Buying IHG Points for ~$.0025 Each
Back in December I wrote about my wife’s pretty awesome offer for IHG’s latest promotion “Accelerate”. As a reminder, here it is:
In my post about Accelerate I wrote about how we could potentially stay at a Holiday Inn locally in Vegas for $99 per night and earn a total of 51,000 points. Then of course time passed by, I traveled to Scotland and forgot about the promotion until a reminder in my calendar brought it back into the front of my mind. Unfortunately by that time the math had changed slightly for the worse, but it is still good.
Mattress Run Considerations
While I was in Scotland I had considered getting a room in my wife’s name and staying there, but I didn’t want to take a chance that things would get screwed up and the rooms weren’t very cheap anyway. This meant that we would have to do a mattress run, since we want to complete the offer in January for the extra 5K bonus.
When looking for properties for the mattress run, I looked at two main things. The first consideration was obviously cost. I wanted the cheapest rate possible. The second and equally important consideration was time. I wanted to find a hotel that is located somewhere we would already be. That way the only time lost is however long it takes to check-in, etc.
Finding A Property
After finding a date and area of town that would work, I searched for rates. Thankfully I found something decent at an “old friend” of a property. It is the same hotel I did a mattress run at in 2013 to complete IHG’s “The Big Win“. In that promotion I earned a total of 117,334 points for a combined 4 nights with the mattress run being the last.
The Math
The room I was able to find costs $109 on a bonus points package that includes 1,000 extra points. (One of the requirements.) The total cost with tax is $122.08 all-in. Here is what this stay will earn:
- January Bonus – 5,000 points.
- Stay Once Offer – 5,000 points.
- Bonus Points Package Offer – 2,000 points.
- Use IHG Credit Card Offer – 1,500 points.
- Complete 3 of 4 Offers – 31,500 points.
- Base points for stay – 545 points.
- 50% Platinum Bonus on Base – 273 points.
- Bonus Points Package – 1,000 points.
- IHG Credit Card 5X – 610
- Total points earned: 47,428
- Total cost: $122.08
- Total Cost Per Point: $.00257
Update: I forgot they also give a 500 point welcome amenity, so the total earned is 47,928 at a cost of $.00254 per point.
What Is The Value?
The value of IHG Rewards Club points is hard to peg. Point Breaks represent an outsized value, however they are not something that can be counted on. On the high-end, the top IHG properties cost 50K points. This is almost enough for a night in a property like the Intercontinental Times Square or Hong Kong. That is how I plan to redeem them.
If I had to assign a dollar value, then I would say the points are probably worth about 1/2 cent each, meaning I am paying $122.08 for $237.14 in value. That number works for me, but I assure you I most likely will get $300-$400 in hotel stays for these points. Either way I come ahead a winner, especially since the time and effort involved is minimal.
Conclusion
At a time when everyone is freaking out about the death of deals and MS opportunities, taking advantage of great value promotions like this one makes even more sense. By planning ahead and minimizing the hassle, we are taking most of the negatives out of the equation. Sure, this probably won’t be for everyone, but it is for me! 🙂
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[…] Inn for 25,000 points or $344 ($398.22 including tax). We are flush with IHG points between my wife’s mattress run and writing all of those postcards, so that wasn’t a problem. In fact, we got a huge value. On a […]
Wish I got an offer that good. I had to stay 9 nights (the other offer required me to stay 3 nights in a country/city I won’t be in).
On the plus side I got a way better rate than you- 5 of my 9 nights were $30 incl tax. The others about $50.
[…] Buying IHG Points for 1/4 Cent Each with “Accelerate” & A Mattress Run! by Miles to Memories. See how he had a reminder in his calendar? You need that sort of organization to make these promos work. […]
Do you have to book thru the IHG website to have it count? I booked a Holiday Inn stay thru Rocket Miles (so I could count it towards my SW Companion Pass this year) and was hoping I could double dip! My deal was pretty close to your wife.
Yes it has to be booked directly through IHG to count as a qualifying stay.
Is it okay if I use the AAA rate or Corporate rate?
nwb- if one of your offers is a bonus points package offer, you will need to book that rate which is more expensive than the standard rate and earns bonus points – usually 1,000-2,000.
Terry- my offer does not have any bonus points package offer. In this post the nightly room rate is $109 + tax, if there is a AAA rate for $99 + tax can I book the AAA rate instead and still qualify for the “Accelerate” promotion?
Yes you can as long as you don’t have a specific rate requirement for your offer. Just make sure you book directly on their website.
With my deal it takes 6 nights to get about the same points. That’s after basically sitting out the prior two promos (also lousy) and not doing a paid stay over a year. I used to stay a lot, but I guess they don’t really want me back.
Hi Shawn,
I ended up getting the same deal as your wife — the first one of these that’s been worth it for me, since I don’t stay in hotels very regularly. I just happened to have a one-night stay coming up on Jan. 2nd, so I switched it to a bonus points package at a Staybridge for exactly the same price as you mentioned. So far, I have earned a 500 point welcome bonus and 1,000 point Priceless Surprise Reward, and strangely enough, 4,817 points for “Qualifying Stay.” I’m not sure what that’s for, and so far the other points haven’t posted although it shows that I’ve completed all the necessary tasks. IHG says it takes 5-6 weeks. I agree with you that this was well worth the effort, especially since I already had a stay coming up, and the Staybridge was really nice!
By the way, I’m just about to apply for an IHG card for my husband, and I found an 80,000 point offer — is this something you know about? For some reason I didn’t find it on any blogger websites.
Just sent you an email.