New IHG points sale: Buy up to 300,000 points at 0.5 cents each

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IHG has brought back another one of its points sales and in this one, members can buy up to 300,000 points at a cost of just 0.5 cents per point. The sale launched today and runs through 5 October 2024, so while IHG is referring to this a s a ‘flash sale’, you have to check what awards are available and to make plans before you dive into a purchase.

Key terms

• This Offer is available for qualifying purchases of IHG One Rewards points made between 12:00 AM ET on 23 September 2024 and 11:59 PM ET on 5 October 2024
• Members will receive a bonus of 100% of the points purchased when they purchase a minimum 11,000 points purchase threshold on a per transaction basis.
• The percentage bonus amount will show for eligible members when they log into their IHG One Rewards account.
• Members may purchase a maximum of up to 150,000 points during a calendar year, so the number of points a member can purchase during the offer period will depend on how many points the member had already purchased during the same calendar year.
• Bonus points do not count towards the yearly cap.
• Purchased points, as well as any bonus points awarded under this offer, do not count towards IHG One Rewards Elite status.
• Price includes all fees but subject to applicable taxes.
• Purchased Points are not refundable and are applicable towards all IHG One Rewards awards. Please allow up to 72 hours for points to post and appear in the recipient’s account.>

Full terms and conditions can be found on the points sale page via this link

Click To Buy IHG One Rewards Points

The numbers

There are two variables in this sale – the bonus and the cost per point… and they’re not related. Just because there’s a 100% bonus on offer doesn’t mean that you should ignore the cost per point. Here’s why:

Someone buying the minimum number of points required to trigger the 100% bonus would pay $126.50 for a total of 22,000 points.

This works out to a cost per point of 0.575 cents.

Someone buying the maximum allowable points in this sale would pay $1,500 and would net 300,000 points courtesy of the 100% bonus:

300,000 points at a cost of $1,500 come to a cost per point of 0.500 cents – It matters how many points you choose to buy even though most purchases will trigger a 100% bonus.

Also, be aware that there continues to be an odd anomaly that IHG Rewards likes to throw into all of its points sales whereby you can buy 26,000 points for less than it costs to buy 23,000 points.

You can also buy 27,000 points for less than it costs to buy 24,000 points, and you can buy 28,000 points for less than it costs to buy 25,000 points.

It looks strange, but this comes about because IHG sets a higher cost per point for purchases of 25,000 points or less. The 100% bonus is independent of this cost/point.

To get the best value out of this promotion you need to buy at least 26,000 IHG Rewards points.

Click To Buy IHG One Rewards Points

Should you buy points?

As usual, my golden rule about miles and points sales comes into play here, so no one should be buying points in this sale without a solid plan in place for how they’re going to use them… and use them soon!

Having now said all of that, it’s important to point out that at 0.5 cents/point, this sale can offer great deals at some of the more expensive properties in the IHG portfolio. A room costing 65,000-75,000 points per night will effectively cost you $325-$375 per night (including all taxes and fees) if you use points purchased in this sale, and that can sometimes represent a good saving on the cash rate that’s being offered on the same date(s).

Better yet and despite all the devaluations we’ve seen down the years, it’s still possible to book some high-end properties with a lot fewer points than were needed before IHG introduced dynamic pricing:

Just be sure to check that the cash price for the same night isn’t also very low – that would make an award booking uneconomic.

It can get better

In further good news, the deals can get even better if you have the right credit card.

The IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card offers cardholders a 4th night free on all award bookings so, if you hold this card and buy enough points to book 4 nights (or enough points to top up your account so you can book 4 nights), the value you’d be getting would be even better.

Using the example of the InterContinental Chicago Magnificent Mile from above, a 4-night stay could cost the holder of an IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card just 102,000 points which, at 0.5 cents per point, is a cash cost of just $510 including taxes – that’s a very good deal.

It’s also worth keeping in mind that anyone holding an Anniversary Free Night Certificate that comes as one of the benefits of the IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card can add points to the value of their certificate (currently capped at 40,000 points) to allow them to redeem it at more expensive properties.

For certificate holders without a significant IHG Rewards balance, cheap points purchased in sales such as this one may offer an easy path to getting more value out of their certificates.

Bottom line

I always offer the same advice for promotions like this:

• Find out the cost of a night at the properties you would like to visit (at the time of year you would like to travel)
• Compare that cost to the cost of an award night paid for with points purchased in this sale.

Just by doing those two simple things you’ll know just how good an idea it may be to buy points in this sale.

Click To Buy IHG One Rewards Points

Featured image: InterContinental Bora Bora Resort