Transfer IHG Points to United with a 50% Bonus

Did you know you can transfer IHG points to 41 different airlines? If not, you haven't been missing out anything special. The standard transfer rate is just 2,000 airline miles for every 10,000 IHG points. It seems to be an option so rarely considered that IHG still lists US Airways as a transfer partner — even though the US Airways mileage program was eliminated more than a year ago.

However, now through October 10, 2016, you'll get a 50% bonus when converting IHG points to United miles. This means you'll end up with 3,000 United miles for 10,000 IHG points. Here's how it works: First, register your MileagePlus account on United's promotion website. Next, contact IHG Rewards Club Customer Care to request the transfer. You'll need to transfer points in increments of 10,000 points.

Is It Worth It?

Generally, no. In our latest valuations, we peg IHG points at 0.7 cents apiece and United miles at 1.5 cents apiece. So, you'd be giving up 10,000 points with ~$70 of value for 3,000 miles worth ~$45. However, there are some situations where this promotion could make a lot of sense.

Perhaps you're looking book an amazing itinerary on United before October 6. Say you're finding yourself short of United miles and Chase Ultimate Rewards, but have plenty of IHG points. Transferring IHG points to United would be a much better option to top off your United account than buying miles directly. Since there are no active United buy miles promotions, buying 3,000 miles outright would cost $113. Rather than paying $113, giving up ~$70 of value in hotel points is a much better option.

Maybe you're sitting on a large pile of IHG points - either through the IHG mail-in promotion earlier this year or buying 100,000 IHG points for $565 through Daily Getaways. While there are some excellent uses of IHG points, transferring the points to United could be a decent way of "cashing out" these points if you haven't found a use for them.

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Bottom Line

This promotion is generally a pass. However, if you need just a few United miles for a specific redemption or have a large stash of IHG points, you might find this promotion useful. If you plan on taking advantage of this promo to book an award before October 6, be sure to start your transfer request now. It may take some time for the transfer to process and your bonus miles to post.

Will you be transferring IHG points to United?