The InterContinental Palazzo Hotel in Las Vegas, NV
By: Frank
Disclosure: We get a commission for some links on this website. You don’t have to use our links, but we’re very grateful when you do. Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or endorsed by our partners. Here’s our Advertiser Disclosure.
Deals We Like broke the story a couple weeks ago that there was a loophole in the new IHG & MasterCard Promotion called “Priceless Surprises”. The contest officially began a few days ago, so I figured it was time we made a post about it here to inform our readers on the steps required to participate in the new sweepstakes! For less than $50 and a few hours of your time, you can earn a minimum of 47,000 IHG points! That’s nearly enough for any IHG hotel in the world! Now let’s explain how this is done…
What is the “Priceless Surprises” Promotion?
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) has teamed up with MasterCard to provide a promotion eligible to members who book a hotel stay at any IHG property with a MasterCard between November 15, 2015 and February 15, 2016. The prizes range anywhere from trips all over the world, great prizes like gift cards and GoPros, or even a minimal prize of 500 IHG points. Here’s the kicker: every stay guarantees a winner! Worst case scenario, you will get 500 IHG points for every stay you make. The promotion is maxed out at 94 nights / entries (remember this number for later).
InterContinental Danang Sun Peninsula Resort, Vietnam
What is the Promotion’s Loophole?
Now that you know what the “Priceless Surprises” promotion is, let’s explain the loophole and how to properly exploit it (and I use the word exploit very loosely here). If you are a government worker for the IRS you are saying, “Wait just one minute! It’s against U.S. law to run a promotion where a user is required to purchase something to be entered into a contest.” That is exactly why almost every contest you read is “No Purchase Necessary.” This promotion is no exception. Companies cannot require you to purchase anything to maintain promotion status. If they did, it would be an illegal lottery.
Participants are eligible to enter by filling out index cards with their name and mailing them in. Each index card you send is one entry, and just like the promotion itself, is maxed out at a total of 94 entries. So for 100 index cards (I got mine at Office Max for $1.69), 100 envelopes (again at Office Max for $2.79), 94 stamps ($46.06 at any USPS), and a few hours of your evening you can guarantee yourself a minimum of 47,000 (94 entries @ 500 minimal points each) points! That’s a free night at nearly any InterContinental in the world!
What’s the fine print? What do I need to do?
The rules are simple:
- You must be 21 years old before 11/15/2015
- You need a MasterCard Credit Card opened before 11/15/2015
- Register for the promotion by visiting this link.
- Only one hand-written entry per envelope
- You must write the following information on a 3″ x 5″ index card
- Full Name
- Address
- Day Time Phone
- Evening Phone
- Email Address
- IHG Number
- First 6 Digits of MasterCard Number
- Birth Date
- Although they do not specify a hand-written envelope, it does say that automating any part of the process will deem the entry invalid.
- All entries must be post marked by 2/15/2016 and sent to:
- IHG and MasterCard® Priceless Surprises® Promotion, c/o HelloWorld, Inc., P.O. Box 5996, Kalamazoo, MI 49003-5996.
Final Thoughts
Like every promotion, you want to know, “Is it really worth it?” This one is an unequivocal YES! We have already filled out our 94 cards and have done about 50 envelopes this evening. I would say we have about two and a half hours invested so far. So don’t plan on doing it all in one night while watching a movie; this takes a small commitment of about 3 to 4 hours!
Save extra cash by buying your stamps at Walgreens using Discover + Apple Pay for 22% back!
If we value IHG points at 0.8 CPP (Cents Per Point). 47,000 points would be worth about $376. Not bad for $50 and a few hours of work!
If you enjoy the content on Loophole Travel, Like us on Facebook, Follow @loopholetravel on Twitter, and subscribe to our weekly newsletter!
Editorial Disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are author's alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airlines or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.
Disclaimer: 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.
