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IHG Rewards Club is offering a limited time promotion that allows you to save 20% when booking a Points & Cash reward. There are two sets of dates that you need to keep in mind.

• You must book before 22 July, 2019
• Your stay must take place between 15 July and 16 September, 2019

The 20% discount will only apply to the cash portion.

Check Your Accelerate Targets

IHG Rewards Club members are hopefully aware of the standard promotion called “Accelerate”, involving personalised targets. This summer, IHG seem to have made a mess of things, with some members working on the basis of:

• A May to August promotion period – click here for details
• A July to October promotion period – click here for details

In both cases, members have frequently been targeted to book a Points & Cash reward. (Stay for Less and Earn)

Does it Make Sense?

IHG’s version of Points & Cash works differently from other hotel chains. You are simply buying points as part of a reward booking. If you subsequently cancel that reservation, you will receive your refund as points. This tactic has been around for a long time, and is a useful trick for buying IHG points cheaply.

So, if you purchase 5,000 points for $30 (£24) as part of a Points & Cash reward booking, then receive an additional 4,500 points from your Accelerate target… you would actually be getting 9,500 points for your £24, which is a pretty good deal – 0.25p per point. (0.31 US cents)

However… Rant Alert!

I have been intending to write a full post about how IHG attempts to trick its members into paying more for Points & Cash than they should. Points & Cash pricing is variable, despite the fact that you can cancel at any time and receive points instead. So, you should always book the cheapest P&C rate you can find, cancel it, and only THEN use those points for the hotel you truly need.

But even worse… last week I made a Points & Cash booking for my partner’s account… to trigger her target of 4,500 bonus points. At first, news of this 20% promotion upset me, then I noticed that every UK hotel I checked has merely increased their Points & Cash pricing by enough to ensure that the 20% discount only takes them back to where they started…

Conclusion

You can find further details about this promotion by clicking here. However, you should have been emailed details, especially if there are variable discounts available.

However, IF (and it’s a big IF) you are willing to do a lot of research to find a hotel that isn’t overcharging for Points & Cash, now would be a good time to book a Points & Cash reward and trigger your Accelerate target. You can always wait a few days and then cancel – your target will remain met. I promise… 😉