority Club PointBreaks which offer hotel rooms at 5,000 points per night. The hotels being offered at PointBreaks special redemption rates change every couple of months. Occasionally there is a luxury InterContinental in some part of the world or an upscale Crowne Plaza on the list.
Currently there is the Crowne Plaza, Montauban, North Toulouse, France on the PointBreaks list for bookings through July for only 5,000 Priority Club points per night. This hotel is located in a 17th century refurbished monastery and typically rooms sell on the low end for around $160 per night.
Sample Scenario to Illustrate VISA Promotion Value
A 10-night international vacation may cost $2,000 in hotel rooms. 15 to 20 nights in the USA could be about $2,000 in spending and would make a long summer vacation. The rebate on a $2,000 hotel vacation with Priority Club will be generous if planned carefully.
Points earned (The Priority Club Visa card will grant you Gold elite status, a $50 value.)
*$2,000 in hotel charges at Holiday Inn Express, Holiday Inn, and Crowne Plaza hotels (10 Priority Club points per $1 for base earning) = 20,000 base points.
(If you plan to stay in InterContinental Hotels, you will earn 2,000 base points per stay and you should look into InterContinental Ambassador Club membership for $150).
*Elite Bonus for Priority Club Gold = 10% of base points (Elite status is a complimentary privilege for the first year of Priority Club Visa card holder membership. Gold elite membership can also be purchased by any Priority Club member for $50) = 2,000 points.
*Other promotions should add at least 5,000 points for multiple hotel stays over next 90 days, and likely other promotions can be used to earn as much as 20,000 additional bonus points without extra expense. Assume 8,000 points will be earned through other offers.
*Visa Signature Card 1st Purchase = 25,000 points
*Visa Signature Card hotel spending bonus = 15 points per $1 for $2,000 in hotel charges = 30,000 points.
Summary: $2,300 spent on hotels by July 31, 2008 using new Priority Club Signature Visa card
Spend $2,000 in base hotel charges for room rate, food, etc.
Assume $250 taxes depending on location. Europe tends to have hotel rates with taxes already included.
$50 Gold elite membership in Priority Club.
Rebate Value: 85,000 to 100,000 Priority Club points earned with a purchase value of $850 -$1,000 and a potential value of $3,000+ if redeemed strategically with awards like PointBreaks.
85,000 -100,000 points are enough for 3 free nights at high-end hotels or up to $200 per night value for 17 nights ($3,400 value) if used for PointBreaks award nights at upscale locations.
Pay Now and Redeem Later will be a strategy that pays off over the next year.
