New IHG PointBreaks List is Out - 5,000 Point Award Nights January 27-March 31
Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.
IHG Rewards PointBreaks are reduced-level award redemptions at IHGhotels (Intercontinental, Crowne Plaza, Indigo, Holiday Inn, etc.) that require just 5,000 points for a free night and that change every 2 months. The current list was released today and can be found here on the IHG Community Forum. Awards can be booked starting Monday for stays from January 27 - March 31, 2014.
Depending on the hotel at which you redeem them, 5,000 points can be a pretty great value, especially for Intercontinental properties, which normally require between 30,000-50,000 points, and Hotel Indigos and Crowne Plazas, which usually require 20,000-50,000 points depending on their category.
The list of PointBreak properties is usually pretty random, and there tend to be a lot more lower-end properties, but keep track of them because you never know when you might be in one of these offbeat destinations. For instance, back in 2012, I actually ended up using a PointBreaks rate at the Intercontinental Phnom Penh (which is also on the current list) so I was able to redeem 5,000 points instead of paying the $150 nightly rate, wringing about 3 cents of value per point.
If you need Priority Club points quickly, they transfer 1:1 from Chase Ultimate Rewards (note: transfers usually take 1-2 business days) if you have the Chase Sapphire Preferred, Ink Plus or Ink Bold cards. Or simply buy them via IHG directly for .7 cents a point using the cash & points method described in this post (#7), making 5,000 points worth just $35.
There are 140 hotels on the current list, and though they are mostly Holiday Inns and more budget brands like Candlewood Suites and Staybridge Suites, it's still worth taking a look if your travels are taking you to some out-of-the-way places since there are some of the highlights.
Here's the list:
USA
Holiday Inn Express Carlsbad, California
Hotel Indigo, Miami Lakes, Florida
Hotel Indigo Boston-Newton, Massachussetts
ASIA
Intercontinental Beijing Beichin
AFRICA
Crowne Plaza Resort Sahara Oasis, Port Ghalib, Egypt
Holiday Inn Sandton, South Africa
Crowne Plaza, Harare-Monomotapa, Zimbabwe
SOUTH AMERICA
Intercontinental Mendoza, Argentina
And hundreds more - mostly Holiday Inns and the more budget brands like Candlewood Suites and Staybridge Suites, but if your travels are taking you to some out-of-the-way places, it pays to stay on top of this list in case you can book some discount awards. And if you're interested in popular properties like the Intercontinental Mendoza is bound to be, I'd try to book as soon as possible on Monday before the limited PointBreaks award space dries up.
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