I saved $200 today with IHG PointBreaks

My main purpose is to let you know the Oct 31-Jan 31, 2017 IHG Rewards Club PointBreaks hotels are available for booking at 5,000 points per night. I already booked two hotel nights for 10,000 points that fit nicely into my current travel plans. In this post I calculate the value of PointBreaks for simple overnight stays.

IHG Rewards Club points are on sale through November 16 for $5.75 per 1,000 points when you buy 32,000 points for $200.

The cost of an IHG PointBreaks reward night = $28.75 at that points purchase price.

Prevailing room rates at time I booked PointBreaks reward night for 5,000 points per night

IHG member Advance Purchase nonrefundable rate

$110.92 room rate; $119.79 after tax

IHG nonmember Advance Purchase nonrefundable

$117.99 room rate; $127.43 after tax

IHG member best flexible rate

$122.20 room rate; $131.98 after tax

IHG AAA rate

$122.99 room rate; $132.83 after tax

Unrestricted Best Flexible Rate

$129.99 room rate; $140.39 after tax

Objectively, I can state my hotel cost for 5,000 points is $28.75 since that is the selling price today for points. My room rate savings is $119.79 – $28.75 = $91.

IHG Rewards Club PointBreaks reduced my cost for two hotel nights today by $182.

Normally I compare my reward night savings to the lowest flexible rate since I have the same flexibility to cancel these PointBreaks reward nights and get my points back and no out of pocket expense. I can say my room rate discount is $263.96 – $57.50 (2 PointBreaks nights) = $206.46.

The main point is I spent 10,000 IHG Rewards Club points to save $200 on two hotel nights. I can buy 32,000 IHG Rewards Club points with that $200 savings. This is the third set of PointBreaks hotels this year I have found a hotel to fit my travels. Sometimes they work on road trips and other times they become a destination choice, like Vilnius, Lithuania in April 2016.

Loyalty Traveler – Hotel Review Crowne Plaza Vilnius PointBreaks stay (April 18, 2016).

What about accounting for the points that would have been earned with a paid stay and IHG Accelerate?

Points and Miles purists tend to point out that a paid stay would earn points and I don’t account for those unearned points. I would earn about 5,000 points if I booked the $110/night room rate and spent $240 for the hotel stay.

In September 2016, I stayed at Holiday Inn London Commercial Road for one night before flying to Slovakia. That one night stay earned the best bonus I was offered from IHG Rewards Club Accelerate. All my other stays during Accelerate only earn double points.

Loyalty Traveler – Hotel Review Holiday Inn London Commercial Road (Sep 11, 2016)

I earned 8,973 points from that $94 hotel stay.

Loyalty Traveler – Why IHG Accelerate fall 2016 ended for me in first week after a single $94 hotel stay (Oct 2, 2016).

In my opinion, at some point in travel you have to redeem points to get any value. I usually make the comparison between the potential value of points I can earn to the money I do not spend by staying on a reward night. Over the course of 60 to 80 hotel nights per year, there are many times when the paid stay is worthwhile for the points and benefits.

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