2017 IHG Rewards Club Category Changes

IHG Rewards Club just released it hotel reward redemption changes. About 650 hotels are changing categories. What this means is that the number of points required for a free hotel night is going to change, effective January 15, 2017.

There is a significant number (31) of Canadian hotels that are affected by this change, which I will list below. If you are planning to redeem some IHG points, be sure to check out whether your hotel will be affected by the changes before making your reservation accordingly.

Basically, if your hotel redemption is going up, then you will want to book it ASAP. If it is going down, it would be preferable to wait until after the changes kick in.

Here’s the complete list of 650 hotels.

Below is a list of 11 Canadian hotels that are dropping by 1 category:

• Holiday Inn Express & Suites Cold Lake: 20,000 to 15,000
• Holiday Inn Express & Suites Bonnyville: 20,000 to 15,000
• Holiday Inn Express & Suites Whitecourt Southeast: 20,000 to 15,000
• Holiday Inn Express & Suites Slave Lake: 15,000 to 10,000
• Holiday Inn Express & Suites Drayton Valley: 15,000 to 10,000
• Holiday Inn Express & Suites Dawson Creek: 20,000 to 15,000
• Holiday Inn Express & Suites Kincardine – Downtown: 20,000 to 15,000
• Holiday Inn Express & Suites Regina: 25,000 to 20,000
• Crowne Plaza Hamilton Hotel & Conf Center: 20,000 to 15,000
• Holiday Inn Express Fort St John: 20,000 to 15,000
• Holiday Inn & Suites Grande Prairie-Conference Ctr: 30,000 to 25,000

Below is a list of 15 Canadian hotels that are increasing by 1 category:

• Holiday Inn Express & Suites Victoria – Colwood: 20,000 to 25,000
• Holiday Inn Express & Suites Surrey: 15,000 to 20,000
• Crowne Plaza Niagara Falls-Fallsview Niagara Falls: 40,000 to 45,000
• Holiday Inn Express Golden-Kicking Horse: 20,000 to 25,000
• Holiday Inn Express Vancouver Airport – Richmond: 20,000 to 25,000
• Holiday Inn Express Deer Lake: 20,000 to 25,000
• Holiday Inn & Suites North Vancouver: 25,000 to 30,000
• Holiday Inn & Suites St. Catharines Conf Ctr: 15,000 to 20,000
• Holiday Inn Hinton: 20,000 to 25,000
• Holiday Inn Vancouver-Centre (Broadway): 35,000 to 40,000
• Holiday Inn Winnipeg Airport – Polo Park: 10,000 to 15,000
• Holiday Inn Sydney – Waterfront: 10,000 to 15,000
• Holiday Inn Niagara Falls – by the Falls: 35,000 to 40,000
• Holiday Inn Montreal Centreville Downtown: 25,000 to 30,000
• Staybridge Suites Toronto-Markham: 15,000 to 20,000

Below is a list of 5 Canadian hotels that are increasing by 2 categories:

• Holiday Inn Express & Suites Tremblant: 20,000 to 30,000
• Holiday Inn Express Vancouver-Metrotown (Burnaby): 25,000 35,000
• Holiday Inn & Suites Surrey East – Cloverdale: 15,000 to 25,000
• Holiday Inn Canmore: 30,000 to 40,000
• Holiday Inn Vancouver Airport- Richmond: 20,000 to 30,000

Funny enough, you may have noticed that many of the cheaper hotel redemption got even cheaper, and many expensive hotel redemption now cost even more.