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IHG Rewards Club has brought back the Accelerate promotion for stays between 1 May and 31 August, 2019. You can register and find your personal targets by clicking here.

I have noticed that many IHG members are receiving a target that requires them to book a Points + Cash reward stay – but they get confused about how it works. IHG’s version of “combining points with cash” works differently from most other hotel chains. Instead of paying the cash element at the hotel, you are doing nothing more than buying points from IHG Rewards Club at the time of booking (paying in dollars, regardless of what the IHG website shows). If you subsequently cancel your reservation, you will NOT receive a cash refund, but simply points (those you initially had, plus those you purchased at the time of booking).

The way that IHG has programmed the triggering of the target is pretty simple – when it sees that you are buying points as part of a Points + Cash booking for a date within the promo period, the target is triggered and you immediately receive the Accelerate bonus points. Yesterday I made a Points + Cash booking for July and within seconds my account statement looked like this…

What Are the Implications?

You Don’t Actually Have To Stay, Just Book…

Because I have already received my Accelerate bonus points, I don’t actually have to stay at the hotel I booked. I do recommend that you book the P+C stay within the promotional period and that you buy the minimum 5,000 points.

… And Therefore I Am Buying Points Really Cheaply

I chose the Salzburg hotel because I might actually stay there this summer. But I also found a pretty cheap rate for Points + Cash – $33 for 5,000 points.  So, when you add the 4,500 point bonus, I acquired 9,500 IHG points for $33 (£25).  That works out at 0.35 cents / 0.26p per point. Even though I am frustrated by IHG’s consistent devaluations, I’m still happy to buy 9,500 points that inexpensively…

Points + Cash Won’t Trigger Any Other Targets

If you note my account statement, you’ll see “Redeemed points for Reward Night stay”. And reward nights do not count for any other Accelerate targets such as brands, nights stayed, etc. – those targets all require regular paid nights.

Conclusion

If you received the same Points + Cash target as me, don’t feel as if you need to actually stay one or more nights at an IHG hotel. Simply decide for yourself whether you wish to buy 9,500 inexpensive IHG points and look around for the cheapest Points + Cash hotel that you can find…