IHG Rewards Club has a China Dream promotion for up to four free nights for every two stays (different brands) between September 1 and December 31, 2013.
This promotion is valid for IHG Rewards Club members in Greater China (China, Hong Kong, Macau & Taiwan). The qualifying stays for this promotion can be anywhere, but the award nights can be only used in Greater China properties. You can read more about this promotion here and here.
Booking China Dream Award Night
Shortly after you have had your qualifying stays, the free night award is deposited to your account and can be accessed from the Free Night Status-tab on my promotions.
The rate code for the China Dream Free night is IVCNF and it shows up as a rate code on the reservation search. You can check the current availability of the free nights using this link.
When I was searching for weekday date in November, there were plenty of availability in Hong Kong at both InterContinental hotels
The weekend was sold out however.
The availability calendar shows that every date would NOT be available that is NOT the case.
The weekend that was sold out using these China Dreams free nights IS available using points.
Conclusion
It seems that this China Dream promotion free nights don’t have the same availability as award nights using points. It is likely that you may have problems trying to book any of the two InterContinental hotels for weekends or maybe even weekdays closer to the May usage deadline.