11,000 + 11,000 bonus = $126.50
22,000 + 22,000 bonus = $253.00
26,000 + 26,000 bonus = $260.00
27,000 + 27,000 bonus = $270.00
same for anything above this amount
Sample rates:
$225 per night hotel costs 43,000 points
$292 per night hotel costs 57,000 points
expiredserra | Staff posted Jan 26, 2024 06:03 PM
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Item 1 of 2
expiredserra | Staff posted Jan 26, 2024 06:03 PM
IHG One Rewards: Make a Points Purchase, Get
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We just came back from Nice (Frnace) where we paid about 11,000 points per night. The cheapest cash price on non-cancellable room (same hotel, same dates) would've been $85 + fees and taxes. Cancellable rate was about $95 + fees and taxes. Basically I got about 1 cent per dollar. I should mention I do have IHG credit card which gives me 4th night free when paying with points, which is one of the reasons the rate was this low.
At the end of November we stayed in Holiday Inn Express close to Universal Studios Florida for about 11,500 points per night (also would've been about $100 + fees & taxes if paying cash). That was also after 4th night free.
However when we looked at booking a room in Phoenix in March, the cheapest was 28,000pts/night and up from there (that's also after 4th night free). Cash prices were just a bit over $100 on the cheapest properties. That's a bad value, so we didn't book it.
So IHG points can be worth about 1 cent per point if you:
1. Have an IHG credit card (from Chase) and get 4th night free when paying with points
2. Choose your dates and properties carefully.
Also you have to book way in advance (like several months in advance) because properties "sell out" of "reward nights" (nights you can pay with points). So a hotel might have rooms available but you won't be able to use rewards on dates close to travel.
I don't think I would be buying the points unless I had a specific property and redemption in mind in near future due to points devluation. But in general it is a good deal.
22,000 + 22,000 bonus = $253.00
26,000 + 26,000 bonus = $260.00
27,000 + 27,000 bonus = $270.00
same for anything above this amount
Sample rates:
$225 per night hotel costs 43,000 points
$292 per night hotel costs 57,000 points
doesn't seem like a good deal. Seems like regular price.
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Points aren't perfect - many premium rooms can't be booked with points, there are blackout dates, and # of required points depends on hotel demand. BUT- I often get excellent deals especially when getting the 4th night free. I often compare hotel's points vs currency, and most of the time stays with points (when purchased under this deal) end up costing 55-80% vs. currency. I often stay at holiday inn or holiday inn expresses for 12,000 points ($60) to 16,000 points vs. currency costing $120-$160. Keep in mind there aren't taxes when using points. Even at nicer hotels… I recently stayed 4 nights at the NYC Intercontinental for $186/night using points. With cash, it was going to be $510 per night.
And with points, you can cancel 24 hours ahead of time and get a full point refund. When paying with cash, it costs more to be refundable at 24 hours.
Much cheaper for us to buy a weeks vacation with points then pay for the week out of pocket.
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I like to use the points to book the hotel because it gives the option to cancel booking just one day before the checking where as refundable cash booking some times cost 40-50 $ per day in Europe.
Buy the points only if you are planning stay in the next 6-8 months and if it gives better deal than cash option.
At least half of my nights are paid in points.
So, I have a lot of experience playing this game.
I almost always extract at least 1 cent per point in redemption value, sometimes more than 2 cents vs refundable rates. It's definitely possible if you are somewhat flexible with dates and location.
I max out those "buy points" promotions every year without hesitation for the full allowable amount (often 500000 points)
For the full disclosure, I have 25% off credit card (4th night free) and 10% off old credit card on the top of that - further boosting the value of my points by ~50%
I like to use the points to book the hotel because it gives the option to cancel booking just one day before the checking where as refundable cash booking some times cost 40-50 $ per day in Europe.
Buy the points only if you are planning stay in the next 6-8 months and if it gives better deal than cash option.
Registration should be here: https://www.ihg.com/rewardsclub/u...gmt/united
I don't fly United every six months, but you can buy a cheap non-refundable ticket with the credit (LAX to LAS is usually about $50) and then cancel it after the 24 hour window to turn it into a flight credit that's good for a year. Then you can roll that flight credit on forever by buying new tickets that cost slightly more than canceled one. Unfortunately, you can't combine TravelBank with flight credits, so you have to roll a new credit every six months to do this. Kind of a pain in the ass if you're not a frequent United flyer, but if you are it's a nice perk.
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Registration should be here: https://www.ihg.com/rewardsclub/u...gmt/united [ihg.com]
I don't fly United every six months, but you can buy a cheap non-refundable ticket with the credit (LAX to LAS is usually about $50) and then cancel it after the 24 hour window to turn it into a flight credit that's good for a year. Then you can roll that flight credit on forever by buying new tickets that cost slightly more than canceled one. Unfortunately, you can't combine TravelBank with flight credits, so you have to roll a new credit every six months to do this. Kind of a pain in the ass if you're not a frequent United flyer, but if you are it's a nice perk.
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