Earlier today, Kimpton hotels announced that starting in early January 2018 their program will officially roll up to the IHG Rewards program. This has been a long time coming since the acquisition was announced three years ago! You can check out their official press release here. While this announcement is great for IHG members, there is definitely some disappointment for loyal Kimpton members. I’ve never been a big Kimpton person – they just weren’t in small town locations where traveled for work so I never gained loyalty there. But I am excited to eventually check them out!
Kimpton has more then 60 boutique hotels and many of them look pretty awesome. They are in great locations and eventually you’ll be able to redeem both IHG points and IHG free night certificates at these properties. While the number of points required at each of these hotels has been disclosed, the free night certificates that come with the IHG credit card will eventually be able to be used at one of the 60+ Kimpton properties. This now gives you many more options!
Here is a list of where Kimpton hotels are located:
- Grand Cayman
- Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Phoenix, Arizona
- Sedona, Arizona
- Huntington Beach, California
- Los Angeles, California
- Palm Springs, California
- Sacramento, California
- San Diego, California
- Santa Barbara, California
- San Francisco, California
- Denver, Colorado
- Washington, DC
- Miami, Florida
- St. Pete Beach, Florida
- Vero Beach, Florida
- Savannah, Georgia
- Chicago, Illinois
- Baltimore, Maryland
- Boston, Massachusetts
- Minneapolis, Minnesota
- New York City, New York
- Charlotte, North Carolina
- Winston-Salem, North Carolina
- Cleveland, Ohio
- Portland, Oregon
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Pittsburg, Pennsylvania
- Nashville, Tennessee
- Austin, Texas
- Salt Lake City, Utah
- Manchester, Vermont
- Alexandria, Virginia
- Seattle, Washington
- Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Getting a Free Night Certificate Every.Single.Year
The absolutely best perk of the IHG Rewards Club Select credit card is that you receive a free night EVERY SINGLE YEAR that can be used at ANY IHG hotel, no restrictions. And eventually at any Kimpton hotel once the program officially rolls into IHG. In theory though, you really are paying $49 for this free night as this is the annual fee of the credit card. This is not a card I would use for every day spend, but a card I’d keep in my sock draw solely for the free night. As always though, it is only worth it if you will be able to utilize the free night on an annual basis. Even if you cannot use it at an expensive hotel, as long as you get $49+ value out of the free night that you would otherwise be paying for you are breaking even at the minimum.
The free night will hit your account on your FIRST anniversary date. So if you were to apply and get approved for the card today, for example, the free night will be deposited to your account next October 2018. Since it hits your account on a yearly basis, I always recommend couples to apply for the card at the same time so they have 2 free nights to use a year and the dates will sync up. Once the free night is deposited to your account, you have an entire year to BOOK the free night reservation, but you do not actually need to stay by that expiration date. That means you actually have TWO YEARS to use the free night. It is a pretty awesome perk for such a low annual fee card! You can learn more about hotel credit cards and their offers here.
Other Perks
The IHG credit card also gives you automatic Platinum Elite status which will get you Tier 3 status at Kimpton hotels.
While it is not their top tier status (that is Inner Circle status), there still are some unique benefits. Nothing to write home about really, but still something, including a “Raid the Bar” perk which gives you $10 to use at the bar either at the hotel restaurant or in your room. And if you use IHG points to redeem for a free night you’ll receive a 10% rebate on the points redeemed.
While there are MANY other reasons to as why you should have the IHG credit card, being able to now redeem those yearly certificate at many more boutique hotels in great locations is AWESOME! I am personally excited about the Manchester Village location in Vermont. It is in a great location for all four seasons. Since we are a ski family, being able to go for a weekend close to a mountain and only spend $49/night is ideal!
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.
I used mine to book a room at the Kimpton Amsterdam which is already part of IHG, thus eligible with the free night cert. otherwise a 50k point hotel.
The raid the bar looks like a nice perk, but only available at the Kimpton side of things, nit the existing IHG properties, t least not according to their website. I have used a IHG card for 3 year, the free night is a great offset to the reasonable $49 fee.
One caution though,I believe the fine print says (it may have been a CSR that told me this) if you book a stay with your free night, that you can not change it later, it will be lost.
Of course if you have them on the phone, they may co-operate, but don’t cancel online and just think that it will be added back to your account like what happens when you cancel a points stay.
I also had one CSR tell me you only have to book by the date of expiration,(as stated in blog post) a different one told me that you had to complete your stay by expiration date.
I never found a clear answer in terms and conditions, but the terms imply you need to complete stay.
I have not read it in just over a year, so it may be clarified now.
My summer travel is all business related, so I just burn it up before expiration if I have not used it, an the company pays me peetty cash for the $49 I submit. Everybody is happy.
Just stayed at the Kimpton DeWitt Amsterdam for 2 nights, using both my and my husband’s Chase free night certificates. Hotel is definitely geared towards millenials (not our generation). The room was minimalist – my husband referred to it as IKEA basic and just plain cheap furniture (he didn’t like it). Bathroom is very small. There was only a desk chair, and desk is under the TV, so if you put anything like a tote on the desktop/counter, you are blocking the TV. There wasn’t even a 2nd chair or small table, even though there was room for both. Had to ask for a second chair (got a hard, minimalist one). Staff was mostly pleasant, except the young lady at the front desk, when we arrived from an overnight flight, NOT expecting a room to be available, just wanting to leave our bags. She was downright abrupt.
Parties in the hotel each evening – seems to attract locals, not just hotel guests. One night, loud, booming music when we returned after dinner, to a crowded lobby level.
Stayed here because I’d heard so much about Kimpton and this was a new hotel. Also liked the location close to Centraal Station (we had day trips planned to go out from Amsterdam), and because IC Amstel not available for our dates. Wasn’t impressed and would probably not stay here again. Maybe other Kimptons are different. In contrast, we stayed in the Indigo St. George in Rome this past April – loved that hotel, the staff, and everything. Had hoped the Kimpton DeWitt would be like that – it wasn’t.
@Marilyn – I am sorry you had that experience. From what I’ve seen when traveling throughout Europe, this actually seems to be common in European hotels. Very minimalist when it comes to furniture and many hotels are furnished with IKEA furniture. European hotel rooms are typically very small.
We have stayed at a Kimpton in Alexandria, Virginia and loved it. It’s right in the heart of the downtown area which meant you could walk every where in town. The evening wine social was a great way to chat with other guests. The rooms were very charming. We can highly recommend that Kimpton location.
Jennifer, we’ve stayed in hotels in Europe over the course of many, many trips. Some were local, some were chain hotels, some were small, and others were quite roomy, and many had nicer furnishings. This Kimpton did not, in my mind, convey luxury, or even boutique. Was recently in Sicily, and all hotel rooms, save for 1 small local boutique hotel, were larger than this Kimpton room.
3 years ago we stayed in the Radisson Blu Amsterdam and had a large, corner room with a lovely canal view. While many don’t consider Radisson to be more than average, that room was head and shoulders above the room we had at this Kimpton. As I said, I’ve heard great things about Kimpton from others, so maybe another experience will be better.