Hong Kong's Intercontinental, benefits and upgrades thanks to elite status
For the Hong Kong vacation, I decided to stay at the Intercontinental Grand Standford taking advantage of the $100 promo [...]
HKG
For the Hong Kong vacation, I decided to stay at the Intercontinental Grand Standford taking advantage of the $100 refund promo on Amex travel and Payback points.
In this article:
I chose a Premier, I would have preferred a room with a Harbour view, but the prices were too expensive (from 240€).
In June, IHG launched a promotion to obtain the status match and I thought, "I'll give it a try, maybe I can get a room upgrade and thus upgrade to one with a Harbour view." Status benefits are guaranteed only with direct bookings, not with Amex travel, which relies on Expedia, Travelscope and other providers.
I took advantage of this by having Gold status with the Bonvoy program, thanks to my Platinum American Express, I filled out a status match request form sending the screenshot of my status with Bonvoy and a pdf showing a stay in the last 6 months.
I received the email of status upgrade to Platinum elite 3 days before the stay. I then immediately emailed the hotel reservation office asking if it was possible to add my IHG Club card number to the reservation and was told that the number had been added, but that I would have no benefits since it was not a direct reservation. Too bad, my "trick" didn't work this time!
However, on the day of check in, at the front desk, I was seated at the elite member station! "Welcome to the Intercontinental Mr. De Martino, as a platinum member...". Much to my surprise, Platinum status and all benefits (not points or night count) had been recognized!
I received an upgrade to a room two categories higher, going from a Premier to a Premier side Harbour view. In addition, I was given two vouchers for drinks at one of the hotel bars, fresh fruit in the room and late check out if it was needed.
I would like to emphasize again that the benefits of elite status, in a hotel chain, by rule are guaranteed only with direct bookings and not with indirect bookings through Booking, Expedia, Hotels.com, Amex Travel (excluding bookings from The Hotels Collection for Amex Gold cards and Fine Hotels and Resorts for Platinum and Centurion cards) or other Ota.
However, with indirect bookings, recognition of status and consequently eligibility for benefits is at the discretion of the hotel (in Asia it is often recognized).
