My new-style IHG Rewards Club credit card arrives – available from 23rd June

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• Clive J says:

  13 Jun13 June 06:34

  Not seen the IHG card yet but got the HHonours one through. Same 23rd start date and also contactless.

• Chris says:

  13 Jun13 June 06:51

  Thanks Rob as ever for your great advice! I’ve had this for 3 months now and contactless looks like the main improvement with the new card.

  One point to note from those of us who have been spoiled by Amex over the years is the glacially slow point crediting process both for the 30K bonus and monthly spend. Worth having this in mind if you hope to quickly earn and spend. The service centre gets there in the end but you need to push them!

  Not sure if the free night voucher is as much of a problem?

  • Alan says:

    13 Jun13 June 07:34

    Sadly they’re just as slow with that – takes about six weeks or so (as opposed to the 241 voucher with Amex which posts within a couple of days!)

    • nick says:

      13 Jun13 June 08:47

      Do you know if the Hilton voucher is a physical voucher or a code they email to you?

      • Rob says:

        13 Jun13 June 09:37

        A code. It’s not even a code, I seem to remember last time I was told it was on my account and I had to ring to book (this was a couple of years ago).

        • Alan says:

          13 Jun13 June 16:09

          Indeed – they’ll email you a voucher that theoretically you’ll be asked for at checkin (although I never have) – just call the HHonors service number to book, they’ll see it on your account. Don’t know how it works with IHG yet bit pre presumably it’s similar.

      • Gabe says:

        13 Jun13 June 09:40

        they email to you

        • Stuart says:

          13 Jun13 June 11:28

          But when you book via the telephone it appears on your account

        • Stuart says:

          14 Jun14 June 14:28

          Bit off topic but Any idea if you can use the hilton free night for someone else? I’d like to use our next one for my brother in law so they have a different surname.

        • Rob says:

          14 Jun14 June 15:03

          Should be fine, yes

        • Alan says:

          14 Jun14 June 16:15

          Yes you can make Hilton reward bookings for others so this shouldn’t be any different.

• mike sanders says:

  13 Jun13 June 07:26

  My assumption when reading your articles on credit cards is that they are only for UK residents using UK bank accounts.
  Here in Hong Kong I have an airline linked Amex card for which there is an annual fee but every year I telephone them when I see the charge on my bill and after the usual to-ing and fro-ing it is always removed.

  • Rob says:

    13 Jun13 June 09:38

    Not so easy in the UK. If you threaten Amex you may get offered double points for 3 months …

• Star Shaped says:

  13 Jun13 June 08:06

  Just note that the charges for foreign usage have changed for the worse with the new card (should that be something of interest to anyone).

  • Rob says:

    13 Jun13 June 09:38

    Thanks. Didn’t spot that I admit. They need to pay for those ‘double points for foreign spend’ somehow ….

  • David says:

    14 Jun14 June 12:44

    Thanks for highlighting this – what is the new enhanced rate?

• Stuart says:

  13 Jun13 June 11:30

  Any idea what the Barclaycard policy is on number of cards. Currently have the hilton card so will they allow me a new IHG card as well?

  • Chris says:

    13 Jun13 June 12:21

    Shouldn’t be a problem. I have the IHG one, 2 standard barclaycard and the freedom one or whatever they call it this week. I do work for several different companies and have the different cards in order to ensure I keep the expenses speared as it’s a nightmare if I get mixed up.

    I only got the last one six months ago and they had no problem. I bank with them though so they can see all my history etc. not sure if it makes a difference as all that would be visible on the credit check anyway.

• gnarlyoldgoatdude says:

  13 Jun13 June 12:02

  The (paperwork for the) new cards have the worst peel and reveal pin codes that I’ve ever seen. Both my code and my wife’s were badly damaged, with it being almost impossible to separate the layers to reveal the numbers.
  I had to get a new letter sent out.

  On the plus side my Big Win IHG card points have posted meaning that I had an effective sign on bonus of 65000 points.

• AC says:

  13 Jun13 June 13:56

  I was one of those people emailed in to ask about the terms of Platinum status with the Black card, the unwritten bit is that you actually have to use the Visa in order to get the status. I left my Black visa unused for a whole year thus my IHG status got dropped. A quick online purchase and a call to each IHG & Barclaycard solved the issue.

• flibbly says:

  13 Jun13 June 16:16

  I rec’d my new Black IHG card a few days ago. However it arrived the same day that I rang them to close the account as I was totally fed up of them.

  I got the £99pa card around September last year and was given Gold status. It took a few months of email ping-pong with IHG customer service to get them to issue me with Plat instead (I was told it would take 6 months at one stage, but they did hurry things up when I asked if it would also take 6 months to downgrade me should I cancel the card).

  Just a few weeks later, sometime in January they sent me another Gold membership card and it transpired I’d been downgraded as some sort of annual review for not having enough stays/nights the previous year. Cue another few volleys of email ping-pong.

  Then the last straw was a few weeks ago when yet another Gold status card arrived in the post.

  The woman from Barclays who I spoke to when cancelling was astounded by the level of service from IHG and in trying to retain my custom offered to get in touch with IHG for me and “guarantee” my Plat status. I don’t see how she could guarantee they wouldn’t bugger me about again, and the miserly benefits it offers aren’t worth the hassle anyway so I declined.

  I’m sure this card is worthwhile for some people, but I won’t be going anywhere near it again.

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