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IHG has a targeted flash sale promotion out for some members that allows you to buy points for as little as .43125 cents per point. That’s the lowest I can remember in at least the last several years.
The Deal
- Through October 26th, 2017, you can save 25% on the cash portion of a Points & Cash booking
- Good for stays through December 31, 2017
- Direct link to the promotion
Key Terms
- Either expires on 10/26 (as seen in the picture above) or 10/28 (as seen in the terms & conditions of the promotion) – your guess is as good as mine
- 25% discount is only on the cash portion of the booking
- Excludes The Venetian and The Palazzo
- Must be logged in to see the savings
Quick Thoughts
Unfortunately, this promotion appears to be targeted. Neither Greg nor I have been able to replicate this one, but several readers have reported seeing the lower prices. If you qualify for this discount, you’ll see rates like these (thanks to a member of our Frequent Miler Insiders Facebook group for this screen shot):
The best deal is the last one. Since the full cost of the night is 35K points, you are buying 20K points for $86.25 — or paying just .43125 cents per point. If you don’t need 20K points, the other rates aren’t bad either, though each of them is a bit higher cost-per-point.
Buying IHG points at this rate is a good deal if you have a use for the points. For example, a 5K night at a Point Breaks hotel will cost you $21.56 if you’re buying points at this price. That’s probably a steal for most properties. It’s usually not a good idea to load up on points without an intended use. However, if I had this promo, I’d probably be buying some. I tend to use IHG points for last-minute same-day reservations, when prices are higher than I’d like to pay but award rooms are often still available. On the other hand, if you’re already flush with IHG points, it probably doesn’t make sense to load up further as we never know when a devaluation could be coming.
One thing to keep in mind — now that Kimpton is being fully folded into IHG, rooms at Kimpton Hotels should be bookable with IHG points in 2018 (and in fact the Kimpton in Amsterdam already is). Buying points this cheaply could make for a great discount on some really nice properties coming into the fold.
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[…] (especially if you’re occasionally able to buy points as cheaply as 0.43125 cents per point like some people did this week). Even if you pay 6 tenths of a penny per point to buy IHG points, these nights are only costing […]
The promo is over. I was targeted and then saw the same booking without the discount after 12 AM central time flip to normal.
How can they limit you from booking the vegas properties once you buy the points?
They can’t. The exclusion is that you won’t get 25% off the cash portion of a points & cash booking at those properties.