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Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.
IHG Rewards is offering up to a 100% bonus for purchasing 50,000 or more points through September 22, 2014. IHG offers bonuses for points purchases every so often, ranging from 25% to 100%, so this is one of the better buy points promotions you’ll see from them.
You can purchase points in increments of 1,000:
- 1,000 – 10,000 points for $13.50 per 1,000 points
- 11,000 – 25,000 points for $12.50 per 1,000 points
- 26,000 – 60,000 points for $11.50 per 1,000 points
The bonus structure is as follows:
- Buy 1,000 to 49,000 points and get 50% more points
- Buy 50,000 to 60,000 points and get 100% more points
This usually equates to spending 1.15-1.35 cents per point. In my most recent monthly valuations, I list IHG Rewards at 0.7 cents apiece, so the normal purchase rate provides poor value. With the 100% bonus, however, that rate can get as low as 0.58 cents per point for 50,000 or more. This is a good enough deal that it’s worth considering not only if you have an immediate redemption in mind, but also if you want to bank the points for later. As a reminder, members may purchase a maximum of 60,000 points per calendar year and receive as a gift a maximum of 60,000 points per year.
To purchase points, log in through the above link provided and select the number of points you want. The bonus points will show up next to the purchased points where applicable. If you don’t see any bonus points listed, you may not be eligible for this promotion. I have no official word that the bonus is targeted, but there could be other reasons why certain members would be ineligible.
If you were to buy 50,000 points (for a total of 100,000 points), you’d have enough for 20 free nights at PointBreaks hotels, meaning you could stay for only $28.75 per night for hotels such as the Intercontinental Cali, Columbia! Granted, PointBreaks redemptions can be limited and aren’t always in the best locations, but even with regular redemptions, this buy miles offer can definitely be worth it.
The InterContinental London Park Lane, for example, starts at 340.00 GBP ($550 USD) or 50,000 IHG Rewards points per night. With this promotion you could pay $575 for 100,000 points (enough for two nights), bringing your effective daily rate down to $287.50 per night.
Also remember that if you just need a few thousand points to top off your account for a specific award, you can buy those points at the time of redemption, or if you have the Chase Sapphire Preferred, Ink Bold or Ink Plus cards, you can transfer Ultimate Rewards points to IHG Rewards instantly at 1:1 (though I generally get much more value by transferring to Hyatt for hotel stays). As always, do the math and see if this promo makes sense for you. If you are a Delta flyer who is looking to bank some extra miles this card is a great addition for your wallet. While you'll earn 2 miles per dollar on Delta purchases and 1 mile per dollar on everything else, you'll also have access to other perks like priority boarding, a first bag checked free and discounted Delta Sky Club access.
Know before you go.
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Editorial Disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the 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.
