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Earn at Least 30,000 Points With IHG's Q1 Accelerate Promotion

Dec. 10, 2016
3 min read
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Earn at Least 30,000 Points With IHG's Q1 Accelerate Promotion
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Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available – IHG Rewards Club Select Credit Card

Each quarter, IHG offers its Rewards Club members an individualized slate of "Accelerate" challenges. Challenges include staying a certain number of nights, at a certain number of brands or using a certain type of rate plan (i.e., Points and Cash).

Today, the Q1 2017 Accelerate promotion has been released for stays between January 1 and April 15, 2017. To see your challenges, click here to register for the promotion.

Here's my Q1 Accelerate offer.

My offer was fairly solid:

  • 3,000 Book and stay Once Get 3,000
  • 10,000 Stay More, Earn More — 5 night(s)
  • 19,200 Discover Our Brands — 3 brands
  • 2,000 Stay for Less and Earn — 1 stay(s) using Points and Cash
  • 1,500 Spend on your IHG Rewards Club Select Credit Card — pay for one stay with your IHG Rewards Club Select Credit Card
  • 13,000 Your Achievement Bonus — Complete 4 of the 5 offers [above]
  • 1,000 January Bonus Offer — Book and stay once in January

If this is your first Accelerate challenge, it's good to know that IHG will give you credit toward multiple challenges from the same stay. So, I can earn the maximum 49,700 points from my promotion in just three stays over five nights. Here's one possible combination:

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  • 1 night at a Holiday Inn Express paid for with my IHG Rewards Club Select Credit Card
  • 2 nights at a Holiday Inn using a Points and Cash rate
  • 2 nights at a Candlewood Suites in January

Here are some terms and conditions to keep in mind for your planning:

  • Each member will have the opportunity to earn at least 30,000 points
  • Each offer must be completed between January 1, 2017 and April 15, 2017 (both dates inclusive)
  • A stay is defined as one night or consecutive nights at the same hotel, regardless of frequency of check-in/out. So, you can't rack up multiple stays at the same hotel just by checking out and checking back in.
  • The following don't count as qualifying stays: any stay at a Kimpton Hotel, net wholesale individual and group rate, certain package rates, employee discount rate, friends and family rate, crew rate, special discounted contract rates, seasonal worker/crew rate, 50% travel club discount rate, travel industry discount rate, distressed passenger rate, IHG Rewards Club Reward Nights/Airline Hotel Reward rate, rates booked through third-party websites, complimentary hotel stays and any other rates not defined as a Qualifying Room Rate at IHG's sole discretion
Double-dip with IHG's Priceless Surprises promotion.

If your offer is good enough for you to focus on IHG hotels over the next few months, make sure to also register for this year's Priceless Surprises promotion. If you stay twice and pay for the stays with a MasterCard — such as the IHG Rewards Club Select Credit Card — you'll earn a MasterCard gift card and an entry into the grand prize.

What is your Accelerate offer?

TPG featured card

4 / 5
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Rewards rate
1XChoose to earn up to 1X points on rent and mortgage payments with no transaction fee
2XEarn 2X points + the option to earn 4% back in Bilt Cash on everyday purchases
Intro offer
Open Intro bonus
50,000 Bilt Points + Gold Status + $300 of Bilt Cash
Annual fee
$495
Regular APR
26.74 - 34.74% variable
Recommended credit
Open Credit score description
Good Credit, Excellent Credit

Pros

  • Choice to earn up to 1 Bilt Point per dollar spent on rent and mortgage payments
  • Elevated everyday earnings with both Bilt Points and the option to earn Bilt Cash
  • $400 Bilt Travel Portal hotel credit per year (up to $200 biannually)
  • $200 Bilt Cash annually
  • Priority Pass membership
  • No foreign transaction fees

Cons

  • Moderate annual fee
  • Designed primarily for members seeking a premium, all-in-one card
  • Earn points on housing with no transaction fee
  • Choose to earn 4% back in Bilt Cash on everyday spend. Use Bilt Cash to unlock point earnings on rent and mortgage payments with no transaction fee, up to 1X.
  • 2X points on everyday spend
  • $400 Bilt Travel Hotel credit. Applied twice a year, as $200 statement credits, for qualifying Bilt Travel Portal hotel bookings.
  • $200 Bilt Cash (awarded annually). At the end of each calendar year, any Bilt Cash balance over $100 will expire.
  • Welcome bonus (subject to approval): 50,000 Bilt Points + Gold Status after spending $4,000 on everyday purchases in the first 90 days + $300 of Bilt Cash.
  • Priority Pass ($469/year value). See Guide to Benefits.
  • Bilt Point redemptions include airlines, hotels, future rent and mortgage payments, Lyft rides, statement credits, student loan balances, a down payment on a home, and more.