IHG One Rewards InterContinental Hotels Group Points & Cash

Deal or Not? IHG Rewards Club 15% off Points and Cash stays July 8-Sep 30 credit card members

a screenshot of a website

IHG Rewards Club MasterCard members have a summer offer for 15% off the cash portion of Points & Cash reward stays for reservations booked between July 8-August 7 for stays from July 8 – September 30, 2016. This combines with the 10% points rebate IHG Rewards Club MasterCard members receive on all IHG redemptions, up to 100,000 points maximum rebate in calendar year.

IHG Rewards Club Promotion Link Cardmember 15% off for stays July 8-Sep 30.

Book July 8 – August 7.

IHG Points-Cash summer 2016 15%off

Since I have no interest in selling you a credit card (look, no affiliate links on this page!), I examined this offer with an eye to rebook a 5-night hotel stay this month in Europe that I booked back in April.

The hotel name is irrelevant for the purpose of my discussion. It is in Europe and I booked 5 nights at 15,000 points per night.

IHG Points-Cash rates European hotel

  • IHG Standard Reward 15,000 Points per night x 5 nights = 75,000 points.
  • IHG Points & Cash Reward (10,000 points + $34) x 5 nights = 50,000 points + $170.
  • IHG Points & Cash Reward (5,000 points + $59.50) x 5 nights = 25,000 points + $297.50.

My current reservation is 75,000 points. I will get 10% rebate as an IHG Rewards Club Mastercard holder for 7,500 points rebate on my 5-night hotel stay.

My net cost is 67,500 points after I receive 10% rebate as an IHG Rewards Club cardmember.. To book this hotel on an advance purchase rate today is $120 USD per night. My redemption value = 120/67.5 = $8.00 per 1,000 points.

Points & Cash Rate Comparison

IHG Points & Cash Reward (10,000 points + $34) x 5 nights = 50,000 points + $170.

5-night stay net cost = 45,000 points + $170 (after 10% points rebate).

Changing my reservation means paying $170 USD to save 22,500 points.

170/22.5 = $7.56 per 1,000 points.

This improves my total redemption value by $10 if I spend $170 for my hotel and I conserve 22,500 points. However, IHG sells points frequently for $6.00 per 1,000 points, so there is no reason for me to spend $170 to save 22,500 points when I can simply buy 22,500 IHG points for $135.00 USD some time in the future when I need them.

IHG Points & Cash Reward (5,000 points + $59.50) x 5 nights = 25,000 points + $297.50.

This option for spending $297.50 means my points used would decrease from 67,500 to 22,500 points for the 5-night hotel stay and I would conserve 45,000 IHG Rewards Club points.

$297.50/45 = $6.61 per 1,000 points.

Once again, while the redemption value improves, there is no reason to spend $297.50 and save 45,000 points on my 5 night hotel stay when the replacement cost for those 45,000 points is only $270. (45 x $6/1000 points = $270).

IHG Points & Cash 15% cash portion savings for IHG Rewards Club cardmembers is no deal for me.

I checked out this deal for my 5-night IHG Rewards Club points Standard Reward stay this month in Europe and I find the best deal is to stick with my Standard Reward reservation at 15,000 points per night that will receive a 7,500 points rebate.

Total cost is 67,500 points and a redemption value of $8.00 per 1,000 points based on the current hotel rates for my hotel.

I’ll buy IHG Rewards Club points at $6.00 per 1,000 points sometime in the future if I need more points than I earn from my hotel stays and IHG promotion bonuses.

Tags:

Share This Post:

11 Comments

  • mddcflyer July 9, 2016

    Of course you can book a dummy reservation for hotel that goes for 60,000 and buy 20,000 points in less than $6 dollars per 1,000 points – cancel it and use the points on your reservation.

  • Ric Garrido July 9, 2016

    @mddcflyer – Exactly. That is my main point. I want to save my money now for my July trip to Europe. At some future date, if I need IHG points, I can book a Points & Cash stay and buy 15,000 points for $90 at some fancy InterContinental. I have enough points remaining in my account to make that kind of Points & Cash reservation.

  • RoamAmore July 9, 2016

    Excellent. Your analytic approach is why LT is one of the best blogs on BoardingArea.

  • jack July 9, 2016

    I thought this was a good deal. Bought 100k points for $531.25. I’m actually getting 111k due to the future redemption 10% rebate, bringing down the $/point to .0048.

  • Ric Garrido July 9, 2016

    @jack – Could you explain how you bought 100,000 points for $531.25?

    That seems like paying $80 for 15,000 points on a Points & Cash award. Lowest rate I recall is $85.

  • mddcflyer July 9, 2016

    You can buy 20,000 points for $106.25 when trying to book a night for 60,000 – that was the point I was trying to make earlier.

    Just try and book the IC in NYC (or other hotels that charge 60,000 points a night), you’ll get the options to buy points from 5,000 up to 20,000 points.

    100,000 points are 5 times 20,000 points at $106.25 get you to $531.25.

  • Allan Foglio July 9, 2016

    Excellent Article!!
    I think that your article has been something new tips.Your article will be helpful for us.Thanks for sharing this article.

  • jack July 9, 2016

    @ric garrido

    what mddcflyer said.

    any hotel award night at least 25k pts will give you the option to buy down the points requirement, with best deal being the 20k option for $106.25. i booked 5 nights and paid accordingly.

  • Ric Garrido July 10, 2016

    Apparently I have not looked at IHG Points & Cash rewards in past few months for high end hotels. I had not seen the 20,000 points option before on Points & Cash rewards. That’s a new purchase option since the introduction of 60,000 points standard rewards back in March. Last time I booked an IHG Points & Cash reward was February 2016 before the hotel category devaluation.

    I assume this option was introduced within past 8 weeks since there is a FlyerTalk thread from May 12, 2016 about the 15,000 points purchase option for $95 on Points & Cash Rewards and no posts in the thread mention the 20,000 points purchase option for $125.
    https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/intercontinental-hotels-ihg-rewards-club-intercontinental-ambassador/1765437-ihg-points-now-cheaper-purchase.html

    The 20,000 points purchase option on a Points & Cash reward is only available at some hotels. I don’t see this option for any hotels in Europe or any country outside the USA in a quick survey I made of a dozen or so international cities. And most places in the USA don’t seem to have it either. Looks to be primarily a USA big city points purchase option. I don’t see the 20,000 points option for hotels in San Diego, New Orleans or Orlando, Florida, which are probably the only large USA cities I have searched for Points & Cash reward nights in past few months.

    $106.25/20 = $5.31 per 1,000 points.

    That changes my argument in this article slightly considering 15% off $125 normal cash portion to buy 20,000 points is $106.25 and a great price for buying IHG points. I may book a high-end InterContinental hotel a little soon than planned. That 20,000 points option is available for my hometown InterContinental Monterey.

    15% discount is still not a good deal for my hotel stay in Europe this month.

  • IHG Points & Cash Trick $106.25 for 20,000 points - Loyalty Traveler July 10, 2016

    […] writing a post yesterday on the summer 2016 Points & Cash 15% discount on cash portion for IHG MasterCard members, reader Jack alerted me to the fact there is now the […]

  • Clflwrs July 18, 2016

    San Francisco, CA, Golden Gateway Holiday Inn has 20K pts + buy 20K pts for $125 ($106.25 with 15% sale).

Comments are closed.

BoardingArea