UPDATE 8/21: Reposting as the last day to take advantage of this is Friday August 23rd
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 tiered bonus up to 100%, now through August 23rd? This is a high bonus, just about the the best bonus IHG has ever offered. You can check out the deal and see your targeted bonus here. Let’s examine the math and see if this makes sense. I’ll run through the map assuming a 100% bonus; adjust as needed for your own bonus amount.
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 at once.
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 enough to get the maximum bonus amount. 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 also get the 4th night free on award stays. You can find out more information about the IHG card and other hotel cards here
What was your IHG bonus amount? Are you planning on buying IHG points?
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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 
No
The list of 5000 points stays has shriveled up and died. 10,000 points stays are also few and far between. No vote!
I would have to pay $900 for 180000 points to get 3 nights at a Hotel in Miami Fl. Worth it?
Well that depends. Would those same 3 nights cost you $300 / night or more if you paid cash? Or do you have any other cheaper alternatives that work for you?