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My husband and I each own a few credit cards that come with free hotel nights after paying the card’s annual fee. We’ve never had a problem using these “free nights” before. Until this year.
Now, we have 2 free IHG anniversary certs that expire at the end of October. When we received them last year, we immediately used them to book 2 nights at a hotel in Boston to see the Laver Cup. Well, due to Covid-19, the Laver Cup was canceled. I canceled our hotel reservation, and now we have two free nights sitting in our accounts again.
IHG and other brands are being generous with extending elite status and certificate expiration dates due to the pandemic. But, is it enough? The expiration of our free certs was extended through December 31, 2020, which only gives us an additional 2 months to use them.
In any normal year, we’d find another use for these certs with no problem. But right now, we’re honestly struggling with where and how to use these free nights. My family will likely not fly anywhere this year, or at least in the near future while the virus is still so rampant.
We were getting such a good value from the certs by using them in Boston that I’m struggling with how to feel good about these free nights for a different use. But, I do have a few ideas:
Quick Trip to Denver
I know I said my family probably won’t fly soon, but the one exception I would consider is flying to Denver to see my mom. She’s in an assisted living facility, and she hasn’t had visitors for months. Plus, the flight is short.
IHG has plenty of options to use our certs in Denver. We could either stay Downtown or near her place.
But, I’m not getting my hopes up. Covid-19 is still killing the elderly in nursing homes, and restrictions haven’t been lifted yet. By the time restrictions are lifted, my kids may be back in school already, meaning they will be more exposed to the virus which means we’d be a bigger risk to visit my mom.
Holiday Inn Club Vacations Villages Resort
I’m tempted to book a 2-night getaway at Holiday Inn Club Vacations Villages Resort in East Texas. The standard award room is a 2-bedroom condo, which would fit my family of five.
The resort has mini golf, a water park (extra charge) and other recreational activities. It’s on a lake.
I’m hesitant because the water park is currently closed due to Covid-19. And even if it’s open in a few weeks, I’m not sure it will be safe to go. The reviews on the IHG site are decent, but TripAdvisor reviews are harsh (3 stars).
Local Getaway for the Pool
I’ve mentioned before that my neighborhood and city pools are closed due to Covid-19 and we’re kind of desperate for a swimming pool due to sweltering temperatures (see Am I Desperately Enough for Swimply.com?). A few weeks ago, I looked at some local IHG properties, but unfortunately their pools were closed. However, I just looked again, and some of them are beginning to open up their pools with low capacities.
While it’s not the best value for our certs, can you really put a price on enjoying an outdoor swimming pool when it’s 100 degrees outside?
Christmas in San Antonio
Since we usually travel to South Texas over the Christmas holidays, we could easily add on a few days at a hotel in San Antonio. Of course, things could still be closed or have restrictions like they do now. Or, the virus may have all but disappeared and we could actually enjoy restaurants and the River Walk.
Gift Them to Friends or Family
While we are struggling to find a good use for our certs this year, our friends and family might be in a better position to use these. While we can’t outright gift these free nights, we can make the reservations ourselves and add a friend or family member’s name to the room. Like Leana, for example, who lives in Florida…she probably has better IHG choices within driving distance. Or, my brother’s family in Colorado.
Overall Thoughts
In light of all the things going on in the world right now, deciding how to use “free” hotel certificates is certainly not at the top of the priority list. But, this is a travel blog, not a current events or political blog.
Did a trip cancelation affect your hotel anniversary certs this year? Do you have alternative plans for your free nights? Do you wish you had more time to use the free nights?
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Author: Nancy
Nancy lives near Dallas, Texas, with her husband and three kids. Her favorite vacations include the beach, cruising and everything Disney.
Hi Nancy. Yes, we are in this dilemma. I’m even considering canceling the cards since we are in New Zealand with limited options and no plans to travel any time soon. It’s a tough one as $50 is a reasonable AF but with two cards that’s $100 we could use on something else. Not sure what to do yet. Will need to review closer soon as renewal coming up!
@Talchinsky I was just telling my husband how much I wish we could move to NZ. You guys crushed the virus like nobody’s business. Way to go, Kiwis! 🙂
@Talchinsky My husband and I were also just talking about New Zealand last night and how jealous we are that the virus has disappeared!! I understand about canceling the cards, and I’m also thinking about that before our renewal comes up in October.
I just booked various IHG ‘in case we can fly’ and found a lot of them getting cheaper on point. Florida during Christmas seems a lot cheaper. Maybe the new flexible point as a result of low demand? Our decision to fly will depend on how the infection number after these opening.
Nancy, can I ask how is Austin opening thus far? We plan to be there for a week when my daughter taking ballet intensive course in the end of June. We probably just do outdoor rec. or stay put in the hotel w/ kitchen to minimize interaction with people.
@Agnes Interesting about the cheaper prices on points. I hope you get a great deal! I can’t really speak to Austin specifically, but in North Texas it’s hit or miss on things that are open. The good thing about Austin is it has a lot of gorgeous nature close by.
I think using the free cert in San Antonio would be the way to go. Alternatively you could drive to Denver to visit family instead of flying. It is a nice easy, yet long, drive but there are sites to see along the way. You could cut up through Amarillo and see Cadillac Ranch and the Big Texan steakhouse. There a couple nice IHG properties there as a matter of fact. Also Dalhart TX has a new IHG I stayed at recently that is very nice. Not much in that town but nice hotel along the road. Alternatively you could cut up through Dodge City and Liberal Kansas to see the frontier town and the Wizard of OZ house. Either way you could cut over though La Junta Colorado and see Bent’s Fort which is a very nice old western fort run by the National Park Service. It should be open soon if not already.
Anyway I have two IHG certs. One 35k capped version was extended through next August so that is great but my other unlimited cert wasn’t extended and ends in late December just before a big trip planned to Israel that I could REALLY use it for the IHG Tel Aviv but I’ll likely dump it on a cheap property around Thanksgiving time visiting family in some random place.
@DaninMCI We’ve done that drive a few times before, and I vowed I would never do it again. I do like Amarillo, but my kids drive us crazy with that many hours in the car. Of course I would make an exception if it was the only way I could see my mom, but so far her restrictions are still in place. I hope you find some good use for your unused certs!
We have two expiring this year as well.
I don’t think you need to use them by the end of the year. Only book a reservation before they expire. I’m fairly certain that I did this for our trip to Dallas last year.
Of course if you cancel after they ‘expired’ they would probably be gone for good. Booking for family is a good idea.
With IHG you used to be able to just book them before they expired and it preserved them until the reservation but they changed that a few months back and you can’t do that anymore. You have the right idea but they changed the rules on us, go figure 🙂
I see that in the ‘Details’ now. I have one expiring 10/31/20. I did a test though and it was going to let me book a room outside the expiration date. The hotel list looked like it wouldn’t work but when I clicked into the hotel the certificate loaded. The only thing I didn’t do was ‘confirm’ the booking at the end. Maybe it would have stopped it at that point.
@Doug Yeah, unfortunately I don’t think it will work to book the night for a date after the expiration. Or maybe you can try it and let us know. 🙂