After surveying more than 10,000 frequent travelers and conducting three years of research, InterContinental Hotels Group is relaunching its Priority Club Rewards program. Members will receive redesigned membership cards in the coming weeks and have access to more rewards and ways to redeem points.

“The relaunch of Priority Club Rewards is a significant investment by IHG to strengthen our global competitiveness in the industry and among savvy, frequent travelers with numerous choices of where to stay,” says Don Berg, vice president of loyalty programs and partnerships for IHG. “This guest-driven relaunch is proof that successful brand innovation requires more than a facelift, but also an investment in research and development to deliver a relevant product that will attract and retain loyal customers.”

IHG will now offer its 56 million members—the most in the industry—the opportunity to combine points and cash to purchase retail merchandise, or risk small amounts of points in sweepstakes for larger prizes like four nights at the InterContinental Times Square or an iPad. Priority Club Rewards will also allow members to use a minimal amount of points for rewards like downloadable music, mobile games and applications available through a format similar to iTunes. Members will also receive monthly email promotions offering last-minute reward nights, with rooms at selected properties available for 50% of the normal points price.

“The best way to compete is to have the most valuable and flexible currency,” Berg says. “(A loyalty program) has got to be easy to understand, not have a lot of barriers and the number one feature members want is not to have an expiration date for points.”

Other trends gleaned from IHG’s research:

• Hotel loyalty programs points have displaced frequent flyer miles as the preferred currency because, as Berg says, airline redemptions come with restrictions and fees.
• Business travelers value loyalty more than price, and will pay more and stay a little bit farther away to earn points. Berg says 91% of active Priority Club Rewards members do not pay for their rooms; meaning just 9% are leisure travelers or business travelers on their own dime.
• Travelers from across North America, Asia Pacific and Europe are equally points-conscious.

Priority Club Rewards already offers several notable features such as no point expiration and no blackout dates. The program offers access to airline tickets and non IHG-hotel rooms through its Flights Anywhere and Hotels Anywhere redemption options.

“Our members think of their points like cash,” says Berg. “They want to redeem and manage them like cash and we’ll be adding even more redemption options in the coming weeks.”