IHG Point Breaks have been one of the best deals in miles and points – every quarter, around 100-150 IHG hotels have gone on sale for only 5000 points. I maintain a map and list of the current IHG PointBreaks and update it every quarter. The current IHG Point Breaks are good through the end of the month, so I’ve been getting ready to update the list when the new one comes out.
But I just got an email about the new IHG Point Breaks and… it’s not giving me good feelings.
2018 changes to the IHG
Of course it was couched in “this is a great new thing” terms, but I’m having a hard time seeing how this is going to be a good thing. Here is the press release (emphasis mine)
A NEWLY-REVAMPED POINTBREAKS® IS ON THE WAY!
MARK YOUR CALENDARS FOR MONDAY, JANUARY 29, AT 12 P.M. EST
IHG® Rewards Club members love the PointBreaks promotion, and they’ve asked us to make it available in more hotels and more locations. We are very excited that you’re among the first to know that a new PointBreaks is coming!
For the first time, IHG® Rewards Club is changing the popular PointBreaks promotion to offer more variety and more locations. Members can now book Reward Nights at a significant discount at more than 200 hotels, nearly double the number of hotels previously offered, giving members the opportunity to experience more IHG hotels around the world.
The PointBreaks promotion will now offer Reward Nights at three different point values: 5,000; 10,000 and 15,000 points. And, for the first time, members can book participating PointBreaks hotels using a combination of points and cash. The new PointBreaks will include some of the best IHG hotels around the world, including upscale brands InterContinental®, Hotel Indigo® and Crowne Plaza®.
A sneak peek at participating properties will be posted on the IHG® blog on Friday, Jan. 26, 2018. On Monday, Jan. 29, 2018, at 12 p.m. EST, IHG will post the full PointBreaks list for bookings and stays from Jan. 29, 2018 through April 30, 2018 (subject to availability).
Here is a sampling of the more than 200 properties that will be featured:
Holiday Inn® Kuala Lumpur Glenmarie (Malaysia) (5,000 points)
InterContinental® Nairobi (Kenya) (10,000 points)
Holiday Inn® San Antonio Northwest (US) (10,000 points)
InterContinental® Cali (Colombia) (10,000 points)
Holiday Inn Express® London – Newbury Park (UK) (10,000 points)
InterContinental® Sao Paolo (Brazil) (15,000 points)
Holiday Inn® Helsinki City Centre (Finland) (15,000 points)
Crowne Plaza Berlin – Potsdamer Platz (Germany) (15,000 points)
It’s definitely true that the quality of hotels on the IHG Point Breaks list has been declining for some time, so if this change turns into meaningful award sales on good hotels, then this might turn into not a horrible devaluation
I just worry that it will end up being the same hotels in the middle of nowhere but instead of booking them for 5,000 points, you have to pay 10,000 or 15,000 points
(SEE ALSO: Man IHG points really ARE worthless)
So what next?
I can’t say I’m super surprised. Given the deflationary nature of miles and points in general, and the recent devaluation IHG just gave out a few weeks ago, it’s clear that any really good deal has a limited shelf life. I’ve reached out to IHG for comments on what the likely go forward balance of hotels and Point Breaks costs are, and will update if/when I hear anything
What’s your take on the new (and exciting! 😀 ) changes for IHG Point Breaks?
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Not trying to play devil’s advocate for IHG, but in some case I might want to take an IC or a Crowne Plaza over a Holiday Inn, even if it is 10k versus 5k. Looks like they have 3 ICs on the list. Sometimes there hasn’t been one, so that is an improvement.
Still, I’m sure most hotels will be toward the upper end of the new range.
Yes – the devil is / will be in the details. I do see several Intercontinentals on the preview list (something that has been hard to find in recent Point Breaks), but also 7 of the 8 hotels listed were more than 5000 points. Also I’m sure the hotels on the preview list are curated carefully so as to show the “best” ones 🙂
The quality and locations have gone down significantly over time. I see this as a way to liquidate excess inventory at rates that might want properties want to participate. So indeed if I saw NYC time square IC for 10k points I would jump on it vs what it has been 🙂 I have a feeling the list will have more popular destinations vs roadside holiday inns. crossing fingers!
The problem is that they will have some popular locations and nice hotels like London and Nairobi which are both a steal at 10k, but a few years down the road, we’ll still be looking at the same sad lists we’ve been looking at recently but only at 10/15k instead of 5k.
Exactly. As someone else mentioned – at first we’ll see some good hotels for 10 or 15K and then in a year or so it will be the same junk lists we see now but they’ll all be 10 or 15K instead of 5K 🙂
So many people complained and asked for 10000 and 15000 point properties..I was against … so you people got your wish..and the 5000 point properties that were in many cases decent have ceased to exist.