Priority Privilege Changes

[markis10]

ICH have changed the benefits of the program yet again:

Benefits of Membership

• Save up to 50% off dining
• 10% off Advance Purchase Rates
• 2 x Buy one night get second free certificates
• 2 x 25% off 'Best Flexible Rate' Certificates
• Earn points towards free nights or airline miles with Priority Club Rewards
• Exclusive member offers from our hotels and partners

Out of interest this is the old list still being advertised on the website:

Priority Privilege
10% Off Best Available Rates
25% off Best Flexible Rate, Certificates.
2 Buy One Night Get One Night Free Certificates

Dining Discount
Receive the following discounts off the total food bill when dining at any participating restaurant:

• 50% off food when dining with one guest
• 33% off food when dining with two guests
• 25% off food when dining with three guests
• 20% off food when dining with four guests
• and so on, up to a flat 10% off food when dining with nine guests or more
  All applicable for Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
• 25% off food when member is dining alone
  Applicable for Lunch and Dinner

Complimentary Breakfast for Two Certificate
$50 Hotel Certificate

So no more $50 hotel certificate, no free breakfast certificate, no specified rate certificate by brand and no discount off the best available rate, now you need to book 14 days in advance to save 10% - dont think I will be renewing!

 

[oz_mark]

When did they change this? As far as I can tell the breakfast, $50 voucher and 10% off 5 day advance purchase are still there. The real change I saw was the end of the rate certificates.

Also, you may find some advantage in holding out on renewal, you never know what telesales might throw in when you hold out a bit

 

[markis10]

It was in an email I received inviting me to renew to take advantage of all the exciting changes, I noted a few months ago (feb) the inability to book and get a discount on rates that were not advance purchase:

Dear xx_, Thank you for choosing to be part of Priority Privilege, we greatly appreciate your loyalty.
We'd like to remind you that your current membership will expire in May. We'd like to offer you the chance to renew your membership quickly and easily online to ensure you continue to receive all the benefits and discounts for another twelve months.
Your new membership will be valid until May 2008.

Benefits of Membership

• Save up to 50% off dining
• 10% off Advance Purchase Rates
• 2 x Buy one night get second free certificates
• 2 x 25% off 'Best Flexible Rate' Certificates
• Earn points towards free nights or airline miles with Priority Club Rewards
• Exclusive member offers from our hotels and partners

Redesigned with our members input, Priority Privilege provides you with new and improved benefits and discounts at InterContinental, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn hotels in Australia, New Zealand and Fiji.
The benefits and discounts you receive as a member will far exceed membership cost - guaranteed

Extend your Priority Privilege membership benefits today​

 

[Evan]

Not sure i will renew again, all my hotels are corp rate bookings and i really don't get much out of it.
And you have to actually pay to get all this, i am also a Hilton member and am thinking the same, last year or was that year before they got me with $50 nights in the new Sydney Hilton, but this year not so sure what they will offer.

FF programs i get good benefits, but the Hotel programs don't ever seem to add up to much.
I guess its just the way i stay at them, i don't get much of a choice of where. If i can i not just credit to FF program. (But always seem to have to chase them for points !)

E

 

[oz_mark]

Not sure i will renew again, all my hotels are corp rate bookings and i really don't get much out of it.
And you have to actually pay to get all this, i am also a Hilton member and am thinking the same, last year or was that year before they got me with $50 nights in the new Sydney Hilton, but this year not so sure what they will offer.

FF programs i get good benefits, but the Hotel programs don't ever seem to add up to much.
I guess its just the way i stay at them, i don't get much of a choice of where. If i can i not just credit to FF program. (But always seem to have to chase them for points !)

I only have PP because at the moment it suits my personal travel arrangements. I look at this each year again (and PP threw in a bit of a sweetener to get me to renew this year). I do keep track of how much value I get from the programs, and so far I have more than recovered my costs of joining.

If all my travel was just business travel, then there would be little value in these programs to me.

 

[Evan]

And i can always access my corp rates for personal travel as well.
Great if your stopping in Hong Kong for example, not so good if you want to book a room at the Puket Shangri-la.

Like you say best to keep track of the value for you and what you get out of it, I would always get back in savings what i spend but not always as much as i would like.

Evan

 

[Travel_insider]

Hi Markis10.

Some very valid points you have made and it was a complete oversight by the membership program team not to update the changes on the renewal email, will pass onto the correct people to make sure they do update. TY for the heads up!

As you are aware there is a change in the program, with the removal of rate certificates no longer being sold in the membership pack. However members who are holding onto a rate certicficate can still use their certificates to book accommodation untill the end of March 2008.

FYI, the rate certificates were replaced with "25% Off Best Flexible Rate Certificates", these are designed to give members better access to great accommodation rates at the hotels as you may have been aware the 110,130 and 190 rate certificates did become difficult to redeem at hotels espically those high demand periods at hotels.

The $50 Credit Certificate and the Breakfast Certificate definately still remain in the membership pack for your use, along with the 10% Off Best Flexible Rates which also apply to advance purchase rates as well.

Thanks for posting your comments, I look forward to seeing if we can also offer you member exclusive specials through this forum.

For those that are looking to get to the new Crowne Plaza Hunter Valley there is plenty of availbilty at the time of writing for using your Buy One Get One Free Certificates during the next coming weeks Sunday to Thursday.

Thanks again Mark and to the other posters in this space.

Cheers
Travel_insider

ICH have changed the benefits of the program yet again:

Benefits of Membership

• Save up to 50% off dining
• 10% off Advance Purchase Rates
• 2 x Buy one night get second free certificates
• 2 x 25% off 'Best Flexible Rate' Certificates
• Earn points towards free nights or airline miles with Priority Club Rewards
• Exclusive member offers from our hotels and partners

Out of interest this is the old list still being advertised on the website:

Priority Privilege
10% Off Best Available Rates
25% off Best Flexible Rate, Certificates.
2 Buy One Night Get One Night Free Certificates

Dining Discount
Receive the following discounts off the total food bill when dining at any participating restaurant:

• 50% off food when dining with one guest
• 33% off food when dining with two guests
• 25% off food when dining with three guests
• 20% off food when dining with four guests
• and so on, up to a flat 10% off food when dining with nine guests or more
  All applicable for Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
• 25% off food when member is dining alone
  Applicable for Lunch and Dinner

Complimentary Breakfast for Two Certificate
$50 Hotel Certificate

So no more $50 hotel certificate, no free breakfast certificate, no specified rate certificate by brand and no discount off the best available rate, now you need to book 14 days in advance to save 10% - dont think I will be renewing!

 

[oz_mark]

Good to hear from you, Travel_insider. Actually, I hade been meaning to update this thread.

I checked the email I got in Feb regarding my renewal, and it was essentially the same as that quoted by MarkIs10, with the addition of an Avis 30% off voucher.

My renewal pack I got last week included had all the expected vouchers ($50 credit, breakfast voucher, and rate certificates!!). I guess I managed to sneak in to the transition between the rate certificates and the 25% off flexible rate.

And I have been meaning to get to the Hunter Valley....

 

[Travel_insider]

Thank you Oz_Mark, do let us know if you do have any other questions. I will do my best to come back and check the forum from time to time. Also have some advice I can add on how hotels are allowing members to use the rate certificates as a replacement for the 25% Off Rate Certificates!

Cheers TI

 

[oz_mark]

Actually my only problem I have had with the program is getting PC points on the 10% rates. They seem to like rejecting these as 'deeply discounted'. Eventually get the points but sometimes quite an argument

 

[oz_mark]

Thanks for posting your comments, I look forward to seeing if we can also offer you member exclusive specials through this forum.

For those that are looking to get to the new Crowne Plaza Hunter Valley there is plenty of availbilty at the time of writing for using your Buy One Get One Free Certificates during the next coming weeks Sunday to Thursday.

Thanks again Mark and to the other posters in this space.

It would be good if you you could offer some exclusive deals here! I am sure there are quite a few PP members lurking around these parts!

 

[markis10]

Hi Markis10.

Some very valid points you have made and it was a complete oversight by the membership program team not to update the changes on the renewal email, will pass onto the correct people to make sure they do update. TY for the heads up!



Cheers
Travel_insider

Hi and thank you for taking the time to post, my main issues were:

1. The website gives vastly different benefits to those now available on the program.
2. The removal of discounts of 10% off all publically available rates, most of my travel is often on the best fliexible rate and this benefit seems to have gone in late February as the website does not show any rates as being applicable when trying to book the 10% off best flexible!

 

[Travel_insider]

It would be good if you you could offer some exclusive deals here! I am sure there are quite a few PP members lurking around these parts!

Leave it with us and will see what we can do from time to time it would be interesting to know how many members do visit the forum, and there locations, along with preferred choice of hotels.

If there is anyone who is not a member and is interested in joining the following link provides a 10% off Discount to becoming a member.

Cheers

 

[Travel_insider]

Hi and thank you for taking the time to post, my main issues were:

1. The website gives vastly different benefits to those now available on the program.
2. The removal of discounts of 10% off all publically available rates, most of my travel is often on the best fliexible rate and this benefit seems to have gone in late February as the website does not show any rates as being applicable when trying to book the 10% off best flexible!

Hi markis10,
Thanks for the two points, I do know that the membership services team are working through the web to ensure that material is in sync with what members have signed up to. Will also take another look at the website and the 10% off rate loading. I may come back to you for some examples of where the rates are not showing..
Thanks again

 

[Travel_insider]

Actually my only problem I have had with the program is getting PC points on the 10% rates. They seem to like rejecting these as 'deeply discounted'. Eventually get the points but sometimes quite an argument

definatley should be getting your points for your 10% off rates. I know from my travel the points can take some time to get posted. This issue does happen on other rates as well, have noted and will pass the info through to the Priority Club rewards team to make sure they aware.
Regards
TI

 

[lewko]

If there is anyone who is not a member and is interested in joining the following link provides a 10% off Discount to becoming a member.

What a pain in the cough...
I just joined at full-rate and was advised by the telemarketer that it was only available by invitation.

Upon receiving the kit I discovered the website and learned it was there all along. Now I find out I could have got a discount!

Harumph......

 

[Travel_insider]

$110 rate at a Crowne Plaza

It would be good if you you could offer some exclusive deals here! I am sure there are quite a few PP members lurking around these parts!

I do know a rate from $110 only for Priority Privilege members is about to be released for members who would like to stay at Crowne Plaza Royal Pines on the Gold Coast.. The offer is for stays between the 4th of May until the 14th May and you must be a Priority Privilege member to receive. Just need to call your membership reservation number to book...

Also know that there is some super rates and specials for members who want to experience the Crowne Plaza Hunter Valley between Sunday and Thursday..

For New Zealand members or Australians wanting to visit NZ, there are sharp rates on weekends coming for Holiday Inn wellington, Crowne Plaza Queenstown and the Holiday Inn properties in Chirstchurch..

 

[lewko]

What a pain in the cough...
I just joined at full-rate and was advised by the telemarketer that it was only available by invitation.

Upon receiving the kit I discovered the website and learned it was there all along. Now I find out I could have got a discount!

Harumph......

Postscript: Travel_Insider dropped me a line and I'm sure we'll work something out. Hurrah.

 

[oz_mark]

Was looking at Singapore, and the Singapore hotels seem to have disappeared from the paricipating locations

 

[Travel_insider]

Hi oz_mark, will find out more whats going on with Singapore. Be of interest to all of us.
Cheers
TI