IHG Accelerate Q4 Promotion

While we normally stay at Starwood in an attempt to re-qualify for Platinum status, it looks like we'll lock up 25 SPG stays later this week, so we can "cheat" on our Starwood if the stars lined up. And it looks like they have.

This morning, IHG announced their new promotion for the Fall 2015 called Accelerate. Similar to prior promotions, they have it set up as a sort of scavenger hunt where you have to complete a series of discrete tasks with a bonus if you complete a certain number of them. We leveraged their Big Win promotion back in 2013 when we stayed at the Intercontinental San Juan and earned tons of IHG points.

When my mother logged into her Accelerate offer, we found she was given the following tasks:

(1) Stay Once - 1 night for 5,000 points
(2) Stay More - 5 nights for 6,800 points
(3) Book 1 Bonus Points Package - 2,000 points
(4) Pay for a stay on IHG Credit Card - 1,500 points
Achievement Bonus - Complete 3 of 4 tasks - 34,700 points.

Nothing seemed that difficult, but the most compelling feature was that items #1, 3 and 4 could all be accomplished simultaneously with a single stay! For that single night stay, she could earn 8,500 promotional points (in addition to whatever points she would earn for the stay itself). But since her Achievement Bonus was 34,700 points for hitting 3 of the 4 tasks, we'd earn that too! Total promotional points would be 43,200 points (worth between $302-432 in value to my family).

Now we just had to find a cheap IHG hotel that we'd want to stay in. Ideally, it would be for a trip that we already had planned and would be priced comparably to our best Starwood option. We had two trips coming up in October - Phoenix and Chicago.

Both cities had PLENTY of IHG hotels, especially the lower priced Holiday Inn brands. However, since my father likes to impose the additional constraint of limiting the additional $ spend for these sorts of points-generating activities, we didn't want to overpay too much. After all, spending $100 more than the best Starwood hotel option might not be worth the privilege of earning IHG bonus points. Then we'd just be buying those points for the premium we're paying in cash.

So when we looked at prices for Phoenix, we had one night we could swap out our existing Aloft Phoenix stay for, but cheapest Holiday Inn price for a Bonus Points Package was around $150 after taxes. That compared unfavorably to the Aloft Phoenix which we were getting for just 3,000 SPG points (which we valued at $75). Not ideal.

Then we looked at Chicago. Our existing booking was at the Westin in Itasca that we stayed at earlier this year. We had a great upgrade to a massive corner suite and they also had an indoor swimming pool. However, it was located a bit further from our friends than we'd prefer (about 20 minutes), so we looked at some IHG hotels closer to our friends.

As it turned out, we found a recently renovated Holiday Inn Express located just 5 minutes away for $115 including taxes for the Bonus Points Package. That compared pretty favorably to the $97 rate (after tax) we had at the Westin Itasca. An $18 upcharge is a modest price to pay for 43,200 IHG points.

Of course, a Westin is a full service hotel versus a limited service Holiday Inn Express, so if it weren't for this promotion, we'd definitely go with the Westin (especially since we'd have Platinum status benefits).

But all guests get free internet and breakfast at the Holiday Inn Express, and maybe we'd even an upgrade for having IHG Platinum status. We're not expecting to be amazed, but hopefully we won't be regretting the switch hotels either.

Worst case, we're still going to stay the second night of our Chicago trip at the Westin. Besides, we don't really plan to be in the hotel for much anyway!

Hong Kong Hotels for Grandma

Now that my grandmother's flights were booked for her 65th Birthday trip to Korea and Hong Kong, it was time to get her hotels booked.

Fortunately, we had spent 5 days in Hong Kong ourselves in 2014 so we could offer some recommendations.

Since Hong Kong (like NYC) is quite expensive for hotels, we didn't want to use cash when we had so many hotel points and awards at our disposal where we could get out-sized redemption value.

InterContinental
For the first night, we used 50,000 IHG points to book her in the InterContinental Hong Kong on the Kowloon side where she would be right on the Avenue of the Stars to enjoy the nightly laser light show.

Retail cash prices were $351 USD, so we were getting 0.7 cents/IHG point. Not a great redemption, but it's actually just a placeholder booking until September when we'll rebook it. Recall, just for having the Chase IHG Visa credit card ($49 annual fee), we get a Free Night Award certificate at every anniversary - which is September for us. So even after paying the annual fee, we'll save $302 cash for a night at one of the best hotel properties in Hong Kong.

Conrad
Then for the last two nights, we booked my grandmother at the Conrad Hong Kong which was back on the mainland side.

Just like with IHG, we had a Free Night Award with Hilton. Unlike IHG, however, this award is only good for a weekend night (Fri, Sat or Sun). So we used it for the last night of my grandmother's Hong Kong trip which was a Friday night.

However, we wanted her to enjoy another night at the Conrad since they offered an amazing (complimentary) buffet breakfast for Hilton Gold members each morning at their Garden Cafe (if you ask nicely). So we used 80,000 Hilton HHonors points to book another award night on Thursday.

The cash retail prices for the Conrad Hong Kong were $404/night after taxes, so we were saving $808 at least by using the weekend award certificate and points. While not the best redemption (approximately 0.5 cents/HH point), it was a very compelling use of Hilton HHonors points given the quality of the hotel.

Plus, they should get a late checkout so that they'll have a relaxing final day before heading to Hong Kong Airport to enjoy the Cathay Pacific business class lounge.

I hope you have a great birthday trip, Grandma!

Points and Mile Totals

Some of my classmates at pre-school have been asking me lately how many points and miles we have. I generally just say "this much" as I stretch out my hands, but in the interest of transparency, I'm willing to share our family totals to all 3 loyal readers of Lap Child Diaries.

Airlines
American AAdvantage - 600,000 miles
United MileagePlus - 400,000 miles
British Airways Avios - 215,000 miles
Aegean Airlines - 60,000 miles

Hotels
IHG Rewards Club - 113,000 points
Hilton HHonors - 104,000 points
Starwood SPG - 102,000 points
Club Carlson - 18,000 points
Hyatt Gold Passport- 600 points

Bank Rewards
Chase Ultimate Rewards - 392,000 points
Citi Thank You Points - 165,000 points

Now clearly, there are families (and even individuals) out there that have 1,000x more than we do, so we're really not trying to show off. We're just answering a question we get often, and there's no shame/pride here.

The truth is that these points and miles will only decrease in value over time. Programs "devalue" their points from time to time by increasing the prices for award redemptions, so we recommend not hoarding these rebate currencies. Cash you can save, but with loyalty points and miles, you should "earn and burn" as quickly as possible!

Any good redemption ideas for us?

Eating in Cozumel

No hotel review could be complete with a few photos of the breakfast buffet. Given that we were on an island, we were more than pleased with the wide selection of American and Mexican options.

For 340 pesos/adult ($23 USD), it wasn't "cheap" by any means, but still a good value for a resort like the 5 star Intercontinental Presidente.

Fortunately, my parents were able to eat enough to basically skip lunch while adorable 3 year olds were able to eat for free. Though truth be told, I only had some cereal and fruit.

They had buffet breakfasts at the open air restaurant with indoor and outdoor seating. While most of the hotel guests wanted to eat in the sun, we opted for the shade closer to the food. We still had a wonderful view of the ocean, so we were very happy with our location.

The breakfast selection was pretty vast, including fresh fruits, meats and cheeses, pastries, a made-to-order omelette/egg station, and a range of local Mexican items including so many salsas, that it would make your toddler head spin.

While the breakfasts at the Intercontinental were delicious and more importantly, convenient, we wanted to venture outside the resort for dinner. So we asked the front desk for a good recommendation where we could get local seafood. They suggested La Choza where the food was (according to the concierge) "like my grandmother would cook." We were sold.

So we hopped a $7 USD taxi into town and walked through the bustling streets of downtown Cozumel and found La Choza on a side street a few blocks in from the oceanfront.

My parents enjoyed their food and it was pretty good value for the portion sizes provided. It wasn't the "best food they've ever had," but it was exactly what they were looking for in a town where there were too many cheap American-style restaurants dominating the streets. We'd definitely go back again next time we're in Cozumel.

I also started getting into virgin pina coladas and strawberry daiquiris. I can never finish them, but I refuse to let my parents have a fun icy drink without me. We also tried an "avocado pie" which sounded better than it tasted. It wasn't horrible, but the cinnamon crust really saved it from being a pretty bad dessert.

Intercontinental Presidente Cozumel

Hotel Details
Hotel: Intercontinental Presidente Cozumel
Dates: April 21-23, 2015
Rate Paid: Free Night Awards
Regular Cost: $321 per night
Upgrade: Ocean View Room
Redemption: N/A

Our first few nights in Mexico were important for us to really unwind, especially after a busy few months for both my parents. So instead of trying to do too much, we wanted instead to just relax and literally do nothing.

And we found THE PERFECT PLACE for that. Reading the reviews, we were almost setting ourselves up to be disappointed given how many people raved about the high level of service at "the Presidente." But from the moment we stepped through the welcoming front entrance, we knew this place was legit.

The resort is about a 10 minute drive from the downtown area and is a fixed taxi fare of 90 Mexican pesos (just under $7 USD). We arrived around 6PM and we were the only ones waiting in line to check in.

Immediately, they recognized our IHG Platinum status (thank you Chase and Visa) and informed us we've been upgraded to an Ocean View room (#5219) from our original booking of a Pool View room. We were also able to combine the separate 1 night reservations that each of my parents had booked so that we wouldn't have to switch rooms.

We were asked if we wanted the welcome amenity of 600 IHG points or a snack. Normally, we'd opt for the points (worth about $6), but we opted for the snack given we had more than enough IHG points but were a bit hungry after a long day of traveling.

Our room was on the southern wing of the property on the 2nd floor (far left on the property map below). Had we not been upgraded, our room would have been facing the interior pool on the right side of the map.

If we were to pick again, however, we'd definitely ask for a room on the 1st floor of the same wing we were placed in. The way the building is laid out, we had a long walk down the view-less hallway to get to the stairs, whereas the 1st floor rooms had a view of the tennis courts, spa and playground as well as direct patio access to the beach and pool areas.

The room itself was pretty spacious for a hotel room with a small foyer when you enter. The bedroom area had enough space for a small table that was full of welcome fruits (guava, apple, mango, banana and kiwi) for us and a small bottle of tequila. It was a perfect surprise for my family who just spent the past 12 hours in transit.

You had plenty of closet space and and a very generous bathroom area with separate doors for the shower and toilet. I personally couldn't get over the towel animals they had made for my arrival!

The room had a balcony as well, so we were able to enjoy our ocean view from a swinging "hammock-chair" that the 2nd floor balconies had. The first floors had larger patios and a full hammock.

But we didn't travel all this way to spend time in our hotel room. The property had a wonderfully simple but well thought out set up. There were several sand beaches for the guests to spread out without being on top of one another, including a small cove that was perfect for young children.

Visiting during shoulder season, the property had full staffing but very few guests. This being one of the final years my family won't be restricted to the public school vacation calendar, we were able to visit after the "spring break" madness during mid-April, so rates and crowds were much less than a few weeks ago.

  
The service levels were PERFECT. Every single employee we encountered was delightful to interact with and anticipated your needs. They spoke amazing English and struck the perfect balance between being available without being too bothersome. Everything was done with a smile and we felt like royalty.

The property itself was somewhat dated, but amazingly maintained. It was not going to compete with any luxury properties in Bora Bora for Instrgram stats, but it was ideal for people who just wanted to enjoy the wonderful island scenery at a leisurely, relaxing pace. Since there was not much nightlife in Cozumel, the crowds that came to the Presidente were much more aligned with the restful atmosphere, and we were so thankful for the great staff that made our brief 2 night stay so amazing.

We enjoyed our stay so much that the next time we want a long weekend getaway in Mexico, we're definitely coming to the Intercontinental Presidente Cozumel.

Cancun to Cozumel

Since we changed our hotel plans, we had to revise our transportation reservation. Originally, we were just going from Cancun Airport to the Intercontinental Cancun in the Hotel Zone (about 30 minutes north of the airport).

Now, we were heading to the island of Cozumel off the coast of Playa Del Carmen (about 50 minutes south of the airport). Thankfully, we had someone put together all the information we needed on a website with photos (click here).

We could have opted to fly 20 minutes from Cancun Airport to Cozumel Airport, but (a) the connecting flight times were inconvenient and (b) my mother is horribly afraid of those little "puddle jumper" planes. After the one we took in Puerto Rico to Vieques Island in 2013, she vowed never to step foot on a tiny plane again.

So that left us with some options. After landing at the airport, we had to make our way down to Playa Del Carmen's ferry terminal (about 50 minutes). Then we'd have to take a 45 minute ferry to Cozumel Island, then another 10 minute taxi to the Intercontinental Hotel.

Assuming we time everything perfectly and minimize waiting time, we'd have the following travel schedule (all times Central):

• 6:00AM - Take an UberX to Newark Airport ($65)
• 8:30AM - United flight to Cancun ($220/person one-way)
• 12:30PM - Arrive in Cancun
• 1:30PM - USA Transfer to Playa Del Carmen ($55)
• 3:00PM - Ultramar Ferry to Cozumel ($11/adult)
• 4:00PM - Taxi to Intercontinental Hotel ($10)

Sometime during all that traveling, I'm supposed to eat lunch and nap. Let's just hope my father remembers to ask me if I need the potty before we get on each vehicle.