A LoyaltyLobby reader left a comment earlier today regarding IHG Rewards Club account closures for members that had taken advantage of the Accelerate fall 2015 promo. Here we go again….
Remember that you can always email me, sent a message via Facebook or use Twitter. I’ll try to cover Reader Questions & Comments here several times a week.
You can access IHG Rewards Club here.
READ MORE: IHG Rewards Club Rate & Bonus Points And Miles Promotions
Here’s the message from the reader:
I was noted by some China friends their IHG rewards club accounts were disabled even permanently close, I checked from the China BBS and noted a lot of the same cases since Feb-16.
The common point is they earn the free night which obtained from Q4 “IHG Rewards Club launched its fall 2015 Accelerate promotion”.
I got the information is :
1. The account suddenly cannot login to, mail to IHG and said under random audit further said account was disable.
2. If you book the room by free night, some of them received cancel mail some of not.
3. Some without notification and arrived hotel was told the booking was cancelled on the check-in day
4. Some of success check-in in first day but was noted the second day was cancelled.
Here is 2 mails between the member and IHG
Email 1:
Dear XXXX
Thank you for contacting IHG Rewards Club. It is with great pleasure to assist valued members like you.
Please be advised that your account is in random audit. IHG Rewards Club conducts random audits every now and the to all IHG Rewards Club Accounts on the system. This is to ensure maximum system efficiency. Random audit is just like the usual check on IHG Rewards Club accounts chosen by the system randomly. During the audit, accounts being checked are set aside and studied, meaning, no activities should be made in the account for a specified period of time. At that time, we cannot activate the account until further notice from our contacts. We hope this clarifies your query.
Should you require further assistance, please feel free to contact IHG Rewards Club Service Center again. Once again, thank you for taking the time to contact us as we value your patronage and we look forward for your next stay with our hotels.
Email 2:
It has come to our attention that some of your recent activities are in violation of the Terms & Conditions of IHG Rewards Club. Violations of this nature are considered fraudulent by IHG Rewards Club and IHG. As such, we have permanently closed your IHG Rewards Club account. Account termination includes forfeiture of all points accrued and cancellation of any upcoming Reward Night or other free night reservations. Should you have any questions regarding this decision, I refer you to IHG Rewards Club membership Terms & Conditions which are available for your review at: http://www.ihg.com/hotels/us/e….
Please note, as this is a permanent revocation of your ability to participate in the IHG Rewards Club program, you are not eligible to open any additional IHG Rewards Club accounts. As such, any future accounts found by IHG internal audits will also be closed.
Please also note, while you are no longer eligible to participate in our loyalty program, your ability to utilize IHG hotels has not been impacted. Any pending reservations under a standard paying rate will remain active, and all terms & conditions will apply.
While I realize you may be disappointed with this decision, no further consideration will be given in this situation. Please be advised that due to the nature of this matter, any further attempts to communicate with IHG regarding your account will be immediately forwarded directly to the Executive Office, and to my attention. All future correspondence will only serve to remind you of this decision.
@@
Do you know this case?
Conclusion
IHG Rewards Club used to close member accounts that had signed up for multiple overlapping promotions that gave anywhere 20,000 points for a stay. Many of these accounts were duplicates. This stopped couple of years back when these promos also dried up.
I hadn’t received any feedback from readers about account closures lately before this message.
Some twat (pardon my language) was giving false advise last year to open multiple accounts in order to earn more free night awards from this promo. I knew that this would not end up well.
There is nothing wrong for having an account for each of the family members. Even then, however, you may have to confirm the identities of the account holders at some point if IHG Rewards Club believes these to be fictitious and duplicate accounts.
My advise is not to open multiple IHG Rewards Club accounts (unless you have family members to back them up) to take advantage of promotions. It may work for a while but usually ends up badly (all accounts closed).
It is really unfortunate that there are ill-advised and ill-informed self claimed “experts” doling out advise on internet about topics they know nothing about.
