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IHG Free Nights Faster – Stay 2 InterContinental Warsaw $129 earned 12,997 points

a group of tall buildings

InterContinental Warsaw was stay #2 of 3 stays I planned for IHG Rewards Club ‘Free Nights Faster’ promotion to maximize bonus points earned with hotel stays in Warsaw, Poland over the past week.

a group of tall buildings
InterContinental Warsaw

When rates dropped to $99.73 for advance purchase on February 6, I figured that was a great day to book IC Warsaw, however, one of my tasks for Free Nights Faster is book two bonus points package rates to earn 6,600 bonus points. You have to book a flexible rate to access bonus points package rates. The real deal turned out to be InterContinental Warsaw was only charging $9.19 for 5,000 bonus points on a $110.82 flexible room rate. Total room rate at checkout came to 488.12pln = $128.49usd.

a screenshot of a website
$9.19 to buy 5,000 bonus points at InterContinental Warsaw

InterContinental Warsaw Free Nights Faster points earned 12,997 points for $128.49 hotel stay

  • 1,198 base points
  • 599 elite bonus points as IHG Rewards Club Platinum member
  • 5,000 bonus points package ($9.19 extra)
  • 5,600 bonus points (Free Nights Faster Task: Stay 2 times)
  • 600 bonus points (Welcome amenity points as IHG Platinum member)
  • 12,997 total IHG Rewards club points earned for $128.49

Since I consider IHG Rewards Club points to be worth a minimum $5.00 per 1,000 points for future hotel stays in my travels, I consider 13,000 points to be a $65 rebate on this hotel stay.

Stay #3 for Free Nights Faster will be the big bonus when I pick up 20,000 bonus points for completing two more tasks including second stay booked as a bonus points package rate and stays in three different brands. I am in my IHG Free Nights Faster stay #3 room as I write this article.

Ultimately I will earn 43,000+ points for about $292, which I consider a $215 rebate for future IHG hotel reward nights.

Theoretically, IHG Rewards Club Spire Membership can be cheap through Bonus Points Package Rates

a screenshot of a phone
IHG Rewards Club Elite Tiers

IHG Rewards Club bonus points purchased through bonus points package rates count for elite status. In theory, a person could qualify for highest level IHG Rewards Club Spire status at 75,000 elite qualifying points with as few as 14 hotel nights similar to this stay, instead of the normal 75 nights. In fact, add IHG credit card payment and you could earn 75,000 elite points with 12 or 13 nights like this in a calendar year. Bonus points packages are something to consider if you frequent IHG properties.

Although, most hotels charge more in the range of $5 per 1,000 points for bonus points package rates. Warsaw happens to have exceptionally low bonus points package rates.

 

InterContinental Warsaw photos

a room with a large building with a large balcony and chairs
Lobby InterContinental Warsaw

I don’t really feel too comfortable in big city business and luxury hotels. They are not my style. That is one of the reasons why I took 600 bonus points as a Platinum member welcome amenity rather than a complimentary drink at the bar.

There are certainly advantages to this kind of hotel. Cardio boxing workout with an English speaking instructor for 50pln/$13usd might be just the kind of hotel recreation deal you desire.

a poster on a wall
IC Warsaw workouts

I did not even bother going to the 43rd floor for photos of the fitness room and pool due to the hotel having check-in staff at the doors there.

After check-in, I went to my room on the Floor 33, snapped photos, then headed back out to walk around Nowy Swiat and Old Town. My unhealthy habits motivated me to work in a large fried schnitzel, french fries and drink a liter stein of Pilsner Urquell for dinner at 9:00pm.

a bedroom with a bed and a chair
IC Warsaw 3309 chair
a bed with a white towel on it
IC Warsaw 3309 king bed

The soft pillows were to my liking. Holiday Inn Warsaw City Centre pillows were too foamy hard for me.

a desk with a telephone and a chair
IC Warsaw 3309 desk
a bedroom with a glass door
IC Warsaw closet
a tv on a wall
IC Warsaw TV
a plate of fruit on a table
IC Warsaw fruit tray

Fruit and water were a nice amenity. Reading back over my review from when I stayed at InterContinental Warsaw in 2017 reminded me that I received chocolate that trip. Fruit is more appreciated by me. I ate the banana for breakfast and packed the rest for consumption while I was in Chania, Crete, where I flew the following day.

a sink with a towel on the rack
IC Warsaw bathroom sink

I remembered the bathroom scale from my previous trip. Seems kind of funny to me to see an old scale in an InterContinental. A modern clear glass scale for $15 would look more appropriate for the setting.

a group of bottles of shampoo
IC Warsaw Agraria bath products
a bathtub with a towel on the side
IC Warsaw bathtub
a shower with a toilet and a toilet
IC Warsaw shower

My room view from 3309 InterContinental Warsaw looked out to the Palace of Culture and Science.

a tall building with a clock tower in a city
IC Warsaw 3309 view

The Palace is colorfully lighted at night.

a building with a blue light
Warsaw Palace of Culture and Science

The following morning I needed to print out my Aegean Airlines boarding pass after their website stated twice my boarding passes had been sent to my mobile without me ever receiving them. Beside the bar in the lobby are two computers with a printer.

a desk with computers and a monitor
IC Warsaw computers

At checkout I chatted with the receptionist about my plans to fly to Chania, Crete. She asked me if she could arrange a taxi for me to the airport.

No thanks. Never been my style.

a green ticket on a black bag
Warsaw public transportation ticket 4.40pln for 75 minutes

Warsaw train station is five minutes walk from the hotel. The train for Warsaw Chopin Airport-WAW leaves every 30 minutes from Platform 4. The journey takes 20 minutes from city center to the airport terminal. Price is 4.40pln/$1.16usd.

IHG Rewards Club ‘Free Nights. Faster.’ promotion Jan 15-Apr 30, 2019

Deep dive into IHG Bonus Points Package rates for Free Nights Faster promotion

IHG Free Nights. Faster. Stay 1 Holiday Inn Warsaw City Centre

 

4 Comments

  • GUWonder March 7, 2019

    Was the booking of the trip from Warsaw to Greece related to retaining/acquiring Aegean Airlines status more easily?

  • Ric Garrido March 7, 2019

    Yes. The primary purpose of this trip was to get 4 Aegean flight segments so I could qualify for Aegean Miles+Bonus Gold elite with 24,000 Tier Points.

    I will be over 24,000 Tier Points after flying Scandinavian Airlines round trip Stockholm to San Francisco this month.

    Without Aegean flight segments it would take 48,000 Tier Points to qualify for Aegean Gold elite on Star Alliance flights. Since cheap United and Air Canada economy K class fares I typically fly earn only 50% Tier Points in Aegean, I would need to fly about 70,000 flight miles before mid-June 2019 with United, Air Canada or any other Star Alliance carrier earning 50% Tier Points.

    Austrian, Lufthansa and Swiss economy K class flights, commonly the cheapest flights to Europe these days, do not earn any Aegean Tier Points.

    SAS earns 100% Tier Points with Aegean on deep discount economy fares and I will pick up 12,000 Tier Points with my round trip flights ARN-CPH-SFO-CPH-ARN.

    I could have completed the IHG Free Nights Faster promotion staying at California hotels.

  • Travelodge Roomie March 9, 2019

    12,997 points for $128.49 hotel stay? Not bad at all. InterContinental Warsaw really helped you boost up these points real quick.

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