IHG Updates Award Pricing for 2019
IHG, which doesn't use categories like you find with other reward programs, has released its annual update to its award chart for 2019. Points required to book rewards are set on an annual basis based on a range of factors for each property, which include average daily rate and occupancy. This year, around 700 properties have had a change to their award pricing level. With IHG having around 5,000 properties worldwide, this represents a change at about 14% of the portfolio.
While the majority of these changes reflect increases in award pricing, around 18% of the properties are seeing a reduction in award price per night. In other good news, the top tier pricing has remained at 70,000 per night, and no properties were moved into that top tier. Even with these latest changes, there are still a number of properties where you can stay with as little as 10,000 points per night. No individual property saw an increase or decrease of more than 5,000 points per night with the current updated chart.
These new levels will take effect on Jan. 25 and are based on when you book, not the actual date of your stay. So, if you have travel planned, booking before that date could save you points. Or, if you are booking at a property that is decreasing, it's worth waiting a few days before you make your award reservation. You can see a listing of all of the changes to the award chart here.
H/T: One Mile at a Time
This post has been updated since publishing to reference the delayed implementation of the award category changes to January 25, 2019.
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