Valentine's Day Special: 100% Bonus When You Buy IHG Points

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available – View the current offers here.

Earning points and miles via the traditional method (actually staying in hotels or flying) is just one way to boost your account balance. Fortunately, travel providers make it relatively easy to accrue rewards without traveling, whether through top credit card offers or by utilizing shopping portals and dining rewards programs. While buying points from a hotel is usually not a good deal, there are some times when a buy points promotion can be compelling.

IHG is showing us some love for Valentine's Day, offering to double your points purchase for the next four days. Now through February 17, get a 100% bonus when you buy or gift at least 5,000 IHG points. Thankfully, this offer doesn't seem to be targeted — unlike a recent bonus promotion. The best rate starts when you buy at least 26,000 points, when you’ll pay just 0.575 cents per IHG point.

Here are the purchase pricing tiers for this promotion:

• Buy 1,000-4,000 points: no bonus (1.35 cents per point)
• Buy 5,000-10,000 points: 100% bonus (effectively 0.675 cents per point)
• Buy 11,000-23,000 points: 100% bonus (effectively 0.625 cents per point)
• Buy 26,000-60,000 points: 100% bonus (effectively 0.575 cents per point)

Here’s how to take advantage of the promotion:

1. Visit IHG’s Buy Points link.
2. Enter your name, IHG number, PIN and email address to log in to Points.com.
3. Select the number of points you want to purchase.
4. Enter your credit card information and billing address and click Continue.
5. Confirm the details, check the box to agree to the Terms and Conditions and click Pay Now.

Keep in mind that the usual restrictions for purchasing IHG Rewards points apply to these transactions, including:

• You can purchase points in increments of 1,000 points up to a maximum of 60,000 points per transaction/calendar year (you can also receive an additional 60,000 points per calendar year).
• The points will post within 24-48 hours and do not count toward earning elite status.

Note that the purchase is processed by Points.com, so you won’t get any travel category bonuses from this purchase. Make sure to use the best non-bonus category credit card for your situation. Based on TPG’s point and mile valuations, the Chase Freedom Unlimited's 1.5% cash back would be the most rewarding choice.

Is It Worth It?

It depends. As of the most-recent valuation, TPG pegs IHG points at 0.7 cents apiece. If you buy at least 26,000 points with this promo, you’ll be paying just 0.575 cents per point. This means you’re paying nearly 20% less than the TPG value for these points. That said, IHG just went through a massive 650-hotel category change, which saw the increase in award prices at most of the affected hotels. So, IHG points aren't going to be as valuable as they used to be at certain properties.

That said, there's still tons of value in IHG points if you're redeeming for top-tier hotels or bargain-bin PointBreaks hotels. At the PointBreaks hotels still available, you’ll pay less than $29 per night for a hotel room when purchasing points at this special 0.575 cent rate. The current list of hotels has been available for booking over the last two weeks, and high-value offerings like the InterContinental Maracaibo are still available at just 5,000 points per night.

Bottom Line

Thanks to the recent set of category changes, a 100% bonus on IHG points now isn't as great as it was last fall. However, this bonus still provides a solid rate for purchasing IHG points. While we don't recommend speculatively buying points, this is a compelling rate for buying points if you've got a use for them in the next few months.

Will you be taking advantage of this bonus offer?