Live Now: 500 Million IHG Rewards Points Available at up to 57% Off
Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.
The 2018 version of the U.S. Travel Association’s Daily Getaways deals kicked off this Monday with a bang. The Universal Studios Express Tickets sold out quickly on Monday, and the two largest Choice points packages disappeared in seconds on Tuesday — despite the purchase rate being higher than in past years.
Today's deal gives points collectors an opportunity to stock up on IHG Rewards points.
Offers:
- 8,500 IHG Rewards Club points for $50
- 15,000 IHG Rewards Club points for $89
- 25,000 IHG Rewards Club points for $149
- 50,000 IHG Rewards Club points for $290
- 100,000 IHG Rewards Club points for $580
- 130,000 IHG Rewards Club points for $749
| Points | Cost | Cents per Point | Available Deals | Maximum Packages Per Account |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8,500 | $50 | 0.59 | 2,250 | 5 |
| 15,000 | $89 | 0.59 | 2,210 | 5 |
| 25,000 | $149 | 0.60 | 999 | 4 |
| 50,000 | $290 | 0.58 | 1,255 | 4 |
| 100,000 | $580 | 0.58 | 1,000 | 3 |
| 130,000 | $749 | 0.58 | 2,000 | 3 |
Valuation: TPG values IHG points at 0.6 cents each. So, buying points for 0.58 to 0.6 cents each doesn't represent a great deal.
That said, this promotion can make sense for those that have a plan for maximizing their IHG Rewards points. After depleting my IHG account on this quarter's PointBreaks, I plan on purchasing a 100,000-point package specifically to use for a longer upcoming stay at my favorite Holiday Inn — a IHG Category 1 hotel in Berlin. I'm also looking forward to utilizing my new IHG Rewards Premier Credit Card fourth night free benefit.
Maximum Purchase: Each IHG loyalty account can purchase a maximum of 24 points packages, limited to 3-5 packages per offer. If you're looking to go all out with this promotion, each member can get 1,107,500 total points by buying the maximum 24 packages. This will cost a total of $6,438 — for a cost of 0.5813 cents per point.
Expiration Policy: IHG points will be subject to IHG’s expiration policy, which requires some earn or redeem activity within 12 months to keep points active. Speaking of which, buying a $50 package of points through Daily Getaways can be an easy way of keeping your account active if your points are expiring soon. Just don't cut it too close; Daily Getaways only says that the points will be deposited "within ten (10) business days of purchase."
Likelihood of selling out: If past experience is any indication, these packages won't be flying off of the shelf. At the end of last year's Daily Getaways, there were still some IHG packages left. Since then, IHG has only devalued its points. So, I figure that it's likely that only the smaller packages might sell out.
Credit card to use: While my Choice points purchase from Tuesday hasn't posted yet, Daily Getaways in the past have coded as general travel. So, you'll want to use a credit card that has a category bonus for general travel such as the Chase Sapphire Reserve (3x Ultimate Rewards points) or the Chase Sapphire Preferred (2x points).
Other sources of IHG points: Rather than buying points at around 0.6 cents each, you can generate them by signing up for the IHG Rewards Premier Credit Card, which is offering an 80,000-point sign-up bonus for spending $2,000 in the first three months of account opening. Check out the full details of that card here.