IHG One Rewards finally reveals its year-end promotion (register now)

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We’ve known what year-end promotions Marriott, Hilton, and Hyatt are offering for some time so I was starting to wonder if IHG had forgotten that a promotion was due or if was so overwhelmed by the recent hack that it had given up on the idea of a promotion altogether. Well, apparently IHG hasn’t forgotten and it hasn’t given up as today saw it launch its “Pick Your PayOff” promotion that will run through the end of 2022.

IHG One Rewards – Pick Your Payoff

The new promotion does exactly what its name suggests – it allows IHG One members to choose one (of two) “payoffs” as their year-end bonus – and it will require people to work out just how many nights they think they’ll spend at IHG properties through 31 December.

These are the two offers:

• Payoff 1 – Earn 2,000 bonus points every 2 nights (register here)
• Payoff 2 – Earn 10,000 bonus points every 4 nights (register here)

The promotion goes live on 13 October and runs through 31 December 2022.

Key terms

• This promotional offer (the “Promotion”) gives IHG One Rewards members the opportunity to choose from one of two different options for earning extra IHG One Rewards bonus points.
• To partake in this Promotion, the individual must have an active valid IHG One Rewards account.
• The member must first register their member number for one of two available offers: (1) the “Earn 2,000 Points Every 2 Nights” offer (the “2,000 Points Offer”); or (2) the “Earn 10,000 Points Every 4 Nights” offer (the “10,000 Points Offer”).
• If a member has registered for the 2,000 Points Offer, the member can earn 2,000 IHG One Rewards bonus points each time they complete two (2) Qualifying Nights during the Promotion Period (defined below).
• If a member has registered for the 10,000 Points Offer, the member can earn 10,000 IHG One Rewards bonus points each time they complete four (4) Qualifying Nights during the Promotion Period.
• A member can only register for one of these two Offers, and once a member has registered for one of them, the member is only eligible for that Offer and cannot register for the other Offer or receive any points under the other Offer.
• The “Promotion Period” is from October 13, 2022, through December 31, 2022.
• After registering, a member cannot change the option they have chosen.
• For purposes of this Promotion, the Qualifying Nights can be at any participating IHG Hotels & Resorts, Mr & Mrs Smith properties, or participating Six Senses properties (as identified on each hotel’s booking page), and each Qualifying Night must be during the Promotion Period and must be part of a Qualifying Stay.
• A “Qualifying Stay” is defined as a minimum 1-night stay booked under a Qualifying Rate, with total spend exceeding $30 USD (or local equivalent) per night.
• Only one room per member per Qualifying Stay will be eligible.
• If more than one member checks into the same room, only one member is eligible to claim the night for purposes of this Offer.
• No retroactive credit will be given for nights prior to registration.
• Members registered for either the 2,000 Points Offer or the 10,000 Points Offer will have unlimited earning potential for this Promotion during the Promotional Period.
• The time needed for awarding points can vary with each promotion, so please allow up to 6 weeks for the bonus points to be posted to the recipient’s member account.

Full terms and conditions can be found on the promotion page – please read them carefully.

Thoughts

Effectively, Payoff 1 is offering 1,000 bonus points/night while Payoff 2 is offering 2,500 points per night so unless you think that you’re not going to stay more than 3 nights with IHG during the promotion period, Payoff 2 is the promotion you should be registering for.

Keep in mind that IHG One reward night bookings will not count towards this promotion (only select cash rates will qualify for bonus points) so do not factor those is when working out which payoff will work best for you.

As far as the value on offer goes…

I value IHG One Rewards points at 0.4 cents each (based on the value that I know I can get out of them with ease) so, effectively, I’m being offered the choice of a $4 rebate every night or a $10 rebate every night so neither deal has got my heart racing 🙂

It is, however, worth remembering that when viewed alongside all the other earnings that IHG One Rewards members can enjoy, the overall package can be pretty good.

Here’s an example of what I mean:

Keeping in mind that…

• IHG One Rewards members will earn 10 points/dollar on spending made at most IHG properties (stays at Candlewood Suites and Staybridge Suites only earn 5 points/dollar)
• IHG elites will earn bonuses of 20%, 40%, 60%, and 100% (Silver/Gold/Platinum/Diamond) on top of these earnings.
• Holders of the card_name (review) will earn a further 10 points/dollar on all IHG spending

…this is what a Platinum Elite member* using the card_name can earn when spending 8 nights at Holiday Inn properties (during the promotion period) when spending $150/night.

• 20,000 bonus points from the year-end promotion
• 12,000 base points from $1,200 of spending (8 x $150)
• 7,200 elite bonus points (60% of 12,000)
• 12,000 bonus points from spending put on the IHG® Rewards Premier credit card

That gives a total of 51,200 points which I value at ~$205. That’s an effective rebate of 17% which is a rebate that’s well worth having.

*I’ve chosen a Platinum Elite member because Platinum status can be had by anyone who holds the card_name.

Bottom line

IHG One Rewards is offering its members a choice of two promotions in Q4 2022 but unless you know that you’re unlikely to spend more than 3 paid nights at IHG properties during the promotion period, there’s really only one promotion you should be choosing – the second one.

Don’t forget to register (here) as soon as you have a spare moment as stays consumed before registration will not count towards the promotion even if they take place during the promotion period.