Happy Anniversary, my dear!
Annual fees don’t have to be a bad thing- they can bring with them more freebies in travel. For example, I just received my annual fee for my IHG MasterCard. It’s only $49, and it also brings with it a free one night stay to celebrate my one year anniversary with the card. So easy!
Today I made a reservation using my free certificate for a summer’s night stay (2017) at the Intercontinental Times Square in New York ($609 plus taxes for the room!). Once my travel partner’s anniversary date with the card is up, too (very soon), that will be one more free night to celebrate, and then we’ll have two- yet another fantastic free weekend stay in Manhattan.
And for the skeptics among you, there are other benefits to paying the $49 annual fee to keep this terrific card- like Platinum status (good for worthwhile room upgrades when available), 5 x points per dollar spent at IHG properties, 2 x points per dollar spent at gas stations, grocery stores, and restaurants, 1 x point per dollar spent on all other purchases. I also get 10% rebate on my points redemptions (up to 100,000 points of refunds per year).
The annual free night certificate is simply one more bonus to add to the list.
Or, if you prefer to look at this way: I’m getting over $600 worth of hotel room and many other bonuses, for only $49, and that’s pretty good math…
Travel Cutie
Travel Cutie 