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IHG is offering flash sales that allow customers to purchase up to 500,000 points for as low as 0.5 cents each. This sale, despite the unpleasant devaluation IHG made earlier in the year, can still be a great value (as I explain in this post).
Key Terms
Purchases made between 12:00 AM ET September 1, 2021, and 11:59 PM ET September 9, 20,21 inclusive are eligible for this offer
To qualify for the 100% bonus point offer, members must purchase a minimum of 7k points per transaction.
Members can purchase up to 150,000 points per year, and may receive as a gift up to 150,000 points. Only members can purchase a maximum 250,000 points during the promotional period. Members can gift up to 250,000 points, or receive from another member a maximum 250,000 points. This promotional period is only for members.
The 250,000 point limit includes points that were already bought, gifted, or received in 2021. IHG Rewards Elite status does not apply to points purchased.
All applicable fees are included in the price
Purchased points are non-refundable and can be used towards all IHG Rewards awards.
Allow 72 hours for points and to appear in the recipient's account.
You can find the full terms and conditions on this point sale page by clicking this link
Click Here To Purchase IHG Rewards Points
The Math
The bonus and the cost per points are not the same variables in the points sale. The cost per point is not something you should overlook just because the bonus is 100%. Here are the reasons:
For a total 14,000 points, $94.50 would be paid if you buy the minimum amount of points to trigger the 100% bonus.
This adds up to a cost per point at 0.675 cents.
A person who purchases the maximum amount of points in this sale will pay $2,500, and they would receive 500,000 points as a bonus thanks to the 100% bonus.
500k points for $2,500 are worth 0.500c per point. It doesn't matter how many points you buy, but most purchases will result in a 100% bonus.
IHG Rewards continues to highlight a bizarre anomaly in all its points sales. You can buy 26,000 points for less that it costs you to buy 23,000 points. 27,000 points can be bought for less money than it costs you to buy 24,000 points. 28,000 points can be purchased for less then it costs you to buy 25,000 points.
This may seem odd, but IHG has a higher point cost for purchases below 25,000 points. This cost/point is not relevant to the 100% bonus.
You will get the most value from this promotion if you purchase at least 26,000 IHG points.
Click Here To Purchase IHG Rewards Points
Do You Need to Buy Points?
My golden rule about points and miles sales is at play again. No one should buy points in this sale without having a plan for how they will use them.
It might be worth reading my post on how IHG Rewards should be dealt with. IHG Rewards: How to Deal With the Problem Child of Loyalty Programmes. This article will discuss how IHG Rewards can be made a valuable part of a comprehensive miles and points strategy.
After all that is said, it's important to mention that this sale, which costs 0.5 cents per point, can provide great deals on some of the most expensive properties in IHG's portfolio. If you purchase points in this sale, a room that costs 65,000 75,000 points per evening will cost you $325 $375 per day (including all taxes and fees). This can be a significant savings on the cash rate being offered on the same dates.
Even better, despite recent devaluation it is still possible to book high-end properties using a lot less points than was required before IHG introduced dynamic pricing.
You should also ensure that the cash price is not too low for the same night. This would render an award booking uneconomical.
The best news is that you can get better deals if your credit card is approved.
Review of the IHG Rewards Club Premier credit cards. Cardholders get a fourth night free when they book award bookings. If you have enough points to buy 4 nights or enough to top up your account to book 4, you'd get even more value.
An IHG Rewards Club Premier credit card holder could spend just 114,000 points for a 4-night stay at the InterContinental London O2. This is a great deal, as it includes taxes and cash.
Bottom line
For promotions such as this, I always give the same advice:
Determine the cost for a night in the property you are interested in visiting (at the season you wish to travel).
This cost is comparable to the price of an award evening paid for using points from this sale.
These two simple steps will help you determine how great a deal this promotion offers.
Click Here To Purchase IHG Rewards Points
