With over 5,000 IHG properties worldwide, you’re likely to find one that fits your needs when planning your next vacation. And your next vacation might be closer than you think, now that IHG is offering a 100% bonus, now through March 22nd? This is a high bonus, just about the the best bonus IHG has ever offered. The deal and information can be accessed here. Let’s examine the math and see if this makes sense.
Normally, IHG points cost between $11.50 and $13.50 to purchase 1,000 points depending on how many points you buy (tax included), for a purchase price of 1.15-1.35 cent per point. That might seem cheap, but remember, IHG points are only worth about half a penny each, so at the normal rate, you’re paying almost triple the value. At the normal rate, it doesn’t make sense to buy IHG points.
What about with the 100% bonus? You’ll need to purchase at least 7,000 points to get the bonus, and at least 26,000 points to get the best rates, so for $260, you’re getting 52,000 points. That brings the purchase price to 0.5 cents per point, which is closer to the normal redemption value, but still slightly higher.
One other thing is that IHG has bumped up the maximum amount of points you can buy to 100,000 points
While I’m generally against buying points speculatively, if you need some points for your next redemption, it could be worth topping up your account.
(SEE ALSO: When is buying miles worth it? Only in these 3 instances)
If you do that, I recommend buying at least 26,000 points. You can find the link to this promotion here
One other area where it might make sense is if you’re low on points and want to stay at one of the current IHG Point Breaks hotels, which can be had as low as 5000 points / night. Buying 30,000 points for $300 gets you 52,500 points, which would be enough for 10 nights at a hotel, if you can find one you like in the 5000 point range. Meaning that you’d get 10 nights for $300 which seems like a pretty good deal. Even if you were staying at a mix of 5000 or 10000 night hotels you’d get 7 nights for your $300, which still seems like a good deal
Remember too if you have the IHG Rewards Club Premier card (current signup bonus is 80,000 points), you get a 20% bonus on purchased points AND the 4th night free on award stays. You can find out more information about the IHG card and other hotel cards here
Will you buy IHG points with a 100% bonus? Or will you wait for a higher bonus to come back?
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Dan Miller travels with his wife and 6 (SIX!) children. He loves to help families travel for free / cheap, especially larger families. If you are looking for help, drop him an email at 
“Buying points can be a great way to boost your balance, but only if makes sense financially”
Pure genius!
Where does it state one gets a 20% bonus on purchased points?
https://www.pointswithacrew.com/go/cc/chihg is the link. In the fine print (I had to click through), it states
“Save at least 20% on points purchases when you pay for those points with your IHG® Rewards Club Premier or Traveler Credit Cards. Point purchase amounts are subject to change by IHG® Rewards Club. These points are Non-Qualifying points and do not count towards Elite qualification. Upon completion of the points purchase, you agree that the total dollar amount of the points, minus the discount, will be immediately charged to your credit card. The cost for the points purchased is non-refundable. The 20% discount cannot be combined with any other points purchase offer. Point purchase transactions managed by Points.comOpens Overlay.”
Does the 20% kick in, since this is combined with the bonus offer? Does it actually stack the two offers?
I’m not 100% sure. One data point in favor is that this is a BONUS on purchased points, where the benefit of the card suggests that it is a SAVINGS on purchased points.
Darn – I did the $260 to get the .5 rate but forgot to use the IHG Premier for the extra 20%. Oh well – at least it helped me toward my Delta Platinum card minimum spend. 😉
Biggest problem is that the 5000 point hotels are getting as rare as leprechauns.
And always in China 🙂