Here’s something you can put at the top of your “to do” list now that November 15 has passed: You can finally start mailing out those notecards you’ve been preparing over the past few weeks for the IHG Priceless Surprises promotion.
In case you missed it, two weeks ago Deals We Like discovered that you actually don’t have to complete any hotel stays to participate in Priceless Surprises. Instead, you can simply mail in the following information on a 3” x 5” card to receive a prize:
- Full name
- Complete mailing address
- Valid email address
- IHG member number
- The first six digits of your MasterCard
- Date of birth
To be clear, this isn’t a contest. You are guaranteed a prize of at least 500 IHG points for every card you mail in (up to 94). If you were to mail out 94 cards, that’s a minimum of 47,000 points for just $46.06 in postage.
Considering 47,000 points is almost enough for a free night at a top-tier Category 9 IHG hotel like the Intercontinental Bora Bora Resort & Thalasso Spa, that’s pretty awesome.
There are lots of other prizes available that make the tedious task of writing out 94 cards totally worth it:
- Priceless trips to New York City, Orlando or Paris
- One million IHG Rewards Club Points
- $50 prepaid MasterCard gift card
- A free night at any IHG hotel in the world
IHG has also added a grand prize to the mix: A 3-night stay in the InterContinental New York Times Square’s Penthouse Suite. That’s the same suite that’s been getting lots of attention after being featured in a One Direction video.
After word got out of the video’s filming location, the $5,000 per night Penthouse Suite began selling out for weeks (those One Direction fans have deep pockets!). This is definitely a nice addition to an already fun promotion.
I’m not used to writing anything by hand anymore, let alone 94 cards. So I wrote out 8-10 cards per day until I hit 94. I didn’t think the post office was suddenly going to be super expedient, but just to be on the safe side (and avoid my hand cramping up from all that writing), I decided to hold off on mailing them out until this weekend. The cards have to be received between November 15, 2015 – February 5, 2016.
As a reader cleverly pointed out, Stamps.com is offering $5 worth of free stamps to first-time customers, which reduces your out-of-pocket expense for this promotion further to $41.06. It’s just a $5 difference. But if you’re doing this for a spouse or more than one family member, the savings add up.
Anyway, I look forward to seeing what sorts of prizes my 94 entries get me and I’d love to know what you end up with as well. Be sure to leave a comment when your winnings come in!
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Did you hand write the address on envelopes too?
I had some printing labels on hand, so I only had to partially hand-write the addresses on the envelopes.
Yes.
“hand print your full name, complete mailing address, day and evening phone numbers, valid email address, member number, the first six (6) digits of your MasterCard and date of birth on a 3″ x 5″ piece of paper and mail it in an envelope with proper postage to “IHG and MasterCard® Priceless Surprises® Promotion,” c/o HelloWorld, Inc., P.O. Box 5996, Kalamazoo, MI 49003-5996.”
Another question Ariana—what do we need to have to get this bonus? For instance, do I need an IHG specific mastercard, or any mastercard?
You just need a MasterCard and it doesn’t have to be IHG affiliated – the Barclay Arrival is one example of an eligible card.
I think anyone who lives near Kalamazoo, MI and is looking for a job is in luck. I’m sure Hello World, Inc will be hiring after the influx of all our entries! Should be fun to see what happens from here.
That would be a really nice byproduct.
I am surprised everyone is blindsided by “free” IHG points but you are giving away enough information potentially in bad hands to use for Identity theft ? No concerns ?
How so? It’s your name, address, and the first six digits of your mastercard. That’s hardly enough for identity theft.
Well you are giving key information which in name, address and Date of Birth. Lots of places hackers/baddies dont need SSN or can get/acquire last 4 of SSN and BAM !
All that work just to get 23k to 40k points? As one of the commenters mentioned in the frequent flier link, just automate bing search to get
http://frequentmiler.boardingarea.com/2015/11/05/between-23000-and-40000-points-for-46-and-a-cramped-hand/
Save 25% on Postage Stamps With These Simple Tricks – http://www.thepennyhoarder.com/how-to-get-cheap-stamps-i-just-bought-forever-stamps-at-34-each/
Awesome, thank you for this!
Sorry if this is a naive question, but why 94? Yes, I see what 47K in points can get us, but why not 100 or 110 cards or more for even more points? if one is not opposed to handwriting, for example.
It’s the maximum number of cards each member can send in. If it was more, trust me, I’d be on it!
oh ok must have missed that, thanks!
thanks for the IHG promotion..two questions
do the cards have to be on 3×5 or will any postcard do?
to what address do the cards get sent via post?
thanks MizLiz1011@gmail.com
They have to be 3×5 and the address is IHG and MasterCard® Priceless Surprises® Promotion, c/o HelloWorld Inc., P.O. Box 5996, Kalamazoo, MI 49003-5996
I called IHG Rewards and they had no information on the alternate mailing option to enter this promotion other than booking rooms. When I tried to explain it to the rep, she got her supervisor and she didn’t know anything about the mail in option. I am doing the mailings but just wanted you to know about this.
I wouldn’t count on their reps knowing this. But it is in the terms and Deals We Like confirmed it with an IHG PR rep.
I don’t think the mail in is valid. They have zero knowledge of it.
Deals We Like spoke to an IHG rep who confirmed it was valid.
has anyone receive a response from the mailed in entries?
I sent out 5 on 11/16 and have had zero response.
I wouldn’t be concerned – mailing alone takes a while and I imagine processing can take up to a week. If you don’t hear back by early next week, I would call them and see what’s happening.
I sent out 2 on each of the following days 11/19/15, 11/23/15, 11/24/15, and 11/25/15 and haven’t received a responds, wondering if I should spend more time before I get a responds
I’d definitely wait, but I think this is just a case of slow mail processing as well as an overwhelmed warehouse. Hopefully we’ll start getting notifications by next week.
Will you do a blog update if/when you receive a response? I sent in 10 on 11/21 but stopped after a bout of carpal tunnel…. I don’t want to waste more time & stamp money if this is a bust!
Yes, I’ll definitely do an update.
Thanks! I really enjoy your blog and all your MS chutzpah!
I don’t know that I have much chutzpah left these days, but I’m glad you see it that way. 🙂
I started sending them Nov. 15 and no response yet. But the terms say five days after a stay, and there is no stay involved for a mail in response, so I guess there’s no specified time frame for this method. Still, I’ll be more comfortable when I start getting response. Anyone having luck with this?
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DAVES – T&C (within the mail-in method section) says “Once your mail-in request is received, you will receive an email within five (5) business days from the Administrator”.
Just wanted to report that I sent in two entries on Nov. 15 and today during lunch, my husband and I both received the email saying “You qualify for a Priceless Surprise®!”
Dear LINDA,
Success! You have qualified to play for Priceless Surprises, from IHG® Rewards Club and MasterCard®. Now it’s time to open the elevator doors & see what’s waiting!
Each floor holds a chance for a Priceless Surprise, like:
a private helicopter tour over NYC
VIP access to the Arnold Palmer Invitational Presented by MasterCard
1 million IHG® Rewards Club bonus points
and even more unforgettable surprises
Choose your floor here.
See you soon,
IHG® Rewards Club
Upon choosing the floor (one through six), my husband received 2,000 IHG points. He picked No. 5 BTW. Then I went and picked No. 6, I received 500 points. Neither has posted to our individual IHG accounts yet. After seeing the amounts, it said check your email for instructions on how to redeem your reward.
Pretty excited about this so I am going to go ahead and send it the rest of the entries.
For some data points: My husband’s entry had a handwritten address with a mailing label return. Mine had an addressed label and a stamped, inked return. Both were put on lined 3 X 5 cards purchased at Dollar Tree.
So it seems safe to be able to mail the cards without handwritten address and return… I assume you handwrote the entry verbiage on the back…thanks for the info.
Thanks, Linda! That is awesome! I’m glad to hear printed envelopes are ok too.
I called IHG rewards and complained about no response to my mail in entries and they said they would look into it and credited me with 1000 pts for my troubles.
It’s nice they made it up to you. Let us know if you end up getting any correspondence about your entries.
Pretty disappointing so far. I mailed in 25 hand written entries and got 3 emails and got 500 pts each. 1500 points for 25 entries stinks. It would’ve been cheaper to buy points.
You might still get the remaining emails. I’m sure they’re overwhelmed with entries and it’s taking a while to process them all.
Another possibility for some of us is that our handwriting/printing may not be as legible as we think it is — especially after writing 94 (or more if we’re submitting family members too) entries.
True. That’s partly why I stuck to writing 10-20 per day (until I got some help). Just to ensure the hand writing was still legible.
Just finished my 94, on to DBF’s… no chance to mail them altogether in a big envelope, is there? does it state individually posted? just an idea, using a label for the address and return address which may preclude a mass mailing. Using 3×5 cards although Post Office says 3.5x 5 is minimum size but IHG says postcards only. Writers cramp ensuing, onto more cerebral pursuits Thanks for any advise. Liz
The terms state “print [your info] on a 3″ x 5″ piece of paper and mail it in an envelope with proper postage to IHG and MasterCard® Priceless Surprises® Promotion, c/o HelloWorld, Inc., P.O. Box 5996, Kalamazoo, MI 49003-5996.” To be safe, I would mail them out separately.
I just caught the 3×5 card, so sorry to not be more careful reading…
I will go buy some envelopes. What a pain! thanks again.
Just called IHG rewards after not getting any response for my 20 entries mailed in November. They credited me 1000 pts and also said they would have the promotions dept research it and email me.
what number did you call, please
Good to know. Please give us an update when you hear back from them.
I just opened six emails and all of them said I’d won nothing at all. I thought someone checked with their PR contact at the beginning of this and was promised you’d always win at least 500 points?
I was SO excited to receive 62 entries today! I won 500 points for the first 13, then 0 for every entry after that. I read on Flyertalk that 0 point winners were posting as 500 (or more), fingers crossed. It certainly feels like this promotion is being run by amateurs.
The minimum prize is 500 points, so there’s definitely something wrong with those emails. I’d reach out to IHG – they’ve been good about crediting courtesy points for things like this.
How are they verifying birth date? That part gave me pause too. I don’t have it in my IHG profile. Couldn’t I write a different date?
I’d write your real birth date. It doesn’t hurt to also add it to your profile. It should definitely be included in your index cards.