IHG PointBreaks Promo Launches Tuesday With Stays as Low as 5,000 Points per Night
Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.
For years, the InterContinental Hotel Group -- better known as IHG -- has run a hotel discount promotion called PointBreaks. Although long-term fans would grumble that PointBreaks was much more lucrative in the past, it remains a promotion worth taking advantage of when you're able to.
Every few months, IHG discounts around 100 properties to award rates as low as 5,000 points per night -- which is just $25 per night at current TPG valuations -- although a bulk of the properties are usually priced at either 10,000 or 15,000 points per night. That makes even the most expensive properties on the list available for just $75 per night worth of points. And, there's usually a few gems included in each list.
The catch is that there's a limited number of nights available at each property, and those gems are scooped up quickly. So, it's important to know when each new version goes live. With the current version of PointBreaks concluding at the end of May 2019, we expected a new version to be released soon. Sure enough, we just got word when the next version is going up: Tuesday, May 28 at 12:00pm ET.
While InterContinental hotels -- IHG's most-prestigious brand -- can be few and far between on PointBreaks, we now know from a short preview list that there will be at least one InterContinental property on this version of PointBreaks.
Here are the four properties that we know will be on this version of the program:
InterContinental Kuala Lumpur
- Location: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
- Standard rate: 30,000 points
- PointBreaks rate: 15,000 points -- 50% discount
It's always great to see InterContinental properties on the PointBreaks list, and IHG has included another Southeast Asia beauty this time around. Located just outside the core of Kuala Lumpur, this hotel is right next to the iconic Petronas Twin Towers.
This massive 473-room property looks to provide the elegance of InterContinental with the reasonable hotel rates of Southeast Asia. I easily found cash rates for under $100 per night. So, 15k points per night isn't as great of a discount as PointBreaks InterContinental properties typically are. It might make sense for you to book a cash rate, earn bonus points through Accelerate and score guaranteed elite or Ambassador benefits like upgrades that aren't available on award stays.
EVEN Hotel Miami - Airport
- Location: Miami, FL
- Standard rate: 35,000 points
- PointBreaks rate: 15,000 points -- a 57% discount
One of a slew of new brands in the IHG portfolio, EVEN Hotels incorporates wellness into the stay. I was impressed by my stay at the EVEN Hotel Brooklyn, from the best-stocked hotel gyms I've ever seen to exercise equipment and a standing desk in the room.
The hotel is located a 10-minute drive from Miami Airport (MIA) and has a free airport shuttle, making it a great option before an early-morning flight, after an late-arriving flight or for an overnight layover. This hotel just opened in January 2019, so you'll get to check out one of IHG's newest hotels.
Award nights normally cost 35,000 points per night -- which makes it eligible for the upcoming capped anniversary free nights from the IHG Rewards Premier Credit Card and the discontinued IHG Rewards Club Select Credit Card. However, you'll be able to book it for just 15,000 points per night starting May 28.
Hotel Indigo Memphis Downtown
- Location: Memphis, TN
- Standard rate: 30,000 points
- PointBreaks rate: 15,000 points -- a 50% discount
One of my favorite IHG brands is the funky but posh Hotel Indigo brand. Katie and I spent Christmas just down the road from family at the Hotel Indigo Birmingham Five Points South for just 11,250 IHG points per night by combining a 15k PointBreaks property with the fourth night award free benefit of the IHG Rewards Premier Credit Card.
After including the Hotel Indigo Mount Pleasant in February's version, IHG is including a southeastern US Hotel Indigo for at least the third time in a row: the Hotel Indigo Memphis Downtown. The small 119-room property just opened in January 2019, so this promotion will let you check out the hotel within its first year of operation. Plus, Memphis is a nice place for a summer getaway.
Staybridge Suites Manchester-Oxford Road
- Location: Manchester, United Kingdom
- Standard rate: 35,000 points
- PointBreaks rate: 15,000 points -- a 57% discount
In February, the co-located Crowne Plaza Manchester was put on PointBreaks. And now it's this property's turn. This extended-stay property typically is priced at a surprising 35,000 points per night ($175 worth of points at TPG valuations), but will be marked down more than 57% to 15,000 points per night starting Tuesday, May 28.
Tips to Prepare for Tuesday
Lets go over the PointBreaks rules ahead of the launch. There’s only a limited number of nights sold at each property at the discounted rate. The best properties get scooped up fast, so you'll want to be ready right when it launches at noon ET Tuesday. Each member is limited to two bookings per hotel. There’s no limit to the number of hotels you can book.
Hotels will know that you're booking a points stay, but they won't know whether you booked through PointBreaks or at the standard rate. Remember that elite benefits aren't guaranteed on IHG reward nights, so you won't necessarily get an upgrade or late checkout -- although almost all IHG properties I've experienced will still honor elite benefits.
Unfortunately, IHG points aren't currently on sale through Points.com and the IHG points sold through Daily Getaways got scooped up in the first day. So, there's no cheap way of stocking up on IHG points right now.
A great way of maximizing the PointBreaks promotion is through the IHG Rewards Premier Credit Card's fourth night free benefit. Cardholders automatically get each fourth award night free -- even on PointBreaks redemptions. In February, I stayed at the incredible InterContinental Phu Quoc Long Beach Resort for four nights for a total of 45,000 IHG points by combining the prior PointBreaks promotion and this fourth night free benefit:
The IHG Rewards Premier Credit Card is currently offering an 80,000 IHG point sign-up bonus for spending $2,000 in the first three months after opening the card. Factoring in the unlimited fourth night free benefit, that's enough points for up to 21 nights at a 5,000 point PointBreaks property or 10 nights at a 10,000 point PointBreaks property. However, you might have to wait until the next PointBreaks list to utilize these benefits, as they might not kick in before this version goes live on Tuesday.
