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IHG Rewards Club has launched its latest ‘personalised’ IHG Points sale. It seems however that everyone bags a 75% bonus, though your minimum points purchase for the bonus may vary:

 

All you have to do is go to this page, sign in, and the bonus should come up automatically as below.

As you can see, IHG’s pricing is a bit weird – 25,000 points (before bonus) cost $287.50, but you can buy 26,000 for $260…

Assuming that you therefore buy 26,000+, you’ll be paying ~0.44p (0.571 cents) per IHG Point (once you factor in the bonus).  That’s about £4.40 per 1,000 Points in real money

The sale runs until 28 February 2019 and you can buy 100,000 points (+75,000 bonus points) each calendar year.

Is it worth buying points?

This isn’t as good as it gets, because IHG has offered 100% bonus points in the past. But buying points in this manner can sometimes make financial sense compared with paying cash for a hotel. Remember that you really should compare it to a flex rate, as reward night bookings can be cancelled.

Flex rates at the Intercontinental Park Lane (and at other Intercontinentals in popular destinations) are frequently about £400 (and sometimes more).

 

If you bought the 70,000 IHG Points required instead, they would cost you ~£308, so if you had to stay in that particular hotel on that night, you’d be better off buying the points. Most of us usually have more flexibility than that, but there are occasions when it could potentially make sense.

IHG also runs regular ‘PointsBreak’ promotions, offering rooms at select hotels for only 5,000-15,000 points. Assuming you buy points with a 75% bonus at £4.40 per 1,000 Points, you could be paying as little as £22 per night. That’s not to be sniffed at.

Bottom line

We’ve seen higher bonuses on IHG Points in the past and I won’t personally be buying at £4.40 per 1,000 at the moment. That’s because I have a healthy balance already though and no immediate plans to use many.

Anyone tempted?