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IHG recently inked a deal with Foncière des Régions to rebrand and operate 12 hotels and put one in the pipeline throughout the United Kingdom. Currently, they’re branded and operated by PHGroup, and look very impressive. If you like the United Kingdom ( which I do ), love luxury hotels ( OMG I do ), especially ones that are historic and newly renovated ( I do! I do! ), and you’ve got yourself some IHG points, THEN you’re gonna love this deal. In fact, it’ll make IHG the #1 operator servicing the luxury/upscale market with more than 2200 rooms.
I have history with one of the hotels on the list.
The Principal London is a drop dead gorgeous hotel located in central London near Russell Square. When I was in college I was lucky enough to study abroad in London, and our housing was off Russell Square. I’d see the hotel and always think…one day I will stay there. While I’ve been really fortunate to stay at a number of incredible hotels in London, I’ve never checked that hotel off my bucket list.
Since I lived in London, the hotel changed hands and was renovated by the PH group, and after this deal closes, will become the first Kimpton hotel outside the USA. Honestly…I think this hotel will smash the current Park Lane Intercontinental out of the park, and I can’t wait to redeem my last IHG credit card night here. ( I still have the legacy Select which has granted me one last free night at any hotel in their steed). Otherwise, I’d expect it to hit 70k a night, 60k if we’re lucky.
Here’s a list of all the hotels which will be folded into IHG
The Principal London
The Principal Edinburgh Charlotte Square
The Principal Edinburgh George Street
The Principal Met Hotel (Leeds)
The Principal York
De Vere Oxford Thames
The Grand Birmingham (pipeline)
The Principal Manchester
The Principal Blythswood Square (Glasgow)
The Principal Grand Central (Glasgow)
The Principal St David’s (Cardiff)
The Principal Oxford Spires
De Vere Wotton House
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*images courtey of PHGroup.com
Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Welcome Offer
Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
Annual Fee
$95
Points Earned
Transferrable Chase Ultimate Rewards
- 5x on all travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
- 3x on dining, including eligible delivery services for takeout & dining out
- 3x on select streaming services
- 3x on online grocery purchases
- (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
- $50 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit via Chase Travel℠
- The begins immediately for new cardmembers and after your account anniversary for existing cardmembers
- 2x on all other travel
- 10% Anniversary Bonus
- Every year you keep the card, your total spend will yield a 10% points bonus. If you spend $10k in a year, you’ll get 1k bonus points
- Chase Sapphire Preferred continues to redeem at 1.25c in the Chase Travel℠ and the slew of other benefits remain in tact including Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver ( primary ), purchase protections, etc.
- Points are transferrable to 14 Ultimate Rewards partners
- Redeem in Chase Travel℠ for 1.25 cents per point
- No foreign transaction fees
- Suite of Travel and Purchase Coverage
- Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver is my favorite
- Get complimentary access to DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees and lower service fees for a minimum of one year when you activate by December 31, 2027.
- $95 Annual Fee
We keep an up to date spreadsheet that lists the best ever offers: You can find that spreadsheet here.
Historically 80k is a very, very good offer and hit in both 2022 and 2023. In 2021, we saw the offer hit an all time high of 100k. Who knows if that will ever come back.
Main Cast:
Cards that earn flexible points and should be used on the bulk of your purchases.
Supporting Cast:
Cards that earn fixed points in the currency of the airline/hotel and can not be transferred at attractive rates. These cards yield benefits that make it worth keeping, but not necessarily worth putting a lot of your everyday spend on.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® is exceptional starter card and offers transferrable Ultimate Rewards, and pairs well with other Chase cards.
If you carry this card alongside Chase’s cashback cards like the Chase Freedom Flex® and Chase Freedom Unlimited® or the business versions: Ink Business Cash® , Ink Business Unlimited® you can combine the points into Preferred account and transfer into hotel and airline partners
Annual fee is quite low at $95 a year + you get a 10% anniversary bonus on points + $50 hotel credit in Chase travel.
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