Over the past few weeks I’ve written about the IHG “Surprises” promotion a few time. With this promotion you receive a surprise offer with every stay at an IHG hotel. But the BEST PART OF THE PROMOTION is that you can actually enter without having to stay! You can fill out a 3×5 piece of paper with the required information, put it in the mail and you’ll receive a surprise offer as well! Much cheaper then actually staying at an IHG hotel, just takes some cramped hands! Related posts: 47,000 IHG points for $46; Win LOTS of IHG Points; IHG “Surprises” are Here!
With this offer, there are some top prizes including trips to the Paris tennis tournament, New York City, and Orlando. Another major prize includes winning 1,000,000 IHG Points! I know many Deals We Like readers got into this promotion and I was beyond excited to receive this email yesterday:
A Deals We Like reader won the 1 million IHG point prize!!! And the way she entered was from the comfort of her house and mailing in the 3×5 piece of paper! I know with many promotions you never think anyone will really win the “big” prize, but it can be done! So for those sitting on the sidelines, get a pen and paper ready and start entering for this offer! At the bare minimum you will win 47,000 points if you send in the maximum 94 entries per person. This is pretty much a free room at any IHG hotel and will only cost you approx $50. The terms of the promotion state that each account is allowed 94 entries, so multiple people within the same household should be able to enter – just make sure you use your specific account. And I highly suggest not creating multiple accounts per person as IHG is notorious for shutting down accounts that have gamed the system.
How to Play….
Items to Purchase:
- Purchase at least 94 3×5 notecards. From reports read, it doesn’t matter if the notecard is ruled or blank. I personally purchased these ones on Amazon for $2.29, although there are way more then I need, it was only $2.29. While you can get a 100 pack at Staples for slightly cheaper and use a card that gives you 5x points (i.e., Chase Ink cards), or even cheaper at The Dollar Store, I was not going to go to the store to save a few pennies.
- Purchase at least 94 envelopes. The terms do not state anything about the size of the envelope, so any size that a 3×5 piece of paper fits in will work. I purchased these ones on Amazon for $6.99. I wanted to find envelopes where I didn’t have to lick 94 seals! I am sure these are cheaper at The Dollar Store too.
- Purchase 94 stamps. This will cost you $46.06. Using a Chase Ink card at an office supply store will get you 5x points on this purchase!
Filling Out and Sending In Entry Form:
- Sign up for an IHG Rewards Club account number if you do not already have one.
- Register for this promotion!
- On the 3 x 5 piece of paper, handwrite the following information (the terms specify you must handwrite it and no reports yet show a successful entry if it was computer generated; also, you do not need to write out all 8 categories on the piece of paper, just the information itself will work):
- Full Name
- Complete Mailing Address
- Day Phone Number
- Evening Phone Number
- Email Address (make sure this is EXTREMELY legible)
- IHG Number
- First 6 Digits of MasterCard (does not need to be an IHG card)
- Date of Birth
- For the envelope, it does not specify that you must handwrite the address, however, it does state “use of any automated system to participate is prohibited and will result in disqualification”. As of right now, there are no reports that show successful entries with using printed labels for the address. However, there are reports showing success with the return address being a printed label (or not even included at all). It is up to you whether or not you want to print labels or possibly be safe and just write it out on all 94 entries. The mailing address is:
- IHG and MasterCard® Priceless Surprises® Promotion, c/o HelloWorld, Inc., P.O. Box 5996, Kalamazoo, MI 49003-5996
- (there have been successful reports showing that you do not need to include the registered trademark ®)
- Every envelope can only contain one 3 x 5 entry card. This means you must write out and send in 94 separate envelopes.
While you are supposed to receive your prize via email within 5 business day, give it some grace period and assume two weeks before you hear anything.
Congrats to anyone who has won something thus far and goodluck with future prizes!
The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.
When does this contest /promo expires?
@Anna – You have until the beginning of February.
I sent in 94 almost 3 weeks ago and haven’t received a single email or any points posted. What gives?!
Several reports of printed address labels working here. https://www.reddit.com/r/churning/comments/3vfyli/the_ihg_emails_are_coming_the_emails_are_coming/
@Gary – Good to know, thanks!
I hope the winning reader has the IHG Chase Mastercard as then it is really like winning 1.1 million with the 10% points back when spent 😉
I used pre-printed mailing labels and I received my e-mails and prizes.
Tami F commented on your other post that she used printed envelopes successfully:
Tami F says:
December 4, 2015 at 3:24 pm
Mailed 6 entries in before it started. Printed envelopes on computer and used my mailing machine on stamps. Mailed 10 more, but handwritten and used posted stamps. Received all 16 enries by email today. Won 500 on each except one where I won 1000. Hope everyone else received theirs too!
Technically, your general explanation language is misleading. The T&Cs state the entry should be on a 5×3 inch piece of “paper” not an index card as you’re recommending purchasing, or “postcard” as your heading suggests.
@DavidB – An index card is paper so I do not see that as misleading.
Amazing! Sending in my entries today. Thanks for the continual updates!
Note that T&C state that this is open only to residents of the USA. So Canadians, even those with an IHG MasterCard, are presumably not eligible.
The Wiki on the FT thread states that others have been successful using printed address labels (both return and destination)
@MG – Good to know, thanks!
I just realized that this might be a good way to reset your account — IHG points now expire after 12 months of no account activity. But the 500 points earned from an entry would reset this.
Not sure that was such a great “win”. If I read the winners post, she said she had to pay $5,000 in taxes on the 1 million points. If you assume an average IHG stay is 40,000 points, you’d get 25 nights with 1 million points. To actually pay for 25 nights, at an average cost at an IHG property is $150 per night, it would only cost you $3,750 for the same 25 nights. I think you’d have to really work the points and properties to make this worth the $5,000 she’s going to have to pay.
@Christopher – The value of the IHG points is $5,000 (per IHG). That does not mean she will have to pay $5,000 in taxes, just taxes on the $5,000. The tax amount will differ based on a persons tax bracket.
Building on the prior response, say that taxes were 25% of the $5,000. That is $1,250. Assuming the winner has the IHG MasterCard, an Intercontinental room in a major city would run about 36,000 points. Nights at such hotels often run around $400 each. My math comes up with a theoretical value with these parameters of about $11,000. And I imagine that more strategic spending of points would yield an even higher value.
or 200 points break nights!!!! woo hoo!!!!!!!! lol 😉
Thank you so much for your information about this; it’s my Christmas vacation plan!
Can you clarify on the “postcard” reference? The USPS says the minimum dimension of a post card is 3 1/2 by 5, which would exceed 3 by 5 requirement. Did they cut down a postcard and put it an envelope (since the definition of a postcard is a card for mailing without an envelope)?
@nowhereman – it was a 3×5 index card put in an envelope.
Still no response here 20 days later! Helloworld Inc is not doing their job or they are SLACKING off !
No response here either, and I sent in 76 so far…(as I grow paranoid) I’m wondering if the order you write it down matters? Someone in your other post mentioned that… I’d hate to be disqualified for writing the categories out of order.
Kind of relieved I’m not the only one who hasn’t heard anything!
Audery – I wouldn’t be surprised if the order did matter. People doing it in whatever order they wanted would certainly slow down the entry process at the helloworld end.
I risk receiving some ridicule for this question but will ask anyways. I want to fill out entries on behalf of my g/f but she doesn’t possess a MasterCard. Purely speculation, do you think there is some kind of verification process matching the 5***** MC number with a name?
@Tom – I do not believe so.
I sent 20 letters on 11/19. I haven’t received any emails as of yet. I mailed them in legal size envelopes,
hope that doesn’t make a difference!!
I was wondering why I hadn’t received any word back, as I have mailed in 25 entries so far, but I just realized, I (carelessly) didn’t register for the promotion, so that’s probably the reason. So mad at myself! There’s always something!
I wonder if now that I have registered if the emails will come in, or if the entries I sent were discarded. (I’m guessing the latter). Assuming they were discarded/deemed ineligible, do you think I can start the count again and mail in a full 94 more? I’ll send in batches and monitor. I don’t want to be disqualified for sending too many, but I don’t want to leave 25 on the table that may have not been registered.
@Renee – I am not 100% sure. A lot of people still haven’t heard so I’d give it some time before duplicating the work.
My husband and I, both of us are using my email address for IHG account. Can I use my email address for both of our entries? Should I use my husban’s work email for his entries? Please advice.
@Noko – I would use the email address tied to your IHG account.
Can I send all 94 entries all at once in 94 separate envelopes?
Or does it have to be send in in batches? If so, how many?
Thanks for your help!
@Slawekjb – Needs to be separate envelopes. Can send all together if you’d like.
Many thanks!
I sent in 85 of them at the same time and before the promotion “officially” began. I just dropped the other 9 in the mail today (I didn’t have enough envelopes).
I pray on all that is good and holy that the first batch I sent isn’t disqualified due to being sent in early! 🙁
Did anyone else send them in early and get a response? Also, can someone post a pic of what the email looks like???
GREAT NEWS!!!!!! I did end up getting my emails for 82 of them! I think that may be all of the ones that I sent in up to that point because I was short envelopes before, so I sent in the rest a couple days ago.
Now I’m in the process of doing them for my wife’s new account! 😉
I have sent in about 60 entries so far (starting about 11/16). Received 4 emails to play the game 12/11. Prizes were 3 @ 500 and 1 @ 1500. I haven’t received the follow up email for claiming the prizes or any other game play emails. I am not feeling very confident that this is going to work out, but have all the supplies and I guess I will continue.
I mailed in 188 entries (94 on my account, 94 on my wife’s) on Dec 4th and haven’t received any prize link emails as of yet for either of us.
For Date of Birth, is it just date and month, month and year or day, month and year? Just curious what everyone has been writing….
CRP
@CRP – Include your month, date, and year. They want to make sure you are over the eligible age (which I believe is 18).
Just an FYI. I used pre-printed address labels and NO return address on the envelopes and some of mine (5 so far) have been accepted.
Would be interested if theh had this offer again.