Mike FriedmanHotels and airlines are more than happy to reward you with points and miles when you use their services. But, have you considered buying points (IHG Points) directly from the travel providers themselves? Of course, you won’t get as good a rate as the credit card companies who buy billions of points/miles, but they will often sell you points for less than it would cost you to get the same room or flight with cash.
The IHG Points Purchase Promotion Will Save You A Small Fortune
If you have an account with IHG, you should have an offer waiting for you that is good for a bonus of up to 100% buying points through the IHG points promotion through December 30.
A New York Example
Here’s an example: We’ve decided to stay in New York for a couple of nights at the beginning of December. Is it cheaper to pay the regular rate or just buy the points and redeem them?* First, the cash rate:
On the other hand, this hotel costs 70,000 points per night if you want an award. Under this promotion, you can purchase the 140,000 points that you need for about $700. In other words, it will cost you half as much to buy the points and redeem them immediately for those two nights!
True, you don’t earn points on award stays, but the value of the of the points that you’d earn is roughly $120 (assuming a value of ~0.5 cents per point).** For a Boston example, we featured a comparison for the InterContinental in Boston in a previous article about buying IHG points.
A Vegas Example – Palazzo – Buying Points
What about Las Vegas? Can you buy points for a posh stay in Vegas? Yes, but you have to be careful. One option is The Palazzo at the Venetian Resort Las Vegas. If the room rate is above $350 a night, then purchasing IHG points can make sense. Of course, this is only a consideration during an IHG Points Promotion.
Some nights at Palazzo (and Venetian) can be pretty pricey. Here is a direct comparison from this afternoon. The total cash rate for the stay (without resort fees) is $667.81. You could also buy 70,000 points for $350, for the same room on the same night. Of course, both rates (cash or points) require payment of the obligatory resort fee of $45.
One more consideration, if you have an IHG Credit Card you should be eligible for the fourth reward night free benefit. This is optimized with four night stays, so four nights (70K point per night property) would cost you 210,000 instead of 280,000 points.
More than $350 a night (cash rate) 70k Point Rooms
By now, I’m sure you have realized that many of the IHG Brand top properties are 70,000 points per night. You can easily keep in mind that any time a 70,000 point property is more than $350 then you should consider the points purchase.
Another good consideration is refundable versus non-refundable room rates. In most cases, rooms redeemed for points are refundable as long as you cancel a few days prior to your reservation. Be sure to always pay close attention to the terms and conditions of cancellation, since it does vary property to property.
Find Out More
IHG Rewards Club Premier Credit Card
Buying Points – Always Check The Option
The bottom line is that these deals tend to come and go, so if you’re looking for a hotel room, check the option to purchase points. Also, spend some time reviewing and researching the large number of IHG Brands. You may save some cash.
*Since both the regular rate and award rate charge a resort fee, we’ll ignore it for the purpose of this example.
**Don’t buy points unless you already have a trip in mind. The last thing you want to do is buy a bunch of points, only to see them devalued.
IHG: Up to Quadruple Points
The current offer is one of the better ones that I’ve seen from lodging companies. Be sure to register and book by December 15, and you’ll earn up to quadruple base points (usually 10 points per dollar spent) for stays through January 30.
