IHG is running a new promotion that’s being sent out to targeted IHG One Rewards members. It’s giving a 15% discount on the cash component of Points & Cash rates which, considering how IHG processes these types of bookings, means you can buy IHG points for ~0.56cpp (cents per point).
The Deal
- Save 15% on the cash component of IHG Points & Cash bookings.
- Direct link to offer.
Key Terms
- This offer for 15% savings on the cash portion of Points & Cash bookings (the “Offer”) is available only to select IHG One Rewards members who book their stay during the period of June 17, 2024 through June 21, 2024 (the “Booking Period”) and then complete their stay during the period from June 17, 2024 through July 31, 2024 (the “Stay Period”).
- This 15% discount is offered at time of booking and only applies to the cash cost of the booking.
- A member must be logged in to their IHG One Rewards account at the time of booking to access the discount.
- The cash portion of Points & Cash bookings are charged immediately in U.S. dollars, and for cancellations both the points and the cash components of the booking are refunded in points only.
- The number of points refunded is determined by the points-only price at the original time of booking.
Quick Thoughts
In case you’re not familiar with how IHG’s Points & Cash policy works, the cash amount you pay effectively buys the requisite number of points to top up the number of points you redeem for your booking. If you subsequently cancel your stay, you don’t get a refund of the cash you paid; instead, IHG credits your account with those additional points you bought.
This 15% discount therefore provides a way to buy IHG points much more cheaply than their standard purchase price and drops the price almost as low as when they go on sale with a 100% bonus.
To see the pricing, you have to log in to your IHG account as otherwise you’ll see the standard pricing:
Once you’re logged in, you’ll see the standard Points & Cash pricing struck through, with the discounted amount displayed beneath.
The amount you’ll pay for IHG points using this method will differ slightly from property to property and which level you buy points at, but at its lowest you’re looking at a cost of ~0.56cpp. For example, this Candlewood Suites offers a number of different Points & Cash options. If you go for the 33,000 points + $29 option, you’re effectively buying 5,000 points for $29 which is 0.58cpp. However, if you select the most expensive option cash-wise, you’d be buying 25,000 points for $139 (the difference between the standard 38,000 points award pricing and the 13,000 Points & Cash option); that’s 0.556cpp.
Like I said though, the cost can vary a little from property to property. This Holiday Inn provides an option to buy 20,000 points for $113 which is a slightly higher rate of 0.565cpp.
When IHG offers a 100% bonus when buying their points, you’re buying points for 0.5cpp. This ~0.56cpp rate is therefore a good rate at which to pick up their points when they’re not on sale as the standard pricing is 1cpp.
It might be possible to sweeten the deal even further in a couple of ways, but I’m not certain either will work. One is to click through from a shopping portal in the hope that you’ll earn cashback/points/miles on the transaction. Shopping portals list Points & Cash bookings as being excluded, but certain portals sometimes track and pay out on transactions that other portals don’t.
Another option that might work is if you have spending offers on any of your credit cards like IHG Amex Offers, Citi Offers, etc. There’s a chance that those might get triggered, but if your spending offers are for a specific IHG brand, it’d be best to do a Points & Cash booking for that specific brand.
Again, I’m not certain that either of these techniques will work, but if you were planning on making a Points & Cash booking anyway, you might as well maximize your earning potential.
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